Angel Smits - When Reasoning No Longer Works: A Practical Guide for Caregivers Dealing with Dementia & Alzheimers Care

Copyright 2005, 2017 by Angel Smits

Second Edition

Parker Hayden Media

5740 N. Carefree Circle, Suite -

Colorado Springs, CO 80917

A ll Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission, in writing from the publisher .

Part of this work is fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events or locations is entirely coincidental .

ISBN: 978-1-941528- -

Cover credits :

Cover design: LB Hayden

Couple: aletia/ Depositphotos

Kitchen background: Ferenc Keresi/ Pixabay

No book comes to be without the help of numerous people. I cant imagine trying to take on something like this without a huge support network of family, friends, experts and colleagues. Youve all been so wonderful and important to my work here .

Judy Carlson, Janet Kolb, Lydell Martinez, Jeanne Mclntire, Karen Underwood, and Jude Willhoff who encouraged me to take on this journey .

Skee Hipszky of El Paso County Search and Rescue, David Husted of the Colorado Springs Police Department, and Dr. Randall Bjork. Your professionalism and knowledge enhanced mine .

Of course my awesome family, Ron, Jennifer, and Joe .

And lastly, this book is dedicated to the people who really did the teaching... Bess, Sophie, Ike, James, Laverne, Flossie, Dick, Lillian... the endless list of people who struggled with their illness and yet gave me more than I could have ever given them .

Thank you .

I t is not often that a clinical neurologist is asked to write a foreword to a book. There may be a reason for that; however, I will seize this opportunity anyway because I was so moved by the way this particular book addresses a human condition which is present in almost every community in the world. Ms. Smitss book is a practical approach for the day-to-day care of the Alzheimer patient .

It has been shown that centenarians have the plaques and tangles in their brain tissue which characterize the senile dementia of the Alzheimer type; therefore, we might think of dementia as an inescapable inevitability if one lives long enough. Ms. Smits has explored many of the issues which accompany dementia. The most troublesome of these are the disruptive behaviors which test the resourcefulness of families .

The format of the book lends itself to reference use and I would expect that some pages, with the helpful hints listed, will be quite well-worn, indeed. For example, if a family is able to identify situations which trigger catastrophic responses, these troublesome and potentially volatile episodes may be avoided without tranquilizing medications .

We have no cure for dementia of the Alzheimer type; instead, we must provide the proper environment for the patient affected by this degenerative condition. Providing for the comfort, hygiene, dignity, and safety of these patients should be of paramount importance. Ms. Smitss book shows how to accomplish these goals of care .

Although our current dementia care resources are being taxed to a great extent, simply because of the sheer number of people who are demented, there is certainly help for the future if we have an enlightened attitude about caring for our vulnerable elderly. It is my sincere hope that this guide will find its way into each and every home affected by this progressive condition which robs the intellect and memory of the individual affected. Bear in mind, however, that the essence of the demented person remains and provides the key to individualizing care of these fascinating people .

Randall J. Bjork , MD

Colorado Springs, Colorado

I f youre holding this book in your hands and turning pages, odds are someone you know is suffering from the effects of dementia. It doesnt matter what name we give its cause: Alzheimers Disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment, Multi-Infarct Dementia... the list goes on and on... In the end, the person we know and love isnt the same, leaving us in a position of wanting and needing to help them .

But how do we do that when this behavior and the changes are like nothing weve ever experienced before? This book is designed to help you do just that .

While the cause may be different for each person, the resulting situations are similar. Human behavior is human behavior. The trick is to understand it and use educated guesses and our own humanness to try to engineer a manageable outcome. It sounds more complicated than it is .

Ive designed this book in three parts. The first part is the fictionalized story of Rose and Lou. They are not real people, but a compilation of people Ive assisted in twenty years of working with the dementia population. The second part is an explanation of whats happening in the journey Rose and Lou... and many other dementia patients... are traveling. The final section consists of bulleted lists. These lists are by no means exhaustive, but are some of the tricks Ive learned over the years, tips Ive gathered from other family and professional caregivers along the way .

I hope that youll find the stories as informational as the explanations of whats happening. And the lists I designed to be a springboard for not only your actions, but your thought processes. Dont just try these suggestions verbatim. Adjust them, add to them. Learn not just what to do, but the process of creating your own solutions and success .

Angel Smits

Gerontologist

R ose and her husband Lou bought their small home just after they married. Theyd planned to move to a bigger place when they got the money, but they never quite saved enough. They started and raised a family here. When the last kid went off to college, Rose and Lou found the small house was actually the right size for just the two of them .

Rose was happy with her life, content with her three children, two grandchildren, and recent retirement from the school district where shed taught fourth grade. Two of her kids lived in town, the other only a three-hour drive away .

She relished the chance to sleep in, go on an occasional shopping trip with her daughter, and putter in her garden .

Rose loved to garden. This year, she planned to order lots of seeds. The catalogs were already coming in the mail. Shed spent hours planning, to the point of drawing the garden out on paper. Every time she looked at it, she smiled. It also reminded her she needed to place those orders .

Three catalogs lay spread on the desk in the den. Their bright, pretty pages tempted her to touch and dream. If only they were planted already .

She picked up the phone, dialed the 800 number and pulled her credit card from her purse. A little thrill of excitement went up her spine. The operator answered, taking all her information downname, address. Funny how numbers kept running away from her. She had to turn the magazine over. She laughed it off. Must be getting old. The operator chuckled along with her .