Satoko Takano
Friends of People with Brain Damage “Koropokkuru”

My husband has cardiac dysfunction and higher brain dysfunction. Both of these were caused by cardio-respiratory arrest due to life-threatening arrhythmia from coronary spastic angina 16 years ago. Since he has an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implanted in his heart to prevent arrhythmia, he lives without symptoms. His symptoms of higher brain disfunction (memory impairment, executive function disorder, social behavior disorder, and so on) are the ones which require adaptations in daily life. In this article, I will introduce how we cope with memory impairment. 

My husband remembers things that happened before his illness, and he does not forget new things if they interest him. On the other hand, he cannot remember things which do not interest him (housework, for example), or his memory becomes confused when he is not paying attention or is told several things at once. Various problems occurred as a result: he mistook the times of appointments, did not know what he was buying when he went shopping, or could not keep rules. His doctor instructed him to take notes to compensate for and aid his memory. At first, he wrote everything down in an A6 size notebook, but after closing the cover, he forgot that he had even taken notes, or forgot where he had written them. I wrote notes on sticky labels and gave them to him, but this did not work well: he lost them, or forgot that he had been given them. At the end of a process of trial and error more than a decade ago, we realized that it was important that the notes be immediately visible and that the content be understandable at a glance.

Currently, for everyday business, my husband himself writes the date and what he has to do in single lines on a vertical piece of paper (usually an envelope or the back of a flier), then ticks the items which are completed. The notes are placed where they will catch his eye: we have decided on his seat at the table (Photo 1). The times and content of appointments for each month, such as work or visits to the hospital, are written on the calendar. My husband has come up with his own ways to ensure he notices them, such as using markers (Photo 2).

Photo 1

Photo 2

Another important thing is to create an environment in which the person can easily remember. In order to ensure that I have my husband’s attention when I talk to him, I tell him in a quiet environment “I’d like you to listen to what I have to say”, then use tricks such as speaking about one matter at a time, with simple words. When he cannot recall something, I give him hints to help him. My husband’s memory does not cope well with changes – for example, if I change the place where something is put, he gets confused, and so I do my best not to change things if at all possible. For this reason, the calendar hangs in the same place in our house every year. If he cannot see something, that means to him that it is not there, or he does not know about it, so I have removed the wardrobe doors to let him see his clothes hanging inside. I have stuck labels onto drawers the contents of which cannot be seen, so that he knows what is in them.

These methods are all ways in which we have adapted suggestions from the Friends of People with Brain Damage “Koropokkuru Poromina” (formerly the Wives’ Association) to suit our household. At Poromina, we exchange our wisdom about things that are causing problems, based on our own experiences of success or failure, helping each other to live with smiles on our faces. 15 years have passed since Poromina’s activities began, and we have accumulated a lot of wisdom. We all strongly felt that it would be a pity for this to stop with us, so we published “My husband has higher brain dysfunction” (Ishiyaku Publishers; Photo 3). It includes many hints besides the ones for dealing with memory impairment which I have introduced here. If you are interested, or you are struggling with this issue, I hope that you will get hold of a copy and take a look.

Photo 3