I got this poem from somewhere - thought I'd share.
I NEED YOU DO NOT ASK ME TO REMEMBER, DO NOT TRY TO MAKE ME UNDERSTAND, LET ME REST AND KNOW YOU'RE WITH ME, KISS MY CHEEK AND HOLD MY HAND, IM CONFUSED BEYOND YOUR CONCEPT, I AM SAD AND SICK AND LOST. ALL I KNOW IS THAT I NEED YOU TO BE WITH ME AT ALL COST, DO NOT LOSE YOUR PATIENCE WITH ME, DO NOT SCOLD OR CURSE OR CRY. I CAN'T HELP THE WAY I'M ACTING, CAN'T BE DIFFERENT, THOUGH I TRY. JUST REMEMBER THAT I NEED YOU, THAT THE BEST OF ME IS GONE, PLEASE DON'T FAIL TO STAND BESIDE ME!!! LOVE ME TILL MY LIFE IS DONE.
Oh, my gosh, I'm not a weepy person but this brought mega-tears to my eyes. How beautiful. I'm copying it and passing it on to a few select friends. Thanks so much.
I googled "Caregivers of Alzheimers" and got a lot of hits but not a specific group by that name. (I did learn that we have a greater incidence of gingivitis and obesity than others). Do you have an address for them?
Unfortunately you have to have an account to look at msn groups. Same thing with Yahoo groups in many cases.
There was an Alzheimer's Caregivers Yahoo group. I belonged to it at one point. They provided a huge amount of reading material, and for the short time I lurked there it was obvious that it was a truly kind group of people (at that point in any case). Mainly children taking care of parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. I wasn't ready for an online support group at that point. Had a bit of denial to work my way though first.
Can lurkers access the information we put in our account such as e=mail, real names,etc. Our posts are so personal I'd be uncomfortable for "strangers" to read them. As far as msn groups I found once you join one all other groups can get into everything. I posted my bio in the AD group and it appeared when I joined a cats group.
I went into personal information and unchecked my e-mail address. I guess I was uncomfortable having strangers having access to these very personal conversations. Call me weird. Call me paranoid. This is the end of a very long day. Hope I don't offend anyone.
I need to clarify that last message. I gain so much knowledge and insight from all of you. And your tender stories that you share to willingly. They are personal stories of husbands and wives and are so precious. I meant to say I wouldn't want strangers reading them. And even if your parent or other relative has AD, it isn't the same. My FIL had it and it was so much different than this is. I'm starting to ramble so I'll stop. I just didn't want to go to bed and have hurt someone of you.
Mawzy-you didn't offend. We do need each other. I do feel vulnerable to curiosity seeekers reading our inner most thoughts. The positive is that honest lurkers in need do come in. Why are you posting when you should be sleeping?