Bedside Manners ~ #Alzheimers and the #FamilyCarer a new #poemseries

Bedside Manners:Alzheimers and the Family Carer is a poem series exploring the relationship the Family Carer has with Alzheimer's - both the person for whom they care and the larger issue of the disease itself and how it affects every aspect of life.

The role of the carer is often interpreted by outsiders, framed in martyrdom or judged for any perceived heresy to the doctrine of self sacrifice. What carers find most difficult is often the refusal of others to acknowledge their loss, pain, frustration, stress and responsibility.

When we complain, the reaction is often one of denial - a rush to tell us how it's the disease, not the person or how privileged we are to be able to provide home care, how awful it would be if we were to put them in a home and so forth. Spoiler Alert - we KNOW it's the disease. Also we are the ones giving up our lives to care for the person, please don't tell us how it's a privilege.

These poems are based on personal experience and that of other family carers of loved ones with dementia.

They cover a range of experiences from heartbreak to hilarity, moments where we are lost and ones where we find profound meaning.

Each is accompanied on Insta by a fuller explanation, again directly taken from discussion with other family carers. Every poem is based on lived experience of caring for a relative, rather than professionals in the field, or advocacy groups.

BESIDE MANNERS is a series on twitter @gercelt with fuller exploration of each theme on Instagram @gercelt. If you want to add to anything said please do, 

Feel free to share (credit either Geraldine Moorkens Byrne or link to @gercelt) if you have writing to add (from personal experience only please) I'll happily link to it or you can guest post on Insta or Twitter. There is a hope that the full series may make a book to raise funds for Alzheimer's Research.

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