The Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer's Care

This past semester, my seminary (Christian Theological Seminary) was honoured to host Virginia and Wayne Bell as they led a conference on Spirituality and Aging. As we approach a time in which the issues of aging will take increasing prominence, as the baby-boomers reach a collectively-older age than any generation in history has reached, the issues surrounding health care for the elderly are of primary importance, and part of that health is mental (which includes spiritual) health. The Bells have spent much time investigating and helping in the area of Alzheimer's, a disease that affects mind, body and spirit. Virginia Bell, together with a colleague, David Troxel, collaborated on two books (one of which is the the subject of this review) presenting an innovative way for care of those with Alzheimer's: `The Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer's Care'.

Virginia Bell, MSW, is currently Program Consultant with the Lexington/Bluegrass Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. She is a graduate of Transylvania University and the University of Kentucky, and has lectured widely at national and international conference. Her co-author, David Troxel, works with the Santa Barbara chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.

`"The Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer's Care" reflects a growing optimism in the field of Alzheimer's care that much can be done to improve the lives of people with the disease and to transform caregiving from a terrible burden to care that is manageable. This book represents the development of the first comprehensive model of care, which is easy to understand and learn.'

At the start of the book, Bell and Troxel describe the various experiences of those with Alzheimer's. By looking at the depression, confusion, and detachment that those with Alzheimer's experience, the caregiver gains a greater understanding and compassion for those suffering. Perhaps the most important key insight comes from a nurse and teacher, Rebecca, who began to experience symptoms of Alzheimer's at age 59.

`I dislike social workers, nurses and friends who do not treat me as a real person.'

Despite her slowly declining cognitive abilities, she is still able to sense that people are regarding her differently, as a patient, as an object, as a 'third person' rather than a real person.

Persons with Alzheimer's experience loss, sadness, confusion, isolation and loneliness, fear, frustration, anxiety, paranoia, anger, and embarrassment. The Best Friends model takes all of these into account as a normal part of everyone's life.

The second chapter gives a basic overview of Alzheimer's, giving symptoms, diagnosis, services, caregiving issues, and research news. The Best Friends model requires no specialised medical or scientific knowledge -an appendix is included in the book for those who wish to pursue those topics in more detail.

The following chapters develop the aspects of care along the Best Friends model. This requires first assessing the strengths and abilities of the person receiving care (and this may require a daily update). An understanding of what persons with Alzheimer's may require is included as an `Alzheimer's Disease Bill of Rights'. These are important, and often overlooked, so I shall reprint them here:

Every person diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder deserves the following rights:

To be informed of one's diagnosis

To have appropriate, ongoing medical care

To be productive in work and play for as long as possible

To be treated like an adult, not like a child

To have expressed feelings taken seriously

To be free from psychotropic medications, if possible

To live in a safe, structured, and predictable environment

To enjoy meaningful activities that fill each day

To be outdoors on a regular basis

To have physical contact, including hugging, caressing, and hand-holding

To be with individuals who know one's life story, including cultural and religious traditions

To be cared for by individuals who are well trained in dementia care

A key point to being a Best Friend is that the caregiver becomes a memory aid to the person -friends know each others' histories. Being reminded of past accomplishments, family connections, personal beliefs and traditions helps tremendously. It gets them involved in their own lives again.

Friends do many things: they share history, they do things together, they communicate, they build self-esteem, they laugh often, they work at the relationship, and they are equals. These carry over as key concepts in the Best Friends model. Bell and Troxel go into some detail about how to handle situations for the full-time caregiver, the volunteer, and for those who visit persons with Alzheimer's in care. Specific situations and general principles are presented in a clear, intelligible manner with great application potential.

An important part of the process of understanding and dealing with those with Alzheimer's is to understand oneself. Thus, there is a section on Being One's Own Best Friend. How do we react and respond? Do we give ourselves enough care? How can we care for others if we do not care for ourselves? How do we respect the needs and desires of those we care for while recognising and respecting our own needs? These are important questions, and Bell and Troxel address it by illustrating the relationship between Rebecca and Jo, her Best Friend.

`Because any of us can be touched by Alzheimer's disease, can have bad things happen to us, our friends, or our families, the ultimate message the authors wish to convey is this: We should treat everyone important to us as we would our own Best Friend.'

Seeing the Helping Hands Adult Day Care program, which is the fruit of the philosophy of this work, was a life changing event for me. The caring and love shown by the staff of Helping Hands are living testiment to the dedication of workers to improve the quality of life for clients affected by the devastation of Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias. If all facilities, both assisted living and nursing homes, truly invested in this approach, life would indeed be different for the persons affected by this disease and their caregivers. A definite must for those struggling with the problems of caregiving those with Alzheimer's disease.

Buy The Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer's Care Now

I read this book as part of training to lead activities in an adult day center. It is thorough, concise and very reader friendly. This is an excellent resource for training programs and for anyone wanting to develop skills in working with persons with Alzheimer's Disease or dementia. This book is a must have.

