Driving school for the aged

 

 It is a serious problem. Old people cause traffic accidents.

 In Japan, people over 70 years old who have driver’s licenses need to attend elderly training. I am not 70 years old, but I have already taken elderly training twice. I took them with my parents.

 My mother did not drive a car, but she had a license. I did not plan to renew her license because she had Alzheimer’s disease. I was personally interested in the elderly training system. At the beginning of the training, the trainer showed 10 pictures. Then he let the people memorize those pictures. They had to write them down on their papers without seeing the pictures. This was a test for Alzheimer’s disease. Of course, my mother could never remember even one of the pictures. The results of the other tests were worse.

 I assumed the trainer would take away her license, but they simply recommended that she go to a hospital. She already commuted to a hospital. So nothing had happened.

 My father’s case was a little bit different. While I was waiting for the training in the room, a trainer said, “We can’t accept any attendant in this training.” Then he let me out of the room. So I waited outside. Ten minutes later, the trainer came out from the room and asked me. “Your father is angry for some reason. Please handle it.” I entered the room. It was the middle of the 10-picture memorization test. My father was hard of hearing; he could not hear what the trainer said, and he did not know what he should write down. I knew the test very well because I already took it with my mother. So I explained what he should do with a loud voice. Talking to a person who is hard of hearing requires some training. My father’s results were also bad, but they could not take his license away. Nothing happened.

 My father passed away when he was 80 years old. He kept on driving until two days before he died. He caused many small accidents. The doctors, policemen, and our family all tried to stop him from driving. He refused. He died of a heart attack. When I found out he passed away, I breathed a sigh of relief that he finally will not cause serious accidents.

 We really need self-driving cars.

Proofreading by ProofreadingServices.com

Picture by Asa

 

 

Abdominal vocalization

 

　My father was hard of hearing. He started to wear a hearing aid when he was in his forties. Without the hearing aid, he could not talk to anyone except me. I could talk with my father without the help of the hearing aid because I was a member of my high school drama club.

 In most cases, if you join a Japanese drama club, you will be taught abdominal vocalization, a technique of making loud sounds using your abdominals. High school drama clubs basically perform in big gymnasiums. We needed this technique to convey lines to the audience. This is not so difficult. A sophomore could teach a freshman.

 This technique was useful to me as a caregiver for my father.

 Ironically, this technique is not so important at other theatrical stages. In a minitheater, it even disturbs one’s performance. It is too loud. In most big theaters, they use wireless microphones. Furthermore, this technique tends to reduce the uniqueness of an actor’s voice. Uniqueness of voice includes how to breathe.

 So abdominal vocalization is useless. But when you talk to a person who is hard of hearing, it is extremely useful.

 One day, my father and I visited a hospital to meet a doctor. I repeated what the doctor said to my father with a loud voice. The doctor heard our conversation. He tried to talk loudly like I did. Abdominal vocalization is not a difficult technique, but it is also not something you can do immediately. The doctor choked while talking. I figured abdominal vocalization was a fundamental technique. At least, it seems doctors do not study this technique in medical schools.

 We should study as many skills as possible. A skill could be useful in some unexpected situations. 

Proofreading by ProofreadingServices.com

Picture by koriko

Curtain

 

 

              When I lived with my mother, who had Alzheimer’s disease, I served her dinner at 6:00 p.m. In the winter, it was dark. I had to close the curtains, but I intentionally opened the curtains and helped my mother eat because I wanted to avoid abusing my mother.

              Caregivers tend to abuse patients who have Alzheimer’s disease, especially at home. In most cases, their sons do. Blaming the sons is easy, but I really understand why they do it. Men in my generation don’t expect to be caregivers at home and at school. Generally, they are not good at caregiving. The period when parents need caregiving usually overlaps with the period when their son is at his most blessed.

              Also, Alzheimer’s patients often disturb their caregivers’ sleep. The lack of sleep causes mental and physical disorders. I always thought, This is not my life. I was not raised so nicely by my mother that I need to do this. I was always worried that I could start abusing my mother.

              This was why I took care of my mother with the curtains open. It kept me reasonable. If I abused my mother in this situation, someone might inform the police. I didn’t abuse my mother to protect myself.

              In the end, I never abused my mother. I sent her to a nursery home. It took fourteen years. If a person who is not familiar with Alzheimer’s disease listens to this story, they might feel nothing about it. Not abusing one’s own mother is natural, but I think I made a great achievement.

              In the evening, if you find a house with curtains open, they might have some problems.

Picture by Toranosuke

Proofreading by ProofreadingServices.com

 

The Site Foreman

 

   

           The house we are living in now was built by a trustworthy carpenter. He was the best man at the wedding of my parents-in-law. While he built our house, I sometimes visited the site.

              One day a man who wore work clothes came to the site.

