Editorial Review :

Death is never timely: it comes either too soon or too late. In The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion recounts the aftermath of her husband's sudden death at the dinner table. At the other edge of

Customer Review :

Caregiving

I have been taking care of my mother, who has Alzheimer's Disease, for a few years. More recently (6 mos ago) she has moved into my home. I laughed and cried when I read this book. I totally can related to each and every event. And yet, I feel privileged to be able to provide the care my mother needs at this time.

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A Straightforward Unsentimental Journey

This is the first book I've read of Virginia Stem Owens and it's an engaging memoir. Her mother's illnesses propel the book in incremental fashion and points. If you are caring for an elderly parent or person (which I am) it is informative.

If you are looking for sentimental memoir look elsewhere. I picked this book for that reason and to try to help me through the trials of my own life and it turned out to be the perfect choice. The trials Owens and her mother go through are heart wrenching and frustrating but she keeps the facts straight and the sentimentality low. She forges through all the trials with very little emotion. But the last chapter reels it all in and encircles you with hope and strength. It's a good, informative, strength building read.

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Perfect Read

This book really hits home. If you or someone you know who has a close family member with Alzheimers, this is a must read.

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A practical and yet sensitive guide for family caregivers of dementia patients

I bought two copies of this book, Caring for Mother, to share with my sisters. It captures the emotional pain of dealing with the mental decline of a loved parent, the desire to provide the best care possible with the dispair of knowing it is not enough, even then, to alleviate his/her suffering. The author captures the emotional roller-coaster well, and her reflections on herself as well as her research into the physical realities serve as a helpful resource to the reader. I especially valued her final realization that the struggle, while painful, can lead to a deeper awareness of the value and meaning of human life.

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An Essential Book on Dementia and Caregiving


Though the title did not sound promising, I try to read every personal account of Alzheimer's I come across, so I bought this book and sat down with it one night in my reading chair--and didn't get up for three hours. The writing was fluid, the characters strong, the dilemmas painful and eternal. "Caring for Mother" turned out to be both subtle and incisive, an essential book on dementia and patient care, perfectly contained in 163 pages.

"This is not a cheerful book," Virginia Owens explains in her Opening Note, "but it is truthful."

It's truthful, and it's vivid. The book has a story to tell, as it tracks the author's mother through an ever-increasing dementia toward what we know from the start will be a disaster. In the early chapters Virginia Owens helps look after her mother at home. Her mother has little faith in medicine: "She goes to the doctor the way I went to church as a teenager, bitter and under duress. She takes her pills like an apostate receiving communion, with little hope in their efficacy. A dark night for both soul and body."

It's worse later, in the nursing home--that place, Owens says, "the name of which strikes terror into every person's heart." When she goes to visit her mother, most of the other residents ignore her. She doesn't blame them, "They had every right to their withdrawal. Only a handful of residents have visitors who come on even a weekly basis. Most are visited occasionally, some rarely or never. People who've been abandoned develop a thick coat of defensive frost."

Owens' indictment of nursing homes is calm, steady, devastating. It's as abiding as the anger she sees in the residents: "You can feel it as soon as you come in the door. Cold Rage. For most of the people parked in wheelchairs, their anger has gone so stale after years of overuse that the emotion is routine now.... Anyone is culpable who comes through the front doors and is free to leave again under their own steam."

Owens does her best for her mother, the best that she can manage. But what never goes away, she says, what "doesn't wear out or disappear, is the feeling--no, the certain knowledge--that I could have done more, done better."

I could quote half this book, it's so good.

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1. ISBN13: 9780060734404
2. Condition: NEW
3. Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Editorial Review :

The riveting true story of John and Aileen Crowley's race to find a cure for Pompe disease that inspired the movie Extraordinary Measures

With three beautiful children, a new house, and financial security, John and Aileen Crowley were on top of the world—until their two youngest children, fifteen-month-old Megan and five-month-old Patrick, were diagnosed with Pompe disease and given only months to live. Refusing to accept a death sentence, John quit his financial consultant job and invested his life savings in a biotechnology start-up to research the disease and find a cure. Battling scientific setbacks, conflict of interest accusations, and business troubles, John and Aileen would be tested to their limits as they valiantly fought, and succeeded, in finding revolutionary new treatment for the disease—offering hope to Megan, Patrick, and the many children and families affected by Pompe disease around the world.

The inspiration for the captivating film Extraordinary Measures, starring Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford, The Cure is a remarkable true story of cutting-edge science, business acumen and daring, and one family's indomitable spirit.

Customer Review :

More business than science

This is a business book and not a scientific book, so I was a little disappointed.

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Page turner

Although this is primarily a human interest story, I was drawn to the narrative by the different dimensions that the author explored - business, family trials and tribulations, self doubt by John Crowley, marriage love and heart ache. Geeta Anand writes so fluidly and simply about a very complex story. I rarely read a book inside of a week, but I finished this in two days. Riveting.

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An extraordinary story of determination and parental love.

