Full Description
Christine Bryden was 46 years old when she was diagnosed with dementia, and in this book she describes her remarkable emotional, physical and spiritual journey in the three years immediately following. Offering rare first-hand insights into how it feels to gradually lose the ability to undertake tasks most people take for granted, it is made all the more remarkable by Christine's positivity and strength, and deep sense, drawn in part from her Christian faith, that life continues to have purpose and meaning.
Originally published in Australia in 1998, the book is brought up-to-date with a new Foreword, Preface and Appendix, in which Christine explains how the disease has progressed over the years, and how she is today. It also contains many previously unseen photographs of Christine and her family, from around the time of her diagnosis up to the present day.
Inspirational and informative in equal measure, Who will I be when I die? will be of interest to other people with dementia and their families, as well as to dementia care professionals.
Contents
Foreword by Elizabeth MacKinlay. Preface. The Diagnosis. 1. I'm too young! 2. The first signs. 3. The second opinion. Who Will I Be When I Die? 4. At least you can't die from it! - wrong!. 5. You look so well! - if only I had cancer! 6. A terminal illness - so why are we ashamed of it? What's It Like, Having Alzheimer's? 7. Clinging to a precipice with my fingernails. 8. From 'super-memory' to losing the plot. 9. A confusion of sight and sound. 10. A jumble of words. 11. Life's essentials. An Adventure into the Unknown. 12. Trying to be prepared. 13. My car's an alien spaceship! - and other oddities. 14. From 'super-mum' to dependent mum. 15. A scary road ahead? Where to Now? 16. Our fifteen minutes of fame. 17. Do I really believe in healing? A Postscript - A God of Surprises! 18. I'm getting better! 19. A 'miracle cure'? Thank God God's in Charge! 20. Getting onto 'God's roller-coaster'. 21. Why me - and why Alzheimer's, God? 22. Is God a 'bandaid'? 23. Am I afraid of dying? Appendix. What is Alzheimer's disease?
