Alzhiemers - Then and Now

Alzhiemers is a form of dementia that affects the brain. This peice is how it affects the whole family.

Busy, busy, busy,
washing, ironing, mending, cleaning
"Who are you?" and "Why did you say that?"
Talking to thin air
"Ooh, it's you, our Jimmy." she says,
"I haven't seen you for a while."
"I've been in the front room," said I,
"You only saw me a couple of minutes ago."
That's how I remember it starting.
That's how I noticed it at first.
Then there wasn't a name for it;
Now it's called Alzhiemers
After its German scientist founder.
Then there was no known cure.
Now they have drugs to control it.
Then was 45 years ago.
That was my mother.
She mopped and stoned us
and turned us out looking smart.
She got us to school every morning.
She cooked for us every day;
A meal for thirteen
She made the best meals ever.
But then it started to go wrong.
She forgot our names
and went through all eleven children
until she hit the right one;
She put tea leaves in the soup;
she watched the kettle boil dry;
She didn't put tea in the teapot;
She forgot to light the gas;
She stopped singing.
She had a beautiful voice
She sang every day.
But she just stopped singing.
Then there was the violence;
The pot smashing;
The shouting and screaming;
Then we were all grown up
and flown the nest
leaving dad to cope alone.
Then came the walkabouts.
A frantic 'phone call from dad
and a search to find her;
Then we had to persuade her to come home.
Many's the time I have had
to explain to the police on patrol.
Age and poor health were the reasons for them both
going into a nursing home.
At first they shared a room
but she never left dad alone.
So they were seperated
For the first time since
the Second World War.
mother then took it upon herself to head the escape committee
of which she was the sole member. Her and her Alzhiemers
She escaped several times.
She had had a bad hip for several years which
soon took its toll and she couldn't walk very far.
Even the Alzhiemers couldn't kill that pain.
she was overlooked for a new hip because
of her age and condition.
Dad died.
She was moved to another nursing home where
they had better facilities for sufferers of Alzhiemers.
She was there for a long time.
To my shame I was an infrequent visitor.
I thought that the person I loved had died
long ago and this was a living shell in my mothers body.
But I was proved wrong.
On the night before she passed away
I was sat in her room.
She, as I thought, was the vegetable in the bed.
I spoke to her; I stroked her hair;
And then, for some unknown reason,
I went to her bedside drawer and opened it.
There, amongst her souveniers, were her Rosary Beads.
I picked them up and sat down in the chair.
I recited the Rosary.
Not since my childhood had I done that.
And never have I gone through my mothers drawers.
On reflection I know it was her that made me do it.
I suppose that what I am trying to say is
That even though there is a communication breakdown
between Alzhiemer sufferers and everyone else
we should not stop caring for them.
There is still a real person in that shell;
The same person that you once knew and loved.
The spirit is trapped in that body
And is trying to communicate with us in any way it can.
Soon, I hope, there will be a cure for this debilitating disease.
Stem cell research will find a cure for this affliction, I'm sure of that.