My Alzheimer’s Coping Strategy for Losing Important Things

I have reached a point in my cognitive decline where I can’t trust that I won’t lose something important to me like my car keys, purse, wallet, etc. Over the last month, I have found myself backtracking trying to figure out where I left something and it has been pretty frustrating for my husband and I.

Over the last two years I had already purchased a Tile for my husbands and my car keys (he misplaced his key FOB once for several days, and we found out it was almost $3K to replace the key FOB and have the car’s computer system reprogrammed). A Tile is a tiny little GPS tracking device that you can attach to any item you want to help find it.We had used the Tile several times in the last two years to find both of our keys. You can also use it to locate where your phone is at.

Now that my memory is declining, I decided to invest in several more Tiles, including one that fits in my wallet in case I leave it on a store counter etc. Now I have one for my keys, my wallet, my suitcase, our remote control, and my sunglasses. You can purchase one that fits just about anything that is important to you. When you lose one of your items, you just look at the Tile app on your phone and press it and it will tell you it’s location. If it’s within a certain distance from you it will also give out an audible alert. It works great and has helped me many times. Also, if you get out of range from the Tile, you can go to the Tile Community on the app, and other Tile users can help you find the item if it is near one of them.

Tile also started offering a new service for a small annual fee that gives you batter replacements for all of your tiles, and it will notify you via text message if you walked away from your item (with the Tile on it) and alert you before you get to far away. This feature came in handy the other day when I left my wallet on the grocery store counter. I got outside of the grocery store and got a text that notified me that I had left my wallet. These little Tiles have become an important tool in my Alzheimer’s tool kit.

Not today, Alzheimers. Not today. I don’t have time for this nonsense. I’m too busy living my best life.