Page 28 - Changes and Challenges

Dementia
Changes and Challenges
roughness/smoothness between hands. This bilateral tactile asymmetry
extends to my feet.

I had mentioned this to both my GP and to my Neurologist. My GP confirmed
my observations but the Neurologist, while accepting them dismissed them as
of no concern.

Related to this is my ability to properly grip some objects for example knives
and forks. Around the same time, I began to drop these normal objects, with
the realization that they just didn’t feel right. They all seemed to light and
small to hold properly. Note that I had been using this cutlery for 10 or more
years without incident. The solution was relatively simple, we purchased a
new set that was slightly thicker and a little heavier. This now feels more
comfortable and natural in the hand as I have not dropped an item since then.

Sight.
Wearing glasses, I have annual ophthalmology examinations, as my vision is
excellent. I can spot a fly on a wall at 100 metres and tell you how many legs it
has. Sight is a major sense that helps us navigate our way and communicate
with others. I’ll now offer you some observations about my experiences with
this sense.

Firstly, I’d like to discuss lighting and navigation. My ability to navigate the
familiar environment is good, but I noticed that in situations of dim lighting or
strong contrasting shadows and light, I am hesitant and will often rely on
touch for stability and to aid in navigation. I recently spend a relatively large
amount of time (several minutes repeated several times a day over several
days) trying to find a familiar object in a ‘messy’ cupboard, with no luck. Then
a day or two later, when I awoke in the morning at 5:30 I thought I would have
another look. In near complete darkness, (the only illumination was from a
LED on an internet router) I walked to the cupboard, reached in and picked up
the object. I have shared this with many people with Dementia and many have
similar experiences. It appears that either darkness or good even lighting pose
no problems, but deep shadows or reflective light does.

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