Transcript Slide 1

Looks Can Be Deceiving Dementia, The Invisible Disease
by
Marilyn Truscott
Alzheimer Society of Canada
This Invisible Illness
I walk the halls, streets, garden paths
My near-silent mind my quiet companion
A blank canvas
Waiting, hoping pictures will stay
My mental camera on stall
I struggle to capture the present
For my future
My notepad kept handy
To jot down fleet thoughts,
Meetings, moments
To save my past.
Confusion, like a veil, a fog
A zone where I travel in and out
That passage I can not control
Language eludes me
And words slip through gaping chasms
2
In my fractured mind
Sputtering, short-circuiting,
Pieces of ideas caught
Inside a labyrinth, no escape
Phantom gremlins overtake my house
And move and steal my possessions
I look in the mirrors
And I am me, unchanged
I walk, move, smile
And I am me, nearly unchanged
This invisible illness
That overtakes the brain
Thief of thoughts and words
Leaves little outward mark
I look the same
How do YOU see me?
Marilyn Truscott
January 2004
“You look so well. There can’t
possibly be anything wrong with
you.”
Outward normality
vs.
Inner difficulties
3
The “invisible illness” is not
invisible…
If you know what clues to look for!
4
Housework Never Ends
Our dust-bunnies do not quake in fear
As heavy footsteps round the bed
They grow steadily, larger
Inviting friends to stay.
At night in the quiet middle hours
I think I hear them whisper to their friends
As they rustle along the floor.
They are unpaying tenants and remain
Quietly raising their families
In the safety of my inaction
At times I ineffectually reach
With a broom or stick
To test where they rest
On the still floor
They might huddle together
To make themselves small
Waiting until I forget
5
What I meant to do
As I move on to try
Some other task
“Water me”, my plants call out
In silent plant-talk
As past I walk
In hopes I’ll give a drink
But if I forget and move on
They will wait and wait
Until by their wilting fronds
They signal my watchman.
Marilyn Truscott
January 1, 2004
On trying to do housework
WINDOWS TO THE INVISIBLE ILLNESS:
Patterns that change
Standards that decline
6
“Pick up your socks!”
Reassurance or criticism?
7
See Me Today, Love Me Today
I hurt inside
Silently
When you do not understand
When you forget
And expect too much
Demand too much
Remind me again in anger
How can you not see
There is a clear window
Into my mind’s failings
Are there shutters over your eyes
Or over your own mind
My invisible disease
So concrete inside
Leaves little outward sign
But look through my window
See me as I am today
Love me as I am today
8
Marilyn Truscott
January 2004
PERMISSION TO SPEAK:

Giving permission for others to speak


Asking for help
Maintaining self-identity and self-respect
9
HELP US TO BE INDEPENDENT:


Do not speak for us
Listen and validate our feelings and experiences

Reassure us that you will continue our
friendship

Ask how you can enable us to remain
independent

Accept us as we are

Show others
10
Hope
Daily changes
Daily challenges
We look for opportunities
And possibilities
In this evolution
This now simplified life
Seizing each present moment
In this there is hope
Marilyn Truscott
January 2004
11