Soulful Reflections from a Daughter’S Heart: Inspirational Insight for the Caregiver of a Loved One with Dementia

By Jan Blakely

Dementia is a thief and a cheat. It steals the memory, mental capacity and very life of the one affected. It cheats the family of quality time with their loved one. Being a caregiver for a family member with dementia is consuming and demanding. It is a condition and position that no one can truly understand unless you have been through it. It is the most extreme roller coaster ride you will ever take. This book provides stories that are common among those affected by dementia but also includes inspirational wisdom from God through scripture for the journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512755756

Jan Blakely

Jan Blakely has over thirty years experience as a Registered Nurse with a focus on critical care and cardiovascular medicine. She has a certification in clinical research. She lives with her husband, John, and their dogs in Weaverville, NC/

Book preview

Soulful

Reflections

from a

Daughter’s

Heart

Inspirational Insight for the Caregiver of a Loved One with Dementia

JAN BLAKELY

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Copyright © 2016 Jan Blakely.

Cover photo is a personal photo of my son and grandson praising God at sunset.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Patty Cochran, The Fly, personal journal entry, 2016. Used by permission.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-5576-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-5577-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-5575-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016915003

WestBow Press rev. date: 9/12/2016

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Taking Care of Business

Chapter 2: What Is a Legacy?

Chapter 3: Heal Me

Chapter 4: Denial Is Not a River in Egypt

Chapter 5: I Am So Mad I Could Just …

Chapter 6: Depression Is No Laughing Matter

Chapter 7: Let’s Make a Deal

Chapter 8: Acceptance

Chapter 9: Peace, Despite Our Trials

Chapter 10: Not Just a Job

Chapter 11: No Directory Assistance Required

Chapter 12: Growing Old with Dignity and Grace

Chapter 13: A Time to Mourn

Chapter 14: More Than Enough

Chapter 15: How Much More?

Chapter 16: Patience, My Child

Chapter 17: Frustrated Beyond Belief

Chapter 18: Rest Assured

Chapter 19: A Worry Wart

Chapter 20: An Emotion Understood

Chapter 21: Just a Wanderer

Chapter 22: Have an Outlet

Chapter 23: Randy, Jan, and Ronny

Chapter 24: Be an Encourager

Chapter 25: Tugging at the Heart Strings

Chapter 26: It’s All about Family

Chapter 27: A Special Occasion

Chapter 28: A Glorious Reunion

Chapter 29: Don’t Give Up

Chapter 30: Moral of the Story

Chapter 31: Starts with a Smile

Chapter 32: Love What You Do

Chapter 33: Mission Impossible

Chapter 34: Calm in the Storm

Chapter 35: Job Well Done

Chapter 36: Life Eternal

This is dedicated to my beloved mother, Patty Cochran. She was the epitome of a strong woman and the best role model a daughter could ever ask for. She truly was the woman described in Proverbs chapter 31.

I want to thank my family and friends for their support and encouragement.

I would like to acknowledge Dr. Peggy Noel and the staff at Memory Care for the wonderful care that they provided to my mother and my family as we dealt with my mother’s dementia.

Introduction

M y mother suffered from a type of dementia. In addition to being the daughter of someone with this terrible disease, I was also her caregiver. It is a role that nothing can prepare you for and definitely calls for on-the-job training. There are books to help explain the disease process. There are support groups to help you through it, that is if you can break away to attend. Most of the time, I just had to rely on my faith to get me through.

Being a follower of Christ, I began searching for a devotional book that was specific for the caregiver of a family member with dementia. I did not find anything that met my need. I had been keeping a journal of the journey. So I decided to take some of what was in my journal and start writing my own devotional. One day I was writing in my notebook while traveling with my husband. Since he was a captive audience, my husband