My Mother My Child How Alzheimer Caused A Role Reversal

What the mind cannot remember, the heart never forgets. There is one thing Alzheimer's cannot take away, and that is love. Love is not a memory, it is an eternal feeling existing deep within your heart and soul. This book details the difficulties and challenges one family experienced over a five-year timeframe, written from the personal perspective of Mike Lowry, son and full-time caregiver for his mother, Sharon Lowry, who courageously battled Alzheimer's disease for years before passing in December of 2016. Within its pages, Mike details the systematic, incremental impact Alzheimer's disease had on his mother, from the initial stages and emergence of the condition, to the inexorable regression his mom experienced and eventually, to the final phases of the disease before his mom passed away. In addition, Mike discusses the daily struggles, obstacles, and decisions he made with respect to his mother's care, her eventual transition into a memory-care facility, and how he handled the array of substantial problems he encountered throughout the years-long battle he and his mom faced when confronting Alzheimer's disease. At its core level, I'm Still Smart details a mother's love for her family and a son's dedication to his mother when he provided full-time care for her as she endured the painful, long-lasting, residual effects of Alzheimer's disease. From a practical standpoint, Sharon and Mike's story demonstrates the unavoidable cycle of life, clearly illustrated for you through the role reversal adults realize as they ultimately provide full-time care and assistance for their parents. This is a truly unique, emotional, personal, and MUST-READ Alzheimer's story Mike wishes to share with all individuals, families, and caregivers who have ever been impacted by the disease.

This book has been written for anyone who has become a caregiver at a moments notice, and to say thank you to the many people who reached out to help her family in the time of need. It is intended to be a guide, but not a cure-all. She speaks with a voice of integrity and understanding and included in these pearls of wisdom are successful strategies used to care for her mother, whose acute stroke left her with a severe case of aphasia and apraxia and the inability to walk. Also, her father has been diagnosed with orthostatic hypotension. Her belief is that miracles can happen in the midst of trouble and that all it takes is tender loving care to make them happen. She is the recipient of the Master of Divinity Degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. In addition, she is an itinerant elder and has pastored in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, First Episcopal District.

Caregiving can be enormously challenging, terrifically rewarding, and potentially draining. Caregivers often wonder how they will navigate the tumultuous waters of caregiving and not lose themselves completely. The Mindful Caregiver highlights two major approaches to help transform the journey: adopting a practice of mindfulness, which helps caregivers become more self-aware and fully present with the person with whom they are caring, and honoring “the spirit-side” of caregiving which offers new ways of connecting to one another. These approaches take into account not just the needs of the care recipient, but also the needs of the caregiver and other people in his/her life. Remembering to care for oneself when someone else is in great need can be difficult, but with the suggestions and tips in this book, any caregiver can cultivate routines and practices that benefit everyone. Solutions that caregivers can use in their day to day routines are provided, so caregivers who use them can feel more empowered and hopeful. Using real stories throughout, Nancy Kriseman offers self-care exercises and addresses a wide variety of subjects such as setting realistic expectations, making the best possible decisions, advocating effectively, and evaluating available resources and services. The Mindful Caregiver provides inspiration, encouragement, and guidance for finding ease in the caregiving journey. By emphasizing both mindfulness and the spiritual dimension, caregivers can reap the gifts of caregiving, appreciate the special moments, and find strength during the challenging times.

This interdisciplinary volume presents international research and theories focusing on the development of the individual across the life span. Centering on "family" as the key context influencing, and being influenced by the developing person, the contributors to this volume discuss an array of theoretical models, methodological strategies, and substantive foci linking the study of individual development, the family system, and the broader context of human development. The volume presents continuing empirical research and theories in the realm of individual and family development and features a developmental, contextual view from a process-oriented vantage point.

In rural Mexico, people often say that Alzheimer’s does not exist. “People do not have Alzheimer’s because they don’t need to worry,” said one Oaxacan, explaining that locals lack the stresses that people face “over there”—that is, in the modern world. Alzheimer’s and related dementias carry a stigma. In contrast to the way elders are revered for remembering local traditions, dementia symbolizes how modern families have forgotten the communal values that bring them together. In Caring for the People of the Clouds, psychologist Jonathan Yahalom provides an emotionally evocative, story-rich analysis of family caregiving for Oaxacan elders living with dementia. Based on his extensive research in a Zapotec community, Yahalom presents the conflicted experience of providing care in a setting where illness is steeped in stigma and locals are concerned about social cohesion. Traditionally, the Zapotec, or “people of the clouds,” respected their elders and venerated their ancestors. Dementia reveals the difficulty of upholding those ideals today. Yahalom looks at how dementia is understood in a medically pluralist landscape, how it is treated in a setting marked by social tension, and how caregivers endure challenges among their families and the broader community. Yahalom argues that caregiving involves more than just a response to human dependency; it is central to regenerating local values and family relationships threatened by broader social change. In so doing, the author bridges concepts in mental health with theory from medical anthropology. Unique in its interdisciplinary approach, this book advances theory pertaining to cross-cultural psychology and develops anthropological insights about how aging, dementia, and caregiving disclose the intimacies of family life in Oaxaca.

Aging is a fact of life, and issues surrounding it are hot. There are currently 35 million Americans over the age of sixty-five -- more than ever. This demographic shift is noteworthy not only because the ranks of the elderly will continue to swell in coming years but also because it is taking place in what the editors of this book call an "ageist society," one that increasingly loathes every facet of aging. Indeed, the ethical issues associated with aging are among the thorniest in medicine and public policy today. Aging, Death, and the Quest for Immortality is a timely volume by physicians, health-care professionals, pastors, and ethicists who explore the experiences, dilemmas, and possibilities associated with aging. The book opens by offering three distinct perspectives on aging; this section includes practical suggestions for dealing with retirement, disability, healing, and death. Several contributors then analyze controversial ethical issues raised by aging and health care, including medical decision-making, the moral standing of patients with dementia, health-care rationing, and assisted suicide. A third group of essays applies a theology of care to ministry to and through older adults, the counseling of seniors, and the application of palliative care. The book closes by discussing some of the emerging technologies and interest groups aimed at achieving immortality, also asking, appropriately, what insights the Christian faith brings to the discussion. Reflecting much wisdom and sensitivity, this book will give welcome help to care providers and to those who are themselves in the later stages of life. Book jacket.