My mom died when I was five years old from cancer, and my dad had a stroke that led to dementia when I was 24 – he passed away eight years later in 2014. Having lost both parents early in my life and only having a few memories (in my mom’s case, no vivid memories) compelled me to start MemoryVideo.com to hopefully compel you to preserve memories while you still have the chance. If people say, experiences are more important to them than material things, then the recording of those experiences can be something of lasting value.
With technology, it is so much easier and cheaper to do this. With video conferencing, such as Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, etc, you can now collaborate with expert interviewers, care facilitators, and relatives remotely. But the inertia is still there. It’s so easy to just push it off for another day, or awkward to interview someone you know so well, and then it never happens.
After my dad had the stroke and went deeper into dementia, I began to have this “old man feeling” even though I was in my 20’s. I felt that what I had left of him was slipping away. Now I wish I had more videos, especially before the stroke (which I have none), to capture the essence of his personality, his voice (and I’m tearing up while writing this), stories and wisdom! And now that I have children of my own, I wish I could play back those stories, so they could get to know Grandpa Bob and Grandma Toshiko. I believe this is one of the most valuable gifts someone could give.
At MemoryVideo.com, our mission is to provide an affordable recording of the personalities and stories of your loved ones, that is edited and able to be shared, now or for later. Let our friendly, trained interviewers (including those who work well with people with memory loss/Dementia/Alzheimer’s), diligent video editors, and storytelling producers to put together a legacy video that will only grow in value over time.