Poetry as a means of negotiating Alzheimer's disease and other dementia-related diseases

Book review:

Kakugawa, Frances H. Breaking Silence: Caregiver's Voice. Nevada, California: Willow Valley Press, 2010.

Despite the remarkable achievements in science and technology, the problems of human life and destiny have not yet ended, and the solution has not been seriously affected by scientific knowledge. Alzheimer's disease currently affects approximately 10% of people over the age of 65 and 50% of those over the age of 85 and is currently incurable. As many as 5.3 million Americans currently suffer from this devastating disease. According to one study, the number of Alzheimer's patients in the United States may increase to 14 million by the end of 2050 unless new treatments are developed to reduce the likelihood of Alzheimer's disease.

Reading this background, a mix of Frances Guochuan's book, a poem, story and practical guide, is an acknowledgement of the services provided by professional and voluntary organizations, aiming to minimize the suffering of Alzheimer's patients as their close relatives and relatives s pain. It pays tribute to caregivers who have been working hard to create a world free of dementia, stroke or cancer, just as it tries to help them endure countless care crises.

Breaking the silence: The caregiver's voice merges with Frances Kakugawa and her poet collection's rich humanistic perspective, blending into thought and mind. Caregivers seek to be grateful and share their compassion with all those who help Alzheimer's patients negotiate their spiritual vacancies. They not only understand the patient's condition. The loss of brain cells or the ability of thinking, memory, reason and imagination, or their language problems and unpredictable behavior, confusion or loss of sensory ability to decline, but they are also very aware of the victims of Alzheimer's disease How did you suffer some kind of alive death and become a body that was only beaten by humans. They have witnessed the increasingly confused and helpless patients who care for family members who often become angry and tired victims of the disease:

"Is she raising my mother?
from

  Is dementia raging in my heart?
from

  Or is this really my mother? I do not know. "

['More daughter and mother's one ']

with

"I struggled between two factions that needed it.
from

  Mom doesn't know, daughter pushes all boundaries
from

  Both are out of control. "

[' The Sandwich']

For Frances Kakugawa, care is a mission, even though the memory and image of her Alzheimer's mother is still "loud" in her life. She voices to many caregivers who have been worried that their loved ones may not even be able to perform simple tasks and/or rely solely on others to look after them. She expressed her fear of death:

"Is she breathing? Is she alive?
from

  She finally left, released me again?
from

  I continue my sentinel watch. "

[' Unspoken morning ']

Francis not only expressed their fear, but also learned to negotiate by boldly using it as part of life. In fact, she regards the metaphor of death as an indispensable part of life, whether it is "empty pain", "unrealized dream" or "inanimate moment". In her silent silence, she explores the meaning of life:

"The second gust
from

  Raise another ashes.
from

  Listen quietly. "

['Wind Song ']

It hears inner silence, a meditation, bible and spiritual thing. It awakens the self, the Holy Spirit, the divine self. When the soul reaches silence, humanity becomes sacred. She sounds very serious and lives in harmony with the highest ideals, no matter how confusing the personal experience. As Setuko Yoshida said, can I? ':

"Francis's poem this morning.
from

  Reveal the feeling of "sacredness."
from

  Being cared for. "

In fact, as a female poet, Frances Kakugawa and her Caregiver Academy [Elaine Okazaki, Linda McCall Nagata, Eugene Mitchell, etc.] present a feminine and very humane view of dementia-related diseases. Although Jason Y. Kimura, Rod Masumoto and Red Silver are male poets, they show Prakriti' or ' Yin' temperament aspects with other influential caregivers. They turned Alzheimer's disease into a metaphor for language loss, memory loss and speech loss. Their poems are usually short and individual, insightful, and a means of communicating with patients. Lose feelings, love, dignity, honor, reputation and relationships; in short, their isolation, or threats to life itself:

"I have been alive all my life.
from

  Crayon with one hand,
from

  Fill the space,
from

  The space left by lovers, family, friends,
from

  Leave my crayons on the wall
from

  More sad than art. "

[' Vacancies ']

They also use metaphors to challenge survival, existence, and no fear and anxiety:

"I am a woman,
from

  Suppression,
from

  I am dying. "

