loa_log

Today was the last day of our little New Year’s get together.

My brothers and I are still in Kagoshima with Dad, but Mom decided it was best for her to leave sooner than later after being told to get out by Dad several times. Before she left, we had a family meeting with Dad’s care manager. A care manager is someone that helps the communication between a patient, their families, medical professionals and government agencies. They also help with acquiring nursing care products and anything else that a patient may need.

We had the care manager (Ms. Kizaki) come stop by Dad’s house in the afternoon right before my mom had to leave to catch her ferry back up north. Ms. Kizaki listened to us as we listed our concerns for Dad and how we decided that it was for the best if he could live on his own for the time being.

Ms. Kizaki was very understanding about the whole situation. I’m sure she has experienced similar situations in her career as a care manager. She called Dad’s physician and talked over his desire to live independently with minimal help from his friends.

We were able to come to an agreement that he will be mostly living on his own. The home care nurse will continue to come to check on his vitals and listen to his daily concerns three times a week. His physician will also come to check on him bi-weekly. If anything happens, I am the first person they contact, but for when I am out of the country, we also added my brother who lives in Kanagawa as a second person of contact. From there, the plan is that I get in contact with his friends that live in the area to take care of him until me or my brother can get back here.

It seems over-the-top, but I am grateful that his physician and care manager allowed this arrangement.

Now I am looking forward to getting back on the road. I will be heading back to Kanagawa, first of all to use up my pilates tickets. I’ll take a few days to see the rest of my family and give them my New Year’s greetings. After that, I’ll be off to Hawaii for my seasonal spring gig.

I hope that Dad enjoys his independent life and pray that I don’t get a call from Ms. Kizaki while I’m away…