Your Name Is Hughes Hannibal Shanks: A Caregiver's Guide to Alzheimer's » (New Edition)

Lela Knox Shanks is an independent scholar and lecturer living in Lincoln, Nebraska. She and Hughes were married for fifty years and have four children. Hughes Hannibal Shanks worked for the federal government for thirty years and was the first African American hired by the Denver Social Security Administration office in the 1950s. This edition includes an epilogue by Lela. Steven H. Zarit is a professor of human development at Pennsylvania State University. He is also the coauthor of The Hidden Victims of Alzheimer’s Disease: Families under Stress.

When the doctors told Lela Shanks that Alzheimer's would render her husband totally helpless, she was given no instructions on how to manage his disease at home. It was understood that Alzheimer's patients were destined for institutional care. Undaunted, she cared for Hughes at home for the next thirteen years until his peaceful death in 1998. In Your Name Is Hughes Hannibal Shanks, Lela Shanks sets forth the knowledge and wisdom that made all the difference. She describes her initial denial, her gradual acceptance, and her discovery that the key to successful caregiving lies in never losing sight of the patient's humanity. Shanks details the symptoms and stages of the disease, sets forth practical techniques for managing problems such as wandering and incontinence, and outlines twenty coping and survival strategies for caregivers.

Better Nutrition

“It is an immensely moving, yet practical, book, particularly for anyone faced with the challenge of caring for a loved one with a terminal illness.”