Finding Grace in the Face of Dementia

Author: John Dunlop, MD
Publisher: Crossway
ISBN: 1433552124
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 194

Book Description
There Is Hope . . . When a patient is diagnosed with dementia, it impacts not only the patient but also those who care for them. It can be devastating to watch loved ones lose the independence, personality, and abilities that once defined them, knowing there is no cure. How should Christians respond to a diagnosis of dementia? Experienced geriatrician Dr. John Dunlop wants to transform the way we view dementia—showing us how God can be honored through such a tragedy as we respect the inherent dignity of all humans made in the image of God. Sharing stories from decades of experience with dementia patients, Dunlop provides readers, particularly caregivers, with a biblical lens through which to understand the experience and challenge of this life-altering disease. Finding Grace in the Face of Dementia will help you see God's purposes as you love and care for those with dementia.

Dementia

Author: John Swinton
Publisher: SCM Press
ISBN: 0334049644
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Book Description
Winner of the Michael Ramsay Prize 2016 Dementia is one of the most feared diseases in Western society today. Some have even gone so far as to suggest euthanasia as a solution to the perceived indignity of memory loss and the disorientation that accompanies it. Here, John Swinton develops a practical theology of dementia for caregivers, people with dementia, ministers, hospital chaplains, and medical practitioners as he explores two primary questions: • Who am I when I’ve forgotten who I am? • What does it mean to love God and be loved by God when I have forgotten who God is? Offering compassionate and carefully considered theological and pastoral responses to dementia and forgetfulness, Swinton’s Dementia redefines dementia in light of the transformative counter story that is the gospel.

Finding Grace in Caregiving

Author: Bradley C. Hanson
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725274051
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 168

Book Description
Finding Grace in Caregiving arises out of Bradley Hanson’s quest for grace in caregiving his wife, Marion, who has Alzheimer’s Disease. Hanson knows from long experience that caregiving someone with dementia is very tiring and stressful. In search of spiritual practices that would foster patience and kindness, he turned to Scripture for guidance. The heart of the book is reflection on the qualities that St. Paul calls the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, and gentleness. Drawing also on his personal interviews with others across the country who care for someone with some form of dementia, Hanson gives caregivers encouragement, guidance, and hope. Those of us who do long-term caring for someone with dementia, whether we are a family member or professional caregiver, generally try to be patient and kind. Yet the stress and fatigue of long-term caregiving may lead us at times to erupt with anger. Since caring for his beloved wife, Marion, since her Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2010, Brad Hanson has looked to what St. Paul calls the fruit of the Spirit in strengthening his kindness.

Finding Grace in Caregiving

Author: Bradley C. Hanson
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725274078
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 153

Book Description
Finding Grace in Caregiving arises out of Bradley Hanson's quest for grace in caregiving his wife, Marion, who has Alzheimer's Disease. Hanson knows from long experience that caregiving someone with dementia is very tiring and stressful. In search of spiritual practices that would foster patience and kindness, he turned to Scripture for guidance. The heart of the book is reflection on the qualities that St. Paul calls the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, and gentleness. Drawing also on his personal interviews with others across the country who care for someone with some form of dementia, Hanson gives caregivers encouragement, guidance, and hope. Those of us who do long-term caring for someone with dementia, whether we are a family member or professional caregiver, generally try to be patient and kind. Yet the stress and fatigue of long-term caregiving may lead us at times to erupt with anger. Since caring for his beloved wife, Marion, since her Alzheimer's diagnosis in 2010, Brad Hanson has looked to what St. Paul calls the fruit of the Spirit in strengthening his kindness.

Grace for the Unexpected Journey

Author: Deborah Barr
Publisher: Moody Publishers
ISBN: 0802496334
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 290

Book Description
For the weary dementia or Alzheimer's caregiver If you are a caregiver to someone with Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia, you carry a heavy load. On top of having to watch someone you love suffer, you are probably losing sleep, growing frustrated, and struggling with loneliness or even depression. With little to no help and no time for a break, this unrelenting stress is hard to carry. Whether that’s you or someone you know, the caregiver needs care, too. Grace for the Unexpected Journey: A 60-Day Devotional for Alzheimer’s and Other Dementia Caregivers provides that support. Each daily devotion: Is short, ideal for demanding schedules Reflects on a relevant Scripture passage Features a relatable caregiving story Offers a key Scripture for meditation Debbie Barr is a speaker, health educator, and the author of multiple books, including Keeping Love Alive As Memory Fades (coauthored with New York Times bestselling author Gary Chapman). As a health educator with a deep concern and compassion for dementia caregivers, she saw their need for faith-based encouragement. With compassion and understanding she uses Scriptures to address their practical hardships and spiritual concerns. When the struggles seem insurmountable, this devotional offers strength. When stress floods in, it points to peace. And when darkness falls, it illuminates hope. Caregivers walk a long, difficult road. This devotional gives grace for their journey.