There is an old axiom that "God does not give you more than you can handle". But imagine living each day with the knowledge that two of your three young children have a rare and deadly disease that could claim their lives at any time......and there was no treatment available. That was the heartbreaking dilemma that John and Aileen Crowley were presented with and somehow had to deal with on a daily basis. Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter Geeta Anand chronicles the amazing story of the Crowley's epic struggle to keep their youngsters alive in "The Cure: How A Father Raised $100 Million--and Bucked the Medical Establishment--in a Quest to Save His Children". This is a compelling story that will grab your attention in Chapter One and simply never let go.

Now as you might have surmised from the rather lengthy title of this book John Crowley was not exactly "Joe Sixpack". John was a brilliant individual with a wealth of education. Over the years John Crowley had received a degree from Georgetown's School of Foreign Service, spent a year and a half at the Naval Academy, scored a law degree from Notre Dame and last but not least earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. John and his wife Aileen looked forward to a healthy and prosperous future. Aileen gave birth to their first child, a bouncing baby girl they named Megan on December 16, 1996. Just 15 months later the Crowley's discovered that Megan was suffering from an extremely rare neuromuscular affliction known as Pompe disease. People with Pompe fail to produce sufficient quantities of a particular enzyme and as a result there is progressive muscular weakness throughout the body. Most young children diagnosed with Pompe at that time did not live past the age of 5. To make matters worse, John and Aileen's third child Patrick, born in March of 1998 was also diagnosed with Pompe. Although several scientists and biotechnology companies were working on the problem there was still no treatment for Pompe. The clock was ticking and the lives of his kids were at stake. John Crowley was bound and determined to spearhead the effort to find a cure for Pompe. He and Aileen would go to extraordinary lengths to achieve their goal. This is what "The Cure" is all about.

Over the next few years John Crowley would dedicate all of his time, talent and treasure in a valiant effort to save Megan and Patrick. He worked tirelessly to raise funds to find a cure for Pompe and founded an organization known as the Children's Pompe Foundation. Ultimately he would become the CEO of a company called Novazyme, a biotech firm dedicated to finding a cure for Pompe and other related diseases. It was exhausting work that required literally every fiber of John's being. The extended battle to save their kids nearly cost John and Aileen their marriage. John's work required him to be away from home much of the time leaving Aileen to take care of three little ones.
While Aileen did have nurses to assist her at home every single day was fraught with danger. One wonders how John and Aileen managed to get through it all. When I think about the trivial things I get upset about it makes me feel ashamed.

"The Cure: How A Father Raised $100 Million--and Bucked the Medical Establishment--in a Quest to Save His Children" makes you stop and reflect about what is truly important in life. Despite enormous hardships John and Aileen Crowley proved to be more than up to the challenge. And in working so hard on behalf of Megan and Patrick the Crowleys also impacted other Pompe families around the nation who found themselves in the same boat. "The Cure" is an inspiring and well-written book. I don't know how the Crowley's found the strength to deal with the hand that they were dealt. I became exhausted just reading about it. Highly recommended!

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Great story but ....

While I enjoyed reading the sections of the book about the difficulties the family went through with their children, there was way too much time spent on details of fund-raising and starting the company. I found myself skipping more pages than I was reading.

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Meat, not Hollywood Glitz

The book behind the Hollywood movie "Extraordinary Measures". John Crowley is a driven man - trying to find a find and then develop a cure for Pompe, a lysosomal disease that two of his children are terminally ill with.

The book is the complete story and shares some of the reality the movie leaves out.

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Editorial Review :

Follow Granny as she spends the day visiting the animals in the zoo. This book is based on a real Granny of five, who has multiple sclerosis.

Customer Review :

An Okay Book - not bad, but not that great

This story is based on a real granny who uses a wheelchair and has five grandkids. I question why the author and illustrator decided not to show the grandkids going to the zoo with granny. The grandchildren are shown in the beginning of the story with two babies sitting on granny's lap then off the zoo granny goes by herself. I can't think of anyone who visits the zoo alone, but maybe it's just me who always visits the zoo with family and friends. I think if the purpose of the book is to show how independent granny is - it doesn't show much. The majority of the book features pictures of animals that granny sees, then in the end granny is shown again. A great idea - I just think this idea should have been taken farther. I give this book 3/5 because it's just okay - not bad, but not that great. For a great book showing a grandpa using a wheelchair and interacting with the grandkids, check out My Grampy Can't Walk.

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Handicaped

It was nice to see a book about how a Handicapped person still enjoys going to the Zoo. Thank you!

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Editorial Review :

Using design details to improve today's health care-an inspiring, comprehensive guide

As Cynthia Leibrock writes in the Preface, "The power of a healing environment comes from the little things, the design details that empower patients to take responsibility for their own health." In Design Details for Health, she offers specific design details that can improve patient outcomes by returning authority to the patient, along with fascinating case studies and research demonstrating the positive role design details can play in reducing healthcare costs. Practical and inspiring, this innovative book is essential reading for architects, interior designers, facility managers, and healthcare professionals.

