Today’s last lecture was a patient presentation by a neurologist from Methodist Hospital. The patient had a memory disorder which the class tried to discern based primarily on his medical history. We soon discovered he had Alzheimer’s disease.
He struggled throughout the case presentation to answer questions posed by the physician. Initially, we focused on this language impairment and attributed his condition to a problem with Broca’s area. We later discovered he had a documented anterograde amnesia coupled with an inability to recall short term memory. Though I can’t go into specific details (HIPAA), the patient said something as his closing remark which was really inspiring.
In spite of his memory disorder, he “doesn’t feel frustrated.” He figures that there are two options – “sit around and mope or get out and help teach others”, and he obviously chose the latter. His selflessness provided my class with a rare opportunity to learn about an Alzheimer’s patient – past, present, and what he foresees in the future.
