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If Deanna Lueckenotte’s grandmother was around today, she’d likely be very proud of her legacy as it lives on through her granddaughter.
Lueckenotte, who is an executive director at an Alzheimer’s assisted living facility in Georgetown, Texas, recently published Alzheimer’s Days Gone By, a guide for people caring for loved ones afflicted by the disease. The book’s recommendations are based on the veteran social worker’s experiences working with Alzheimer’s patients in long-term care settings — as well as her experiences interacting with her now-deceased grandmother. "About the time I went into social work my grandmother was diagnosed with dementia," said Lueckenotte. "I’m pretty confident that she actually had Alzheimer’s. She had a lot of the same behaviors: being paranoid, or thinking I was my mom, who by that time had passed away."Lueckenotte said that her lack of understanding of the complexities of Alzheimer’s prohibited her from successfully interacting with her grandmother, though the two had always been close. Tools needed for coping"I didn’t have the right tools," she said. "All I knew to do was to sit and talk with her, but by asking her things like if she’d taken her meds today, I was setting her up for failure and didn’t know it. I ended up not staying around my grandmother because I didn’t feel comfortable, and because I felt I was causing her harm."That led to my motivation to learn more and more about Alzheimer’s," she said. Easy to read and layperson-friendly, Alzheimer’s Days Gone By offers insight and information about issues critical to people caring for an Alzheimer’s patient, packaged in short chapters that can be digested in one sitting. Although Lueckenotte provides a brief overview of dementia and brain functions, the book steers clear of clinical discussions, which makes the information presented easier for an overwhelmed caregiver to absorb. The book includes a self-assessment that helps caregivers tune in to their level of stress, behavior interventions, tips for helping an Alzheimer’s patient with personal care, patient communication techniques, and suggested recreational activities for Alzheimer’s patients. "It doesn’t cover everything, but it covers the topics that I have observed coming up again and again with the families I’ve worked with over the years," said Lueckenotte. "Not everyone likes to read, and people like my aunt, who was my grandmother’s caregiver, don’t have much time to sit and read."Sensitive subjectsThe book also touches on sensitive topics like sexuality, dealing with holidays, and the importance of discussing finances, funeral arrangements, and safety issues — such as when to take a patient’s car keys away — with the patient and with other family members. "It’s important to get some things out in the open as soon as the diagnosis is made," said Lueckenotte. "Otherwise you can develop some major conflict."Alzheimer’s Days Gone By is available online at Barnes & Noble and through www.amazon.com, as well as the author’s Web site, www.alzheimersdaysgoneby.com. "I really felt that this was something that was needed," she said. "I needed it when I was dealing with my grandmother. I felt guilty about not knowing how to interact with her, though now I know that what I went through was normal."I don’t want other families to feel the way I felt," she said. _______________________About Alzheimer’s: Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, fatal illness that impairs memory, thinking and behavior to the extent that the patient’s personal and professional life is disrupted. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, accounting for up to 70 percent of dementia cases. Typically, an Alzheimer’s patient is age 65 and older. According to the Alzheimer’s Association Web site, the disease affects as many as 5.3 million Americans and is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States. Visit www.alz.org to learn more about the risk factors and warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
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