[' Nissei Woman']

with

"I am not pity heaven, man and earth
from

  Rooted in the hands of culture.
from

  Sift the sand. Yes!
from

  I am free!
from

  I was blown down by the wind.
from

  I took off my kimono.
from

  I stretch my legs.
from

  I am free. "

[' Lesson 3 ']

with

"When I was 88 years old
from

  I am still a woman,
from

  Yes! "

['' When I was 88 years old #39;]

with

"I am still here
from

  Help me keep a person
from

  In this woman's outer shell, I became.
from

  In my silent world, I am still here.
from

  Oh, I am still here. "

[' Emily Dickinson, I am someone ']

They turned Alzheimer's disease into seeking to reprogram ideas, thoughts and attitudes to overcome irreversible pain and helplessness. As Francis said very strongly: this is looking for

"...the same umbilical cord
from

  Once let me be free
from

  Pull back now and pull me back
from

  It was where I started.
from

  Must be hidden
from

  Somewhere a gift is very sacred
from

  In this return journey. "

[' mother is child, child is mother ']

When they express a search for the whole, they are true to themselves. They use the sense of empathy to distinguish them from the innate goodness, trust and sympathy to create the "symphony of truth." The core of their meditation is the desire to integrate into oneself, living in time and eternity:

"What other paths are there?
from

  Sacred exception
from

  Love, kindness, compassion,
from

  Help me find a small part of myself
from

  This makes me smile
from

  Bring me so quiet happiness
from

  At the end of each day. "

['Blessed Holy ']

They reveal the role of the original impulse of the human soul, which transcends differences in race and geographic location. In short, they vented the thoughts of everyone on all the land.

As poet carers, they respond to their tensions, fears and anxieties through introspection and adapt to their inner and outer conflicts, pains and celebrations through imaginative insights. They reflect a wide range of social or family situations and their own personal status, and their perceptions often differ from those of male poets [or male caregivers]. Their pursuit is against the real reality of corruption, poverty, insecurity, helplessness, anonymity and death. They look for life, live in the skin that is aware of the things around them, spiritual - mental stress, moral dilemma, betrayal and paradox:

"Why do you say that I am sacrificing myself?
from

  a good year in my life
from

  In order to take care of my mother,
from

  When should it be no secret
from

  I am really alive
from

  To some extent I have never lived?
from

  ...
from

  No, this is not a sacrifice.
from

  This is only reality.
from

  I am really alive
from

  In a way, I have never lived.
from

  My living love. "

[' What I know ']

Against the complexity of experience, they demonstrate a relationship between values ​​such as love, faith, truth, tolerance, patience, peace, charity, harmony, humility and health. They tend to intuitively think and/or turn to the individual, the heart, the spirit, or the God, without indulging in intellectual abstraction. They write with a poetic sensibility. Their metaphors and images reflect their inner landscape and their response to external observations or experiences. Their verbal expressions are often silent and honest, and their inner vibrations touch or enhance the reader's interest. Senses. When they create their own words as caregivers, they also sound to be committed to their families, families, children, mothers and nearby, often expressing their own vision and understanding, across cultures and regions.

Even if they are affected by Alzheimer's disease, they will seek to surpass their physical or feminine temperament and respect women. They turned inward, revealing the individuality and universality of their different roles as mothers, wives, and daughters, and feeling the spirit when trying to understand "who am I?" or "how should I live, how should I live" The pain is ", or" what am I looking for? Why am I coming? "

When they look back or reflect their present, they also express the need for a strong sense of tolerance for inner conflict, spiritual hunger, loneliness or dependence. They sound like a challenge to Alzheimer's disease itself:

"Although we forgot, you can't rob us.
from

  Although we can't write, you can't erase us.
from

  Although we can't talk, you can't be silent.
from

  Story, laughter, past moments
from

  Entering their ranks, you can't steal
from

  Enter a silent night. "

[' Hey Alzheimer']

Despite the challenges of failure, they are filled with hope for the aging of elegance and dignity, but they create another motivation and impulse for social action on a very personal level:

"Through this darkest night
from

  I will catch the light
from

  Eliminate all your fears.
from

  Just know that I will be nearby forever. "

[' Give me a mother']

People are eager to change their situation or to live in peace with themselves. Poet and caregiver

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