What is a “WINS Day?”

(Chapter 6 Living with a Memory Impairment in my book)

Recently I was on a social media group for people who have MCI - Mild Cognitive Impairment and caregivers. A recent post was about a WINS Day. A WINS Day is when someone with MCI feels that they have accomplished more than they thought they could. It could also be that they managed to figure something out that they weren’t sure they could.

My response to this post was, “When I can figure out a recent win, I will let you know.” Myself and the person who wrote the post manages this social media group for people with MCI made. He made this comment to me, “First, thanks for sharing this, Cheryl I always appreciate that. As for you, I'd say the fact that you've been able to stabilize your MCI for fourteen years is a pretty big win that anyone would be glad to take. You are an inspiration to so many others, and thanks for all you do here.” My reply, “Thanks! I think that you are correct. In some ways, I can't believe that it has been that many years.

I would say that one of my latest "wins" is that I am able to follow a recipe, use my jam maker and make lots of different flavored jams over the spring and summer. I like to share them with my family and friends. Another win for me is photography. I have a simple, automatic digital camera and I have taken some really great photos. Recently the photos were of sunflowers.

I think that when you are living with a memory impairment, you need to try to focus on what you can still do rather than what the memory impairment has taken from you.