Drug-induced Dementia

Author: MD Grace E. Jackson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781438972312
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 464

Book Description
Under the influence of declining birth rates, expanding longevity, and changing population structures around the world, the global prevalence of senile dementia is expected to increase more than four-fold within the next forty years. Within the United States alone, the number of affected individuals over the age of 65 is expected to rise exponentially from 8 million cases (2% of the entire population in the year 2000), to 18 million retirees (roughly 4.5% of the national census in the year 2040). Although they are striking, these statistics quite likely underestimate the scope of the coming epidemic, as they fail to consider the impact of under-diagnosis, early-onset disease, and the potential for a changing incidence of illness in the context of increasingly toxic environments. In the face of this imminent crisis, concerned observers have called for policies and practices which aim to prevent, limit, or reverse dementia. Drug-Induced Dementia: A Perfect Crime is a timely resource which reveals why and how medical treatments themselves - specifically, psychopharmaceuticals - are a substantial cause of brain degeneration and premature death. A first-of-its-kind resource for patients and clinicians, the book integrates research findings from epidemiology (observational studies of patients in the "real world"), basic biology (animal experiments), and clinical science (neuroimaging and autopsy studies) in order to demonstrate the dementing and deadly effects of psychiatric drugs. Highlighted by more than 100 neuroimages, slides of tissue specimens, and illustrations, the book uniquely describes: the societal roots of the problem (target organ toxicity, regulatory incompetence, and performativity) the subtypes and essential causes of dementia the patterns, prevalence, and causes of dementia associated with antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics, mood stabilizers, and stimulants and the actions and reforms which patients, providers, and policy makers might immediately pursue, in an effort to mitigate the causes and consequences of this iatrogenic tragedy.

Between Two Worlds

Author: Ellen P. Young
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1615927409
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 207

Book Description
This is the first book to explore, through personal accounts and vignettes, the rare moments of humor that unexpectedly pop up during the caregiving of people suffering from Alzheimer''s and related dementia. Young brings the courageous experiences of care providers and relatives to life as they encounter the challenges of dealing with these seriously afflicted patients. At the same time she reveals the touching and gently humorous moments that go a long way to ease the tension and pain. While respectful of the plight of affected families and patients, Young gathers a timeless collection of "fear busters" that "access mirth" with touching chapters such as "Please Don''t Eat the Marigold," and "I''ve Just Found Out I''m in Baltimore." "By staring the Alzheimer''s monster down and even laughing a little in the face of it," Young says, "we bolster our courage and release the chemicals (endorphins) in ourselves to gain a sense of well-being in the face of adversity." A must for all caregivers and families, this is truly a book that, once started, cannot be put down.

Second Forgetting

Author: Dr. Benjamin T. Mast
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 031051388X
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 182

Book Description
There is hope in Alzheimer's disease, but it isn't where most people look for it... Any form of dementia is terrifying and lonely for both the one suffering it and for those close to them. How do our relationships with those we love change with loss of memory or clarity of thought? What happens to our relationship with God? For those suffering from early-stage Alzheimer's, for their friends and family, community and church, this book will help you understand the disease itself, how to love and care for those affected by it, and how to see the hope that's greater than it: we may forget, but God always remembers. With pastoral tenderness and gospel confidence, Dr. Benjamin Mast shares his expertise on the subject and displays the power of the gospel that remains intact even when memory fades. Second Forgetting provides: Up-to-date answers to common questions about the disease and its effect on personal identity and faith. Personal stories of those affected and the loved ones who care for them and what their experiences were like—where they found hope and how they most needed support. Practical suggestions for how the church can come alongside families and those struggling or hurting. When a person is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, they face great uncertainty, knowing that they can expect to live their remaining years with increasing confusion and progressively greater reliance upon other people to care for them. Dr. Mast will help you see how Alzheimer's disease cannot have the final say on God's unforgotten children.

Undefeated Innocence

Author: Cheryl Crofoot Knapp
Publisher: WestBow Press
ISBN: 1512778974
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 201

Book Description
Do you wonder where God is in Alzheimer's? Are you searching for hope in caregiving? I searched too--I lost both of my parents to Alzheimer's. They were its innocent victims. Caregiving for someone with Alzheimer's can be painfully brutal. We know how it ends. There is no cure. It doesn't get better. But I learned that we don't have to be defeated by it. And there is much grace and collateral beauty to be found in the journey. From broken memories to broken bones, Alzheimers catalyzed terror and defeat in my family. My parents were terrorized by the scrambling of their minds. We who loved them had to suffocate our feelings of defeat as they returned to innocence. As a caregiver, God allowed me to share in my parents passages back to undefeated innocence. I gained loving moments that I would have missed if I hadnt been involved and if I hadnt taken up the proper vantage point to see them. Undefeated Innocence offers hope to caregivers by weaving poignant personal experiences, humor, and biblical stories with a study of the Beatitudes. It answers Where is God? in Alzheimers. It confirms that caregiving experiences are abnormally normal, and its okay to store toothpaste in an underwear drawer. Undefeated Innocence reveals Gods grace through the storms and affirms that caregivers are not alone in wondering if life can return to a place of peace.

When Your Parent Becomes Your Child

Author: Ken Abraham
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 0849949947
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
At first, Ken Abraham wrote off his mother's changes in behavior as quirks that just come with old age. There was memory loss, physical decline, hygiene issues, paranoia, and uncharacteristic attitudes. He soon realized that dementia had changed her life—and his familiy's—forever. "How is it possible to lose a loved one while he or she is still living, still sitting right in front of you, talking with you, smiling at you—and yet the person you have known and loved for years is somehow gone?" According to the Alzheimer's Association, an estimated 5.4 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer's disease. That's one in eight older Americans. More than likely, that figure includes someone you know and love. As he chronicles his own mother's degenerative condition, New York Times best-selling writer Ken Abraham educates while offering inspiration to help readers cope with and manage their family circumstances. With humor and spiritual reminders of God's command to honor our parents, Abraham encourages readers through often-difficult responsibilities. And though in most cases patients will not recover this side of heaven, he suggests many practical things that families can do to make the experience safer, kinder, and more endurable for everyone involved. When Your parent Becomes Your Child tells the story of one family's journey through dementia while offering hope to family members and friends, that they might better understand the effects of the disease. Dont let this catch you by surprise—be informed before you face the challenges and difficulties of a loved one with Alzheimer's or dementia. This book can help.