The Japan Times Editorial looked at "The Future of senile dementia" yesterday - with stats and government ponderings on what to do about it all.
Central government is telling local governments to set up 300 "senile dementia treatment centers staffed by experts" - mainly so that people currently in hospitals can be released "back into the community"...and save somebody somewhere some money.
Ho, ho, ho....yeah right. I expect that will happen.
This is all scheduled to happen between 2013 and 2017. Maybe after rebuilding tsunami struck communities along the north-east coastline. Because that is going so well already....
Sapporo city could make a great start on all of this by shifting initial assessment interviews from over-worked doctors in over-crowded hospitals, to kitchens all over the land. You don't need a hospital to assess dementia. A kitchen table and about an hour of chat should do it.
But will they listen to me? Nah....
Had myself a nice weekend. Hanging around at home, lunch with a friend, out to see flowers with another friend, sunshine, TV, reading...and OH MY GOD - prepping stuff for the speech I have to do October 18th to Rotary Club ladies....UK Volunteerism...in Japanese. I have so many pictures to illustrate this talk I am hoping they'll just look at those and not listen to me trying to fill 45 mins in atrocious Japanese.
haven't heard anything from the psychiatrist friend, but it's a 3 day holiday..so hoping next week a phone call or mail will come.
Okaasan is fine at the moment. In fact, as Yujiro keeps pointing out to me, she is really pretty good and even washing dishes and folding up newspapers in her room.
You know, it's like taking sick pets to the vets. As soon as you wrangle them into the carrier and GET them there, then they sit up on the consulting table and look perky - while back home they looked half dead.
Okaasan is trotting thru her days fine - while her dear family plot all sorts of shocks and indignities. Inklings of guilt whisper at me.
But I'm shouting them down.
Just remember, what you are suggesting for her is not punishment or horrible. It will be fun for her to go have lunch and interact with other people her age. I predict she will like it after the first trip.
ReplyDeleteI know...sigh....I know....but she won't see it like that. She'll see it as being shipped off to the building where lots of incapable old people are....I can foresee we'll have to go on endless "isn't this nice" visits to observe the hula dance class and eat in the restaurant......
ReplyDeleteIt may be a slow process. Too bad there is not a way to make her think it is really her idea. She is so lucky to have you!
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