食事ができてる Eating Meal

食事が運ばれて来たら、母は自動的にお吸い物の豆腐をすくって口に入れ飲み込んだ。良かった。食事だと分かっている。そして、食べるという行為ができた。

Immediately after her meal was served, my mother brought tofu (soybean curd) to her mouth out of a bowl of transparent Japanese soup and she swallowed.  What a relief to see.  She reacted spontaneously to eat and the function of swallowing is working.

1日300人との出会い SEE 300 PEOPLE A DAY?

この写真の母のように、公園に出ていけば、1日に300人もの人に出会うチャンスがあるかもしれない。先日の高齢社会に関するセミナーで、講師の方が、老後を健康に暮らす極意として、3000-300-30という概念を紹介された。
If you go out to a park like my mother, there will be a chance to see as many as 300 people a day.  "3000-300-30 is the key for people to live healthy lives for a long time."  This key was introduced during the lecture on Aged Society the other day.  This means:

• 3000文字を読み
• 300人の顔を見て
• 30人と挨拶又は話を毎日しなさい　と、言うことだ。

• Read 3000 words every day.
• See 300 people every day.
• Greet or talk to 30 people every day.

認知症の兆候？Symptom of Dementia?

振り返ってみれば、母は一生懸命私にシグナルを送り続けていたのだろう。自分自身が何かおかしいと。ただ、私はそれに気が付かなかった。
When looking back, my mother was sending me lots of signals for her potential of developing Alzheimer's Disease.  I just did not recognize them in those days.

恐らく12年位前だったと思う、数えれば、ちょうど75歳ぐらいになる。母がこんなことを言っていた。「この頃、私、物覚えが悪なって目医者さんが言っていること何回も何回も聞き直さなあかん。メモをとっても忘れる。お医者もイライラしている。一緒に付いて来てくれへんか？」

It was about 12 years ago when she was around 75.  She told me,  "My memory is getting worse.  I can not remember whatever my eye doctor explains to me. I try to take a note, but I can not catch up.  The doctor seemed to be frustrated by me.  Will you come with me?"

超高齢社会 Extremely Aged Society

「パンパカパーン、パンパカパーン」昨日はご機嫌が良かった母です。暑い毎日ですので、公園への散歩は夕方4時半以降です。ご機嫌のいい時は、こんな風に、♪パンパカパーン♪と繰り返します。そんな母を連れる私も気づいてみると61歳。あと四年で前期高齢者が、後期高齢者を看る高齢者超高齢社会の一員になります。

Everyday it is so hot in Japan.  Over 95F.  After 16:30, however, we have some nice shady areas in the neighborhood park.  I take my mother out there for a walk in her wheelchair.  Her ♪Pan-paka-pan. Pan-paka-pan♪ starts.  She utters this phrase when she is in good mood.  I am happy to hear the sound.  She will be 87 years old soon.  I am 61.  Both of us are now elderly people.

Mother with Momoko Osawa 大沢桃子と

On September 4th, there was a festival at my mother's Home. She missed watching the Japanese drum performance. She enjoyed watching it last year so much. This year, she was able to sit right in front of the stage where a beautiful and cute Japanese singer, Momoko Osawa, was singing. She came down to my Mom and shook her hands. I was very happy.

9月4日老健恒例のお祭りが催された。残念ながら、去年母が大好きだった和太鼓の演奏を見逃した。その代わり、大沢桃子さんの歌を最前列のど真ん中で見ることができた。その上、大沢桃子が、客席に歩いてきて、母と握手し一緒に写真を撮ってくれた。私は嬉しかった。母は....分かっていない。

Mom with Smile

Occasionally, my mom shows such a sweet smile. Her relaxed face gives me a great relief and makes me wish her dementia could be cured. I have a great regret in my mind. I should not have kept her at the hospital for more than one day when she fractured her rib. Then her legs would not have been so weak, and she would not have broken her hip. Then she would not have to use a wheelchair.  After all, rib could be cured by itself.

時々は母こんないい顔を見せてくれる。こんな顔を見ると私はほっとする。そして、認知症が治ってくれればいいと祈る。実は、後悔していることがある。肋骨を折ったぐらいで何日も入院させるべきではなかった。直ぐに退院させていれば、足もそんなに弱くならず、大腿骨頚部骨折などしなかっただろうと思うし、車椅子などのお世話にならなかっただろうと思う。肋骨の治療はサポーターをつけておくだけなのだから。残念で仕方がない。

Mother - Misery かわいそうな母

My mother suffered from Norovirus for a few weeks in late April. She was vomiting and had a fever. Even after she recovered, she was not allowed to go out for a walk. May 7, 2010, she was expressing acute pains when the staff of my mother's Home attempted to move her. She was diagnosed as having a fractured rib, and was hospitalized immediately. She was released from the hospital on May 11. We received another call from the Home on May 15. This time, she had fallen down when she tried to get up from her chair. She had fractured her hip (femur), and was hospitalized again. She was given a bolt inplantation operation.  She is now using a wheel chair. As a result of the rehabilitation program, she was finally able to stand up for a while on July 11, 2010.

