Professor Richard
Faull likened the stigma about dementia to that once reserved for cancer and
depression when he spoke at a Neurological Foundation function last night, to
celebrate the publication of Angela Caughey’s superlative book Dealing Daily with Dementia: 2000+ Practical
Hints & Strategies for Carers (Calico Publishing), at The Women’s
Bookshop in Auckland.
The warmth in the
room for those afflicted with dementia and the people that cared for them was
palpable, as Sue Giddens, General Manager of the Neurological Foundation of New
Zealand and her team gathered together with health workers, volunteers, publishing
folk, and friends and family of the author, to celebrate the publication of Dealing Daily with Dementia. Endorsed by
The Neurological Foundation of New Zealand, all royalties from sales of the book go direct to
Alzheimer’s Auckland and Parkinson’s Auckland.
In his speech, Professor
Richard Faull paid tribute to Angela Caughey – both as a writer and someone who
devoted more than 12 years of her life caring for her husband when he had
dementia – and recalled the worldwide reaction that Sir Terry Pratchett sparked
when he publicly announced that he had a rare form of dementia. Within
the first few hours following his announcement, Sir Terry received more than
60,000 messages in his Inbox. “So times are changing and he has certainly
helped to shift the stigma cloud”, remarked Professor Faull.
Dementia is now a burgeoning
reality for many New Zealanders as the population ages and Dealing Daily with Dementia has been written specifically for those
caring for people with dementia. That in itself makes it a unique and welcome
resource, and as publisher Linda Cassells of Calico Publishing chimed in during
Professor Faull’s speech, “a sure-fire bestseller”. Angela’s book is certainly
a much-needed book for anyone touched by the disease of dementia, in particular,
their carers – the “unsung heroes.”
Angela Caughey spoke
poignantly, lovingly and at times with humour about her experiences of caring
for her husband Brian, who had Lewy body dementia. She too, called for the
stigma around dementia to be broken, saying that “it was time for us to be more
open and accepting about the disease”. Angela also reminded us that “the dementia
sufferer was still a person inside all that mumbling and bumbling, and to slow
down and wait for them to shine through, rather than rushing to finish their
sentences and hurrying them along”. Hear, hear.
Publisher Linda Cassells and Prof.Richard Faull
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