《远去的父亲》内容简介
近600万美国人——大约每10名65岁以上的人中就有一人患有阿尔茨海默病或相关痴呆症,预计到2050年,这一数字将翻一番以上。在这种疾病的患病率越来越高的情况下生活是什么感觉?如果最亲近的家人得了这种病呢?
《远去的父亲》是一本感人的回忆录。在被诊断出阿尔茨海默病后,曾因智商高被称为“高手”的农学家父亲愤愤不平,坚持认为这是人进入老年之后正常的生理现象,但桑迪普医生却知道,自己和家人已经开始进入一场“战争”了。父亲和患有帕金森症的母亲——他带着他的精神疾病,她带着她的神经疾病——继续在缺乏子女充分陪伴的过程中相依为命。随着病情的进展,他变得喜怒无常、脾气暴烈,让身边的人流泪又无可奈何。在悲痛中送别最终不治而亡的母亲后,一度骄傲、特别渴望得到认可的父亲,成为了一个孤独、衰弱又无依的老人。桑迪普及其手足,以及把父亲视如自己亲人的护工,分别用自己的方式,一起陪伴父亲走完了人生的最后一程。
这本书记录的就是桑迪普医生及其家人的这段经历,包括他们犯下的错、尝试过的探索,以及他们的争吵、和解、妥协、相助。同时,本书也提出了关于阿尔茨海默病的社区和家庭照护的种种现实问题,并给出了若干可行的建议。
作者简介
桑迪普·乔哈,医学博士和物理学博士、长岛犹太医学中心心脏科主治医师、霍夫斯特拉─诺斯韦医学院副教授,专攻心脏衰竭,同时也是《纽约时报》专栏作家。曾以杰出的医学人文写作荣获南亚记者协会颁发的特别荣誉奖。文章常见于《新英格兰医学期刊》《纽约时报》《华尔街日报》《时代》杂志等媒体及专业期刊,已出版的著作包括《实习医师:一位医师的起点》和《成为医师:一位美国医师的幻灭》。
A brief introduction to the Faraway Father
Nearly 6 million Americans - roughly one in 10 people over the age of 65 - have Alzheimer's disease or related dementias, and that number is expected to more than double by 2050. What's it like to live with an increasing prevalence of this disease? What if the closest family member gets the disease?
"Distant Father" is a moving memoir. After being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, the agronomist father, who had been called a "master" because of his high IQ, was indignant and insisted that this was a normal physiological phenomenon after entering old age, but Dr. Sandeep knew that he and his family had begun to enter a "war." Father and mother with Parkinson's disease - he with his mental illness, she with her neurological disease - continue to live without the full presence of their children. As the disease progressed, he became moody and violent, making those around him cry and helpless. After grieving the death of his mother, his father, once proud and desperate for recognition, became a lonely, weak and helpless old man. Sandeep and his siblings, as well as the carers who regard their father as their own family, accompanied their father through the final journey of life in their own ways.
This book Chronicles the experience of Dr. Sandeep and his family, including the mistakes they made, the explorations they tried, and the quarrels, reconciliations, compromises, and help they made. At the same time, the book also raises the practical issues of community and family care for Alzheimer's disease, and gives several practical recommendations.
About the author
Sandeep Joha, M.D., PhD, physics, attending cardiologist at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, associate professor at Hofstra Northway School of Medicine, specializes in heart failure, and is a columnist for The New York Times. He received a Special Honor Award from the South Asia Journalists Association for outstanding medical humanities writing. Articles have appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, and other media and professional journals, and his published books include The Intern: A Physician's Beginnings and Becoming a Physician: The Disillusionment of an American Physician.