Finding Grace in the Face of Dementia

Finding Grace in the Face of Dementia
Author: John Dunlop, MD
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2017-07-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1433552124

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

Dementia
Author: John Swinton
Publisher: SCM Press
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2017-01-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0334049644

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.

Loving Someone Who Has Dementia

Loving Someone Who Has Dementia
Author: Pauline Boss
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2011-06-24
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1118077288

Research-based advice for people who care for someone with dementia Nearly half of U.S. citizens over the age of 85 are suffering from some kind of dementia and require care. Loving Someone Who Has Dementia is a new kind of caregiving book. It's not about the usual techniques, but about how to manage on-going stress and grief. The book is for caregivers, family members, friends, neighbors as well as educators and professionals—anyone touched by the epidemic of dementia. Dr. Boss helps caregivers find hope in "ambiguous loss"—having a loved one both here and not here, physically present but psychologically absent. Outlines seven guidelines to stay resilient while caring for someone who has dementia Discusses the meaning of relationships with individuals who are cognitively impaired and no longer as they used to be Offers approaches to understand and cope with the emotional strain of care-giving Boss's book builds on research and clinical experience, yet the material is presented as a conversation. She shows you a way to embrace rather than resist the ambiguity in your relationship with someone who has dementia.

Finishing Well to the Glory of God

Finishing Well to the Glory of God
Author: John Dunlop, MD
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2011-02-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1433524139

Most people want to finish life well, yet so few take the time necessary to carefully think through what that entails. Some say it means contentment, happiness, and freedom from pain. Many desire to simply maintain their dignity and enjoy their family and loved ones. These are reasonable goals; yet, there is a more profound, uniquely Christian approach to the end of life. John Dunlop, a medical doctor who has practiced for over thirty years and specializes in geriatrics, combines his medical expertise, firsthand experience with patients, and firm commitment to Scripture to propose nine strategies for finishing life well. He shows how with proper physical, emotional, and spiritual preparation, aging and death need not be a fight to the finish but a purposeful resting in the arms of the Savior. Theologically robust and practically relevant, this book will prove to be a sensitive and helpful resource for anyone facing end-of-life issues.

Grace for the Unexpected Journey

Grace for the Unexpected Journey
Author: Deborah Barr
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2018-01-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0802496334

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

Drug-induced Dementia
Author: MD Grace E. Jackson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 464
Release: 2009
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 9781438972312

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.

Second Forgetting

Second Forgetting
Author: Dr. Benjamin T. Mast
Publisher: Zondervan
Total Pages: 182
Release: 2014-09-23
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 031051388X

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.

Finding Grace in the Face of Dementia

Finding Grace in the Face of Dementia
Author: John Dunlop
Publisher: Crossway Books
Total Pages:
Release: 2017
Genre: Dementia
ISBN: 9781433552106

A diagnosis of dementia in a loved one can be both frightening and frustrating. Only a biblical foundation fuels a Christian response that both honors the patient and glorifies God. Drawing on years of professional experience working with Alzheimer's patients, Dr. John Dunlop wants to transform the way we think about dementia. Rooting his vision of care in the inherent dignity that stems from the fact that all people are made in the image of God, he explains biblical principles, describes the experience of dementia, and answers common questions about the condition. With a plan for how to care for patients with compassion and respect, this book helps caregivers, family members, and anyone else affected by dementia honor God as they improve the quality of care to patients.

Undefeated Innocence

Undefeated Innocence
Author: Cheryl Crofoot Knapp
Publisher: WestBow Press
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2017-03-27
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 1512778974

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.