Caring For Nigel: Diary of a Wife Coping With Her Husband’s Dementia Paperback – 8 October 2013

At the age of sixty-nine Nigel Murray, a retired university lecturer and former Army officer, used to be diagnosed with dementia. Doctors suspected he used to be suffering from a rare and degenerative neurological disorder referred to as More than one System Atrophy (MSA). Then again, Nigel also had some of the symptoms of both Parkinson’s disease and Lewy Body dementia and an official diagnosis used to be never made.

For four years Nigel’s wife, Eileen, kept a diary. This used to be her “safety valve” – an outlet for the daily stresses of taking care of him at home, as his mental and physical health slowly deteriorated. In her diary she gives a frank and detailed account of his challenging and erratic behaviour, his atypical hallucinations, the relentless struggle with his incontinence and the endless disturbed nights.

Even in her darkest moments, Eileen’s dry Scottish humour shines through – you’ll laugh one moment and be moved the next. You’ll’t help but smile at Nigel’s trousers with the “appetite mechanism” and his special “anti-dandruff comb”.

As the dementia advances, Nigel retreats into a busy world of army and lecturing duties, harking back to his earlier days. Eventually, the burden of running her own “one-woman nursing home” becomes too much for Eileen and her quest to find respite care begins. This presents challenges of its own.

This true and touching account offers a unique insight into the day-to-day experience of taking care of someone with dementia or a related illness.

Some Amazon Five Star Reviews:

★★★★★ Excellent – a great read
★★★★★ Loved it
★★★★★ Very eye opening
★★★★★ Brilliant book
★★★★★ Sad but a good read
★★★★★ A gem
★★★★★ Five stars

Also Now To be had in Large Print (ISBN: 9781914523182)