The night in KASUMIGAURA

 

 In 1988, I was a freshman at university. During the summer vacation I travelled around east Japan by bicycle.

 I spent one night in Tokyo then started to travel towards the north east of Japan. My next goal was the youth hostel in KASUMIGAURA in IBARAGI prefecture.

 When I was on the road I saw a young man wearing a shirt on which was written “Anti-nuclear power plant”. He was riding a bicycle in the same direction as me. I thought he might be an interesting fellow. So I followed him for a while. But his riding speed was too slow, so I overtook him. Then I arrived at the youth hostel before sunset.

 In those days, local youth hostels were like conversation salons where travelers could enjoy talking about various topics. I was also enjoying myself there.

 Somebody asked a middle aged person:

“What kind of work do you do?”

The person answered:

“I work at a nuclear power plant.”

I remembered the anti-nuclear guy I had overtaken during the day. So I told him:

“I saw a person wearing an “anti-nuclear power plant” shirt today.”

The power-plant-guy answered:

“I know some people have such ideas about nuclear power plants, but…”

He started to explain fluently why we need nuclear power plants.

Most of the travelers listened to this explanation with a smile. It had been two years since the incident in Chernobyl, but most of the people in Japan, including me, didn’t think about that problem so seriously.

 After dinner and a bath we had time to relax and chat again. Then the owner of the youth hostel said to us:

“One guest who was supposed to stay here tonight has not arrived. I can’t clean the table and the bath.”

We answered:

“The guest must have cancelled. It is already late”.

The owner said:

“No, he called me and said “I am on the way from Tokyo by bicycle. Don’t close the gate. I will definitely arrive there tonight.”

 I remembered the anti-nuclear-guy again, because I had also left Tokyo that morning. On the way the guy was the only bicycle-traveler I overtook. So I said:

“The guest could be the anti-nuclear-guy I saw.”

Everyone laughed and said.

“It will never happen.”

Finally the guest arrived by bicycle. The guest was indeed the guy wearing the anti-nuclear-plant-shirt I had seen. Everyone in the hostel was surprised.

 The anti-nuclear-plant guy went to the bath. Most of worried about what would happen tonight, but an optimistic traveler started live coverage of the situation to us:

“The greatest match of the century is coming soon! The challenger, the anti-nuclear-plant-guy has finished his bath. He is putting his clothes. What kind of shirt? Of course it has the slogan “Anti-nuclear-plant”! The champion, the nuclear-plant-guy is prepared to engage the enemy!” 

The worker from the nuclear plant turned pale and said:

“First of all, I did not to want to work for a nuclear plant. It is just my job. I didn’t have choice”

 The anti-nuclear-guy came to the living room. He joined our circle. He explained the purpose of his trip. As an anti-nuclear-plant action, he planned to visit all the nuclear plants in north east Japan by bicycle, wearing the anti-nuclear-plant-shirt.

 The tension in the living room was extreme.

 I was eighteen. Of course I was reckless and a greenhorn. I pointed at the  nuclear plant worker and said:

“He works at a nuclear plant!”

After a long silence, the anti-nuclear-plant-guy said.

“I am so happy to meet you. I started my travel because I wanted to listen to people like you!”

 I can’t remember what they talked about after that, but the hostel became a salon again. I guess all of us enjoyed talking.

 About thirty years has passed. The nuclear plant worker has been able to climb the career ladder. The anti-nuclear-plant-guy may be a leader of an anti-nuclear-plant movement. It was in 1988, long before the incidents in Fukushima.

 If they met now, could they talk gently like that night? I don’t know.

Picture by kathygold

 

animation ENGAWA KOMYU-KOMYU A dream about the future

Finally we made it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEOiKfJH1Ro

“Alzheimer’s patients are mirrors which reflect their caregivers”?

 A medical specialist for Alzheimer’s disease wrote “Alzheimer’s patients are mirrors which reflect their caregivers” in his book. It means if a caregiver yells at or punches a patient, the patient also starts to yell or punch people. If caregivers treat patients gently, the patient treat other people gently.

 I found out about the theory by myself. It is easy to imagine if you assume you have Alzheimer’s disease. The patients basically always cause trouble. They do things which make people mad, but they can’t remember what they have done. From the patients’ point of view, people start to yell or punch you without any reason. Closer people attack you more aggressively. It is pure hell. You need to protect yourself. You need to start to yell or punch people.

 But I don’t want to insist on this theory strongly, because every patient is an individual. First of all, there are naturally aggressive or violent people. If these people became patients, they might keep yelling and punching all the time. Furthermore, atrophying of brains varies with individuals. Even if all caregivers treat patients nicely, there might be aggressive or violent patients.

