Another year round the... bed...

 Okaasan saw in her 94th year recently.

🎂🎂

But we couldn't be there with her. No crab dinner out. No hiding the sake bottle from her. No laughs.

We delivered a birthday card to the care home lobby desk and hoped that some nice, friendly nurse would take time out of her busyness to wave the card in front of Okaasan and chat brightly a bit.

Strangely though, a few days AFTER the birthday, the care home called to say it was lifting the Corona Virus visit-restrictions and that families are free to go again, without reservations. 

Surprising because this week is Obon, the major Japanese festival when families go back to home towns, grave visiting and memories. So many people from other places will want to visit bed ridden elderly - bringing with them their airplane and travel viruses. So, an interesting time to lift restrictions.

We'll probably go in tomorrow, play some music on the smart phone and give Okaasan the tremendous pleasure of listening to us two prattling on about stuff.

Fighting fit! At 94....

 Okaasan survived another round with the COVID virus - this really is one strong old lady :-)

The care home phoned to say her fever was down and she was feeling better. I can't remember, is that her 2 nd time? 3rd time with COVID?

Anyway, she battled thru again.

Still no family visits of course. It's her 94th birthday next week, maybe we can deliver a card to the care home entrance and ask them to show it to her :-( And maybe WE should eat some crab in her honor?

Actually, Hokkaido is going to be 30 C plus all next week - so we may not be eating anything much.

The window....closed again.

 AND....family visits are stopped again.

Got the care home call last week: they have COVID rampant again and all family visits are off. It was a 6 week window of "quality" time bedside.

And then today they called and said Okaasan is one of the positive cases, Dear Son gave permission for the necessary meds to be piped in via the tubes.

I think it's the same elsewhere in the world this summer - the virus is back. While most of us healthy bods are going about regular life (beer festivals and events with friends for us)...the sick and the elderly have a new challenge.

In the mood?

 Playlist for bedside visits...

In the mood by Glenn Miller...Dionne Warwick...Herb Alpert...kind of unusual sounds for a Japanese hospital room!

But, finally we can get in to see Okaasan and sit bedside playing her music from our smartphones. We THINK she likes it, there is head movement/shaking and not too many grimaces and tooth grinding. The occasional open eye and look.

It may be pleasure. It doesn't look like distaste or anger.

But, hard to know.

We went last week and again this week. Stayed about 20-25 mins. The dopamine drips in, the sounds waft around...and so another visit goes. Occasionally she opens her eyes and appears to look at us - and know who we are? Maybe.

But Summer of 2024 we are doing these regular visits.