In Quest of Creativity
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About this ebook
Do all you can to be creative--creating art, photography, creative cooking, writing novels, or songs--and contribute to the happiness of others. In old age, if the memory decline can be slowed down and thought of the mind could retain its vigor, a former intelligence may have a new breadth of understanding of the young and a new loving friendship may grow among the young and old. So, the use of knowing anything about the old age ahead of time becomes useful. The memory problem is a big issue in old age if you're on your own, as ability to think matters.
Sukur Khan, Ph.D.
Sukur Khan, Ph.D., is a retired scientist who, in old age, enjoys walking, thinking, and sharing his thoughts through fiction. Sukur has suffered from depression, and storytelling has been an exercise in self-expression. After his recovery, Sukur published his first book, Candlelight (2015). Subsequently, his neurologist diagnosed him with late-onset Alzheimer's disease. Sukur spent many days and nights for years learning about the disease and how to cope with it. The author is organizing to simplify his daily living in his own world, in his own way, to survive. It's a matter of everyday living and making decisions and clearly seeing what he is able to fight and what he's fighting against. He is fighting without knowing the terms of the battle. He is capable of keeping in touch with his Power of Attorney, doctors, neurologists, and pharmacists--all that stuff by himself, alone. For the moment, he is able to manage his finances and well-being by himself. He enjoys reading and writing. Sukur always tries connecting with his family and friends, and anyone else who cares.
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In Quest of Creativity - Sukur Khan, Ph.D.
Eleven
About the Author
Sukur Khan, Ph.D., is a retired scientist who, in old age, enjoys walking, thinking, and sharing his thoughts through fiction.
Sukur has suffered from depression, and storytelling has been an exercise in self-expression. After his recovery, Sukur published his first book, Candlelight (2015). Subsequently, his neurologist diagnosed him with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Sukur spent many days and nights for years learning about the disease and how to cope with it. The author is organizing to simplify his daily living in his own world, in his own way, to survive. It’s a matter of everyday living and making decisions and clearly seeing what he is able to fight and what he’s fighting against. He is fighting without knowing the terms of the battle.
He is capable of keeping in touch with his Power of Attorney, doctors, neurologists, and pharmacists—all that stuff by himself, alone. For the moment, he is able to manage his finances and well-being by himself. He enjoys reading and writing. Sukur always tries connecting with his family and friends, and anyone else who cares.
About the Book
A fictional account of life in old age; how compassion, friendship, and connections may help in facing the growing problems of Alzheimer's related to aging issues; and stories of how being creative and doing simple things might contribute to living a healthy life in the final years of old age.
Do all you can to be creative--creating art, photography, creative cooking, writing novels, or songs--and contribute to the happiness of others. In old age, if the memory decline can be slowed down and thought of the mind could retain its vigor, a former intelligence may have a new breadth of understanding of the young and a new loving friendship may grow among the young and old. So, the use of knowing anything about the old age ahead of time becomes useful. The memory problem is a big issue in old age if you're on your own, as ability to think matters.
Dedication
Dedicated to elderly people worldwide coping with Alzheimer’s…
Copyright Information
Copyright © Sukur Khan, Ph.D. (2019)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Ordering Information:
Quantity sales: special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data
Khan, Ph.D., Sukur
In Quest of Creativity
ISBN 9781641827348 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781641827355 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781641827362 (Kindle e-book)
ISBN 9781645364689 (ePub e-book)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019935957
The main category of the book — Fiction / Medical
www.austinmacauley.com/us
First Published (2019)
Austin Macauley Publishers LLC
40 Wall Street, 28th Floor
New York, NY 10005
USA
mail-usa@austinmacauley.com
+1 (646) 5125767
Acknowledgments
It is a pleasure to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to my mentor and guide, Dr. David Hopkinson, a clinical psychologist and a friend. His dedication to being by my side for eight years has helped guide me and to keep the focus of my journey on healthy living.
