Recommend. The author shares an almost miraculous story of helping his wife recover from an end-stage diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. Peter shares his frustration with those tasked to help, and the heartbreaking struggle of watching his wife suffer. At least three themes that he experienced (and continues to experience) compelled me to keep flipping the pages.
MAINSTREAM (OR CONVENTION) VS. THE SPECIFICITY OF THE CASE
I didn’t know anything about Alzheimer’s until reading this book. Rather than thinking of it as a disease, Peter points out that it more fittingly qualifies as a set of conditions. Different persons with Alzheimer’s possess varying amounts within that set, and therefore treatment would mean something different for each patient. He argues that this leads caregivers to conclude that Alzheimer’s remains incurable. He further argues that such thinking translates into untreatable as if there existed a single magic bullet.
AUTHORITY VS. REASON
In dealing with the many doctors with whom he found it challenging to work, he asserts that reason should outweigh credentials. As he says, BS is BS regardless of one’s degrees. Third, the incentives of caregivers (such as that of a rest home) vs. care receivers. One of the sad observations that Peter makes in the book consists of the poor conditions he encountered in rest homes, both to do with the facilities and the staff. Given the nature of Alzheimer’s, it proves difficult to understand a patient. He found that too many times, caregivers would choose to drug his wife into silence rather than try to understand her.
INCENTIVES OF CAREGIVERS VS. CARE RECEIVERS
One of the sad observations that Peter makes in the book consists of the poor conditions he encountered in rest homes, both to do with the facilities and the staff. Given the nature of Alzheimer’s, it proves difficult to understand a patient. He found that too many times, caregivers would choose to drug his wife into silence rather than try to understand her.
RESOURCES
- Breakthrough (https://amzn.to/3lxdXEr)
- Side Hustling for Working Adults (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CWM9RR7)