四月の後半頃、母はノロウイルスにかかり、食べたものを吐き出したり熱を出したりした。回復しても、感染を恐れて、エレベーターを使わせてもらえず、ずっと、建物の３階に閉じこもっているしかなかった。恒例の、散歩はズーとお預けとなっていた。そんな中、５月７日老健のスタッフが母を動かそうとすると非常に痛がったと連絡があった。病院に連れて行くと肋骨骨折と診断され即入院。５月１１日に退院。5月15日に又、老健からの電話で、母が椅子から立とうとしてこけたと連絡を受けた。大腿骨頚部骨折との診断、即入院。5月19日に手術をし車椅子の生活に。しかしながら、リハビリをしっかりすれば歩けるようになるとのことで、先ずは立つ練習。母が、立ち上がった写真を7月11日に撮れた。

Mom with Cherry Blossoms 母 - お花見もどき

My mom has cherry blossoms in her background.  She looks as though she was enjoying the blossoms.  But she was looking at something else.  Cherry blossoms do not mean anything to her any more.

桜を背景に撮った写真ですが、彼女にとって桜の花が何を意味するのかもう分かっていません。この時も実は、何か他のものを眺めていたのです。

Beating a Drum

The home where my mother is staying had a festival on Saturday September 5th. I was able to spend a few hours with her. Included among the performers, was a Jappanese drum group. My mom was so excited and wanted to beat a drum by herself while she was watching the performance of this Japanese drum beating group. She had fun beating the air while watching the performance. Beating the drums seemed to be her biggest interest at the festival. We had a fun day together.

9月5日（土）に老健のお祭りがありました。色んな催しがありましたが、母は和太鼓の演奏にたいそう興味を示し、真似をして手を動かし始めました。演奏者に負けじとずいぶん早く手を動かしていたのでびっくりしました。

Mom Walking

Today my mom is walking with her daughters, and with the help of a walker. She might not be interested in her daughters, as they are not as young as my mom's grand-kids. She is more interested in counting the stories of a high-rise building. One, two, three, four layers..... The walker has been provided by the rehabilitation center where she stays. They hope this will adjust my mother's way of walking. She tilts when she walks. She does not mind using the walker, but she often leans on it very strongly. I am not sure if her walking will be corrected by this device. Anyhow, my sisters look happy to chat with each other. We seldom have the chance to all be together like this. This heavily wooded street is a lovely place to walk.

今日は娘達と一緒に歩行器を使って散歩です。残念ながら、大きくなった娘達に余り興味がないようで、周りの建物が何階建てか数えるほうが重要です。1，2，3，4階建てか...てな具合です。歩行器は、老健が与えてくれたものです。母が傾いて歩くので、それを矯正しようと言う目的です。ずっと歩いていると、歩行器にもたれかかって歩いているので、その成果はどんなものか不明です。妹達は、久しぶりに一緒に会えて、綺麗な並木道を歩きながら 会話を楽しんでいます。

Happy Mom with Her Grand Kids

Not sure if mom is aware with whom she is walking. She certainly looks very happy. I hope she is not thinking these two are her mother and father. We had a nice walk near her home on August 20, when her grand daughter came back from Toyko for summer vacation. This was the first time her grand daughter and grand son were able to visit my mom at her new home.












母は嬉しそうな顔していますね。名前は、はっきり覚えていないし、自分との関係もはっきり分かってないのかも知れないけど、二人に連れられて、まさか、父さんと母さんと一緒と思っていないことを祈ります。姪が盆休みで東京から帰ってきたので、弟と一緒に老健にいるお婆ちゃんを初めて8月20日に訪ね、皆で近くを散歩しました。

MOM'S GRADUATION

My mom "graduated" from a nearby day service center. We used to refer to the center as "school" or "college" for the elderly, when we tried to convince her to go. Our anxieties were soothed when she seemed to socialize well with other people at the day service center. She was participating in a variety of activities there. She has been at a full-time care home since May 27, 2009.




母は5月26日にデーサービスを卒業しました。卒業したというのも、母のプライド(!)を尊重し、「デーサービス」のことを「学校」と呼んでいたからです。様々な活動に楽しそうに参加している母の写真を頂いきました。その母も、5月27日から介護老人保険施設に入ってしまいました。

Cherry Blossoms Viewing with Mom 母とお花見

沢山の　

　　桜眺めど

　　　　　　記憶なし　　








Cherry blossoms in full bloom.
Mom seemed to enjoy the sight,
but has no memory of this view.

