Good morning 1202

 

by Yuki

Yesterday Yuki joined a gym. For his first session, he used the exercise bike while watching YouTube on his phone, because the gym has free Wi-Fi.
While he was doing that, I was also doing a 30-minute workout at my gym, which is right across from his. But to tell the truth, my hip joint started hurting this time, so I only did one circuit. It probably took just 15 minutes.
So he must have exercised for more than 30 minutes. I waited for him at the supermarket’s food corner, reading a book and drinking a 140-yen coffee. Until half a year ago, it was 120 yen.

lunch diary 1129 & Good morning 1201

 December has started!!!

Yesterday I went to do sutra copying, and I talked a little with the head priest. I’m not a Buddhist, but in Japan Buddhist elements are part of everyday life, so I can go and do sutra copying without feeling any resistance. It seems I enjoy gentle spiritual cultivation — not rigorous training.

by Mieko

by Yuki

Good morning 1130

by Yuki

It’s the last day of November, isn’t it? One of our winter chores—cleaning the windows—is almost finished.
Yesterday we even had a little quarrel about it. He cleaned the kids’ room windows very quickly, even though that room has the most windows in the house.

I hadn’t realized that he had never cleaned the outside surfaces because he thought it was dangerous.
My idea was simply to clean as far as I could reach, sitting on the window ledge.
But he said there was no point in doing it halfway.

Now, though, he gets unsteady when he stands on a chair, so cleaning the windows is a bit difficult for him. So I just cleaned the parts I could reach.

I think it’s enough that we did it, even if it’s not perfect.

Today was supposed to be his tennis day, but he cancelled. These days he only plays one game, and since the group is small, he felt that playing just one game might trouble the others. He sent them a message saying he’ll join when he feels well.

In a way, it feels like he’s stepping back from the group.

 

Good morning 1129

 

by Yuki

It’s Saturday. Monday was a holiday, so our granddaughter came over, but since yesterday she’s come down with the flu.

Yesterday Yuki had chemotherapy. His white blood count wasn’t great, but he was able to get the treatment anyway. He told his doctor about the things bothering him—numbness, a hoarse voice, low stamina, and unsteadiness.

Some of these are from the medication for chemo, and some are from his illness. Some tumors are getting smaller, but others are still active, so things are pretty unstable right now. He’ll probably have a break from treatment next week.

He’s also thinking about his daily tennis. He’ll probably go less often, but then it’ll be harder to keep his muscle strength. So I suggested he try the nearby gym with training machines. He’s going to try it out tomorrow—maybe about 30 minutes of exercise.

He also suggested buying a training bike. We used to have one, but we hardly used it, and getting rid of it was a pain. So of course I said no.

Good morning 1128

 

by Yuki

Today is Yuki’s hospital day. His condition isn’t as good as last week — it suddenly dropped this week. But he’s still stronger than I am.

We’re not sure if he can get chemotherapy today. It sounds strange, but if he can’t because his blood test results aren’t good, we would accept it, even though it’s disappointing. On the other hand, if he can take it, we’ll ask the doctor whether it’s possible to take a half dose.

We’ll leave home in about an hour.

Good morning 1127

 

by Yuki

Yesterday the leftover fragment of my tooth was extracted.
The dentist cut my gum, pulled it out, and stitched the wound.
The infection seems to have stopped.
After the anesthesia wore off, the wound started hurting — I couldn’t help it, so I took a painkiller.

Anyway that’s one problem solved. I’m relieved.

Good morning 1126

 

by Yuki

Yesterday I was supposed to go to the dentist, but the appointment got moved to today because of the doctor’s schedule.
It was colder than we expected, so we just stayed home and took it easy in the afternoon.
I got a lot of yuzu (a type of Japanese citrus ) so I sliced them and soaked them in honey.

Today Yuki will play tennis after he goes to the clinic. Honestly, his stamina has dropped, and his tennis friends seem a bit worried about him, though they still welcome him warmly. Even just one game is enough, I think. But he’s not satisfied with that and sometimes feels depressed about his current condition.