Thankfully, I can still remember what I’ve forgotten

You know what it’s like – yes, you do, even if you’re one of those people who pretend this sort of thing never happens to you.

Come on, admit it. You wander into a room at home, stand looking around you and then ask yourself: What am I doing here? Or you open a cupboard and the reason for doing so is a complete blank – a complete mystery.

Apparently, as we grow older physiological change can cause brain function delays and blips; remembering takes longer. Learning also takes a little longer. For some of us, a lot longer..

In short, you are not as quick witted as you once were. So, if we panic when this happens, we might even make the mistake of convincing ourselves we have significant memory loss.

Mrs B, herself still as quick witted and clever as she has ever been, has noted on occasions that I am a bit on the slow side. The poor woman has put up with it for years, but now she also suggests that I do have a propensity to forget. I have tried to blame my advancing years and various medications;

I’ve made light of it and joked about it. But it is a worry.

I lose things. I forget what day it is. I can’t remember relatives’ names. But, for now, happily I can remember after a moment or two.

Sadly, some people suffer acute memory loss and worse, and their once well organised lives get left behind. The people they loved and lived with, are unrecognised, they get forgotten. Gone too are their achievements, successes, and experiences; all gone and gone forever. For them it is a life changing illness – for them and everyone around them.

I’ve always been an avid reader and now I’m an avid writer. Interestingly, studies have found that cognitive activity – reading, playing games, doing puzzles, writing emails or letters, can delay the onset of serious conditions such as Alzheimer's disease by around five years among those people aged 80 years plus.

I’m encouraged that there is something to be done that might help someone, even so indirectly as writing something that one day might be read by or read to, to a sufferer of such a vicious disease.

Often, short stories, articles and poems are more manageable for those who struggle with acute memory problems. Audio books can also be helpful.

So, if everyone who enjoys writing can find a small way to help those with serious conditions such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s, then we’ll be illustrating the power of the written word.