Book Launch

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Alzheimer’s Australia Qld CEO Jan Samuels said a carer’s diarised account of he and his wife’s eight-year journey with the disease moved her profoundly.

Samuels said Alzheimer’s Australia Qld, in conjunction with Access Economics, produced a report last year that showed there were currently 40,000 Alzheimer’s sufferers in Queensland, with that number expected to grow to 171,000 by 2050.

“But statistics don’t tell us the human story, and Vince and Margaret’s story is the most powerful and touching story that I have ever read,” she said.

Speaking at the launch of Vince O’Rourke’s book, I Wish I Were A Leper, Samuels was joined by State Member for Greenslopes Gary Fenlon MP and Former Wallabies captain Andrew Slack, who added, “I’m no salesman, but I implore you to buy this book.”

I Wish I Were A Leper provides readers with a frank and honest diarised account of how a man deals with the immense responsibility of caring for his wife, suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s disease, from her diagnosis at only 59, until her death just eight years later.

The ‘warts and all’ story chronicles a heart-warming and agonising journey that helps expose the ”myths” surrounding dementia and its consequences and can assist other carers as they cope with their daily struggles.

Alzheimer’s physician Dr Sarah Bell-Allen said that although she knew medically what the disease did to a sufferer, it wasn’t until she read the book that she understood its full impact.

“It would be of enormous benefit to other carers and GPs,” she said.

O’Rourke said he was urged to compile his diary extracts into a book by friends and loved ones who knew it would help other sufferers’ carers and their families both prepare for how the disease progresses and to feel they were not so alone.

“I understand how isolating it can be for both carer and sufferer as, little by little, the ability to truly communicate with one another is lost,” O’Rourke said.

“The carer becomes their loved one’s only voice.”

I Wish I Were A Leper, is available at Alzheimer’s Australia’s bookshop on 1800 100 500, online at www.alz.seekbooks.com.au, or by contacting the author directly at vinceorourke@hotmail.com

Book Launch

BOOK LAUNCH: I Wish I Were a Leper

Friday 6 June 2008

Greenslopes Private Hospital, Brisbane

Andrew Slack, former Wallabies captain, sports journalist/columnist, MC

Jan Samuels, CEO, Alzheimer’s Australia Qld; and

Dr Sarah Bell-Allen, treating physician

Former Wallabies captain Andrew Slack

with Author, Vince O’Rourke

(From left:) Author Vince O'Rourke with

Cindy Pieterse (Regional Manager Ozcare) and

Robert McNamara (Executive Director Ozcare)

From Left: (Seated) Alzheimer’s Australia Qld CEO Jan Samuels and Author Vince O'Rourke

(Standing): Andrew Slack, Dr Sarah Bell-Allen, David Hutton (Executive Director, Catholic Education), Peter Selwood (Executive Director, Centacare), Don Luke (Executive Director, Spiritus), Fr John Chalmers (Centacare), and Gary Fenlon MP (State Member for Greenslopes)