International Day of Care and Support
On International Day of Care and Support, read Waltzing With Alzheimer's by Daniel Tyler, which discusses the need for better caregiving.
International Day of Care and Support is a United Nations day that is celebrated every year on October 29th. It is about being "mindful of the need to invest in the care economy and to create robust, resilient and gender-responsive, disability-inclusive and age-sensitive care and support systems."
Waltzing With Alzheimer's: Caring When Your Partner Is Out Of Step by Daniel Tyler is one of many stories that could be written about the heartache of Alzheimer’s Disease as a disability that interferes with daily living. It is told by a life partner who journeyed through the stages of caregiving from not understanding what was happening to the point of extreme grief. You will find that caregiving and dementia have a tenuous relationship; that most logical and productive suggestions fail to succeed; that Alzheimer’s care resembles all too often the upside-down world of Alice in Wonderland.
But this is also a story of hope. Understanding and nurturing a patient’s sensory essence is the key to developing trust with caregivers. It is also the single most successful technique for inspiring happiness and contentment in someone who suffers so much loss with AD. The author describes his own irregular path towards that awareness and ends with an appeal to the Alzheimer’s Association to develop a professional training program that will teach family members and prospective caregivers how to interact with those who are losing rational and logical skills.
About the Author:
Daniel Tyler is a retired history professor. Born before WWII, he grew up on a ranch in Colorado prior to studying at Harvard College. After receiving a degree in political science and a commission in the USAF, he served as a jet flight instructor and taught history in Hawaii. Tyler returned to ranching for a few years then earned a Ph.D. in American History. He taught in Mexico, Argentina, and at Colorado State University where he researched the West’s water development and resulting conflict. Previous publications by Daniel Tyler include, The Last Water Hole in the West, WD Farr, Cowboy in the Boardroom, Silver Fox of the Rockies, Love in an Envelope, Bucks County’s Benevolent Squire, and Looking Back At Ninety.
