Short-Term, Long-Term Memory

People close to me, including friends and family, would spend a brief amount of time talking with my father and leave thinking everything was fine. Many thought I was exaggerating the situation! I can only compare it to having the wind knocked out of you—that’s how it felt for me. What they didn’t understand was that as soon as they left, my father would turn to me and ask, “Who were those people? What were they trying to sell us?”

As the years went by and my father’s Alzheimer’s progressed, it became clear that his condition was only going to worsen. Despite my best efforts to keep him comfortable and supported, there came a point where he had zero short-term memory whatsoever. This was around eight years into the disease.

My father’s reality shifted at this point—everything started for him at that very moment; there was no before. What happened in the present was the only world he lived in. He had no recollection of past events, memories, or even his own identity. It was as if he had been reborn each day with a blank slate.

This phase of his Alzheimer’s was particularly challenging. Not only did my father have to come to terms with his new reality every single day, but it also meant that I had to adapt to his constantly changing behaviors and needs. Simple tasks like getting dressed or having a meal became incredibly difficult for my father because he couldn’t remember what he had just done or what needed to be done next. He would often get frustrated and agitated… yes, even leading to outbursts and tantrums!

It was heartbreaking to witness such a strong and intelligent man become completely dependent on others for even the most basic of tasks. But despite all the challenges, I was determined to provide my father with love and care until the very end. I learned that in this state of constant flux, I needed to remain patient and understanding. I found ways to adapt our daily routine so that it could be more manageable for my father. For example, we would lay out his clothes for him every morning so that he didn’t have to struggle with choosing an outfit or remembering what goes where. I also made sure that I were always there for him - whether it was sitting with him during meals or going on walks together. Even though at times he couldn’t remember me or our shared memories, being present and showing him love and affection brought moments of joy and comfort to his life

But from that point on, his long-term memory began to fade as well. Some days he could recall the color of the sweater he wore forty years ago on a given day. On that very same day, however, I could discuss his two younger brothers with him and he wouldn’t have any recollection of them whatsoever. Without our family photo album as proof, he probably would have accused me of fabricating stories.

Sometimes he struggled to recognize our long-time home, where he had lived for the past eighteen years. He would often ask if we had ever spent a whole summer in this cabin. I believe he was remembering a small cabin from his childhood, where he and his father would spend the night while preparing firewood for the colder months ahead. It’s tragic to see how these disorders can also affect long-term memory.

We all experience moments of forgetfulness from time to time however, there is a clear distinction between forgetfulness and dementia, illustrated by this scenario: misplacing car keys is a common occurrence, but when you find them and can no longer remember what they are used for, that is a sign of dementia. It is important to note that age-related memory loss typically does not significantly affect daily life. Mis-placing glasses or relying on lists to remember tasks may be common as we get older.

Normal age-related memory loss doesn’t cause a significant disruption in your daily life. For example, you might occasionally forget a person’s name but then recall it later in the day. Or maybe you do need to make lists more often than in the past to remember appointments or tasks. For the most part, these alterations in memory are controllable and do not hinder your capability to perform chores, live on your own or engage in social activities.

One of my father’s doctors used an excellent analogy to explain the complexity of brain function. He compared the brain to a road atlas, saying that our childhood memories are like “well-traveled highways and freeways.” Recent memories are like paths that have yet to be built, making them more vulnerable to getting lost or damaged. This illustrates the difference between short-term and long-term memory.

Working memory, which involves tasks such as remembering phone numbers, shopping lists, or instructions, will also begin to decline. My father used to impress me with his ability to do long division in his head, but after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, he soon struggled to count change from a twenty-dollar bill.

– Gary Joseph LeBlanc, Director of Education, Dementia Spotlight Foundation, dementiaspotlightfoundation.org