Read Best Reviews of The Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer's Care Here

This is a really great text outlining a different slant on how to care for the Alzheimers disorder. I love the concept utilized in this book, and have seen it at work in a local Adult Day-Services center. As a retired nursing professional I would like to see more use of this type of therapeutic care for the mentally impaired. I hope that the book will help to educate those who care for the aged, and AD persons. The families of those patients could be helped in their respite care.

Want The Best Friends Approach to Alzheimer's Care Discount?

if only everyone who cares for the elderly could not only read, but learn and practice this approach, we would make great strides in geriatric/alzheimer's care

Save 24% Off

Read More >>

The Navy Seal Workout : The Compete Total-Body Fitness Program

I must say this is an awesome book for one who wants to get into shape. The only problem with it is, I bought the machine in the back of the book for doing pull ups and latts but Mark Desile never shipped. It was a 144 dollar purchase, and the author took my money and ran. I have attempted to recieve reimbrushment but the author seems to be out of business. Trust me it is a great book, but never buy anything from it. The author and his company do not practice sound business practices.

I don't agree with some other reviewers that this book gives inadequate information or that people can get hurt easily using the program. I'm a 42-year-old male who had been lifting weights sporadically for years without seeing much improvement. Within a few weeks of starting Mark's program, I noticed increased definition all over, especially in my arms and abs. Unlike weightlifting, I've had little soreness. Also unlike weightlifting, it's impossible to drop a barbell on your foot, since you're only using your own bodyweight for resistance! I think most people would be more likely to hurt themselves using weights or even weight machines.

For anyone who is even remotely in shape already, the only way to really get hurt with this program would be to do too much, too soon. Mark emphasizes repeatedly that beginners need to take it easy, and the beginner routines involve minimal repetitions. I found the progression from beginner to intermediate levels to be clear and logical (you work up to the next level gradually; you don't just jump from one level to the next.) I also found the explanations and photographs of the various routines to be adequate to permit proper form.

Maybe this isn't the ideal book for former couch potatoes, but every book doesn't have to serve every possible audience. I recommend Mark's book highly.

Buy The Navy Seal Workout : The Compete Total-Body Fitness Program Now

Navy SEALs are renowned the world over as being among the most-physically fit men alive. In this book, Mark De Lisle, who became a Navy SEAL at age 27, adapts various workout routines and methods from his training to be useful to the 'average' civilian who wishes to work out hard.

There is no substitute for Navy SEAL training, and if you are looking for precise programmes of fitness routines and performance standards of SEALs here, you will be disappointed. For one thing, most people cannot come by the equipment required in SEAL fitness training. However, there are standards and performance measurements that can be attained in a number of ways, and De Lisle provides a good adaptation here that calls for a minimum of special equipment and settings, but still requires a maximum of dedication and drive.

De Lisle provides a brief description of the history of the SEALs as well as his own introduction to the training. De Lisle is an inspiring writing, giving details of his own performance failures and working through these one thing he emphasises over and over is that determination and definite goals are important.

The first section is on stretching, an often overlooked part of training. Pre-workout stretching should take at least 15 minutes following these routines. In all, there are 18 different stretching exercises detailed. Each has description and basic photographs of the movements. There are stretches for all parts of the body, upper, lower, etc., as well as some stretches that could be done by two people. Working out in pairs can help with motivation.

The second section is on upper-body workouts. It is very tough. Five of the ten exercises listed are variations of pull-ups, and four are variations of push-ups. For these, some place for doing pull-ups will be necessary, as well as dips. De Lisle gives charts for beginning, intermediate and advanced pacing. These are all body-weight exercises; there are no weight-machine or free-weight exercises here. This is a book about fitness rather than body-building.

The third section is lower body exercises, primarily meaning abdominals (many exercise manuals classify these with upper body exercises). There are 13 exercises here, that will give a good all-around burn to the midsection. Again, De Lisle gives general tips and hints on exercising and maintaining proper form, so as to minimise the chance of injury.

Sections 4 6 look at running, swimming and combined run/swim programmes. There are few leg-strengthening exercises built into the exercise routines, as that is accomplished through the running and swimming. These include sprints, stair-climbs, and other methods to keep the legs and the aerobic system in good order.

There are two final parts of the book, one on maintenance and one on progress charts. De Lisle gives basic nutritional information (it seems few exercise books are complete without requisite but basic nutritional guidelines; these include here both suggestions for losing weight and for gaining weight). Progress charts are highly recommended, as they are very motivational, and SEALs are big on motivation.

The photography in the book is basic black-and-white, no real glamour shots here. De Lisle and a partner illustrate the exercises; in between are a few 'mood' shots, but these are few and far between. The book is really about working out.

Read Best Reviews of The Navy Seal Workout : The Compete Total-Body Fitness Program Here

After having quadruple bypass, open heart surgery, I thought, "What could this program do for me?" How about a new life! I originally purchased Mark De Lisle's first book, "Navy SEAL Workout." The results I experienced were nothing less than phenomenal. As soon as I found out that Mark had completed "Breakthrough To Master Level Fitness," I had to have a copy. Breakthrough blows away anything else I have encountered in the fitness market. I have purchased other Navy SEAL workout books and videos but they were either too incomplete or did not sufficiently layout an effective program. Breakthrough however, contains exercises for upper body, legs, cardio workouts, sprints, long distance running, abs and plateau breakers such as Burn Outs, Intervals, and Circuit Training. And with 12 Weeks To Better Than Ever, which lays out routines on a day by day basis, you can't wander off the path to improvement.

