COULD IT BE DEMENTIA?
Losing your mind doesn’t mean losing your soul
By Louise Morse and Roger Hitchings. Monarch Books. 220 pages. £7.99
ISBN 978-1-85424-825-1
‘But older people have had their day!’ exclaims one Christian in one of the many memorable and moving anecdotes in this practical and yet spiritually challenging account of dementia. Both its authors are closely connected with Pilgrim Homes, one of very few specifically Christian organisations providing care for the frail elderly in the UK.
This combination of practicality and spirituality sums up the book’s strength. Even as a GP for well over 20 years, I learned many new things about dementia — that nearly all types, including Alzheimer’s, are now thought to be primarily caused by blood flow problems in the brain, that being married or having lots of close social networks can reduce the likelihood of developing symptoms of dementia and that loss of the sense of smell can be an early symptom.
