Photograph by Wanda Walters
health
All-Weather
Friend
D
Alzheimer���s Disease affects more
than four million Americans,
which means there are as
many as 15 million caregivers
providing for the daily needs of
people with Alzheimer���s.
Mary
McDaniel
Cail���s book
helps
Alzheimer���s
patients
and their
caregivers
By Kelly Twedell
r. Mary McDaniel Cail understands
well the plight of the caregiver. With her
doctoral degree, she works closely with
Alzheimer���s patients and those who care
for them. As a wife, she cared for her husband until his death
after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Her professional
experience and her personal journey with caregiving and grief
have given her valuable insights and tools and she decided to
share those in a book called, ���All Weather Friend, A Guide to
Alzheimer���s Disease.���
Cail, a Fayetteville native, has received great reviews for the
book, which is on the book lists for both The Washington Post
and ABC News.
Alzheimer���s Disease affects more than four million Americans, which means there are as many as 15 million caregivers
providing for the daily needs of people with Alzheimer���s.
���Even though it happens very slowly, there is that moment
that wipes away all the denial, and it puts you in a place saying
that something is really wrong,��� Cail said.
She recalled the story of a patient, a gourmet cook, who
was making Thanksgiving dinner when she suddenly dumped
soapsuds into the gravy. That is the point in her life when her
husband realized that she was not all right.
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