Sunday 12 April 2009

Thank goodness for GPS.(J)

Saturday is a busy working day for me - but it gives me confidence and power.
I really enjoy meeting students at my small school and the Saturday schedule is a little tiring, but fun.
Cooking and the salt-saga seemed a long way away.

At lunchtime I called Yujiro to check on him and he sounded stronger. He'd also eaten some of the Oden and said he thought it was good: "I don't know what she is talking about." Yes. Well. Me too.

I got home about 5.30 pm. Relaxed with a beer. Checked email. Injected the cat. Checked a few websites about elderly people and salt...Alzheimer's and salt.
Around 7 pm I cooked fried tofu and vegetables. Threw in lots of soy sauce. Salt. Okaasan was still out shopping. So he and I sat and ate dinner quietly. I'm not going to wait dinner for Okaasan if she isn't home. I worked hard today and dinner is at 7 pm. I had phone calls to make and our favorite TV program starting at 9 pm.

By 8 pm Okaasan was still not home. Department stores here close late, but she is usually home by 7...7.30 pm.

Yujiro checked the GPS connection between his and Okaasan's cell phones. I craned my neck to look at the screen. It's amazing technology.

"Ebetsu? Ebetsu? She's in Ebetsu?" we chorused.
Wow. Oh my god. Etc.
Ebetsu is a town about 20 km from here on the train line south-west of Sapporo! What on earth was she doing there?

Yujiro started calling her. After some false starts he got her holding the cell phone correctly and able to have a conversation. Got her to ask station staff for help. Got her onto a train back to Sapporo. The GPS tracked her position and showed her return...Atsubetsu...Shiroishi...there was a bit of a delay at Sapporo Station when we thought she may have bought another JR ticket and gone back throgh the ticket gates...finally the shouted instructions to the cell phone brought her safely back to our local subway station.

It was 9.15 pm. She emerged from the subway crowd clutching some bread in a bag. Looking a bit tired. But giggling and make comments about: "Oh, I'm confused! How did that happen?"

We guess that she came out of Daimaru department store and instead of turning right and going downstairs to the subway, she maybe turned left into the station and bought a ticket and followed the crowds through the ticket gates and onto a train! Maybe the train ended at Ebetsu, or maybe she had the smarts to get off finally. We'll never really know.

Luckily (again)...Sapporo is basically a safe city. She is physically strong enough to do this kind of trip. Eventually she asks people. But..but....

We took her home, Yujiro heated up the tofu, rice and soup.
We retreated to our living room and finally started our Saturday night at home.

Okaasan fell asleep on her living room carpet with the TV blaring.

Thankgoodness for GPS!


2009年4月12日(土)
ありがたしGPS
ワタシにとって土曜日は忙しい仕事の日なの・・・でもそれはワタシに自信と力を与えてくれるわ。
自分の小さな学校で生徒たちに会うのは本当に楽しいことで、土曜日のスケジュールはちょっと疲れるけど喜びなのよ。
あの料理や塩の事件が遠くに行ってしまったようだわ。

お昼にワタシは電話でユウの様子を窺ったら彼は元気のようだったわ。おでん食べていておいしいって思ってるって言ったわ。が言っていることがわからないよ“って。ええ。そうよね。ワタシもよ。

ワタシは午後5時30分頃に帰宅したわ。ビールでリラックスして、Eメールをチェックして、ネコに注射して、老人と塩・・・アルツハイマーと塩についていくつかのウェブサイトで調べたの。

7時ごろワタシは揚げ豆腐と野菜を調理したの。大量のしょうゆを加えたわ。塩とね。お義母さんはまだ買い物に出ていたわ。それで彼とワタシは座って静かに夕食を食べたの。お義母さんがいなくともワタシはお義母さんのために夕食を待つつもりはないわ。きょうワタシは良く働いたし、夕食は7時なのよ。ワタシは電話をしなければならなかったし、ワタシたちのお気に入りのテレビ番組が9時に始まるの。

8時になってもお義母さんはまだ帰ってこなかったの。ここのデパートは遅く閉店するのよ。でも、お義母さんはいつも7時か7時30分までに帰ってくるの。

ユウは彼とお義母さんの携帯電話間のGPS通信で調べたの。ワタシは首を伸ばして画面をみたわ。驚くべき技術よね。

“江別? 江別? 江別にいるって?”ワタシたちは口をそろえて言ったわ。
ワオ。ああ神様。
江別は札幌の南西、電車でここから20キロぐらいの町なのよ!一体そこで何をやっているの?

ユウはお義母さんに電話をかけ始めたわ。何度かつながってもすぐ切れてしまったあと、彼はお義母さんに正しく携帯を握らせることができ、会話できたの。駅員に助けを求めさせ、札幌にもどる電車に乗せたわ。GPSはお義母さんの位置を追い、お義母さんの帰路を示したの・・・厚別・・・白石・・・札幌駅で少し時間がかかったので、ワタシたちはお義母さんがまたJRの切符を買って改札を通って戻ったかもしれないと思ったの。携帯への大声の指示でやっとお義母さんは近くの地下鉄駅に無事戻ってこられたわ。

9時15分だったの。お義母さんがパンの入ったバッグを抱えて地下鉄の人込みから現れたのは。ちょっと疲れているように見えた。でも、くっくっと笑って“あら、私混乱してるわ。どうしてあんなことになっちゃったのかしら?”

お義母さんは大丸デパートから出て右に曲がって地下鉄に降りていかずに、たぶん左に曲がって駅に入り、切符を買い、人の流れに乗って改札を通り、電車に乗っちゃったんじゃないかしら。たぶん、電車は江別止まりか、あるいはやっと気づいて降りたんじゃないかしら。決して本当のことはわからないわ。

幸いなことに(またもや)・・・札幌は基本的に安全な都市なの。お義母さんはこの類のお出かけには十分なほど身体的には元気なのよ。最後には誰かに尋ねるし。でも、でもね・・・。

ワタシたちはお義母さんを家に連れ帰り、ユウは豆腐やご飯、スープを温めたわ。
ワタシたちは自分たちの居間に引き揚げ、ようやく家でのいつもの土曜の夜を過ごしはじめたの。

お義母さんは自分の部屋のカーペットの上で眠りに落ちたわ。騒がしいテレビをつけたままでね。

GPSに感謝よ!
 

2 comments:

  1. Hi, I've just found your blog and have been reading all the back posts. I wanted to comment on your MIL and the salt thing because my mum went through the same thing after she got older. She is now 67 but when she was around 65 she got really sick and every time we gave her food she said it tasted yucky and there wasn't enough pepper or salt. Finally she was hospitalised and they said it was her kidneys that made her tastebuds change as the kidneys weren't working properly and it affected her whole system.

    I'm not saying your MIL has a problem with her kidney but this sounds so familiar to what I went through with my own mum. It could be just something old people go through, or as you say, might be a side effect of alzheimers.

    It's frustrating to say the least, when you know you have cooked good tasting food and they say "oh yuck, can't eat this".

    I really sympathise with you in that respect.

    I just thought I would put my two cents in and tell you that you are not alone. :)

    I will carry on reading through your posts. :)

    Kelly xx

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  2. Hi Kelly,

    Thankyou for your support thoughts...yes, I think the salt thing is something to do with age and needing a stronger taste - it's the reason many older people eat sweet stuff too...
    But Okaasan will never ever go to a hospital for anything...so we may never know!

    Welcome to the blog - this living with another generayion stuff is interesting....

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