The Storied Memories Of Dementia Patients
When nosotros assist people who are living alongside dementia to select their stories dorsum to life, nosotros give them the chance to live generative again, to give these stories from their lives dorsum to their immediate communities, as well as to their families.
By Tom as well as Karen Brenner
Baca Juga
When nosotros began creating curt stories for people living alongside dementia to read aloud, nosotros were surprised yesteryear the journeying that this uncomplicated practise created.
As people living alongside dementia began reading our prepared stories, they started telling us stories from their ain lives. These stories genuinely grabbed us, as well as nosotros began writing them down.
It is oftentimes said that everyone has at to the lowest degree i expert storey inward them, as well as nosotros guide maintain constitute this to live true.
We are non talking most autobiography as well as nosotros are non discussing life histories, but rather we are talking most incidents, fleeting moments from a person’s life that they portion alongside us.
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For example, at that topographic point was Virginia’s story most how she met her husband. He was the blood brother of a daughter that Virginia worked alongside inward a manufacturing works life during WWII. He was inward the Navy as well as was habitation on move out when Virginia went to her friend’s draw of piece of occupation solid for dinner.
Virginia told us,
We took i expect at each other as well as it was ‘bif, bam boom! They were married earlier his move out was over as well as he had to acquire dorsum to the Navy as well as to the war. He survived the nation of war as well as they were married until his death, some twoscore years later. This was simply a brief 2nd inward Virginia’s long life, but of course, a seminal i for her as well as for her husband.
We asked Virginia if she would similar to cinema her storey most how she met her husband. She agreed as well as nosotros made a real curt cinema of Virginia telling us this story. Then, every bit nosotros ever do, nosotros showed Virginia her movie. At first, nosotros were alarmed because when Virginia saw herself on the idiot box screen, she asked us,
“Who is that sometime woman? How does she know all that materials most my life?”
Virginia began to grow agitated as well as nosotros idea that perchance this was a mistake. But then, every bit she began to brain to the sometime adult woman talking on the TV, Virginia became engrossed inward the story.
She began to concord alongside the sometime woman, as well as milk tremble her caput yes, that was right. She laughed out loud when the sometime adult woman on the TV said that it was ‘bif, bam boom,’ when Virginia met her husband.When nosotros realized that some people who guide maintain dementia tin nonetheless tell stories from their lives, nosotros began documenting these stories inward impress as well as on film.
She clapped heartily when the cinema ended as well as was real much awake when she went to tiffin that day. We were non certain if Virginia understood that the sometime adult woman talking on TV was genuinely her, but as well as then nosotros overheard her talking to her tiffin companions as well as saying,
“You are non going to believe this, but I was on TV today. I had my ain demonstrate on TV!"
We learned that it was real of import to commencement give people something to grip inward their hands inward social club to prime number the pump of memory.
For Virginia, nosotros happened to live visiting on Veteran’s Day as well as nosotros simply happened to give her a footling flag that had the Navy insignia on it. She recognized the flag as well as that was the prompt that opened the gates to her storey of how she met her husband.
Now, nosotros deliberately select inward meaningful objects or photographs from people’s lives to assist give them some context for sharing stories from their lives.
Finally, at that topographic point was the honey story that was told to us yesteryear a highly regarded scientist. He had taught inward a major academy as well as conducted of import question that had an comport on on footing broad crop development.
Knowing his life work, nosotros brought inward pocket-size galvanized buckets of dissimilar types of grains for him to pose his hands into, to experience the grain again, to prime number his retentivity of the years that he researched as well as worked alongside arable crops.
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As oftentimes happens to us inward this work, Philip completely surprised us yesteryear his answer to this grain exercise. He happily plunged his hands into the buckets, letting the showers of grain slide through his fingers. His eyes took on a dreamy expect every bit the grain savage from his fingers dorsum into the bucket.
Then, to our amazement, Philip, the scientist, began to tell us about his i smashing love, the daughter who got away, the argue he never married.
Philip met her when he was working for the authorities inward Washington D.C.
When he began to depict Sherry, his whole physical beingness changed. His confront turned vivid pink, his eyes brightened as well as his breathing came inward rapid breaths, every bit though he had been running. He never told us why they did non brand a jibe of it, he exclusively told us of his smashing honey for her as well as of her personal loveliness.
We idea that yesteryear bringing inward buckets of grain, Philip would tell us a storey most his move inward agricultural research, but instead nosotros learned of his smashing love, Sherry.
He said her cite over as well as over again, with a dreamy smiling on his face. It was a wonderful experience to run into this smashing homo of scientific discipline verbalize most his i as well as exclusively love, Sherry, the daughter who got away.
There guide maintain been books as well as articles written most “the storied memory.”
Stories are how nosotros frame the scenes from our lives; it is how nosotros recollect our lives.
People living alongside dementia patently cannot recollect their lives chapter as well as verse; they may live confused every bit to what era they are shortly living in, or they may non recollect events inward the right sequence, but there are scenes, moments from their lives that tin live brought dorsum to life.
We know that the people telling us these amazing stories may non recollect us for long, nor recollect the stories they guide maintain told us; but we volition never forget them or their stories.
These stories bolster our belief that people who are living alongside dementia guide maintain thence much to learn us, thence much to portion alongside us of wisdom as well as joy as well as heartache as well as fortitude.
When nosotros assist people who are living alongside dementia to select their stories dorsum to life, nosotros give them the chance to live generative again, to give these stories from their lives dorsum to their immediate communities, to their families as well as to the larger world.
Tom as well as Karen Brenner are Montessori Gerontologists, researchers, consultants, trainers as well as writers dedicated to working for civilization modify inward the champaign of aging. They are the authors of You Say Goodbye as well as We Say Hello: The Montessori Method for Positive Dementia Care.
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