While I Still Can...

by Rick Phelps

"Rarely does one get an opportunity to experience the nightmare that is Alzheimer’s Disease from the perspective of the person who has been stricken with it. In his book, “While I Still Can,” Rick Phelps, the founder of “Memory People,” an online Alzheimer’s and dementia support group, changes all of that. Diagnosed with Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease in his 50's, Rick decided it was time the veil was lifted.
Throughout this book the reader is given a firsthand account the early signs that Rick experienced, the loneliness he felt during the denial period of family and friends, the terror that gripped his heart upon receiving the undeniable diagnosis and, after the diagnosis, how he and his loved ones have learned to cope with this mind robbing and fatal disease.
A real page turner, “While I Still Can,” affords an uncommon glimpse into the world of memory loss, while at the same time it tells the story of love, commitment, faith and courage in the face of a catastrophic disease."

390 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2012

Reviews

[Leeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would encourage anyone, whether you or your family has been touched by Alzheimer's or memory impairment or not, to read While I Still Can. You just cannot get better insight and knowledge about Alzheimer's and memory impairment than from a patient, and that's exactly what Rick Phelps gives the reader in While I Still Can. Through his openness and honesty in sharing how this disease has affected him and his family I have gained so much more understanding of what my Mom in law and others with this are going through. The gift of that is that it's given me a closer connection to her and helped me meet her needs so much more effectively because I have an idea of how she's feeling, what she may be experiencing.

This is a book that will educate you, but it will also touch your soul and your spirit, as you understand what so many millions are living, and dying with, everyday.

While I Still Can is beautifully written in easy to understand, short chapters and Gary LeBlanc has shared wonderful caregiving advice as well.

I think this is a must read, and one I know I'll go back to over and over as my family walks this journey.

[Michele Desocio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading While I Still Can. It took me through Rick’s journey as a Memory Impaired person as well as Mr. LeBlanc’s as a caregiver. It’s an easy read but very heart felt. I was my mom’s care giver for 6 years and she is now in a nursing home. I sometimes laughed but mostly cried. I only wish i had this book 13 years ago. It is filled with invaluable information. Thank you Rick for your courage to share as i now have a better understanding of what my mom was feeling, something i was missing. I also know i still have more to learn and do. This is a must read for those who are memory impaired and their care givers. Rick may God Bless you as you have Blessed us. I read on my Kindle and now i look forward to my hard copy. I will cherish it always. ~ Michelle Tabat DeSocio

[Leanne Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHILE I STILL CAN

As a caregiver, This book brought new light into my world (much needed)
As a caregiver, I need to understand how my Best friend, Brother-in-law Feels, thinks, loves about life
As a caregiver, I want to know what makes him happy, sad, calm, at peace. His wants, and desires.
As a Best friend, I wanted to know If I was the best possible person to give care to Him, (I am for now)
I needed to know I wasn't GOING CRAZY and that you can take on the symptoms of Dementia while caring for your loved one (reversible if you take care of your self) You need HELP ! take all you can get, you will need it.

Thank you Rick! for~~
Memory People page~&~This Wonderful Book
You will forever be in my heart
Leanne Becker
<3

[Robin Helms · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of this book is written by Rick Phelps who was diagnosed approx 3 years ago and is now around the age of 60. He explains his journey and daily struggles. The second half is written by his co-author who gives his insight as a caregiver for his father.

A must read for anyone who is struggling with this disease personally or as a caregiver.

[Priscilla Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for anyone with a family member with alzeimers or dementia to help us understand how it is for them instead of just our view as caretakers.

[Mary Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those of us caring for persons with Alzheimer’s, Rick Phelps’ book, While I Still Can is a compelling, invaluable resource. He collaborated with Gary Leblanc to write the book within a year after Rick received his diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s. His purpose was to help people understand “the mind of an actual Alzheimer’s patient.” After contracting the disease, he created an online support group called Memory People, plus an interactive chat forum where Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers could share their stories, questions and answers with one another. Those internet resources have been widely accessed around the world. Each chapter in his book also contains a pithy quote or poem by one of the Memory People. The chapters are very short, deliberately, so “that those who are in the early stages of this disease will still be able to read this book and absorb the content, thus learning from his experiences” (While I Still Can: One Man’s Journey Through Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, Rick Phelps and Gary Joseph Leblanc, XLibris Corporation, 2012, pp. 83). Some chapters are from a caregiver’s perspective. Others detail Rick’s thinking as Alzheimer’s progressed. They cover everything from remembering to taking medication, the cocoon effect, restless nights, sundowning, hallucinations, incontinence, caregiver stress, etc. This is an immensely practical book to own for those who care about people with Alzheimer’s.

[Jerry Blackerby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an awesome book about the things an Alzheimer's patient goes through and also things a caregiver goes through. Many tips are given, including listing things that must be done legally by the patient while still able and by a caregiver. My mother, her three siblings, their mother and several of her brothers and many other relatives in that family line have or had Alzheimer's. Of course, many of those older ones were not officially diagnosed, but their dementia was called many different things, such as hardening of the arteries.

This was one of the easiest reads I have ever found. I read many things that I already knew, but also many things I had not considered at the time. My late wife had a form of dementia, not Alzheimer's, that came and went during her last few years while I was her caregiver. After reading this book, I believe her dementia began coming on five years before she died, although I did not recognize it until a couple of years before she died.

This book is a must read for anyone who has a friend or relative who has Alzheimer's or wants to just learn about the disease for any reason. With my family history of Alzheimer's, I am urging all of my family to read the book.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rich Phelps was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers in his mid 50s. He decided he wanted to record and publish his deterioration from the inside, in order to help others facing the same diagnosis, or caring for someone with Alzheimers or dementia. Fortunately, he realized that he would eventually be unable to record his decline because his brain would forget to do it so he enlisted the help of author Gary Joseph LeBlanc, whose own father had died of Alzheimers.

What these men have produced is a remarkable record of how the brain operates, how an Azheimers patient feels in various situations and how caregivers can best care for their loved ones. At some point during the narrative, the tale switches from Rick's decline to LeBlanc's last years with his own father, presumably because Rick had declined far enough that he was no longer able to offer helpful insight.

Early in his disease, Phelps saw that there needed to be a support group and so he started "Memory People" on Facebook, which now has over 11,000 members sharing their stories with others.

I found this book remarkably helpful and immediately joined Memory People and expect to be active in the discussion there as well.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful (though I've been traveling this sad road with my mother for 10 years now), sad, potentially frightening. There are so many families out there seeing their lives turned upside down by a disease without valid treatment or cure.

Rick Phelps is a young victim of Alzheimer's, who wants to tell his story while he still can... Thank you, Rick.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone who has a loved one suffering from Alzheimer's should read this book. The author has early onset Alzheimer's and has a very personal perspective. It has helped me to understand some of what my father is facing and more importantly, led me to the Facebook group that the author started: Memory People. This group of caregivers and Alzheimer patients offers support to any who ask for it.

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful

Very insightful book, written from an ALZ patients perspective. Rick Phelps explains what his days are like. How he knew he had to give up his career, the ALZ fog, the nights of no sleep. How he and his family transition through it. If you love someone with dementia, this book will help you understand them a little better.

[Truthful · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rick's story is probably of interest to all early-stage dementia patients. Thanks for writing it, Rick!

[Di Bower · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent little book - one that I refer back to all the time

[Catherine]

Very good practical advise about Alzheimer's, it's progress and difficulties for the family and especially the caregivers. Quick read but lots of usable information to help understand the disease.