I have dementia. I am new to the Forum
- Thread starter David Joseph
- Start date
Hi David and welcome to Dementia Support Forum. I am sorry to hear that you have dementia. I hope that you will find this to be a friendly and supportive community. Please feel free to ask questions, share some of your story, join in with conversations or let off steam when you need to
Hello mr. David im glad to see you hear I hope you can have some help from this good poeple they are very nise and they courage folks real good. Im got them dementia to so i now it is hard and i wish you all the best. If i can help any way just holler sometime im forgot how to get on hear but i remeber to look a lot too. God bless you.
Hi all,
I have written poetry since I was 16. I am now 79 and was diagnosed with dementia earlier this year and am being treated with
Donepezil. I wanted to share the following poem with everyone on this Forum, about my past experiences.
My experiences
Strange forgetfulness came in waves,
Slow at first, hardly even noticed,
Soon corrected, filled in, excused.
The words went missing, lost in time,
On tip of tongue, where did they go?
Just absentminded, what can that mean?
No longer smart, much less serene.
I needed help but could not ask
I didn’t want to not be me
I knew what the worst well might
For at least two generations, now three?
The odds were against me —-
Late in life the disease struck hard,
On both sides of my family.
Do I tell my wife, she would be worried.
No reason yet, but I needed to be hurried.
Struggle on, what more will I lose?
It’s not something that one can choose.
Islands of hope will present themselves.
I have written poetry since I was 16. I am now 79 and was diagnosed with dementia earlier this year and am being treated with
Donepezil. I wanted to share the following poem with everyone on this Forum, about my past experiences.
My experiences
Strange forgetfulness came in waves,
Slow at first, hardly even noticed,
Soon corrected, filled in, excused.
The words went missing, lost in time,
On tip of tongue, where did they go?
Just absentminded, what can that mean?
No longer smart, much less serene.
I needed help but could not ask
I didn’t want to not be me
I knew what the worst well might
For at least two generations, now three?
The odds were against me —-
Late in life the disease struck hard,
On both sides of my family.
Do I tell my wife, she would be worried.
No reason yet, but I needed to be hurried.
Struggle on, what more will I lose?
It’s not something that one can choose.
Islands of hope will present themselves.
Dear MatthewB,
Many thanks for your recent reply. The good people on the forum are very helpful, and they are nice too. You are right. I worked with elderly people in the NHS, and my own mother and my Dad’s mother both had dementia, so I knew it was possible, though when I was told by the psychiatrist that I too had it I was still shocked, so much so that I couldn’t think straight for a while afterwards! God bless you for your reply.
Many thanks,
David Joseph
Thanks for your lovely poem David. I am a carer for my husband with Alzheimer’s. It’s good to know how those like yourself with dementia feel.
You sure are talent and nice fellow I'm reading that right you did was very good I'm member be so shock too I'm hear of dementia before and think was just very old folks but bam here I got that one and is think I'm just turn 60 but is not sure bout that I'm sure hope you can stay at peace and joyful through this is just part of living I reckon and maybe we can help other other each other. Lord bless your kind heart this is Matt
Dear Matthew B,
Thank you for your very kind message. It was initially a great shock, but I think I’ve gotten over it by now. You are so right —- and from what I’ve learned recently since joining the Forum is that it’s good to accept what has happened as just one part of being alive for us. This kind of thing can happen to anyone, whether they recognised something coming or it just came out of the blue, as it were. We can help each other I am sure, by being at peace and as joyful as you say. I have spoken to a very nice priest and a close friend, and that too did certainly help me find peace. I wish you well, and do keep in touch. I want you to know that you have helped me a great deal!
Your new friend,
David Joseph
Thank you for your very kind message. It was initially a great shock, but I think I’ve gotten over it by now. You are so right —- and from what I’ve learned recently since joining the Forum is that it’s good to accept what has happened as just one part of being alive for us. This kind of thing can happen to anyone, whether they recognised something coming or it just came out of the blue, as it were. We can help each other I am sure, by being at peace and as joyful as you say. I have spoken to a very nice priest and a close friend, and that too did certainly help me find peace. I wish you well, and do keep in touch. I want you to know that you have helped me a great deal!
Your new friend,
David Joseph
Is making me so happy have a new friend;! I'm right on here them voice kind is make that right so better so maybe can help to not confuse people so bad is hard to talk to people in the face is cause is hard to under understand so is better for writing and is so nice having you good people
So sorry to hear about it and well done that you are looking for advice. Find out what carers say and what to do better in the early days
dementiacaresupportguide.com/early-signs-of-dementia-and-what-to-do-diagnosing-dementia-symptoms/
That's a great poem and very moving, I recognise things my Mum used to say in it. She was a very intelligent person and Dementia made her feel stupid, which hurt her self esteem and pride terribly. Thank you for sharing. xx
To DreamsAreReal,
Many thanks. It’s a pity that your Mum had felt hurt by her loss of self esteem and pride. When I worked as an NHS clinical psychologist I had seen that happen to people suffering because they were aware of just all they had lost in terms of memory and communication and feelings of bewilderment. when confused and also when struggling with things that before had seemed so easy. My “problem” now is that I talk too much and can’t read other people’s perfectly normal reactions. Also the general slowing down of everything physical, including thinking. The one reaction I still often see is other people’s impatience with me, and I guess that is normal but it hurts. The thing is, being a career- long career for others, I still want to help others, however small, while I still can.
Many thanks again,
David Joseph
Many thanks. It’s a pity that your Mum had felt hurt by her loss of self esteem and pride. When I worked as an NHS clinical psychologist I had seen that happen to people suffering because they were aware of just all they had lost in terms of memory and communication and feelings of bewilderment. when confused and also when struggling with things that before had seemed so easy. My “problem” now is that I talk too much and can’t read other people’s perfectly normal reactions. Also the general slowing down of everything physical, including thinking. The one reaction I still often see is other people’s impatience with me, and I guess that is normal but it hurts. The thing is, being a career- long career for others, I still want to help others, however small, while I still can.
Many thanks again,
David Joseph
Mr. David you do still help other ones I'm know cause you help me I can still member remember that last part your poem say islands of hope will present themselves and I'm thinking on that one when is hard hard more times so thank you and God bless you for that one and you can know is make thing better for me this is Matt you your friend
You are very kind sir and I'm sorry not to see is this one before time is so nice and make me feel nice so I'm thank you very much you all are so good many many people
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