My husband and I were caregivers for his parents for five years until the time of their passing. They were each afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. We became deeply familiar with the disease’s misery and gained a new understanding and love for people with this affliction.
Dementia robs you of yourself,
The one you knew is gone.
Instead, you have but just a shell—
A shell that has no home.
The words you speak do not make sense
To those who care for you.
Your life is frustrating, at best;
Lucid moments but a few.
Loved ones try their best to please,
Their efforts you don’t see
Because you focus inwardly
Your lone concern is “me.”
Why this disease afflicts some folks
And does not strike the others
Mystifies all those who care
For fathers and for mothers.