I owe thanks to my former (now retired) physician for fifteen years, Dr. William Massey III. Dr. Massey took an out-of-the-ordinary interest in my numerous health issues, at first suspecting dementia and referring me to Dr. Hopkinson for care; subsequently to Dr. William Beneke, a cardiologist, for my heart problems.
My current primary physician, Dr. Philip Walter, stayed focused on my issues and further referred me to a lung specialist, Dr. Vijay Subramanium, who is continuously monitoring my lung problems. When I told him I have Alzheimer’s, he shared his experience of one of his loved one’s suffering Alzheimer’s in an extraordinary and personal way, which provided me with the strength and courage I needed to face the disease. I am forever grateful to my neurologist, Shwake A Souidan, for helping me out in coping with the disease.
There are no words to adequately thank my youngest brother, Sabur Khan, who selflessly helped me by continually keeping me informed and alerted about what’s going on around me. My daughter, Tania Lowery, has my warmest thanks and gratitude.
Lastly, I am incredibly thankful to my family and friends for their constant encouragement throughout my incredible journey. It is my privilege to thank my wife for her extraordinary patience in my withdrawal from the rest of the world while working on this project.
Target Audience
The over sixty-five populations around the world is the target audience of In Quest for Creativity.
Memory problem is a big issue in old age if you live on your own. The UN projects that by 2050 the number of elderly people worldwide will grow significantly, so, it is imperative that elderly people living in the twilight of their years are in good memory health.
Sing the Song of the Moment
Sing the song of the moment in careless carols, in the transient light of the day;
Sing of the fleeting smiles that vanish and never look back;
Sing of the flowers that bloom and fade without regret.
Weave not in memory’s thread the days that would glide into nights.
To the guests that must go bid God-speed and wipe away all traces of their steps.
Let the moments end in moments with their cargo of fugitive songs.
With both hands snap the fetters you made with your own heart chords;
Take to your breast with a smile what is easy and simple and near.
Today is the festival of phantoms that know not when they die.
Let your laughter flush in meaningless mirth like twinkles of light on the ripples;
Let your life lightly dance on the verge of Time like a dew on the tip of a leaf.
Strike in the chords of your harp the fitful murmurs of moments.
Source: Poetry, A Magazine of Verse 2, No. 3 (June 1913).
Synopsis
The main characters are Henry ‘Hank’ Satyam, a scientist; Madeleine ‘Maddie’ Antonia, an Alzheimer’s doctor; and Denise Rafaela, a health-care facility managing director. They were born in three different countries outside the United States. In their fifties they worked together for a large American corporation, and they became friends. Due to unforeseen circumstances, they were separated from each other and lost contact in their mid-sixties. Hank and Maddie unexpectedly reunited in their eighties and renewed their friendship. Hank narrates that journey with an emphasis on his quest to regain his self-confidence and creativity despite living with late-onset Alzheimer’s.
Hank tells the stories of his friendship with Maddie and her friend Mike. Hank meets Maddie’s adopted daughter, Sarah, who lives with Mike and Maddie. Much happened in those missing years. Hank began to understand Maddie’s mental journey with late-onset Alzheimer’s. Sarah, an Alzheimer’s nurse, takes care of Maddie. Sarah and her grandchildren become fundamental to Maddie’s transformation into the new life of an artist. Maddie paints away her pain, and she starts the Elderly Art School to help the elderly improve their cognitive potential through art. Maddie demonstrates her palm art technique for memory enhancement and saffron art for memory connections. She also meets Bobby, a musician and former Malta national football (soccer) team member. They marry and settle in Malta.
Hank starts to wonder about his life journey when, a year later, he is diagnosed with late-onset Alzheimer’s. His first symptoms had appeared five years earlier. Hank faces personal battles and experiences a turning point when he begins to feel pain in his mind. At times Hank feels like he is living another life, a life with a self that is foreign and remote, yet one to which he is forever fettered by the half-conscious memories of a stranger. Hank’s stability and integrity are threatened, so he decides to focus on creativity and learning. He discovers Julie and becomes her friend. Julie is blind, but she guides him