> Poems

Pray for me I was once like you.
Be kind and loving to me that's how I would have treated you.
Remember I was once someone's parent or spouse I had a life and a
dream for the future.
Speak to me, I can hear you even if I don't understand
what you are saying. Speak to me of things in my past of
which I can still relate.
Be considerate of me, my days are such a struggle.
Think of my feelings because I still have them and can feel pain.
Treat me with respect because I would have treated you that way.
Think of how I was before I got Alzheimer's; I was full of life,
I had a life, laughed and loved you.
Think of how I am now, My disease distorts my thinking, my
feelings, and my ability to respond, but I still love you even if I can't tell you.
Think about my future because I used too.
Remember I was full of hope for the future just like you are now.
Think how it would be to have things locked in your mind and
can't let them out. I need you to understand and not blame me,
but Alzheimer's.
I still need the compassion and the touching and most of all I
still need you to love me.
Keep me in your prayers because I am between life and death.
The love you give will be a blessing from God and both of us will
live forever.
How you live and what you do today will always be remembered
in the heart of the Alzheimer's Patient.

Copyright © 2000 Carolyn Haynali
Used with permission of the author.

Carolyn's husband, Chuck, has Alzheimer's. She was his full-time caregiver until he was placed in a
facility in 1999. Carolyn's web site at http://www.caregiversarmy.org/Carolyn/ features her poetry
and her journal. Carolyn is also founder of Caregiver's Army.