 Even if this theory is correct, I don’t want to blame the caregivers. They sacrifice themselves to give care. Family members in particular need to spend a long time caring for patients. Taking care of those with Alzheimer’s disease is very stressful. It is almost impossible to spend a long time with a patient without feeling any anger. Caregivers naturally tend to experience crises that to make them mad. But they are basically good people. They love the patients, which is why they started to take care of them.

If I found a patient who always yelled and punched people, I would not be comfortable blaming the caregivers:

 “He or she behaves like this because you abused him or her!”

 Because of luck or because of the good quality of our care, my mother behaves gently. Ten years ago my mother and I yelled at each other every day. But I quit yelling at her when a doctor diagnosed her as having Alzheimer’s disease. I have never yelled at her since the diagnosis. But there were tons of times when I wanted to yell and punch her. Even now, I sometimes face such crises.

 My wife started to live with my mother three years ago. Last month when my mother and my wife were at home just the two of them, my mother tried to do terrible a thing in front of my wife. So my wife yelled at my mother. That was the first time she had done that. My mother yelled back at her immediately. My wife was very surprised because usually my mother is so calm.

 “The mirror theory” could be correct, at least in our home.

 The theory is simple, but applying it is very hard.

 

Picture by photo2465

 

The inane person in SHIRETOKO

 In 1988, I was a freshman at university. During the summer vacation I travelled around east Japan by bicycle.

When I approached SHIRETOKO in HOKKAIDO, a middle-aged guy in a car said hello to me. He said:

“If you’re going to SHIRETOKO, I will give you a ride.”

I accepted. The guy put my bicycle in the trunk. I sat in the passenger seat. We enjoyed chatting and driving. But suddenly he stopped the car and said:

“Excuse me. Could you wait in the car?”

Then he got out of the car and walked up to a young couple on the road. He started to scold them. His face reddened with anger. I couldn’t hear what they were talking but I realized some emergency had occurred.

 I assumed he was insane. I thought:

(Oh, God! I am in an insane man’s car. I have to find a way to escape.)

After a few minutes, he came back to the car and explained briefly.

“We should not feed wild animals.”

I couldn’t understand what he meant. The young couple had put bread on the road. After they were scolded they picked up the bread.

 I couldn’t understand what was happening. I could only think about how to run away from him.

Actually I didn’t need to find a way to escape. When we arrived in SHIRETOKO he gently stopped the car and we parted. Of course I never gave him any contact information because I still thought he was insane.

 Later, I understood what he was doing.

Feeding wild animals is strictly forbidden in Hokkaido. If wild animals learn they can get food from people they will come to the road and be hit by cars. If wild bears connect people with food, they will come into towns. If we find bears in a town, we have to kill them with guns. Tourists are not familiar with this situation so they often give food to wild animals, but it risks the lives of the wild animals as well as people.

 The middle-aged guy was a volunteer who found tourists who were not aware of this problem and warned them. He was doing an important job that saves wild animals’ and people’s lives. I am sorry I thought he was insane.

 Two years ago, I went to Hokkaido by plane. A local TV announcer said “We should not feed wild animals. Let us give a good example to the tourists”.

 Almost thirty years has passed. I wonder if the “insane man” is still patrolling in SHIRETOKO.

 

Japanese version

http://miurashujiro.blog.shinobi.jp/

Picture by ayacon

Only nearer people can realize Alzheimer’s disease

 One of the characteristic symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease is that only close friends or family members can notice the disease in an early stage. The persons who live together and spend much time with the patients can find out the disease exists. This is one of the tough points Alzheimer’s disease patients.

 There have been many cases like this. In an old typical Japanese family style, the housewife lived with the husband’s parents and took care of them. The wife might find her father-in-law or mother-in-law had Alzheimer’s disease in an early stage. But her family, relatives, neighbors and even doctors wouldn’t believe it.

They might say:

“He or she can communicate to us normally.”

“That is ageing.”

“Maybe you have a mental problem.”

 It is very difficult to identify a person in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Even medical specialist can’t tell exactly. In my mother’s case, it took two or three years to have the diagnosis from a doctor. I lived with her in those two or three years. That period was pure hell.

 

 Ten years has passed. Now, my mother needs 24-hour-care every day. My wife and I can’t provide all of that. We use temporary short stay facilities for the elderly.

 

 One day the facility called me and said “We don’t have enough medicine for your mother”. We needed to provide the medicine for my mother during the short stay but we had made an error in calculation. So we went to the facility to bring her medicine.

 My wife’s sister lives in London. She works at a hospital as a nurse. At one time she temporarily came back to Japan and visited our house. She was interested in Japanese facilities for the elderly. She came to the facility with us.

 

 After we gave the medicine to the office, we visited my mother’s living place in the facility.

 

 I said to my mother:

“Hi! This is Shu.”

Because recently she has sometimes forgotten who I am, she often asks me “Where is Shu?”

My mother said:

“Oh! Shu! Long time no see!”

For your information, we live together and I had sent my mother to the facility that morning.

