Memory is not something to be taken for granted, as Alzheimer's sufferers
and their families know all too well. People who have no trouble
remembering the distant past or where they left their eyeglasses, or even
where they live, don't appreciate how losing one's memory can affect mood
and self-confidence.
"I used to think that pain was the worst thing for an old person to bear,
but I was wrong," says Bernice Schwartz, a licensed clinical social worker
and psychotherapist. Schwartz recently launched the country's first
English-language "memory club" for those suffering from various degrees of
dementia or cognitive disabilities due to Parkinson's disease or a stroke.
"What they most fear is losing control - the fear of the unknown. That is
much more terrifying than pain."
Schwartz, who came to live in Israel 10 months ago with her husband and
three children, was eminently prepared for coordinating a memory club. A
graduate in social work, with a psychology degree and extra courses in
nursing and therapeutic counseling, Schwartz worked for many years in US
hospitals and geriatric institutions as a bedside social worker. "That
means I'm somebody who listens. I listen for strengths. Every human being
has skills, even if they're very frail and disabled."
When acquaintances heard of her credentials, they recommended that she meet
Leah Abramowitz, coordinator of Melabev (Community Clubs for Impaired
Elderly). After a short meeting, Abramowitz immediately mobilized her for
the establishment of a twice-weekly English-language memory club in the
capital on the model of the thrice-weekly Hebrew-speaking one, plus a
support group at Shaare Zedek Hospital for patients' families.
Schwartz notes that some physicians fail to appreciate the consequences of
their instructions that an elderly patient at the onset of dementia be sent
away to an institution. "These are people who have kept their toothbrush in
the same place for 60 years; doctors must understand what it means for them
to suddenly leave home and move to a geriatric institution."
There are 26 types of dementia, notes Schwartz, but Alzheimer's disease -
the incurable progressive disease that is reaching epidemic proportions
because of an aging population [worldwide] - is responsible for more than
half of all dementias.
During the earlier stages, patients can be helped to remain at home under
family supervision if they are taught to cope with growing forgetfulness.
That's where the memory club comes in.
Schwartz goes along on the minibus that collects the participants who can't
get to the club - a renovated shelter in the Givat Mordechai quarter - by
themselves. "I call each of them the night before to remind them. It gives
them assurance and they look forward to it. And when they see my familiar
face on the bus, they immediately relax, even though none of them could
tell me the phone number or address of the club and some can't even
remember where they're going."
They arrive at about 9 a.m. and eat a full breakfast, taking part in
activities until 12:30, when the minibus takes them home.
Although memory loss can't be cured, patients can be helped to retain their
memories, says Schwartz. "The trick is to use as many of your senses as
possible. If you tend to forget where you put your keys, the next time you
put them down, etch in your memory the way it looks, the touch of the
metal and say out loud exactly where you have placed them. Concentrate
and analyze why you're putting them in a certain place. This exercise
can really help."
The club also has the use of a computer, with programs specially designed
to promote short-term memory in older people. Other activities include
chatting, arts and crafts, family and holiday celebrations and discussion
on their problems. "It isn't a day-care centre for the elderly, but a
memory club to enhance memory."
Elderly people are very hard to please, she continues. "To please a child,
you just have to give him a cookie and a balloon. If I did that with my
club members they'd laugh me out of the place. You have to earn their
respect."
Running the club in the English-speaking participants' native tongue is
important even if they know some Hebrew. "Because we're dealing with
memory, using the primary language is vital," she stresses.
Schwartz finds that before too long, participants regain their
self-confidence. "Their personalities begin to come out and shine, and
their sense of humour comes back because their anxieties are reduced. And,
wonder of wonders, when this happens, their memory starts to come back, as
if a fog had lifted. This part is very satisfying for the staff and the
volunteers who run the club."
Reprinted with permission from the Jerusalem Post, July 20, 1997