Attention to detail is the cornerstone of success in virtually every enterprise. This is especially true in the field of healthcare design, where design details can have a profound impact on the quality and efficacy of care.

In Design Details for Health, Cynthia Leibrock gives designers and other industry professionals specific examples showing how design details can offer patients greater comfort and independencewhile also giving healthcare facilities a competitive edge-saving staff time, cutting overhead costs, and reducing liability.

With the help of nearly 200 images, many in full color, she offers flexible, innovative design solutions in key areas such as lighting, acoustics, color, furnishings, and finishes. From acute carehospitals to specialized ambulatory care and home treatment settings, she addresses a variety of healthcare environments and includes inspiring case studies that reveal how effective design details work in the real world.

Throughout the book, Cynthia Leibrock presents findings from the cutting edge of design research-including results published here for the first time-reflecting the experience and expertise of hundreds of healthcare designers and architects in the United States and abroad. Covering topics ranging from acoustics to lighting, this valuable data includes citations for further reference.

When design empowers rather than disables, everybody wins. Sensitive to the needs of both patients and the providers that serve them, Design Details for Health is essential reading for today's architects, interior designers, facility managers, and healthcare professionals involved in commercial and residential healthcare facilities.

". . . this book is a reference standard with timeless value." -Wayne Ruga, Founder, The National Symposium on Healthcare Design

Customer Review :

never receive this item...where is it>>>?

Is it just me - or do other people pay for things and never get them?

Rating :

Excellent hands-on resource for Interior Designers

I am a professional Health Care interior designer who is always looking for resources to enhance my knowledge base for creating healing enviornments in the health care market. A few years ago I attended, along with about 300 other designers, a presentation by a nationally known health care designer. At the end of the 1.5 hr. lecture, there were six of us left. The focus of the talk was entirely philosophical: there were no gems of knowledge or tools we could take back to our design practices to make our projects better. Ms. Leibrock certainly doesn't have to worry about anyone leaving her presentation. The book has been delegated to my reference shelf and I am sure will become dog-earred.

The specific types of healing environments included in the book range from birthing centers to long-term care facilities and all that is in-between. The philosophical issues are presented and then followed by research findings and case studies which support those concepts. Then the GEMS! Lists and lists and lists of hands-on guidelines which are distilled from the vast experience and research of the author.

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Great Comprehensive Reference Book for Interior Designers working in HealthCare

How long does a book remain useful after it is published? Most books, especially reference books don't last. "Design Details for Health" seems fresh even thought it has been a decade since it first came out. As Wayne Ruga said: ". . . this book is a reference standard with timeless value."

Granted, nowhere in the book will you see the term "Evidence-based Design" used, because that phrase was not in widespread use a decade ago. But the book is packed with useful ideas that would be of real value to Interior Designers working on HealthCare projects.

In 300 pages Ms. Leibrock covers the entire field of Healthcare in depth. Long-term care, Subacture Care, Ambulatory Care and Inpatient Hospitals each gets a section with several chapters. The writing is clear and very practical. Frequent references to "real world" projects are given with pictures and floor plans.

Summary:

* Great Comprehensive Reference Book for Interior Designers working in HealthCare

Pros:

* Practical advice that is easy to access.

* A well constructed book with high quality paper.

Cons

* Very little about the use of Art in Healthcare

* Lots of floor plans and useful photographs, but only a few are in color.

Ms. Leibrock is the principal/founder of EASY ACCESS TO HEALTH (www.AgingBeautifully.org) in Ft. Collins, Colorado, a firm that offers consulting services in patient centered design, planning for independent living. She was selected as a Changemaker in 2002 by the Center for Health Design.

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Editorial Review :

Customer Review :

great product, slow delivery

the book came within the range, but took 11 days after shipment to arrive. Quality was great..

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A rare offering

Forever Hellos, Hard Goodbyes is a rare offering for adults and kids alike. It will be embraced by families and individuals dealing with chronic or terminable situations. Teachers, counselors, medical students and professionals, classmates, relatives, and even the casual observer of kids with special needs can glean wonderful insights into the worlds of these youth by hearing from them in their own words. I plan to put a copy in the hands of anyone who will have one!

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Simply heartwarming tales.

Real children with real personalities who just happen to be in the worst times of their lives - "Forever Hellos, Hard Good-Byes: Inspiration, Wit, & Wisdom from Courageous Kids Facing Life-Threatening Illness" will bring you their stories to help the rest of us deal with related cases that all too often appear in our own lives. These are stories told by the kids themselves, living with the hard truth of their conditions and not just pitying themselves while dealing with the difficult problems of revealing their conditions to their friends, dealing with day to day life, their families, among other issues. "Forever Hellos, Hard Good-Byes: Inspiration, Wit, & Wisdom from Courageous Kids Facing Life-Threatening Illness" is heartily recommended for self-help shelves everywhere, for set of simply heartwarming tales.

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