With the 12 Weeks, I simply took the evaluation test and checked off each day. The routines were laid out right before me. It even told me when to do my burn outs, intervals and circuits. With the new book combo, I have been able to take myself up another notch. For a middle-aged business executive with heart disease, I need every edge I can get. I highly recommend this book combo over any other SEAL/fitness exercise book or video. Thank you Mark De Lisle, your program is saving my life and dramatically improving my lifestyle.

Want The Navy Seal Workout : The Compete Total-Body Fitness Program Discount?

First off, I just want to clarify that all these people who say you won't be a Navy SEAL after reading this book are right. The only way to be a Navy SEAL is to go train with them. That said, this book is excellent for an ordinary person who wants to get in great shape. I am using it to train for rugby and the strength excersises are what I find most helpful. Using body weight has left me less sore than using dumbbells but a lot more tired. This program is primarily for building muscle endurance, though you will get stronger. I recommend it more for a high school/ college athlete as a supplement to whatever your coach has you do. This is NOT a book for someone who wants to try out for any kind of a Special Forces job.

Save 35% Off

Read More >>

The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People Who Have Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementias,

Very helpful to me. Both parents have varying degrees of dementia. It shows that you are not alone. Explains why certains things are happening and suggestions of how to cope with everything.

My sister suggested this book to me since our mother has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. It is very helpful!

I believe it will help us get the best care possible.

Buy The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People Who Have Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementias, Now

Written by not only experts, but understanding, caring people. This guide is just that, you could but don't h ave to read cover to cover. You can search for the topic you want information on in the table of contents. Very helpful book.

Read Best Reviews of The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People Who Have Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementias, Here

I loved this book, it was a great help in understanding my mother's illness. It gave insight into why she was doing the things that seemed contrary to the person I had known all my life. I actually ordered these 2 copies to give to someone else who is going through a difficult time with a spouse that has dimentia. I had loaned out or given my other 2 copies away to other friends and church members. I even put a copy of it in our church library in memory of my mom when she passed away in 2006 at the marvelous age of 97.

Want The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People Who Have Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementias, Discount?

I chose the 5-star rate because thus far, I have enjoyed reading it. I would recommend others reading this book

Save 10% Off

Read More >>

Homeopathy for Your Cat: Remedies for Common Feline Ailments

I am currently studying for my Bachelor of Homeopathy and have two cats, and this book is the best that I have read on the subject. It's very informative, practical, and easy to use as a reference text, but it also makes a very interesting read as Dr Wolff gives some amazing insights into feline health and behaviour. After I read it I used one of the recommended remedies on one of my cats who has suffered from gastro-intestinal disease all his life (which is not curable with conventional medicine) and after only 2 doses all his symptoms had disappeared completely and he has been 100% healthy ever since. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know how to treat their cat using homeopathy.

I think this book may literally have saved my cat's life. I had two 16+ year old siblings, one of whom died 5 months ago of sudden acute kidney failure. Her sister had a problematic set of blood tests a few weeks ago and all the vet could suggest was subQ hydration and low-protein foods that were left uneaten.

The remedy suggestions in this book have made ALL the difference. My senior kitty slurps the meds down in her drinking water and not only has returned to her bouncy self but her blood tests are improving.

The author of this book clearly knows his subject inside and out, and both loves and understands cats and their humans.

I have a little experiential background in homeopathy because I have had friends in the field, but I am no professional and would not attempt to "prescribe" for anyone except myself, but this book is so clear that one can take useful steps. It's very user-friendly, educational enough without overloading and highly practical.

I would recommend this with no hesitation at all.

Buy Homeopathy for Your Cat: Remedies for Common Feline Ailments Now

I have a cat who HATES going to the Vet. She had been suffering from an upper respiratory illness and couldn't shake it. I read this book and was able to narrow down exactly which remedy to use. I am happy to say she is back to her old self, healthy and happy to avoid a Vet. visit. The book was easy to read and understand and I was able to easily select the correct rememdy to use. Would encourage anyone to use this book for help in homeopathy with their cat(s).

Read Best Reviews of Homeopathy for Your Cat: Remedies for Common Feline Ailments Here

I was just beginning homeopathy studies when my cat was dealing with some issues and I bought this book. It's a great beginners guide because it mostly tells you what remedy fits what symptoms and problems best. There are others that also tell you why certain remedies are better or why the symptoms have appeared. They are more expensive, but I think could be a bit overwhelming for a beginning homeopath. If you think of your cats as family, get this book.

Want Homeopathy for Your Cat: Remedies for Common Feline Ailments Discount?

it was very informative and now I just got to find out where to get some of these items. thanks

Save 33% Off

Read More >>