Okaasan well - calm and happy in her life.
We visited yesterday - walking round the corridors with the walking frame, snacks and drinks in her room, family TV time, arm flapping exercises...chat.
"You work as a ski instructor??" she quizzed Dear Son. I guess it IS a year since she has seen him coming home with skis and boots in the kitchen...the reality of his working life. So we did all the "rich Chinese visitors - teaching in English - season - Hokkaido snow business boom" conversations...that are all routine.
I washed one of her rose-pattern smocks the other day at home and discovered a train ticket and a receipt in the pocket.
2016...September...she went downtown with this subway ticket...but then forgot she had bought it and probably confused the subway staff by producing her Elderly Travel Pass at the other end. And then she went to her favorite coffee shop at 4.58 pm and bought a matcha tea drink and a chestnut puree cake.
The old routines. Two years ago she was doing that alone.
Now she is mainly in a wheechair. The TV. Exercising. Waving and even TALKING a little to "friends" in the care home...and the staff. A few months ago she always looked a little suspicious and unfriendly when we turned her chair round from the communal TV and wheeled her out of the shared living room - as if she was unaware of all the other people in the room behind her and wondered who they were.
Now she waves and smiles at them. And they at us.
It's all great.
Monday, 16 April 2018
Friday, 6 April 2018
Doing our exercises
Okaasan, me and Dear Son are gathered round the table in her room - flapping our elbows up and down like Easter chicks and then throwing our hands out sideways with accompanying noises.
Family exercise!! And Okaasan is our leader.
She initiated the movement, which is obviously one of the exercises they do in day care, so of course we joined in and all laughed together as we did it. Then, went back to drinking and eating snacks.
It's a good sign. That she remembers, with enjoyment, the exercises from day care and does them unprompted.
All well in her world. Dear Son and I went to visit the other day and found Okaasan friendly and chatty. We pushed her wheelchair around a few blocks of city streets, did two toilet visits, snack time and chat. The care home staff reported that she was in a good place mentally this week - and after an hour or so we parked her back in front of the big TV and left her to relax.
It was a relief for us to have a happy visit. On the same afternoon we went to a hospital to visit a friend who has a terrible brain and muscle deterioration disease....in 9 weeks she has gone from a working, active adult to a shaking, pain-cramped invalid. Can hardly talk now, can't really feed herself anymore.....it is so hard to see her. We both came away from the visit shocked and sad. Recently I go to see her once a week...because it is a weekly worsening. I reckon Okaasan hardly realizes whether we visit or not, and our friend needs visits more.
Anyway. Okaasan good.
Next we are going to try and take her out in the car and do a short coffee or lunch visit somewhere....we hope....
Family exercise!! And Okaasan is our leader.
She initiated the movement, which is obviously one of the exercises they do in day care, so of course we joined in and all laughed together as we did it. Then, went back to drinking and eating snacks.
It's a good sign. That she remembers, with enjoyment, the exercises from day care and does them unprompted.
All well in her world. Dear Son and I went to visit the other day and found Okaasan friendly and chatty. We pushed her wheelchair around a few blocks of city streets, did two toilet visits, snack time and chat. The care home staff reported that she was in a good place mentally this week - and after an hour or so we parked her back in front of the big TV and left her to relax.
It was a relief for us to have a happy visit. On the same afternoon we went to a hospital to visit a friend who has a terrible brain and muscle deterioration disease....in 9 weeks she has gone from a working, active adult to a shaking, pain-cramped invalid. Can hardly talk now, can't really feed herself anymore.....it is so hard to see her. We both came away from the visit shocked and sad. Recently I go to see her once a week...because it is a weekly worsening. I reckon Okaasan hardly realizes whether we visit or not, and our friend needs visits more.
Anyway. Okaasan good.
Next we are going to try and take her out in the car and do a short coffee or lunch visit somewhere....we hope....
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