The Magic Man and His Dementia Adventure

Angie Buxton-King, from Suffolk, UK

There is very little written about the lighter side of dementia and the information I found by searching desperately at night on the internet left me feeling alone, helpless, and hopeless. This is where the work of AlzAuthors is so powerful as they provide support through ‘lived experiences’ and that is where the power is for us following in their footsteps. Not in yet another leaflet talking about services that just don’t exist in a practical sense but in providing a gateway to the wealth of information from those who have walked this way before.

When my husband, Graham, had lost the motor function to feed himself and had lost weight rapidly despite loving food, this horrific thought came into my head. ‘I  wonder how many of our loved ones starve to death in care homes and hospitals, not because they do not want to eat, but because staff feel they are refusing food when, really, all they need, is time and a willing person to feed them.’

I can remember the exact moment that I decided to write a book about Dementia. It was Boxing Day 2017 and I was driving back to Cornwall in the dark from a disastrous ‘family’ Christmas with Graham.

We had just passed a service station when Graham suddenly opened the passenger door and attempted to get out of the car at 70 mph.

It was the grand finale to a horrendous Christmas holiday.

I swerved onto the hard shoulder managing to save us both from disaster and laughed aloud at our situation as tears streamed down my face. I thought to myself; “this is not funny and I wonder how many other people are going through similar experiences on this wet cold December day because their loved one has dementia”.

That is the moment that I thought our experiences might be able to help others ….

I hope that my book, The Magic Man and His Dementia Adventure, provides you with an insight into growing old or mature, making life choices that suit us better in the future, and planning, and managing finite resources.  Sadly it also details a sorry picture of government funding, or lack of it, and the inability to join up the dots to just, make things work in a fair way. I hope you find something useful within its pages and would love you to get in touch if you would like to feedback your thoughts on my words.

My book describes our own personal journey through dementia; don’t worry it will have laugh-aloud moments, magic moments, along with more thought-provoking moments. I have also included helpful tips on what worked for us at different stages of the journey that may resonate with you but do feel free to ignore them if they do not align with your beliefs.

About the Author

Email : angie22@cancertherapies.org.uk / Website: www.cancertherapies.org.uk 

Angie was one of the first healers to be employed by the NHS at University College London Hospital (UCLH) from 1999 – 2011. She found her way through the resistance, skepticism and cost barriers to get this crucial care through to the people who need it and created new pathways to establish gold-standard integrative healthcare within Britain’s National Health Service. Now with her focus firmly on dementia care, she is well placed to make a difference to others on this very challenging pathway.

Angie has written two books previously; The NHS Healer 2004 (Virgin Books) and The NHS Healer Onwards & Upwards 2017 (Pegasus Books).

Angie’s relevant subject matter credentials are;  

• Over 25 years’ experience as a Reiki Therapist 
• Keynote speaker at medical and holistic conferences in the UK and abroad.
• Employed as a caregiver in a dementia nursing home in 1991
• Employed as a caregiver in community care for dementia patients in 1993
• Employed as a caregiver support advocate for Age Concern in 1995
• Trained caregivers to work in community care in 2012
• Caregiver for her husband Graham 2013-2022

Social Media Links

Facebook Angie King: https://www.facebook.com/angie.king.372661

Facebook The Magic Man and his dementia adventure:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089076596252

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/angie-buxton-king-03120022/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angiebuxtonking/#

Twitter/X: @AngieBuxto88899