Regarding home healthcare, some implements that are not used are left behind in the home of a patient and a caregiver when they are a family. Sometimes, the progression of some illnesses, such as striatonigral degeneration, renders many of the patient’s implements (e.g., wheelchairs) useless. In one family’s case, some implements, such as a remote control, were left behind in the same condition as when the patient had used them, despite the caregiver’s tidiness and high level of organization. This is because the caregiver and patient are both so accustomed to using these implements that they do not consider the latter as being separate from their bodies (i.e., embodiment) and, hence, they continue to use them. The significance of this consideration is as follows: (1) the fact that the patient is not using the implements suggests that the caregiver is not fully aware of the progression of the disease, and (2) the memory of the family and their sense of space and time are maintained through their embodiment of these implements. This is observed through video ethnography. The paper proposes the effectiveness of video ethnography, as well.
