I don’t think I have mentioned that Hurricane Irma hit the Caribbean and the Southeastern states over the past week. This has been very big news because of the size and winds of this particular storm. It is one of the largest Atlantic storms on record. Current estimates are unclear right now, but I have heard damage estimated at up to $200 billion. The media has covered this extensively prior to the time it reached Florida as well as during and now after it has passed on.
Prior to Irma, Hurricane Harvey his Texas and moved to Louisiana. The cost there appears to be between $100 and $200 billion. This was a big item in the news.
On numerous occasions, I have said something about these two storms to Kate. Usually, it has occurred when she has overhead something on TV and asked what had happened and/or “where was this?” Although we are some distance away from Irma’s path, the wind has been heavier than usual. It has been raining.
Despite all this, Kate has been unable to remember these two storms, not just their names but that they occurred and where. Today as I was pulling up to an ATM at our bank, the radio news mentioned the horrible damage left by Irma. Kate asked what they were talking about. I told her about the storms. She asked where they occurred.
I can’t sense that she is bothered in any way by this failure to remember. I think she has forgotten so much that she doesn’t recognize when I tell her that it is something I have told her before. It is a challenge for ordinary conversation, however. Her memory is so short that I am regularly having to repeat things that I have just said because she hasn’t remembered them. Fortunately, I am able to understand; therefore, I am not bothered by this. I can tell from reading the message boards that it does bother many other caregivers.
