H.I

Age:

70 years old (As of August 2019 interview)

Year of birth:

1948

Place of residence:

Hachioji City, Tokyo

Relatives living together:

Lives with wife

Occupation:

former dyer

Age of diagnosis:

69 years old

Diagnosis:

Alzheimer type

Dementia rating scale?Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE)
The most widely used screening test internationally for identifying dementia, in which questions are asked directly to subjects. The MMSE assesses cognitive functions with a series of questions/tasks related to orientation, memory, attention and calculation, language, giving commands and copying a picture. The test yields the highest score of 30 points, and, in general, those who score 23 points or lower are identified as suspected patients with dementia.Revised Hasegawa's Dementia Scale (HDS-R)
A screening test widely used in Japan for identifying dementia, in which questions are asked directly to subjects. It has 9 questions/tasks related to age, orientation, immediate memory and delayed recall of 3 words, calculation, backward digit span, memory of 5 objects and language fluency. The test yields the highest score of 30 points, and, in general, those who score 20 points or lower are identified as suspected patients with dementia.
:

MMSE 20About

Using long-term care insurance:

Using day service (twice per week)

Frequency of gatherings with other people with dementia:

Going to community salons on an irregular basis

Past experiences

2009年(60)

I felt I was becoming more forgetful. For example, I could remember only 5 of the 10 digits of a phone number.
Although I was able to tell the phone numbers of my family members, I could not match the faces/names of others with their phone numbers.
I bought a notepad and started to write down notes.

2017年(68)

I stopped driving after discussing with my wife due to my age.

Diagnosis

2018年(69)

I drank alcohol and fell down the stairs. I visited a hospital and was told that I might have dementia.
My wife had not noticed any signs of the illness, and the result of the examination caught her by surprise. She suddenly learned that I had the disease. I was not able to believe the diagnosis and visited two other hospitals.
However, neither of us took it seriously, thinking that it was OK because anybody could have the disease and that thinking about it would not heal the disease.

2019年(70)

I returned my driver's license.
Worried that I would not do anything if I only stayed at home, my wife consulted the Community General Support Center, which carers' cafe introduced to her. The center then told us about a day service, and I started to go there. At the day service, I spend pleasant time with my friends with whom I can joke around. I am not drinking any alcohol and does not want, either.
Now, I am making shoehorns in my garage at home. This is my work. My radio exercise friends visit me and ask what I am doing. I live days like that.

Joy in life and living

1

Joy that remains with you even after onset

Sleeping (I like rainy days. When I was a kid, I did not have to help peasants and could sleep well on rainy days.)

2

Joy that remains with you even after onset

Researching the origins and meanings of Chinese characters

3

Joy that has come to you after onset

Making shoehorns

4

Joy that has come to you after onset

Doing radio exercises

5

Joy that you have given up

Walking a dog. I no longer take a walk because my dog is now gone. Even if I had dementia and forgot how to get home, I did not have to worry because my dog would just take me home without saying anything.

6

Joy that has come to you after onset

Being able to fool around with my day service mates ("Some of them will take things seriously, and I need to pick the right people.")

7

Joy that remains with you even after onset

Learning about the origins of Chinese characters by looking them up in the dictionary. It is interesting to learn their meanings and find out what I did not know.

Something you would like to do in the future

I hope this life style continues.

Challenges in daily living

Physical and mental dysfunctions

Message to the society

I do not have the intension to speak to the society. After all, I am a timid person. I will think about it next time I see you. I will consider it a good opportunity to express myself.

(About my old job as a dyer)
At first, I dyed up square fabrics about 40 to 50 centimeters on each side. When putting these fabrics together, I kept the gaps to less than 1mm and eventually made a 12-meter-long roll of fabric. When finished, it was really beautiful, and, what was more, I liked the fact that I could wear it. I do not mean to boast, but, at that time, the manufacturing process was often interviewed, and I appeared on TV a few times. It was not something anyone could do. It was a job for the dexterous and not for the clumsy. My eyes can tell if a roll of fabric is good or not, or, combined with the skills of the tailor, if a kimono is good or not. I think I am proud of this.

I consider myself to be dexterous with my hands. So I would like to work here (a day service) by utilizing my dexterity.

(About dementia) I never thought I would get it. So I used to make fun of it. No way something like that would happen. However, now that I have it, I forget a lot of things. I have asked my wife to tell me if I forget to take my medication. However, when I am reminded so often, I want to get angry at her and say, "You do not have to tell me so many times." But I cannot because I have asked her to do so.

My family takes me to the doctor and answer all the questions. It is not my examination because my family says everything before I have a chance. I always say, "This should be my medical examination." I try to speak for myself, but my family does not let me and answer first. I have no role to play.
But my family usually says what I would. So, well, it is easier for me this way.
I think my doctor is smart. Knowing that I have dementia, my doctor does not ask me questions. Doing so would only waste time.
But there is no good treatment anyway, and my dementia is not so bad as to make it impossible for me to do any work. So I think I am fine, and that is why I feel now is the best. I hope the current condition will continue without hindrance.