I am fortunate to have my 87-year-old mother living and still enjoying her life. She and I live 300 miles apart, but we manage to spend time together about six times a year.

My first question each time I call her is “What’s your latest count of FreeCell victories?” This is her way to relax—FreeCell and Perry Mason reruns—and we are both convinced it is keeping her brain sharp. At last count, she had more than 19,500 victories under her belt.

FreeCell doesn’t do it for me. Truth be told, my record of wins is dismal. But Dakim BrainFitness? Now there’s my tool of choice. My love affair with this marvelous software continues. (And if my mother’s ancient computer met the tech specs needed to support Dakim BrainFitness, I would have installed it long ago for her!) I have never sat down to do my brain fitness sessions when it has not been an enjoyable pursuit.

I try to follow Dan’s rally cry for three to five 20-minute sessions a week. My sessions-per-week average swings between 3.75 & 5. I must be goal-driven because there are nights when, on a busy week, I will play a game at 11:30 p.m. and then get back on a few minutes after midnight to get my sessions in!

Linda Milne and her mom

Dakim BrainFitness has changed my life, and that is no exaggeration. Cognitive challenges came as one of the debilitating complications of the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Fibromyalgia package I developed in middle age. I’m 68, so it could be argued I may even be tripping over dementia.

For those of us whose lives are complicated by the cognitive impairment of these particular illnesses, there is no study out there evaluating the efficacy of Dakim software, or any other brain fitness product for that matter. So, I have become my own one-woman study.

I started playing Dakim BrainFitness at a senior center where I participated in an exercise class. Admittedly, I played hit-and-miss; some weeks once or twice, and often, not at all. However, when the software became packaged for individual consumers, I wanted it in my home. And here it is, months later, and I am a believer in its ability to intervene in cognitive decline.

What’s my proof? OK, here is the biggest deal. I have not had to throw away even one scorched pan since I got serious about Dakim BrainFitness. If that doesn’t impress you, how about this?: I ceased losing my car in Costco’s parking lot. Now there is an unsung blessing.

Here’s another success that actually causes me to get moist eyes. I’m a movie buff of the highest order. However, it had become my disturbing norm to leave a movie, having enjoyed it thoroughly, and lose its content by the time I got to my car. True story. Now when I leave a movie and head to dinner with friends, I can talk about the movie—its title, story line, and actors. This is wonderful.

I am a Dakim champion. I can’t imagine being without the benefits it brings to me. I salute Dan and his colleagues for the contribution they have made to my quality of life. If you know people who deal with the obstacles of “Fibro Fog” or CFS cognitive deficits, put them on to Dakim BrainFitness. Never mind if they are not seniors. They will benefit.