We're still standing. A bit.

OMG.
We did it.
GOT Okaasan up off the carpet.
Out of the dirty clothes.
Into a bath.
While we blitz cleaned her room.
Then with clean body and hair she was safely back - sitting in the kotatsu in front of the TV.


And we fell exhausted into bed by 8.15 pm. Which is why I am now here at 3.30 am.
AND I am writing this on the revamped home computer - which yesterday deigned to relocate my 2011-12 tax data thanks to huge efforts by Yujiro.


Huge efforts all round yesterday.
I sat in my classroom before coming home running over the conversations we could have with Okaasan to persuade her to stand up and walk.


Tried out all sorts of ideas (even though Yujiro was going to be there, as it was me driving this attempt I wanted to have the arguments ready in both languages).


Went home just before 5 pm.
Okaasan curled up on the carpet with pants/papers/supermarket flyers/wet towels/little bags/odd socks/God-knows-what all around her.
I told Yujiro the Action Plan. He agreed. We went in.


He used Appeal to Pride tactic: "Okaasan I am away for two days, dear Oyomesan is out all day tomorrow - we are worried about leaving you alone like this! Can you stand up? Show us you can stand up? What about a nice warm bath? Maybe you can't stand up, maybe we should ask a day care visitor to come tomorrow...etc etc etc. ".


Repeat for the next 40 mins until her pride kicked in "I don't need a day care person, I'm not nearly dead, I can stand up, NO! I Don't need that chair to help me, oh but my neck, oh but my head, I can stand up" on and on.


Her leg muscles were weak and it took a long time for her to sit, and then kneel and finally to haul her body. She stood up and wobbled on unused leg muscles to the waiting bath.


As soon as the bathroom door closed we cleaned her room, working as a team to grab and bag trash and move the carpets around. Another 40 mins of cleaning.


The carpet where she has lain the last few days was soaking wet. With urine.
Worse: it all soaked through the carpet, thru the under-carpet and stained the wood flooring. Don't think this was just from the last 3 days, we think it was long term.
Time to DO something about the incontinence.


We cleaned the floor, put down newspaper, rotated the under-carpet - switched the two top carpets and removed one for washing.
Did a massive cleaning in the room - put down a clean sheet and pillow.


After an hour Okaasan got herself out of the bath and sat down in her refreshed room and SAT watching TV for a bit, wanted a bit of light dinner!!! and..then didn't want it....watched some more TV and finally lay down to sleep again.


I looked out the big bag of old people panty-pads. I will try to talk to Okaasan about these tomorrow. Recently she told me she that the reason she has taken to wearing a hula flower skirt at night is so "I can go to the toilet more easily than pajama bottoms", I shall suggest a night-pad and hula skirt as suitable nightwear.


He and I sat in the kitchen eating curry and congratulating ourselves, then I washed the foul carpet in the bath by trampling on it with my jeans rolled up like a French vine yard worker....did that 3 times, and THEN discovered the needle, luckily with the palm of my hand.


whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.


In bed, exhausted by 8.15 pm.