To be diagnosed with dementia is 'like being blindfolded and let loose in a maze'. There is no clear treatment to follow, because each case is unique. But once thickets of misunderstanding and misinformation are brushed aside, there are pathways to hope. 'Secular models of support don't adequately reflect Christian values of compassion, love and service,' explains Louise Morse. 'Neither do they describe the power of spiritual support. This is key to the wellbeing of the caregiver, as well as the person with dementia.' This book is packed with examples of what works, as well as practical advice and accessible medical information. Louise Morse is a cognitive behavioural therapist and works with a national charity whose clients include people with dementia. Her MA dissertation, based on hundreds of interviews, examined the effects on families of caring for a loved one with dementia.
"I want to help doctors, caregivers, and persons with Alzheimer's disease to understand that this diagnosis is not necessarily a rapid death sentence."--Charley Schneider "I now have test results and a neurologist saying I'm improving my health! I hope others will pay attention to supplements [to medications], herbs, nutrition, exercise, mental stimulation, and environment as ways to better health."--Karen Waterhouse This small but powerful book offers personal stories and important insights and information shared by twelve people facing early-onset Alzheimer's disease and/or other neurodegenerative disorders. "Early-onset" means that symptoms appear before age sixty-five, usually when people are in their forties or fifties, but some as young as age thirty-five. The book is a project of the support network forMemory, a group that connects individuals and their families affected by early-onset Alzheimer's and related diseases. Its aim is to increase emotional, spiritual, and physical wellbeing through actively and aggressively seeking ways toward prevention, slowing, and healing. The editors of this book, Christine Baum Van Ryzin, Mary Kay Baum, and Rosann Baum Milius, are sisters who saw their mother and aunt struggle for years with cognitive and physical decline, in an era when very little was known about symptoms, causes, and treatment for dementia and other cognitive impairments. In turn, each of the three Baum sisters has experienced symptoms and diagnosis of early-onset cognitive changes. Christine was affected first. Following ten years of undiagnosed memory problems, tremors, weakness, and personality changes, and another four years of decline after diagnosis, she--in partnership with her physician--began to learn ways to heal through a combination of medical and holistic mind-body-spirit approaches. She has achieved a remarkable, steady improvement--not a cure, but a way to regain quality of life and live well with limitations. Christine's experiences were an enormous aid to her sisters when they, too, began to experience their symptoms of cognitive changes. In addition to personal accounts, Pathways of Hope shares important information about early symptoms, exercise and physical capacity, dietary considerations, environmental exposures and toxins, integrative medicine, healing interactions with the natural world, suggestions for advocacy. Also included is an extensive list of publications, online resources, and organizations that focus on Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases.
‘Many assume that living with dementia is one long term steady decline. Jennifer’s insightful book debunks that myth.’ – Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive, Alzheimer's Society Jennifer Bute was a highly qualified senior doctor in a large clinical practice, whose patients included those with dementia. Then she began to notice symptoms in herself. She was finally given a diagnosis of Young Onset Dementia in 2009. After resigning as a GP, she resolved to explore what could be done to slow the progress of dementia. The aim of this practical book is to help people who are living with dementia and to give hope to those who are with them on the dementia journey. Jennifer believes that her dementia is an opportunity as well as a challenge. Her important insights are that the person ‘inside’ remains and can be reached, even when masked by the condition, and that spirituality rises as cognition becomes limited. ‘The observant physician shines through in Dr Bute's book, while her practical advice reveals the resourcefulness of an inventor. Alzheimer’s disease has surely met one of its toughest ever adversaries!’ – Peter Garrard, Professor of Neurology, University of London
Pathways to Hope features metaphors Harish Malhotra uses to help his patients in therapy and to teach medical students open-ended interview techniques. The metaphors in this book serve as an extension to the ones in Malhotra’s first book, Metaphors of Healing (Hamilton Books, 2014). Practitioners and individuals outside of the medical field can use this book to navigate day-to-day circumstances.
