A woman from Downham Market thanks staff at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn (QEH) who cared for her mother after being diagnosed with dementia by writing a heartfelt poem.
Alison Watson, from Downham Market, who donated to the Trust’s Dementia Care Appeal, wrote the poem in memory of her mother, Margaret Watson, who was diagnosed with dementia three years before she died in May 2019, aged 86.
Alison said: “My mother lived with dementia for several years and was treated at QEH before she died. This poem represents how I saw her living with dementia and I wanted the hospital to have this along with a small donation to the appeal as a way of thanking the staff who cared for my her so diligently.”
The poem reads:
“An evil disease tried to take you from me,
An invisible menace no one could see.
A greater injustice there never will be,
but now it’s all over your soul can fly free.
“What you made of the world I can only surmise,
An alien place that must surely comprise.
A cocktail of wickedness, strangers and lies,
The incomprehension writ large in your eyes.
“Familiar comforts you struggled to find,
As fear and confusion played games with your mind.
The words and the actions so cruel and unkind,
Are not the impression that you’ve left behind.
“For I can remember the beauty in you,
The genuine person, the spirit so true.
Those wonderful moments so real but too few,
When storm clouds would part and the sun would shine through.
“The special occasions when you were aware,
That I was your daughter and really did care.
The hugs and the kisses that we got to share,
The times when you showed me that you were still there.
“I miss you my darling with each passing day,
And treasure the good times, sincerely I pray,
That torment and anguish have now passed away,
And peace is now with you forever to stay.
“It brings me great comfort, it makes my heart glad,
To know that you’re now reunited with Dad.
No more to be lonely, no more to be sad,
The ultimate triumph of good over bad.”
The Trust’s appeal is aiming to raise £40,000 for equipment and activities to help patients who are living with dementia during their stay in hospital by encouraging conversations, better interaction with staff and triggering memories.
To donate to the Dementia Care Appeal, visit justgiving.com/campaign/QEHDementiaCareAppeal or send a cheque payable to ‘Dementia Care Appeal’, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn, Gayton Road, King’s Lynn, PE30 4ET.
For further information, to sponsor specific items or support with fundraising activities, please contact QEH Fundraising Executive Laurence Morlaàs on 01553 613373 or laurence.morlaas@qehkl.nhs.uk.
–ENDS–
For more information, please contact communicationsQEH@qehkl.nhs.uk or call 01553 613216.
Editors notes:
Pictured (left to right): Alison Watson, Margaret Watson, Carolyn Sex (Alison’s sister)
To download the press release and photos, click here.
QEH Media Hub 