Last summer I worked at a camp for people with intellectual and physical disabilities. The first cabin I got was a group of 12 women. Any way I will only talk about one of the women who really got to me. She was in about her 50’s or 60’s and she used to be a teacher. She had short term memory loss. So I could have a conversation with her for about one or two minutes, then she would ask me who I was and where she was. It was really sad. One thing that she could remember though was her music. She always wanted to play the piano and she could play every note perfectly. I would always sing along with her, and she just loved it. This women also spoke french so I spoke to her in french once in a while and she liked it. You could really tell that she was a great teacher and that she was very smart. I just think it is really sad how someone who is such an amazing person could lose their memory. I remember having the same conversation with her 30 or more times in one day about what we were going to do and where we were going. At first it frustrated me, but after a while I realized that there was nothing that could be done about it. I was very patient with her, she was such a wonderful woman. The sad thing about it is if I ever meet her again she will not know who I am, or remember the time we spent together, but I will always remember her. Below I have posted a video of a man who has a very short term memory. He can only remember things for about 30 seconds or less than it is gone. This will give you an idea of what it is like to have a conversation with someone who has a short term memory. Also if you want to read more about short term memory please go to http://www.memorylossonline.com/glossary/memory.html.
jessicafulcher said,
April 4, 2008 @ 3:42 pm
wow…this is a very moving and interesting story. That is very sad how she could only remember things for a short period of time. I experienced something similar to this last Christmas. My boyfriend’s dad suffered from Transient Global Amnesia. It is very rare and apparently only 4% of one hundred thousand men get this. This is how it happened: He was sitting in a hot sauna for about 20 minutes and then decided to go outside to cool off; however, the blood did not get to brain fast enough and his brain went into shock from going into the extreme cold. His brain locked and he could only remember things for 30 seconds at a time and then the same conversation would be repeated. This went on for about 8 hours. We took him to the hospital because we thought it was a stroke, but then the doctors told us that it was Transient Global Amnesia and that it would only last for 24 hours or less. It was quite scary and it kind of reminded me of the movie, “50 First Dates”.
Heather said,
April 5, 2008 @ 9:32 pm
One of my great uncle’s experienced short term memory loss. It is really sad and I hate to say this, frusterating for family members to see a loved one go through this.
pisterb said,
April 14, 2008 @ 4:48 am
Tara I loved your blog. During my Grade 12 year I worked int eh Alternative Education room with children that have various disabilities, some worse than others. Over this past Christmas break I thought it would be a good idea to go and visit them. It broke my heart when a few of them had no idea who I was even though I had worked with them for months. Even though this hurt, looking back at my experience, it was the best thing I’ve even done.