Mary

Age: 75
Occupation: retired

Details

Mary is a 75-year-old retired woman who worked white-collar jobs all of her life. She lives alone in her apartment. Half a year ago Mary discovered signs of reduced mental ability, which escalated so much the last few months that it affected her on a daily basis. She voiced her concerns to her son, Matthew, who took her very seriously and made an appointment with a health professional who ultimately diagnosed Mary with early-stage dementia. Mary agreed to take part in an experimental music treatment, which could help delay the onset of late-stage dementia, and keep her mentally fit.

Goals

• Mary likes listening to music and would like to integrate it into her daily life.
• Mary was always an independent woman so at her current mental stage she doesn't want anybody to intervene too much in her daily life.
• Mary wants to delay the onset of dementia, wants to be as independent as possible.
• Mary sometimes forgets to do a few things at home, like taking her medication and starting the washing machine, so she wants to be reminded of her daily routine.
• Mary lives home alone, so interaction and the feeling of being involved in something are really important to her.

Matthew

Age: 50
Occupation: aerospace engineer

Details

Matthew is a 50-year-old aerospace engineer. As he works in a different country than his mother lives in, he rarely sees her. As Mary is not really involved in newer technologies, the only interaction between her and his son is through the phone. Recently Matthew noticed that talking with Mary became more and more cumbersome. She easily loses focus, couldn't remember basic events in the past, and didn't remember to call him. A few months ago Matthew made an appointment with Dr. Jonathan together with his mother. Dr. Jonathan diagnosed Mary with dementia. As he's personally affected by his mother, Matthew started learning more about the disease. He learned about music therapy, which is still in the experimental stages. But when Dr. Jonathan mentioned an opportunity for Mary to take part in the experiment, they were both happy to do so.

Goals

• Matthew would like to see his mother live the fullest life possible even with dementia.
• Matthew would like to know if his mother is doing her daily tasks and taking her medicine.
• Matthew wants to know if her mother is not responsive.

Dr. Jonathan

Age: 55
Occupation: chief neurosurgeon

Details

Dr. Jonathan is a 55-year-old neurosurgeon working full-time in a private hospital. His main interest fields are different brain problems and Alzheimer's. He has published many scientific papers about the disease, and he's always looking for experiments and new ways to help people with dementia. When Matthew consulted him about the mental health of his mother Dr. Jonathan had no question about what was happening. Mary showed the typical symptoms of a person with early-stage dementia. Dr. Jonathan recently read a new way of keeping people active and happy during this terrible disease and mentioned it as a possible treatment for Matthew and Mary. He was happy to see that they were open to his suggestions.

Goals

• Dr. Jonathan's main goal is to help people with dementia.
• Dr. Jonathan wants to discover new ways of treatment that could help more people with the disease.
• Dr. Jonathan wants to be sure that Mary takes her medicines and takes care of herself as much as possible.