Hiroshi Minami

Hiroshi Minami

Age:

57 years old (As of August 2019 interview)

Year of birth:

1962

Place of residence:

Hachioji City, Tokyo

Relatives living together:

Lives alone

Occupation:

Former worker at a wiring board factory for prints / former gas station worker

Age of diagnosis:

55 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.
:

Independence degree of daily living for the demented elderly 2b (As of March 2019)

Using long-term care insurance:

Uses day services 3 times a week
Visiting long-term care twice a week (going shopping together, cleaning, cooking, etc.)

Frequency of gatherings with other people with dementia:

Yoi Yoi Izakaya (community salon held by the day service)

Past experiences

2000年(30)

After resigning from a factory for a certain reason, I began to make mistakes at my new job at a gas station, such as washing a car without closing the window.
A friend at the factory offered to speak with the factory for me and told me to come back. So I started to work there again.
While working there, feeling indebted, I made mistakes at work again.

2007年(45)

I experienced work-related trouble while working in the wiring board factory.

2012年(50)

Things unusual happened to me, such as not being able to write letters, and I was told to be relocated to a different position.

2014年(52)

When I went hiking with my friends, I was often left behind because I could not cross streams that everyone else could jump across.
There were an increasing number of cases where I got the meeting time wrong and got blamed by my mountaineering friends or I forgot to bring something.
My parents passed away.
Around this time, my older sister noticed that I was not acting normal.

Diagnosis

2017年(55)

Unable to go to the hospital alone, I went to see the doctor, accompanied by my younger brother, but was told "not in 99% chance."
I received a diagnosis of dementia at a specialized hospital that I visited with my older sister to undergo a thorough examination.
I was concerned about the numbness in my arm, and the diagnosis of dementia did not sound real at all. I was extremely relieved that it was not a stroke of any kind but found it hard to stop working and stay at home all day.

2018年(56)

I started to experience forgetting dates and times, having difficulty managing money, and finding it difficult to keep things tidy. (My laundry was in the shoe box.)
I decided to move to a neighborhood of my older sister's residence, although my younger brother, who was living nearby, had been supporting me.
I received an application for the long-term care insurance.

2018年(56)

A state of feeling empty continued.
Out of loneliness, I started to try sitting alone in public spaces for half a day to feel the flow and presence of people.
Upon my older sister's suggestion, I decided to visit my current day care service. I liked how fun and comfortable the place was and decided to go there.

2019年(57)

Blessed with opportunities to meet new people through the day care center I started to attend, and with the understanding and support of my older sister and her husband who live nearby as well as the supermarket clerk who I now know well, I am now enjoying my new life to the fullest.

Joy in life and living

1

Joy that you have given up

Mountaineering

2

Joy that you have given up

Marathon (I have stopped since my diagnosis but would like to try to participate in an event again.)

3

Joy that remains with you even after onset

Cars (I often go to the library to read car magazines. I cannot drive a car although I want to.)

4

Joy that remains with you even after onset

Reading

5

Joy that remains with you even after onset

Alcohol

6

Joy that has come to you after onset

Meeting people (I have been blessed with friends who I have connected with since my diagnosis of dementia. I cherish each and every meeting.)

Something you would like to do in the future

I want to climb mountains and run a marathon in the next season.
I want to do as much as I can, and so I would like to make preparations for next spring.

Challenges in daily living

EAT

BUY

Joy

5

SOCIALIZE

Joy

2

PLAY

Joy

1

STUDY

Joy

6

Physical and mental dysfunctions

Message to the society

My siblings have always respected our father's wish that "siblings get along well," but, after I had a disease, I feel the ties among us siblings have gotten even stronger.

BLG is a place where I can stay honest to myself.
I can loosen up and relax.
We do not speak ill of others, and, if someone has a serious look on the face, we ask what is wrong and offer help.
And we have flat relationships where we all feel that we are the same.
I do not know what I would have happened to me without this place.
I like my home but also consider this place as something like another home.

I will be appearing on the television. I want to tell through the media that I can do things for myself and for everyone, even if all I can make is a small difference.
I want to prove that it is not that I cannot do anything and clear up misunderstanding in the society about dementia. And, with that, I also want to encourage those who are not living energetically.

I believe that healthy people and I are not fundamentally different. Only the ways in which we express ourselves are slightly different.
I would like to change the impression that the society has about dementia. "Dementia" cannot be understood as a single category.
Even with dementia, there are many things that can be done, and there are also new things that can be gained. In my case, what I have gained is people, and I think BLG best exemplifies that.
I have many regrets, but I am the person who I am today because of BLG. I will not give up because, whatever happens to me, feeling down will never get me anywhere. I trust that I am not the same person that I used to be.
I want to be called "Mr. Poi" (translator note: "poi" means "like") by others.
I want to be like myself; I want to be myself who keep wanting that I and others alike will feel that I am like myself.