What was I saying?
Sometimes I go upstairs to find a pair of socks but by the time I get there I can’t for the life of me remember what I needed and have to retrace my steps in order to reboot my memory.
Occasionally I have a brain-fart which means I run through several of my childrens’ names before I hit upon the correct one for the child standing in front of me.
And I’ve been known to go to the supermarket for a specific ingredient only to realise when I got home that, despite spending £50 on 3 bags of groceries, I forgot to pick up the one item I went for.
Ironically my older children still expect me to remember an event they told me about two weeks before and get irritated if I fail to remind them or plan around their event! Small things that usually make me laugh but which also have the power to frustrate and annoy, these are side effects of a busy life and all completely normal. This week, however, I met a family that made me stop and think.
My youngest daughter and I were having lunch in a café when we started chatting to a family sitting at the table next to us. Three adult children, who all live in different parts of the UK, had come together for a mini break in the forest with their parents. During our conversation it turned out that the siblings are all training for the London Marathon, which they plan to run together in support of Alzheimer’s Research. Their charming and witty dad, who’d taken a shine to our puppy and started our conversation in the first place, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, although to talk to him you wouldn’t know. His daughter said they think he’s in the early stages but his wife confided he has good and bad days and she thinks that he hides his failing memory well.
Knowing the frustration of forgetfulness, I can’t even imagine how devastating it must be to be unable to re-boot your memories or to watch someone you love suffer. Quite by chance, I read an article recently about a new study which suggests that the symptoms of Alzheimer’s are delayed if the person who has it, and those caring for them, are able to be light-hearted about the symptoms and have a positive outlook on the future. It makes sense; if stress and worry are known to have a detrimental effect on memory, then surely the opposite would also be true.
From our brief chat it was apparent that the family sitting next to us are close, loving and incredibly positive. If the study’s correct, this lovely gentleman is in the best care and I hope his family’s collective attitude delays the inevitable for a very long time. I’m really looking forward to watching the London Marathon this year and cheering these siblings on. I’m also making a mental note to be more understanding of my parents’ memory lapses and hope that my children will do the same for me.
For information and support for dementia and Alzheimers, see:
Alzheimer Disease International. www.alz.co.uk
Alzheimer Scotland. www.alzscot.org
Alzheimer’s Research UK. www.alzheimersresearchuk.org
Dementia UK. www.dementiauk.org 0300 365 5500