November: National Alzheimer's Disease Month

Excerpted from the Senior Living Network (Fresno)2009 Fashion Show Luncheon Fundraiser Program--- National Alzheimer's Disease Month is an annual, national observance that was established by President Ronald Reagan in 1983. The observance began as a way to increase public awareness and Federal research funding with the goal of finding treatments and cure for Alzheimer's disease

I just found this poem to be very moving:

SHE MISSES HIM
by Tim Johnson

She shaves his face, she combs his hair,
She helps him find his rockin'chair.
She cooks his meals, she wipes his mouth
And the window that he's lookin' out.

She reads him books, she speaks his hame
Oh, every day is much the same.
She sights that sigh from deep within.
The one that says she misses him.

She misses his gentle touch.
And the way he used to make her laugh.
She misses the man he was
In all those old photographs.
So strong, so kind, so sweet, so smart.
The man who stole her very heart...
She misses him.

His children come on Saturday.
There at his feet his grandkids play.
It's sad they don't know him at all,
He's just the one they call Grandpa.

The take out his trash, they mow his lawn,
Things he can't do since he's been gone.
She's grateful that they're pitchin' in.
And like everyone, she misses him.

And yes, they're still together after all these years
But sometimes you can almost feel
The sadness in her tears
The man who stole her very heart, she misses him.

...Senior Living Network (Fresno) raises funds and community awareness through education about Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias. The proceeds this year will benefit: Alzheimer's Foundation of Central California, UCSF-Fresno Alzheimer's & Memory Center, Valley Caregiver Resource Center-OASIS