Laura Anthony - The Most Important Lesson: What My Mother Taught Me That Will Change Alzheimers and Dementia Care Forever

What My Mother Taught Me That Will Change Alzheimers and Dementia Care Forever

2014 Laura Anthony.

Seven Stages of Alzheimers Disease, derived from the Global Deterioration Scale, (c) 1983 Barry Reisberg, MD. Reproduced with permission.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other,except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in New York, New York, by Morgan James Publishing. Morgan James and The Entrepreneurial Publisher are trademarks of Morgan James, LLC.
www.MorganJamesPublishing.com

The Morgan James Speakers Group can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event visit The Morgan James Speakers Group at www.TheMorganJamesSpeakersGroup.com.

Disclaimer: The Publisher and the Author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the Publisher and the Author are not engaged in rendering medical, legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the Publisher nor the Author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the Author or the Publisher endorses the information the organization or website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that internet websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

ISBN 978-1-61448-710-4 paperback

ISBN 978-1-61448-711-1 eBook

ISBN 978-1-61448-712-8 audio

ISBN 978-1-61448-909-2 hardcover

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013947439

Cover Design by:

Rachel Lopez

www.r2cdesign.com

Interior Design by:

Bonnie Bushman

bonnie@caboodlegraphics.com

In an effort to support local communities, raise awareness and funds, Morgan James Publishing donates a percentage of all book sales for the life of each book to Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg.

For my beautiful, ever-present guardian angel
and mother, Eileen, who taught me the true
meaning of love, patience and kindness. I will
forever miss you.

For caregivers and their families, who work so
hard, love so deeply and sacrifice so much.

For God, who provided me with the strength
and courage to relive so many memories and to
weather the storm of emotion to help others on
their journeys.

There are stars whose light only reaches the earth long after
they have fallen apart. There are people whose remembrance
gives light in this world, long after they have passed away. This
light shines in our darkest nights on the road we must follow.

The Talmud

A mans mind stretched to a new idea
never goes back to its original dimensions.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809-1894),

American physician, poet, professor, lecturer, and author

Stretch

Stretchbeyond current beliefs.

Stretchto a higher level of understanding and wisdom.

Stretchto a new beginning.

Congratulations! Youve just taken the first step to a stretch in perception. You will never go back to your original dimension or beliefs. Ive entitled this chapter The End because it will be the end of our current understanding of Alzheimers and dementia patients ability to communicate and pass on their wisdom.

My teacher, and yours, on this journey was a kindhearted and humble womanan unlikely source for such a major shift in thinking. She never could have imagined that she would create a shift in perception or understanding about anything, let alone about Alzheimers disease or dementiaa disease she didnt even know she had. But really, the stretch is even greater than that.

Maybe you are in the midst of your own journey with the disease. Perhaps you are trying to find meaning in your day-to-day activities while caring for someone with Alzheimers or dementia. Perhaps you just happened upon this book and you are curious about the topic. In any event, I hope that through the course of this book you will reevaluate how we interact with Alzheimers and dementia patients and realize the tremendous resource they are to us and to the world. As part of this incredible journey, I hope we all realize the significance of turning our memories into life lessons and using them to better our own life and our world.

After reading this book, you will be stretched to do the following:

1) Understand that the traditional wisdom regarding communicating and connecting with Alzheimers and dementia patients may not be successful, satisfying, and life giving for many patients and their caregivers.

2) Implement a communication framework for seeking life lessons from a person with Alzheimers disease and dementia.

3) Be able to confidently communicate with Alzheimers and dementia patients to increase their sense of value and self-worth while providing a lasting legacy for yourself, your family, the patients caregivers, and all of humanity.