Very few people write about the experience of Alzheimer's as Joe does here. My friend, also a caregiver, loaned me one such book, Alzheimer's from the Inside Out by Richard Taylor. Dr. Taylor tells it like it is as does Joe. Here are some quotes from his book:
- The fact is, most experts spend more time talking to and listening to caregivers than they do talking to and listening to those of us with dementia. pp. 30, 31
- Everyday, every hour, every few minutes, I lose my train of thought. . . . Conversations pass me by as I struggle to keep up, keep on track, and stay in the game. p 65
- Can I successfully live in a world where I am missing larger and larger chunks of what is going on around me? p. 69
- Time does not mean much to me now. I do not know and seldom care if it is Monday or Wednesday or Sunday. p. 119
- I am not a child. Even if sometimes I act like one, check me out--I AM NOT A CHILD! . . . there are times when I want to figure things out for myself. pp. 190, 192
- Care givers stress themselves as much or more than do the people for whom they care. We can't be who you want or need us to be. Don't get upset with us or yourself when we aren't. Treat us as someone you love as we are, not who you wish we were or who you want and think we should be. We don't intend to make you mad just being ourselves; we don't go out of our way to make you mad. You push us to be as you are and we push back. You push us to be as we were and we don't understand. p. 209
- I don't feel hopeless--I feel that to hope tomorrow will be better than today is a waste of time that diminishes my appreciation of today. p. 219
- I want to encourage, advocate, promote, and persuade you to think about being a "Best Friend" to the loved one in your life who has Alzheimer's disease. p. 241
Carol