              He asked me, “I am an electrical engineer. Where is the site foreman?”

              The site foreman was the carpenter. I answered, “He must be in the garage now.”

              Then he went to the garage, but he returned soon and said to me, “He is not there.”

              It was strange. I had seen him there a few minutes ago. We went to the garage together. I found the carpenter, who was mixing concrete. I couldn’t understand the situation immediately.

              The electrical engineer hadn’t realized that the carpenter was the site foreman. In those days, we were suffering from a carpenter shortage. Many carpenters were needed for recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake. So our carpenter couldn’t hire enough craftsmen. He had to do various work jobs by himself. Generally speaking, mixing concrete is not a job for a site foreman. The electrical engineer assumed he have might been one of the craftsmen.

              I pointed at the carpenter who was mixing concrete and said, “He is the site foreman.”

              The electrical engineer was surprised.

              Our house was built with the concrete mixed by the site foreman and the best man at the wedding of my parents-in-law. It must be the best house.

Picture by freehand

Proofreading by ProofreadingServices.com

I Was Scolded

 

 

 When I was in a hospital as a patient, I had recovered to a condition in which I could go to the restroom by myself. A nurse told me, “When you go to the restroom, push the nurse call button and let us know. Even at midnight.”

 By the way, once I worked for a school for nurses as a teacher. My students were working for a hospital. They were also studying in the school. Some of my students complained to me, “I really hate the nurse call button, especially at midnight.”

 I remembered those words. Then I went to the restroom at midnight. But I did not press the nurse call button.

 The next morning, the nurse scolded me angrily. I thought, Why are you mad at me? I was on your side.

 Actually, my medical condition and my toilet activities had a strong connection. It included important information. That was why the nurse was irritated.

 I was not a strict teacher. I should have scolded my students like this when I was a teacher.

“You have to have dignity as a nurse. You should not hate the nurse call button at midnight!”

Picture by studiostoks

Proofreading by ProofreadingServices.com

The Best Joke

 

 

 A few years ago, I was riding an ambulance as a patient. I was brought to the ICU of a hospital. I lost consciousness for a week. I had a narrow escape. The following week, sometimes I recovered consciousness, sometimes I lost it. I experienced a strange world where reality and dreams mixed.

 At that time, I finally thought up the best joke. The joke might make all the people in this world laugh.

 As you know, jokes are effective in a narrow scope. A joke could make young people laugh. But the same joke might make old people angry. A joke could make men laugh. But the same joke may be offensive to women. The reverse is also true. Exporting and importing a joke is also difficult. I sometimes worked as a translator. I found it difficult to translate jokes. It was difficult to find a joke that made everyone all over the world laugh.

 At that time, I finally found the best joke at the risk of my life. I thought, I have to get out of the hospital and make everyone laugh as soon as possible. Then I lost consciousness.

 The next time I recovered consciousness, I had forgotten the joke. I remembered that I had thought up a joke, and then I tried to remember it. Then I lost my consciousness again.

 This is bad news to you. I am leaving the hospital now. I had completely forgotten the joke.

 I think I will remember the joke when I have to face death in the future again.

Picture by freehand

Proofreading　by　 ProofreadingServices.com

Help with Meals

  My mother had Alzheimer’s disease. The caregiving a caregiver gives to an Alzheimer’s disease patient who is on the beginning stage doesn’t look like the typical one. Listening to the repeated stories of the patient is one example. People who are not familiar with Alzheimer’s disease tend to assume that the caregiver is doing nothing. This is a misunderstanding. Staying with a person who has trouble communicating for long time is difficult. I had lived with my mother for 14 years. I love my mother, but I felt it was torture. I took care of my mother with the help of my father and wife. We needed more people to take care of her. I didn’t have enough personal time. I had to give up many things I wanted to do. It was difficult to travel. I was almost a prisoner. But most people couldn’t understand what I was doing.

 One day, the change happened. I set food on the table, but she didn’t eat. Before that, she could eat a meal by herself. She forgot how to eat. I put food to her mouth with a spoon, and she started to eat.

Helping with meals had started.

When I was a child, I loved watching TV. In those days, this kind of plots was very popular in Japan: a good son or daughter taking care of a sick, aging parent; they help with meals. The patient might say, “Thank you for helping me every day.” Then the son or daughter might say, “We promised you would never say that again.”

On TV, caregiving was always obvious. It was easily understood. I had continued to take care of my mother for 12 years. Finally, I reached the “obvious” caregiving. If a bystander watched us through our window, the person might easily know that I was a caregiver! I felt happy that I finally got a clear position.

On TV dramas, it was always like this: a superhero shows up and saves all people who have problems and then a happy ending. I haven’t met a superhero, but my wife, care managers, and helpers have helped me. I wish my happiness.

Picture by Kyoko

Proofreading by ProofreadingServices.com