Stop and Smell the Garbage: A Caregiver's Story of Survival - Paperback

by Christine McMahon Sutton (Author)

Our walking path took us past a large garbage can that sat near an apartment complex. It was a favorite stopping point for dogs and Lucy, our willful terrier, pulled me over to it. I asked, "Oh, do you want to stop and smell the garbage?" Gery didn't appear to be paying attention, but not only was he listening, he decided I was talking to him. He walked resolutely to the garbage can, removed the lid, lowered his head and took an enthusiastic whiff." At age 56, Gery Sutton - a family physician specializing in geriatric medicine - was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. For three years, his wife was his full time caregiver. Because nothing in her background prepared her, she did what most caregivers do-she made it up as she went along. This is her painfully forthright account of the daily challenges, the failures and the unexpected triumphs. She gives realistic advice on caring for someone with dementia. She describes signs of Alzheimer's that she saw and misinterpreted during the months before his diagnosis. She shares the coping mechanisms that helped her survive the illness and death of her husband. Finally, she describes her search for meaning at the bottom of a garbage can.

Author Biography

Christine McMahon Sutton grew up in Iowa and is a graduate of the University of Iowa in Iowa City. She was a news reporter until 1986, when she joined the staff of the Iowa Medical Society in West Des Moines. At IMS, she was vice president of communications and editor of Iowa Medicine. She was an editor and health care writer for Oklahoma Magazine in Tulsa from 2001-2006. In 2006, she wrote the historical text One Hundred Years of Medicine in Oklahoma, which was published in the Oklahoma State Medical Association Journal on the occasion of that state's centennial. She also wrote historical articles for the Oklahoma Dental Association Journal. In 2009, Christine and her former co-worker Cheri Jensen founded Management and Event Services, a home-based company that provides administrative services for the Iowa Association of County Medical Examiners, the Iowa Association of Pathologists and the Iowa Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Christine has two children and three grandchildren. She and her dog Lucy live quietly in a small town in Iowa.