The Carole Poems: Dealing with Dementia

An Outsider's Inside Perspective Though I have not experienced in my own family the difficult path that Ron has traveled with Carole, my time serving dementia residents and their families has provided me with an outsider's perspective of the long good-bye that Ron has both lovingly and sadly presented to the readers of the The Carole Poems. By the time a loved one suffering from dementia transitions from a family caregiver to my "neighborhood" of dementia residents, the residents are shadows of who they were prior to dementia. Outwardly, the residents appear familiar to family and friends, but the residents' memories are confused or lost, and their personalities and behavior can be erratic, even dangerous to themselves and others. While loved ones often describe to me a resident's past, I find myself wondering what it would have been like to meet a resident prior to dementia, since all I experience is the present. My hope is each resident's family is able to experience some level of peace during the time their loved one is a resident of the neighborhood. - Michelle Shirley Residential Dementia Coordinator Greenfield Senior Living Schwenksville, PA Ron tells a true love story in these reflections on the end of his wife Carole's life, and how their shared love throughout the process continues to sustain him. - Burton Ginsberg, D.O. Family Physician Schwenksville Family Practice