Memory Book Final 2017 Memory Book Final 2017 | Page 4

Imagine a survivor who has returned home following a ruptured aneurysm and
several weeks of living in a rehabilitation facility. She has recovered enough to stay
at home during the day while her husband goes to work, but gets little accomplished
while he is gone. She has trouble getting organized and gets distracted if she tries to
do too many things at once. It is not unusual for her husband to return home from
work and find the wet laundry still in the machine because she did not remember to
move the clothes to the dryer. She has trouble taking her noon dose of medications
and on a few occasions has taken it twice.
If her husband is uninformed about why this is happening, he might become
frustrated and angry because his wife “just doesn’t try,” or “just wants me to do it all.”
After returning home to disorder, he might speak harshly to her, suggesting that
she is not working at recovery or that she is “lazy.” Hearing these words, she might
conclude that he is correct and that she is worthless. As neither understands why she
is having these problems, no solution emerges, and frustrations and distress build.
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