COGNITIVE ISSUES

My Friend Became Lost This Morning

We have met at this location many times

The author’s photo of a map showing the road in her story.

The restaurant was his choice; we have visited it many times. It is tucked into a small strip mall on a main road in southern New Hampshire, one he travels frequently. Although it is a slightly longer drive for him, it is between our two houses.

He went south instead of north.

Thirty minutes after our arranged meeting time, he texted me asking for directions. He was confused. He has always been late but never lost, especially on a familiar road.

I was upset. Not because he was late, but because another one of my friends apparently is experiencing memory lapses or worse; they may be entering the first stage of dementia.

From his explanation upon his arrival, I believe he became confused when he reached the intersection with Route 125 and headed south when he should have headed north. He didn’t recognize any of the landmarks at the interesection and he should have.

He confided he has been having memory lapses lately, describing them as stress-related. From my observation of our thirty-plus years of friendship, his life has been one disaster, problem, or stressful situation after another. Stress is a known factor in memory gaps.