My friend has become very forgetful. I am sad as I watch him struggle with confusion at memory loss. However, his experiences have made me even more aware of the significance of memory and routine to someone with limited or no sight. As a partially sighted person, I know I depend on both memory and routine.
I am fortunate in that I am quite good at remembering numbers and words. I think I have more phone numbers in my head than I have on the contract list on my phone. To a certain extent, it avoids frustration, but I suppose that my brain must also be filled with some unnecessary trivia!
While I am okay with remembering names, I can’t put the names with faces. Of course, it doesn’t help that I can’t see the faces, so I try to attach the name to the sound of a voice. I’m not very good at that.
Routine and organization are also key! I rarely lose my keys, wallet, phone, or sunglasses as I nearly always put them in the same place. Note the words “rarely” and “nearly always”. No, I am not perfect but I also know that a place for everything and everything in its place can avoid a truckload of frustration. I know that I can’t simply just “look around” to find something in the wrong or misplaced spot.
So, while I know that vision loss and memory loss can happen to any of us, it is difficult when they happen together. We can’t change the course of our lives, but must live to the full each day as it is given to us.
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