Each year in the UK, 225,000 people are diagnosed with dementia. The implications for aging church congregations, and for the Christian mission to people throughout their lives, are considerable. God In Fragments aims to equip those engaged in or preparing for ministry to people with dementia. It explores the theological and spiritual challenges of dementia, suggests practical ways to help those living with dementia participate in worship, and offers a wide range of prayers and worship outlines. • Part One offers theological reflection on living with dementia, spiritual awareness, creating dementia-friendly churches and accessible worship. • Part Two contains services, prayers, readings and activities suitable for those with dementia, for use in formal or informal church contexts, church cafés, care homes and hospitals. In an Afterword, Samuel Wells reflects on unlocking the gates of memory.
If you think that being old is about having a rocking chair and an easy life style, think again. You're looking through the binoculars backwards. What's Age Got To Do With It? turns the lenses the right way around and gives a clear, Scriptural view of God's purpose for old age. When He created the universe, God set in motion times and seasons and the ageing process. Old age was part of His plan from the beginning - that people should ripen to maturity, developing wisdom through a lifetime of experience and relationship with Him, eventually enriching others with attributes that have been honed over lifetimes. But instead of contributing as God intended, many see themselves as "useless" and are afraid of being a burden. Ageism has destroyed their self-image and expectations, and they give up and become passive - and we are all the losers. Here are stories of many people living full, purpose-driven lives well into their 90s and even 100s. For example, you'll meet the lay preacher who wrote a book at 100 years of age because he couldn't stand long enough to preach, and the 95-year-old who organized more Christian support from local churches for his care home, as well as many ordinary people who are making a difference to the lives of those around them. What's Age Got To Do With It? shows how to take off the reins and live the way God intended from the beginning.
This book describes how a new understanding of dementia is leading to better care, helping to maintain the personality of the sufferer. It also offers practical, day to day advice from a hands-on perspective, using a narrative structure. It follows the story of an older couple, Linda and Frank. Frank develops dementia. The story covers the first, early signs and the development of the disease; the couple's struggle to manage and find help, the wife's failing health and the search for a suitable care home, and life after Frank goes to live in the home. An index at the back of the book allows readers to look up help on specific topics. Throughout, the narrative keeps a clear Christian perspective. For example, Linda finds that singing familiar hymns as she dusts around the house not only helps her feel better, but lifts Frank's spirits, too, and he will sometimes join in. Each chapter concludes with a short section of devotions for carers and sufferers.
Just days after turning fifty, Martha Maddux, a spirited mother and civic activist, was told she had Alzheimer’s disease. She and husband Carlen felt as though they’d been shoved out of a plane 10,000 feet up, with nothing to grab but themselves. A Path Revealed is not about the fallout from an insidious disease that extended over seventeen years. It is the story of a path of hope emerging during the darkest hours - a path that lifted Carlen and Martha above the devastating symptoms of this disease. Carlen traveled with Martha to the backwoods of Kentucky, where the quiet presence of a Catholic nun revealed a hidden path. He was forced to slow down as he traced this path halfway around the world to Australia, retreated weekends to a monastery, embraced meditation, and landed all alone in Thomas Merton’s cabin. This story conveys a message of hope and joy in the midst of an almost overwhelming tragedy.
Want to keep Alzheimer’s at bay for years—ideally, forever? Prevention is the way, and this is the guide. Now in paperback and updated throughout, The Alzheimer’s Prevention Program is essential for everyone with a family history of Alzheimer’s, and for the 80 million baby boomers who worry whenever they forget someone’s name. It’s the book that shows how to strengthen memory and avoid everyday lapses. How to incorporate the top ten brain-protecting foods into your diet. How to cross-train your brain, exercising both the right and left hemisphere. And how to reduce stress, a risk factor for developing dementia and Alzheimer’s, through meditation and 11 other relaxation strategies. Written by the New York Times bestselling authors of The Memory Bible, this book is an easy-to-follow regimen based on the latest comprehensive research into Alzheimer’s disease, and especially the critical connection between lifestyle and susceptibility. The paperback edition is updated with a brand-new section that answers the most compelling questions asked of Dr. Small after publication of the first edition, including: the power of exercise to offset a genetic predisposition; antibodies that can clear Alzheimer’s plaques from the brain; and promising new treatments, from drugs to deep brain stimulation. It’s the science-based, breakthrough program that will bring mental clarity to every day and help you take control of your brain’s health.
