Suddenly Alzheimer’s Disease is given prominent space on television and in our news media because a famous person’s mother has Alzheimers’. There are thousands of us who have and are living this life without fame, without the finances, without the help that is given to caregivers. We live without recognition but live with compassion, dignity and love, caring for our loved ones. They deserve more recognition than those in the public eye. They deserve all the assistance needed in caring for someone every hour of the day. There are families who depend on Meals on Wheels, need scholarship programs to participate in adult care, have no health insurance, can’t afford professional caregivers, but their humanity of knowing what it means to care for someone with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia and illness is constant behind the scenes, behind cameras. We are insulting the caregivers who are not Dr Oz or any of the public figures. I have worked with caregivers for over 20 years since my mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis and I hope we do not forget families who live outside the public eye. Why aren’t they the breaking news of the day? I sympathize with Dr. Oz’s mother but I applaud those who are the true heroes of our Alzheimer’s world.
Dr Oz, you are invited to join us at our monthly poetry writing support group for Caregivers at the Alzheimer’s Office in Sacramento.
Frances Kakugawa
Frances conducts workshops and lectures on helping caregivers give care with compassion, dignity and love. Her books on caregiving are:
Mosaic Moon: Caregiving Through Poetry
I Am Somebody: Bringing Dignity and Compassion to Alzheimer’s Caregiving
Breaking the Silence: A Caregiver’s Voice
Wordsworth Dances the Waltz: an illustrated book for children on memory loss
Her Dear Frances advice column for caregivers appears monthly in the Hawaii Herald
Frances Kakugawa's Blog 