New Book – Elder Rage – Tells How One Woman Met the Challenge of Parents with Alzheimer’s

Nov. 4, 02 – Jacqueline Marcell gave up her career as a television executive to care for her elderly parents. She says that after 40 caregivers and much stress she solved her endless crisis. Now she is promoting her book on how she did it.

In here new book, Elder Rage, or Take My Father... Please!  How To Survive Caring For Aging Parents, she relates how she fought through an “unsympathetic medical system” and endured her "Jekyll & Hyde" father's physical and emotional wrath, until she finally found help for him and her ailing mother. What she didn't understand was that his deeply engrained life-long negative behavior pattern of screaming and yelling to get his way was becoming intermittently distorted with the onset of dementia, namely--Alzheimer's.

Education is Key
Marcell points out that not everyone becomes aggressive with dementia. She says her mother was sweet and lovely both before and after her Alzheimer's diagnosis, indicating that the disease can manifest itself in many ways. There are many types of dementia, Alzheimer's is just one form, and there is no stopping the progression nor is there yet a cure. Alzheimer’s is typically preceded by “Mild Cognitive Impairment” (MCI), which can last five to ten years. 90% will then progress to Stage One Alzheimer’s, which lasts 2-4 years. Stage Two lasts 2-10 years (and requires full-time care), and Stage Three lasts 1-3 years. Statistically families (and many doctors who are not dementia specialists) ignore the early warning signs, because they incorrectly believe that these intermittently odd behaviors are just a normal part of aging and untreatable senility. Marcell says, “By the age of 65 one out of every ten persons has some form of dementia, and by the age of 85 one out of every two. Surprisingly, the fastest growing segment of our population is the 85+ group, and over 54 million Americans struggle to provide care for aging family members and friends.”

Marcell says her mission is to “spread the word about the importance of early diagnosis to the 77 million baby boomers who are so often in denial about eldercare until they are in a crisis.” She wants everyone to know that with the proper treatment and medication, dementia symptoms might be masked and slowed down by 2-5 years, keeping a loved one in Stage One longer, which is intermittent and mild. “Seeking help early can save families a lot of heartache and money, and save our society the burden of caring for so many elders who decline sooner than need be.” The Alzheimer’s Association reports that by delaying the onset of AD for five years, we could save $50 billion in annual health care costs. Even a one-month delay in nursing home placement could save $1 billion a year. Marcell says, “It's really very simple: When your loved one does something that strikes you as illogical or irrational--it is! You don't need to be a Ph.D. to know something is wrong, you need an M.D. who can diagnose it and then treat it properly.”

Where She Found Help
Marcell credits the Alzheimer's Association (800-272-3900) for referring her to geriatric dementia specialists who uncovered her father's early stage Alzheimer's disease. (His regular doctors missed it completely.) They prescribed medication to slow it down and improve his cognitive functioning (Aricept, Exelon or Reminyl), and then they treated his aggression, and then the (often-present) depression. After also balancing her father with optimal nutrition, Vitamin E and anti-oxidants, Marcell implemented what she calls, "Elder Behavior Modification 101", consisting of rewards & consequences (because his short-term memory was still quite good), and succeeded in turning around his bad behaviors--the majority of the time. The final key was getting herself into a support group, and getting both parents out of bed ("waiting to die") and enrolled in physical and emotional therapies at an Adult Day Health Care facility--which completely turned their lives around at 80 and 85.

Marcell adds, “75% of dementia patients are being cared for at home, and sadly, elder abuse is rising dramatically because families are so unprepared for the frustrations of caregiving their elders, who are living longer than ever. She believes that with education elder abuse can be reduced. She is pleased that the National Center on Elder Abuse recently published a very favorable review of Elder Rage in their national newsletter.

Getting the Word Out
AARP's Bulletin featured Marcell on their cover (circulation 22 million), putting Elder Rage on the fast track to becoming a bestseller. “I'm reaching frustrated adult children who are reading it like a novel, and finding hope and tangible solutions for managing their 'challenging' elderly loved-ones.” The addendum by renowned dementia specialist, Dr. Rodman Shankle, “A Physicians Guide to Treating Aggression in Dementia,” helps doctors diagnose and treat this troubling aspect of dementia, which can occur in some patients. The bottom line message of both author and doctor is that, “there can still be a good life after a diagnosis of dementia, if it is properly managed medically and behaviorally.”

Elder Rage is also an extensive self-help book with answers to difficult "how to" questions like: getting obstinate elders to give up driving, accept a caregiver, see a different doctor, go to day care, move to a new residence--and includes a wealth of valuable resources, websites and recommended reading. 45+ high profile endorsements include: Hugh Downs, Regis Philbin, Dr. Dean Edell, the late Steve Allen, Rod Steiger, Jacqueline Bisset, Ed Asner, Dr. Bernie Siegel, John Bradshaw, Dr. John Gray, Betty Friedan, Julie Harris, Art Linkletter, Leeza Gibbons, Robert Stack, Dr. Nancy Snyderman/ABC News, Erin Brockovich, Ernest Borgnine, Johns Hopkins Memory Clinic, Duke University Center For Aging, Dr. Eric Tangalos/Mayo Clinic, Dr. Rudy Tanzi/Harvard Medical School, Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, and the National Adult Day Services Association--who honored Marcell with their 2002 Media Award, for her tireless efforts to bring attention to the value of Adult Day Care. They’ve invited Marcell to testify with them before Congress about the need for funding of Adult Day Cares. A national television show will follow Marcell to Congress.

Hitting a Chord With Boomers
Marcell hosts a weekly Internet radio program, “Coping with Caregiving” on http://www.wsradio.com/index.asp and speaks nationally to families, and to professionals (who earn CEU & CME credits) about eldercare awareness and reform (http://www.elderrage.com/Events.asp). She replaced an ailing Maureen Reagan at the California Governor's Conference for Women, presenting a caregiving seminar with California First Lady, Sharon Davis. CNN and NBC have interviewed her; she has been a frequent guest on 100+ talk radio & television programs, including Good Morning America and Iyanla; Prevention and Woman’s Day published articles; and three universities use Elder Rage as required text for their courses in Geriatric Assessment & Management. 133 glowing reviews on Amazon.com indicate that she’s hit a chord with a timely issue.

Marcell emphasizes, “Dementia costs American business over $61 billion a year—79% is lost productivity and absenteeism of employees who must take time off to care for ailing loved ones. Everyone should know the ten early warning signs of dementia and the importance of seeking help sooner than later.” She says she learned caregiving the hard way, which is why she wrote her first book, “so that no one would ever have to go through what I did.” Determined to make a difference, she says her mission is to, “get to Washington as quickly as possible and help change our eldercare laws." She laughs, "I have an ulterior motive--I don't have children, so I've got to help straighten things out before I get old!"