K.O

Age:

73 years old (As of 2019 interview)

Year of birth:

1946

Place of residence:

Hachioji City, Tokyo

Relatives living together:

Lives with wife

Occupation:

Formerly worked in development at a plant of a major electronics manufacturer / Formerly worked for a subsidiary of a major electronics manufacturer

Age of onset:

About 71 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 in daily living for elderly with dementia 2a (As of May 2019)

Using long-term care insurance:

Using day service (twice per week)

Frequency of gatherings with other people with dementia:

Hachioji City Good Town Summit (chief moderator)

Past experiences

2017年(71)

Shortly after retirement, I became unable to remember things and started to worry about forgetting things.

Diagnosis

2018年(72)

I saw a doctor and received a diagnosis of dementia.
My wife consulted the Comprehensive Support Center.
My wife and I visited a day service, and, after a trial period of three months, we liked the atmosphere and the lively activities.
I applied for nursing care insurance and started going to the day service twice a week.

2018年(72)

Regarding the diagnosis, I did not really care because I was not feeling that I actually had dementia.
However, I thought I would stop going to the mountains alone.

2019年(73)

I slipped and fell in Mt. Hotaka in 2011. I decided to stop climbing mountains. I have switched to walking in the mountains.

Publication, links, etc.

Website|Good Town Summit LINK

Joy in life and living

1

Joy that you have given up

Climbing mountains (I no longer have the stamina. Mountains are dangerous if you are overconfident.)

2

Joy that remains with you even after onset

I want to travel domestically and internationally (I like to go out.)

3

Joy that you have given up

Teaching soccer to kids as a coach (I have given it up due to injury.)

Something you would like to do in the future

I do not think there is any particular thing that I would like to do. Even if I try, I do not think it will last long. I will consider it if something I can do with a group of friends comes up.
It will not last if I am alone, but it will last if I do it with my friends or in a group.
You just have to try. I cannot do anything unusual.

I wish I could live a peaceful life, but it is not easy.

Challenges in daily living

Physical and mental dysfunctions

Message to the society

I do not have anything special, but, when young people go to the mountains, I sometimes wonder if the leaders are really watching out carefully. I feel that they might be in danger. It worries me.
(Female day service staff: "When we go out, he always check the count and take roll call to see if everyone is there.") That has become my habit already. I have to think that everyone is in danger except for me.

At the day service, a lot of people come and do a lot of different things. They help me gain work knowledge.