A poem about Alzheimer’s
Do not ask me to remember.
Don’t try to make me understand.
Let me rest and know you’re with me.
Kiss my cheek and hold my hand.
I’m confused beyond your concept.
I am sad and sick and lost.
All I know is that I need you
To be with me at all cost.
Do not lose your patience with me.
Do not scold or curse or cry.
I can’t help the way I’m acting,
Can’t be different though I try.
Just remember that I need you,
That the best of me is gone.
Please don’t fail to stand beside me,
Love me till my life is done.
―Unknown
“Every time I read to her, it was like I was courting her, because sometimes, just sometimes, she would fall in love with me again, just like she had a long time ago. And that’s the most wonderful feeling in the world. How many people are ever given that chance? To have someone you love fall in love with you over and over?”
― Nicholas Sparks, The Wedding
“You’re so beautiful,” said Alice. “I’m afraid of looking at you and not knowing who you are.”
“I think that even if you don’t know who I am someday, you’ll still know that I love you.”
“What if I see you, and I don’t know that you’re my daughter, and I don’t know that you love me?”
“Then, I’ll tell you that I do, and you’ll believe me.”
― Lisa Genova, Still Alice
“To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honors.”
― Tia Walker
“She is leaving him, not all at once, which would be painful enough, but in a wrenching succession of separations. One moment she is here, and then she is gone again, and each journey takes her a little farther from his reach. He cannot follow her, and he wonders where she goes when she leaves.”
― Debra Dean, The Madonnas of Leningrad
Wyman’s Note: I know this post is sad but hopefully it gives a little glimpse into the world that many seniors and their loved ones face every day. If you are not in this industry it has still probably touched your life in some way, have empathy and patience for those that you know who are dealing with dementia either personally or as a caregiver. For those of us in the industry, you see this every day and it is so easy to get conditioned to it and to forget that families don’t deal with this every day and are not conditioned to it and the reality is until we experience it as a family member we will never truly understand. We can only do our best to understand and help as much as possible, to be a support system and outlet to help residents and families deal with this disease.
