The Alzheimer's Advisor: A Caregiver's Guide to Dealing With the Tough Legal and Practical Issues

by JAMES VAUGHN E.

• ISBN13: 9780814414385
• ISBN10: 0814414389
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-04-30
• Publisher: Amacom Books

Summary

For anyone who has ever cared for a person with Alzheimer's, coping with the emotional, financial, and day-to-day issues can be grueling. While many people are aware of the physical effects of this disease, very few know how to handle the practical issues that can make dealing with a loved one or patient with Alzheimer's that much more difficult. In The Alzheimer's Advisor, Vaughn E. James offers an empathetic and straightforward guide to the legal and ethical dilemmas associated with this disorder. Using real-life situations, the author offers invaluable advice on such topics as:estate planning the emotional issues of caring for a patient with Alzheimer's how to cope with the cost of care living wills, power of attorney, and guardianship treatment and diagnosis finding the right lawyer and paying for the cost of legal help legal issues for the mobile Alzheimer's patientFrom recognizing the early signs of the disease to understanding the legal implications, this is the one book that will enable caregivers, health-care practitioners, and family members to protect themselves and their loved ones.

Table of Contents

Contents Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Note to the Reader Chapter 1 Those Memory Lapses! Chapter 2 If It Is Alzheimer's: What the Future Holds Chapter 3 Okay, It Is Alzheimer's: The Legal Implications Chapter 4 Before It's Too Late: The Estate Plan Chapter 5 Before It's Too Late: Advance Directives Chapter 6 Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer's: Guardianship Chapter 7 When an Alzheimer's Patient Does Something Wrong: Legal Liability Chapter 8 When an Alzheimer's Patient Moves: Legal Issues Chapter 9 The Cost of Care: Where It Goes, Where It Comes From x Chapter 10 Caring for the Caregivers Chapter 11 The Future: Is There Any Hope? Chapter 12 When the Diagnosis Is Alzheimer's, You Need a Lawyer!: The Search Epilogue "It's Over!" For Further Reading Index About the Author

Excerpts

Chapter 1 Those Memory Lapses! Grandpa's Story Grandpa has been acting strangely of late. Last Monday, I told him I was heading to the movies. When I got back home, he asked, "So, how is Aunty Sheila?" "Aunty Sheila?" I asked, startled. Aunty Sheila, Grandpa's sister, had been dead for some five months. "Yes," Grandpa replied. "Didn't you tell me you were going to see her?" "No, Grandpa. Aunty Sheila died in January. I went to the movies." "Aunty Sheila is dead?" Grandpa asked, surprised. "What happened to her?" "Grandpa, she died of pneumonia. Have you forgotten?" "Pneumonia? I never knew that." How could Grandpa, one of Aunty Sheila's pallbearers, have forgotten that his beloved sister had died? I put the episode down to hearing problems (Grandpa must have heard me say "Aunty Sheila" when I had said "the movies") and a temporary memory lapse (these lapses happen to us all, right?). On Tuesday morning, I gave Grandpa a $100 bill to pass on to Granny. He placed the bill on the coffee table. I left the house and headed to the library. I had forgotten to take one of the books I had to return to the library, so I turned around and headed back home. Granny met me at the door. "You forgot to leave the money," she said. "No," I replied, "I gave it to Grandpa." When we asked Grandpa about the money, he denied that I had ever given him any. Yet there on the coffee table sat the $100 bill. When we asked Grandpa how the money got there, he simply replied, "I have no idea." On Wednesday, all hell broke loose. Grandpa woke up early and announced that he had to do some work in the yard. He said that he "was tired" of seeing the yard open to stray dogs and cats, so he wanted to spend the day building a 4-foot-high concrete fence around the perimeter of the property. I agreed to stay home to help him. We worked through the morning, and by the time we were finished, we had built a 4-foot-high concrete wall around the perimeter of our property, with an 8-foot-wide space for the cars to drive into and out of the property. About an hour after we were finished, Grandpa took a shower, got dressed, and announced that he was heading to the supermarket. He took his keys, got into his car and-yes, you guessed it-instead of heading through the 8-foot-wide opening, backed straight into the wall we had just built! Maybe, I thought, Grandpa is losing his eyesight. Imagine my surprise when Grandpa got out of the car and began asking who had built the wall and who could be so dumb as to put a wall around the perimeter of the property, followed by saying that whoever had done this "stupid thing" should pay to fix his car. By Wednesday night, I was beginning to believe that Grandpa was experiencing more than hearing loss, poor eyesight, and temporary memory lapses. I had heard the words "dementia," "senile dementia," and "Alzheimer's disease" before, but I knew nothing about them. In fact, I wasn't sure whether the three terms referred to the same condition, if one was just a type of the other, or whether someone could suffer from all three conditions simultaneously. Still, I did begin to wonder from which, if any, Grandpa was suffering. I set myself to doing the research. ***** Some of you may recall moments when you apparently forgot to do or say something or when some event or person "slipped your mind." Some of these lapses are minor, like searching for your glasses while they are perched on your nose; searching