Do you ever wonder what it
feels like to have dementia? I do. As a hospice volunteer in Detroit nursing
homes, I have spent considerable time with residents who have
dementia. This poem describes how I think many of them feel.
Pieces
of Our Minds
On the border, on the
brink,
we shiver like quivering
tears
swollen to fullness with
distress,
reluctant to spill an excess.
Strapped in delusions
wondrous and weird, we ride
roller coasters of reality
through joy and fear.
On the brim, on the rim,
like balls circling in
frustration,
we scramble for thoughts
lost in nets of
uncertainty.
Invaded by memories,
peeping, creeping, weeping,
we laugh and cry to the
rhythm of nostalgia.
On the fringe, on the edge,
changing, adjusting,
impacting,
we crave compassion in our
search
for society’s sanctuary.
©
Frances Shani Parker
For a more personal
experience of what it’s like to have dementia, a sensitivity training
simulation can be very beneficial. The Virtual Dementia Tour® is an
interactive learning experience designed to help those caring for people with
Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. The tour includes five tasks to
complete in the manner that a person with dementia would experience them.
Frances Shani Parker,
Author
Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer
in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book
editions in America and other countries at online and offline booksellers.
Thank you for sharing, Robert.
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