Introduction to the Alzheimer's Answer Book

(Reprinted courtesy of Sourcebooks, Inc.)

            I think it’s impossible to write a book about Alzheimer’s disease and other dementing illnesses without having it become personal. Like many, or even most Americans, my life has been touched by losing someone I loved through dementia. For me it was my grandmother, who was sharp as a tack through her mid-eighties and then began to lose her memory and other abilities, likely through a series of strokes. I watched as my mother and aunt became caregivers and took on ever greater responsibilities as my grandmother’s condition deteriorated. Other family members pitched in expertise and assistance for the necessary financial planning, legal advice, help with moves—from her own apartment, to assisted living, to a nursing home--and emotional support. In the end my grandmother couldn’t recognize her children and required total care.

As my own family was going through this, I was working as a geriatric psychiatrist helping other families plan and strategize. As a young doctor I was impressed at how different each family’s treatment of Alzheimer’s and other dementias was. While the diagnoses are relatively easy to make, what comes after and the layers of planning and information that families and caregivers need is enormous. This is why I wanted to write this book—when I meet with families in which the mother/father/husband/wife has been diagnosed with a dementia, what strikes me are the barrage of questions they need answered. “How do you know it’s Alzheimer’s? How do we handle it when she wanders? How does someone qualify for Medicaid? How do I pick a Medicare D policy for Mom? I read in the paper that substance X is a magic cure, is that true?”    

I’ve arranged the book into brief chapters that will get you to the information you want as quickly as possible. The book can be read straight through, but it’s also fine to jump to your particular questions. At the end I’ve included appendices with contact information to important agencies on aging in your state, as well as advocates for people living in extended care facilities. There’s also, courtesy of Yale University ’s Dorothy Adler Geriatric Assessment Center, a comprehensive questionnaire that can be of great assistance when you go to seek professional help.

If you are a caregiver, or a person with a dementing illness, I hope this book eases your journey. Remember that you are not alone; there are millions of other families going through something quite similar. There is help to be had and there is, most certainly, hope.