"It's too much to carry"
Two years ago, my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease and nearly three months ago, my dad (her primary caregiver) passed away and my family made the difficult decision to place her in a nursing home. While it's a six-hour drive between where I live and her facility, I try to visit her at least once every two-to-three weeks. When I visited for a few days this week to celebrate Thanksgiving with her, there was another resident there, a gentleman, who was mostly nonverbal ... but when he did speak, all he would do is repeat over and over, "It's too much to carry. It's too much to carry. It's too much to carry ... " After the first time hearing him say those words for nearly half an hour straight, I couldn't help but think of how poignant they were, as dementia is so incredibly heavy, both for the person who has it and for all of their loved ones ... and the inevitability of eventually having to "say goodbye twice."
By the way, this photo was taken at the What's Lost Spirits sim in the virtual world, Second Life. It's full of all kinds of dark imagery and atmosphere. It can be visited inworld at: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Whats%20Lost%20Spirits/50/...
"It's too much to carry"
Two years ago, my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease and nearly three months ago, my dad (her primary caregiver) passed away and my family made the difficult decision to place her in a nursing home. While it's a six-hour drive between where I live and her facility, I try to visit her at least once every two-to-three weeks. When I visited for a few days this week to celebrate Thanksgiving with her, there was another resident there, a gentleman, who was mostly nonverbal ... but when he did speak, all he would do is repeat over and over, "It's too much to carry. It's too much to carry. It's too much to carry ... " After the first time hearing him say those words for nearly half an hour straight, I couldn't help but think of how poignant they were, as dementia is so incredibly heavy, both for the person who has it and for all of their loved ones ... and the inevitability of eventually having to "say goodbye twice."
By the way, this photo was taken at the What's Lost Spirits sim in the virtual world, Second Life. It's full of all kinds of dark imagery and atmosphere. It can be visited inworld at: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Whats%20Lost%20Spirits/50/...