Page 12 - The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss and Enhance Memory Power

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INTRODUCTION

David's Story

In the spring of 1988, a short, overweight corporate executive wearing a three-piece suit walked into
my office at the Columbia University Memory Disorders Center. David Finestone * was forty-nine
years old. He sat stiffly, with his hands clasped to the armrests of his chair.

‘‘Doctor, I think I'm getting Alzheimer's disease,” he announced, sweating visibly.

I listened carefully to his story, wondering how I could help him. He had recently begun having
difficulty remembering names. This symptom, which he had never experienced before in his life, had
started barely three months earlier. He described an episode when he forgot the name of an important
client and had trouble introducing this client by name to a colleague. David was afraid that if his
memory lapses continued, they could lead to his being laid off in the corporate downsizing frenzy
that prevailed at that time. For obvious reasons, he had not spoken about this issue to anyone at work
and hadn't even discussed it with his wife. He had begun to lose his self-confidence, because this was
the first time that he had ever doubted his own intellectual capabilities. He was used to facing
obstacles head-on and overcoming them, and he told me that he would do whatever was needed to
solve his memory problem, even if it meant making personal sacrifices. I considered his fighting
spirit and willingness to change to be very good signs, and reassured him that I would do everything
possible to get to the root of his problem.

The symptom of difficulty in remembering names tends to develop gradually in many middle-aged
people, but David was

* Not his real name; all names and identifying features of patients are completely disguised in this book.