Dementia: The Journey Ahead - A Practical Guide for In-Home Caregivers - Softcover

Susan Kiser Scarff; Ann Kiser Zultner

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1936782952 ISBN 13: 9781936782956

Publisher: Langdon Street Press (a division of Hillcrest Publishing Group, Inc.), 2012

Synopsis

Within a year of receiving her husband's diagnosis, Susan Kiser Scarff had a classic case of caregiver burnout. She couldn't concentrate at work. Friends drifted away. Overwhelmed, she struggled to make the transition from Red's wife to his protector, nurse, and mother. Susan's experience as a first-time caregiver, recorded in these pages with grace, wisdom, and humor, prove just how much there is to learn: finances have to be handled a different way in case the patient decides to make a lone trip to the bank; aggressive behavior is a constant threat; safety becomes a concern in every aspect of daily living.

Filled with practical advice for every stage of the disease's progression, including information on support groups to help you prevent burnout, questionnaires designed to keep your loved one safe, and checklists to give you control in this time of unknowns. Dementia: The Journey Ahead will help you help your loved one--every step of the way.

About this title

From the Author:

On October 13, 1998, my fear was realized.After days of testing at the Mayo Clinic, our lives went to hell with thediagnosis of one word: dementia. I had a clinical diagnosis and MRI to back upwhat I had known for years. With the doctor's declaration, I launched intoprofanity. I suppose it would have been more tasteful to sit silently and weep.Truth be told, I envisioned turning over office furniture and throwing everychair in the room out the window. That might have been in bad taste, but Iwould have felt better. The diagnosis did not faze my husband. In fact, he wasrelieved.

From the Back Cover:

Experts predict that the current number ofdementia sufferers--six to eight million in the UnitedStates alone--will continue to double every twenty years. In 2011, the Alzheimer'sAssociation estimated that up to 15 million unpaid caregivers reside in the United Statesalone. These are staggering numbers, made more so by the increasing age of the babyboomer generation; chances are, the number of family caregivers will increase, too.Susan's experience as a first-time caregiver, recorded in these pages withgrace, wisdom, and humor, prove just how much there is to learn: finances have to behandled a different way in case the patient decides to make a lone trip to the bank;aggressive behavior is a constant threat; safety becomes a concern in every aspect ofdaily living.

About this edition

• Publisher: Langdon Street Press (a division of Hillcrest Publishing Group, Inc.)
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1936782952
• ISBN 13: 9781936782956
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 284