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Why this book,
why now...
“I started as a
nurse’s aid at 17 yrs old, and immediately loved working with
seniors; little did I know at the time, it would be my life’s
work. I have spent my adult life advocating for better treatment
and care of our elder generation. I have witnessed excellent
care and treatment, horrible care and everything in between. I
have spent thousands of hours in conversation with seniors and
their families. There have been countless conversations about
senior living, and all that entails. These conversations have
been joyful, and tearful, but one thing remains the same, it
isn’t easy living as a senior.
Imagine for a
moment….
Imagine losing
your abilities. Not being able to participate in activities that
bring you joy because you are declining physically. The hands
that once painted, wrote, or played golf, are now arthritic, or
shake from Parkinson’s disease. The legs that carried you from
one place to the next without a thought are now weak, painful,
or too swollen to move you. The eyes you used to maneuver
yourself around, read, watch TV, or drive are slowly
deteriorating to blindness from macular degeneration. The bowels
and bladder that used to alert you to void no longer alert you
because you are stricken with dementia, an enlarged prostate,
diabetic complications, or muscle weakness due to age. The
thoughts and memory that you could count on daily are slowly
being stolen from you by the devastating and life changing
disease of Alzheimer’s.
Imagine losing
your independence. Your doctor and family telling you, you can
no longer drive, or live alone; having to count on other people
to take you to the store, the hairdresser, a restaurant, or a
doctor appointment. Being moved from your friends and the home
you love, to be closer to your children, or into a facility
because you’re no longer safe alone. Now just for a minute
imagine being in a facility that tells you when you wake up, eat
your meals, have a shower, take a nap, enjoy an activity, and go
to bed. Imagine, dwindling your possessions to the few that will
fit in your room, and sharing your personal space and bathroom
with a stranger.
Imagine losing
your place in a conversation, forgetting to eat or bathe, not
remembering how to get home, or what your son or daughter’s name
is, and realizing a disease called Alzheimer’s is stealing your
life. Imagine losing your social life because you can no longer
drive, you are incontinent and too embarrassed to go out, or
your friends are dying, one after another. Imagine losing your
spouse, the best friend you talk to, confide in, share meals
with, and spend your days with. Imagine the depression that can
take a hold of you because you are having such difficulty
adjusting to these losses.
This is not the
life of every senior by any means. Many seniors are healthy,
independent, and are enjoying life. The fact is the life I
describe above is all too common and real for countless seniors.
Illnesses and injuries don’t discriminate. The healthiest person
can have a life changing event in an instant, such as a stroke,
or a head injury from a fall. The most accomplished and
successful people are devastated by Alzheimer’s disease. The
truth is we don’t know what our aging future holds.
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