Euler Writes of A Loved One With Alzheimers'

Mar 02, 2022

Dieter Euler’s experiences, as the son of a woman who suffered from what we now call ‘early onset Alzheimer's’, started in the mid 1960’s.

His family had emigrated from Germany in the 1950’s in search of a better life in Canada, which they were able to build.

Dieter and his brother were in university, his father had a good job and they had purchased a house in the Kitchener Waterloo area.

Then his mother started to exhibit unusual thoughts and behaviours.

As Dieter points out at the beginning of the book he recently published about his experiences, ‘An Alzheimer’s Angel’ he was in his late 20s when he was getting calls from his mother.

“The telephone had rung, and I had answered it – naturally. Just as naturally I had expected my mother’s voice with another one of her slightly strange, sometimes wild, sometimes quasi-humorous calls”

“Do you know where my purse is? When is Dad coming home for supper?

My hair curlers are gone--so I can’t go out.” The neighbours' dog (They had a cat!) has done ‘it’ on my lawn again. Someone is trying to peek into the upstairs windows.”

“This time, it was different. There was real fear and terror in her voice. This wasn't an old lady, (she was around 60!) imagining a few things or getting them "mixed up". This was real panic!

It was around this time that the Euler family realised their mother’s condition was going to dominate all of their lives, and Dieter took on a support role for his father, who was the main caregiver.

He also began to keep a record of all that transpired as his mother’s condition deteriorated, and they tried a variety of strategies to make things better.

His mother died in the late 1980’s, 20 years later, and by that time Dieter had over 200 pages of notes, including anecdotes about some of the funny and joyous moments as well as the sad, disturbing and dangerous moments.

His notes also documented some of the strategies that he used to help his dad care for his mother.

After his mother died he thought that he should turn his notes into a book that might be useful for people taking care of loved ones with dementia: something which they might find comforting or useful because they may feel less alone, more able to laugh at some of the situations that arise as well as find some tips for dealing with other situations that arise when caring for a loved one with dementia.

But his career in education got in the way. He was a teacher, administrator and text book author.

When COVID hit, however, Dieter and his wife Heather decided to share a little more time between their cottage near Arden and their home in the village of New Hamburg.

Now retired and with time on his hands, Dieter decided to finish his book. It was published by Friesen Press in November of 2021.

Friesen Press helps with promotion, as well as providing self publishing services, and the book, which is called Alzheimer's Angels – a human story, is meant to provide support and help to caregivers.

The description of the book on the Friesen site sums it up this way:

“This personal story documents one family’s journey through the stages of Alzheimer’s with their mother, sharing their experiences and frustrations as well as their joys and love.

“How can caregivers move past feelings of guilt and shame? What legal, medical, and social resources are available to them? How can onlookers, friends and family of someone with Alzheimer’s care for themselves, or help--even a little? Will they ever find peace? Dieter has some answers which he now wants to share with you.”

An Alzheimer's Angel is available in paperback or ebook form through Amazon, Kindle, Google, Kobo, and Indigo/Chapters.