Unfortunately, reinforcing the USB Micro-B jack on the side of the LitUp LED Light Pad only delayed the inevitable: the light became erratic even without the slightest touch. The pad consists of three acrylic sheets glued together around the entire perimeter, so there’s no way to get access to the no-user-serviceable-parts within. Apparently, you’re supposed to just throw it out.
On the other paw, it’s already dead, so there’s nothing to lose:
A little deft razor knife work chopped through the rear sheet without doing any (more) damage to the PCB within. The LEDs can still be convinced to light, but the USB jack is definitely wrecked.
Applying some ChipQuik let me extract the jack without (too much) more damage. Rather than replace it, I just soldered a pigtail USB cable to the obvious PCB pads:
If I’d noticed that little solder ball, I’d have removed it before filling the cavity with hot melt glue and squishing the cut-out piece of white acrylic in place.
A little black duct tape should keep the wiring stable enough for the foreseeable future:
That was another (relatively) easy zero-dollar repair that should not be necessary.
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 
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