 

Next, my sister-in-law said hello to my mother briefly. She simply said her name and hello.

But my mother deeply bowed and answered to her:

“Nice to meet you! Thank you for visiting me all the way from a distant place.”

Mom! You are just perfect! Do you have telepathy or something? No one said she came from London!

 

 People hate Alzheimer’s disease because sometimes the patients act like superhumans.

Picture by bee

The same policeman questioned me twice

 In the beginning of 2000, when I lived in OSAKA, I had a strange experience.

 In those days I didn’t have a washing machine. So I used to go a coin-operated laundry shop by bicycle every weekend.

 The first police questioning was in front of the laundry shop. That was ordinary police questioning.

 A few weeks later the same policeman questioned me again at the same location. I was sure he was the same person but he seemed to have forgotten me. He questioned me as if I was a new person. I started to feel funny. I waited until remembered me as I answered the questions. Finally he said:

“Have we met before?”

I answered:

“Finally you have remembered!”

He started to be friendly to me. Then I asked him a question.

“You have questioned me twice. I guess you thought I was a suspicious person. Could you tell me about me made you so suspicious? If I seem suspicious, I want to change.”

 I know I am not good looking guy but I believe I create a first impression of being a good person. Some people tend to doubt my intelligence but rarely doubt my good personality at the first meeting. So I was shocked to have been suspected by the policeman. He said:

“No, no, no, no. I didn’t mean that. Just your bicycle is…”

  That was the point. In those days, I was not well off. I didn’t have enough money to buy a new bicycle. So I bought a secondhand bicycle. I bought the cheapest bicycle in the shop. The color of the bicycle happened to be pink.

“Considering your age and gender, it is hard to think you chose a pink bicycle in a shop. I suspected you had stolen the bicycle.”

He didn’t suspect me because of my facial features, so he couldn’t remember my face. He was just trying to catch a bicycle thief.

 Hey! Mr. Policeman! You should look for a more serious crime!

 

Photo by　Dachs

My first meeting with Alzheimer’s

In 1988, I was a freshman at university. During the summer vacation I travelled in east Japan by bicycle.

When I approached TOYAMA prefecture, I knew a famous annual festival would be held in YATSUO town on that day. The name of the festival was KAZENOBON. All the residents of the town become traditional dancers that night.

I thought:

“I want see the festival. If I hurry, I can get to YATSUO tonight. I can sleep at YATSUO station after the festival. ”

 

Then I arrived. But I had totally misunderstood the festival. I had not realized that KAZENOBON is a dancing-all-night festival. YATSUO station was very crowded. There were no place to sleep and no silence to sleep. There was no “after the festival” until the morning. I was at a loss with my bicycle.

An old gentleman asked me:

“Where are you from?”

I answered:

“I am from NAGOYA.”

“You can stay at my house.”

The old gentleman invited me to his house.

 The old gentleman seemed to live alone. The house looked as though it used to be a barber’s.

 

 He prepared a bath for me. After taking the bath I was surprised.

 There were about ten guys wearing traditional dancing costume in the house. They were waiting for me. They glared at me. They asked me some questions. I can’t remember what they said. I just wondered, “Why are these people gathered in the old gentleman’s at night? What strange people!”

 

Recently, I came to realize what was happening that night.

 

The old gentleman was in an early stage of Alzheimer’s disease. I was eighteen years old. I didn’t even know about Alzheimer’s disease. I just thought he was the kind of man who repeatedly says the same things. Some people do that. But it was not like that.

 

Just like my grand aunt and my mother, he was being protected by his family, friends and neighbors, and I had happened to come into his house.

When people looked at the old gentleman and me in the house, they might have thought:

“A fishy stranger is trespassing!”

“The stranger has chosen the busy festival night for stealing or fraud!”

 “What an evil guy!”

 

This is why about ten strong guys were waiting for me at the old gentleman’s house. They had gathered to judge me. I can’t remember how I answered their questions but maybe they trusted me after the conversation. I was allowed to stay at the old gentleman’s house that night.

 

If I had answered wrongly, they might have beaten me up. The people in YATSUO are all well-trained in synchronized dancing. They are also strong enough to dance all night. If I had been an evil person, I would have been beaten up by these strong people. They would have been happy to band together to beat me up.

 

Next morning, the old gentleman served me breakfast. My next goal was to go to the next prefecture, ISHIKAWA. He told me the way to ISHIKAWA over and over and again. I listened over and over again.

 

A few years after that incident, I sent a new-years card to the old gentleman. But one day a member of the old gentleman’s family called me and said:

“We decided to put him in a welfare facility for the elderly. So it is not necessary to send us a new-year card.”

 I knew his family, friends and neighbors had done did their best. There was a limit to what they could do for Alzheimer’s disease.

 

The limit will also affect us. Someday I have to put my mother in a welfare facility for the elderly.

 

Photo by Takataro