Wednesday, August 6, 2014... 9:44pm and the most beautiful evening for August!!!!
I wanted to post about my Patient, Mr. S and his experience with the IPOD Memory & Recall. I have concentrated on him for the last 2 weeks. Noting his condition when I first met him a few months ago. He was usually in bed. Did not communicate except for single words like yes, no, thank you. He was always polite and loved Therapeutic Harp. I gave him the IPOD 2 weeks ago.
The first time I gave it to him, it was loaded with Vintage Music like Big Band, Pop Hits from the 30's and 40's. He was unable to answer simple questions like "what kind of music do you like" or "what is your name". I sat in the room and watched him for about 40 minutes. At first there was little reaction. Then I noticed his foot was moving and he lifted it off the wheelchair and placed it on the floor. He started tapping to the music with his right foot. A while later he was crying, so I took off the IPOD and asked him the following questions:
"why are you crying"….I don't know
"do you like the music"…..yes it's beautiful
"does the music make you remember things"…..yes, I remember
"is that why you are crying, because you remember"…..yes that's why
"do you want more music or are you done for now"…..I want more music
So I put the IPOD back on his head and 4 hours later, he still had it on! He cried when I took it for the night, but I promised I would give it back the next day.
Mr. S has had the IPOD several times a week. Last week I learned he was a Scientist and Engineer for NASA and helped put a man on the Moon. Imagine that. His wife told me the Astronauts ate dinner at their home on a regular basis. Information like this from family is so valuable when trying to rekindle a memory. This information gives me a base to work with so I have been documenting his responses to very simple questions before the IPOD goes on, after 20 minutes of music and after 1 hr of music.
Last week he was able to answer in 1 or 2 words, when I would ask him about his job at NASA. He would grin and smile when he remembered things. I could see such progress as we went through the week, he was happier and listened more carefully and responded more quickly.
Monday, August 4, 2014 he was looking at some pictures on the table of Apollo and various Space Pictures. I put on the IPOD and after 20 minutes, took it off and asked him his name. He gave me BOTH names. I said we would write it, so I helped him hold a pen and told him I didn't know how to spell it so he spelled his first and last name….unbelievable. Then I asked him about his children, he name them off in no time!!!
After 1 hour I removed the IPOD and asked him about music:
"do you like music"…I love music
"does this music help you remember when you were young"….yes I remember being young
"do you like to dance"….yes XX (his wife) likes to dance
"do you remember your job at NASA"…..
he starts crying so I hugged him and asked why he was crying and he said some random thing and then said, "it was hard to get home, very scary" This took me a minute to click, but he was talking about the Moon Landing and how scared Control Center was about getting them home again.
This is totally amazing and we are not done yet!!! In a perfect world, there would be funding to pay me or someone else to document EVERY patient that is part of this Music & Memory Project. I feel like I am walking uphill backwards and sometimes very frustrated, but when I see this beautiful soul remembering WHO he was and enjoying memories of his childhood, marriage, children, job and friends, it keeps me motivated and committed.
I need MORE IPODS!! This is at 1 Facility, I work at 3 Facilities. I am so grateful for the generous donations of used IPODS and to the INdiegogo Campaign. I am $320 short of my goal. The $500 Goal is to purchase 10 new IPOD Shuffles. Your Gift of an IPOD is changing lives…giving back life!
Please think of your loved ones….make them a playlist….give them music everyday, and do the same for yourself!!
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