Mom's Make-Up

身だしなみ リップクリームを 眉毛にも。

Before going out,
Mom is applying chap stick on
her lips and eyebrows.

Mother - Household Assistance

Who could imagine
a roll of paper towel
put inside the fridge?

冷蔵庫
開けてびっくり
紙タオル







又やった
水浸しなり
胡椒缶

Damaged again.
A new can of pepper was
filled with water.

Mother - Exercise 歩かされ

コスモスと　戯れるかに　見ゆる母
Mom is happily
in a field of cute Cosmos,
standing timidly.

Mother - Whatever in Freezer

母にとり　何でも入る　冷凍庫
Alas, a yoyo!
Freezer is a big storage
for mom to put in.


(A small balloon with water inside is another type of Yoyo in Japan. The balloon is tied with a rubber band. By holding the rubber band, you can play with the balloon ,like a Yoyo.)


困ったな　冷凍大根　役立たず
Oh, my God. again!
A radish was frozen hard .
Must throw it away...

Mother - Her Effort

階段を　弱々しくも　降りる母
Being tough in spirits,
mom is climbing down long stairs
step by step steadily.

新聞の　字読む努力　けなげなリ
Isn't she admirable
to read letters on paper
with her troubled eyes?

ELEGANT LADY? 華麗なる母？

My mom underwent a photodynamic therapy for 82 seconds on Thursday, August 14. It is a treatment for her macular degeneration. This treatment uses a low power laser beam. She had to stay in the hospital for at least two days, possibly for three days, only because of the injection that she had before the therapy. The injection, Visudyne, reacts to sunlight. It is dangerous to be exposed to any bright sunlight. That is why she needed to be in the hospital so that she will be protected well. However, being in the hospital could worsen her dementia. My sisters and I prepared all kinds of mental exercise programs for her.
8月14日木曜日母は光線力学的療法という治療を受けました。それは、加齢性黄斑変性の治療で弱いレーザー光線を眼に82秒間当てるだけの治療です。が、その治療に先立ってビスダインという注射をし、その薬が光に繊細に反応する為、太陽光に当らないようにしなければいけません。その為、手術後2～3日間の入院が必要になりました。入院によって心配なのは、母の認知症の悪化です。そこで、できる限りの頭の体操ドリルを持って行きました。

My Mom is doing her reading exercise right now at hospital. She looks so cute.
写真は、病院で読み書きの練習をする母ですが、なかなか可愛いいと思いません?

This is the outfit that she had to wear when she left the hospital after dusk on Sunday, August 17, 2008. She did not like the sunglasses. She has never worn sunglasses in her life. She also did not like the scarf , because it is too stuffy for her to wear in the summer. However, we managed to convince her to wear them all to protect her from lights. Doesn't she look elegant?

8月17日に病院を退院する際、こんな格好をしないと退院できませんでした。サングラスなんてかけたことのない母はサングラスを嫌がり、又、暑苦しいと言ってスカーフも嫌がりました。それでも何とか説得し、光から守れるような格好をしてもらいました。

なんだか母がエレガントに見えるのですが。言いすぎでしょうか？

Coloring-Hyacinth 塗り絵 - ヒヤシンス

Another one of my mom's best works of art from her collection at the day care center.

デイケアーセンターから、綺麗にできた母のぬりえをもう一つお借りしてきました。










My mother seems to have become reasonably stable at the day care center. She started to go there on March 19, 2008. Today, she goes there four days a week. Still, she does not know neither why nor where she needs to go every morning.
今年3月19日からデイケアセンターに通い始め、安定した生活を送っている。週4日デイケアに通っているが、今だに毎朝何の為にどこに行くのか分からないようだ。

At first, her mood could be temperamental from time to time. On one occasion, she attempted to leave the center before the end of the day. The staff paid special attention to her and were able to start playing beanbags with her. Interestingly, she, then, seemed to calm down and enjoyed what she was doing. This photo shows my mom and a nurse at the day care center, playing beanbags.

始めの頃、時々機嫌が悪くなり、センターを出て行こうとしたりする行動が見られた。が、スタッフの方が特別な注意を払ってくださり、昔なつかしのお手玉など一緒にして下さいました。すると、たちまち、母の機嫌も直り、楽しんで遊んでくれたそうです。この写真は、母がデイケアで看護師さんの方とお手玉をしている写真です。

I am very happy that I was able to find this day care center. The atmosphere is very lively. The staff is professional and attentive. The location is very convenient for me. I would like to pay a special tribute and express my appreciate to all of the staff there. Thank you very much!

実は、このデーケアセンターを見つけられて非常に喜んでいます。雰囲気が明るく、スタッフの方も皆様プロの方で安心してここなら母を通わせれると思いました。又、場所もとても近く助かります。このデーケアセンターのスタッフすべての方に感謝しています。