Dear Clueless
A Daughter's Journey Through Alzheimer's Caregiving
by
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If this book causes just one person to understand that each person's caregiving walk is based on history with the patient; and that each history is personal and individual, then my goal for this book will be met. I hope that I, too, have learned not to judge others without walking in their shoes. But...the Alzheimer's walk sometimes feels more like a marathon without the cheering crowds at the end. And now at the end of this walk, I am grateful for courage, for compassion, for endurance, for humor and for great love...both given and received.
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About the Book
At the time this book was written, the youngest person recorded with Alzheimer’s Disease was 28 years old. Since I learned about Alzheimer’s with my maternal grandmother suffering from and succumbing to the disease in the 1980’s, the ages of Alzheimer’s patients have been steadily becoming younger and younger. In my mother’s memory care unit was an educator who died of early onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 53. There is a new diagnosis of Alzheimer’s every 67 seconds and it is estimated that one in every three people in the United States will have Alzheimer’s by the age of 85. This disease lasts from 2 - 25 years. If this trend continues then every family in this country will be visited by Alzheimer’s and the affects on caregivers will also affect this nation. This book is both a personal story of a decade-long journey of caregiving as well as a call to arms for funding and research of this terminal disease.
About the Author
Sandra Savell has been a nationally licensed massage therapist (NCBTMB) since 1998. From 2002 until 2010, she was the primary caregiver for her mother who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. She is a spokesperson and advocate for Alzheimer funding and research. She resides in Aiken, South Carolina, with her husband, Dale, and her corgi, Mimi.