Also, the poem says "nurse" but I believe it can be applied to us all. Man, woman, nurse or caregiver - it's an important idea.
We can never forget these people have live a unique life, even if they can't express it. That's why I don't buy into "parenting our parents" even though I know most people use the phrase as a kind of shortcut. I never felt caring for my parents was like caring for my children.
Thanks for checking in.
Carol
Yes, it's something we all need to remember - I see elders in clinic lobbies with notes pinned to their shirts, waiting to be taken, by staff, to the next "stop." This kind of stuff upsets me. Someone should be with each of these people. This is a human, not part of an assembly line. I don't know all the answers, but I sure have questions.
I'm glad this poem touched so many people.
Carol
I love the poem, and did some research, as I wanted to see the piece with pictures it speaks about in the "email"...the fact is...it was written by a man named David Griffith.
I have enclosed the link to his page. To Soon Old
The proper name of the piece is "To Soon Old"...and HOW true that statement is, just as the poem is ALL too true.
This from truthorfiction.com:
"The story about the old man (in some versions described as 100 years old) is a fabrication.
The poem, titled Too Soon Old , was written by Dave Griffith of Fort Worth, Texas. Griffith told TruthOrFiction.com that he wrote the poem more than 20 years ago and that he meant for it to be simple, and too the point, from youth through old age in his own personal life, high school football, Marines, marriage, the ravages of his own disabilities.
Someone took the poem from his site, created a false story about it, and started it circulating on the Internet.
Griffith is the author of more than 500 poems, which are posted on his personal website. TruthorFiction.com had to remove the link to Griffith's site after Google posted a warning that their might be malicious files on the site that could harm the computers of those who visit it.
someone sent this to me a few months ago and was so touched by it i kept it, never thinking that a short time later i would be reading it out at my dad's funeral and at his memorial service. i changed a few things slightly to fit in with what he was doing at certain ages of his life, but apart from that left it more or less as it was. I now have to make several copies to send to people who were moved by it and someone even suggested putting a copy at the end of every patient's bed who was suffering with alzheimers/dementia. A wonderful sentiment and one i will treasure forever and it will always make me think of my dad
Babs
Carol, just reading this poem with tears streaming down my face. My Mother has this terrible disease and often we forget that she is still inside there somewhere. This poem has reminded me that although she isnt able to do most of the things she used to do she is still a person who must be feeling so frightened and frustrated and mourns the life that she once had.
Hi Noeleen,
You sound like you already have the compassion necessary. Day to day care can wear on caregivers, but we need to always remember that our loved ones deserve to be treated with respect. They have a right to their dignity and their legacy. Yes, they are still "there." We have no way of knowing how much they feel and think, so my feeling is to err on the side that they know more, not less.
Blessings to you, my friend. You sound wonderful.
Carol
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