The Price of a Promise
An Alzheimer's Story
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
The only word my mother could plainly say now most of the time was "Papa". Every one in her life had become "Papa". She had almost completely lost her communication skills and understood very little that I told her. Most of the time her language was simple gibberish.
Should you decide to be the Primary Care giver for someone in your family you must consider all of the factors. This is a profound decision. I understand now that our entire family needed constant counseling and support. Things happened everyday that traumatized someone in our immediate family. We were so wrapped up in the everyday happenings that I just couldn't see the damage that was being done to all of us.
I think my reasoning skills were literally going away. I was a walking zombie; operating on automatic pilot. Emotionally, I was completely closed down. I felt as though I couldn't carry on intelligent conversations with anyone. I felt like I was carrying one thousand pounds of lead on my back. I had gained forty pounds and I didn't care. I never had enough time to relax in a hot bath or play my piano. I never had a chance to get my haircut or purchase a new outfit. We hadn't been out to dinner or to a movie in years.
Mother had sunk into a deeper stage of Alzheimer’s Disease. Now she acted like an untrained toddler when it came to normal body functions such as urinating or having bowel movements. Whenever the urge hit her mother simply pulled down her pants and let it go. Mother had not only forgotten where the toilet was but she had also forgotten what the toilet was for. Mother
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
This is a must-read story for anyone who even suspects that a relative or loved one may be entering this dark tunnel toward ultimate oblivion known as Alzheimer’s.
This book could easily be heeded as a care-giving manual in a very real sense. Not only was an Alzheimer’s’ victim impacted here – unfortunately the care giving daughter and the close family were deeply affected also. For them to live through these 7 years was a nightmare – not comparable anything or anyone else’s scenario.
This story covers many years in the life of an Alzheimer’s victim, and her descent from a vital woman into madness and death. It is the gripping telling of a sad, and in some ways, heroic tale.
It is a hard read! It is important work and needs to be read by many, as Alzheimer’s is an increasing specter in the now-aging population of this country.
Reading this book will give you an eyes-wide –open peek into the miss-understood world of the disease of Alzheimer’s. You will find yourself living in the home of a caregiver, dealing with the traumas that occur during the Alzheimer’s journey on a day to day, year to year trek.
Theoretically, this book is a “can’t-put-it-down story”!
About the Author
Edith Owen-Simpson lives in a small quaint town in
She is an ordinary woman like most of us except that at the tender age of 17 she made a promise to her mother. This promise forced her to endure a long, exhausting 7 years of care giving for her mother; an Alzheimer’s victim. The promise to never place her mother into an institution led her through many heartbreaking years that not only ended with her mother’s death, but also left her plagued with serious health problems and submerged very deeply in an unfathomable depression. Being haunted by the past 7 years, and hoping to bring her soul back to life, she courageously pulled herself together and began writing her story; a story 4 years in the making.
To those that know her well, she is a remarkable woman; a real heroine. She is highly respected and well known for her generosity and kindness. You will realize
from reading this book that she has the kind of spirit that will persevere at any cost.
A lesser spirit would have crumbled years earlier.
As an accomplished musician, entertainer, songwriter, artist, businessperson and now author, her life has been full and ever unfolding. Even though writing this book opened up deep wounds and days of overwhelming sad memories for her, she persisted. Somehow, she found the courage to relive the days and days of her care giving experience and share the tale with the world.
This is a story that needed to be told and now needs to be read!