Ellison
(2010) recounts her experience as a nurse treating a patient named “Betty” who
had short term memory loss. Towards the end of their first conversation Betty got
very distressed because she had forgotten where she was and who the people were
around her. I can relate to this story as my uncle has experienced short term
memory loss.
Recently
our family received a call that my uncle had been admitted to the hospital. My
uncle is an alcoholic and fell down multiple flights of stairs. He is also homeless living in a large city.
He was found unconscious at the bottom of the stairs by a passing pedestrian.
As a result of his fall, he was taken to the hospital and experienced brain
damage. In addition, he had no idea what
had even happened to him or where he was.
About
a week after his fall my family made the journey to see how things were going
since my mom was now his legal guardian. After sitting in the room talking with
him, he finally asked my mom “Who are you?” When she told him who she was, he
was completely in shock and confused with how much time had passed. He had no memory of the past couple months.
According
to Zimmerman, (2017, para. 13) testing individuals on memory loss may include
“... cognitive testing to check the patient's mental status and ability to
think”. Doctors question the patient on some past experiences or family
oriented questions to see if the patient can recall certain details. If the
patient fails this test, he or she may be passed on for further testing (such
as MRI or CT scan) or the doctors may diagnose memory loss just from the
results of this test alone.
In
order to aid her patient’s confusion and help with distress, Ellison (2010)
left “Betty” with a note card by her bed side with information to remind her
who she was and why she was there. Short term memory loss can last for quite
some time. Patients with short term memory loss can struggle to retrieve lost
memories, but that doesn’t mean it is impossible. As time goes on the lost
memories will slowly return even if it is not a complete memory.
My
uncle has regained much of his memory and after a week in a nursing home, has
returned to his life living on the streets.
We may not understand why he chooses this lifestyle but we hear from him
regularly now and know that he happy and where he wants to be.
References
Ellison, L. (2010). Simple
strategy helped patient handle short-term memory loss.
Nursing Standard,
24(44), 27.
Zimmermann, K. A. (2017,
April 24). What Is short-term memory loss? LiveScience.
Retrieved
on May 2nd, 2017 from http://www.livescience.com/42891-short-term-memory-loss.html
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