Compassionate Care Navigating Dementia Together - L. E. Summers

Take charge of caregiving: conquer daily challenges, communicate effectively, and transform behavioral changes with 9 actionable steps. Dementia is a gut-wrenching, life-changing, beyond-devastating diagnosis for your loved one...and for you, who is responsible for becoming their primary caregiver by choice or default. Suddenly, your fears rise to new heights, and you're confused about what to expect, how to handle the daily challenges, and whether you can improve your loved one's quality of life. This leaves you wondering whether you can balance primary caregiving with work, personal relationships, and your needs. Let's not forget about your enormous financial fears. No one prepares you for dementia, but no one prepares your loved one, either. The world has over 55 million dementia patients, which only increases annually. And not a single one of them was prepared. But with the help of this guide, you can become more familiar with what to expect, how to care for your loved one in a loving and educated way, and ways to embrace the little things and bring joy to your and your loved one's lives. In this book, here's just a fraction of what you'll discover: 9 steps caregivers need to ensure their loved ones or patients have an improved quality of life while balancing their own mental health and needs How to deal with the diagnosis that changes everything, and discovering everything you must know about the seven stages of dementia, their symptoms, and early tests The #1 step caregivers must follow to ensure every document is ready and how to manage the inevitable family feuds that follow The brain-personality-behavior loop and how to use the DICE model to embrace the changes and help your loved one through each change The most essential support providers, caregivers, friends, and medical experts your loved one needs during the dementia years with a visual tree How to prepare an environment to protect your loved one from any harm with a comprehensive to-do list for bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and the outdoors The secrets to a new form of communication needed in each major stage of dementia and what you should avoid saying to your loved one A complete guide to the 17 most common medical and mental health complications and how you can address each one at home while knowing when to seek help, How to manage the 6 most essential daily struggles in dementia, including hygiene, nutrition, wandering off, recreation, and physical activity, How to be the best caregiver