Yukon had an appointment to his doctor very early morning. So we went to visit the doctor as soon as the hospital opens. Anyway we are really lucky because the hospital is near.
Yuki seems to feel strange in the food pipe. It is one of the side effects of radiation treatment. As of now he is able to eat and swallow. His weight doesn’t change.
He is taking chemo therapy now. At night he is going to attend his band practice.
My mother’s funeral was done peacefully. Her neighbors (all of them are the elder) visited her. They know me when I was young. Three of them helped funerals of my great aunt, my father with us. ( at that time I was told by them what “I” should do at the funeral. Four of us shared the memory with laughing and tear. The eldest women a of four is 92. She is still the boss of me right women’s club and fine, she is a widow .
Now I am at home. Yuki is fine. He is better than me. I have a back pain. So after he comes back from tennis , I am going to be take to get acupuncture by his car. When I am taking acupuncture therapy, he is taking radiation treatment in hospital.
Unfortunately, my brothers’ trouble is not solved. But probably my mother must give up about it. I also have given up to fix the relationship.
Anyway the best thing is three of us ( younger brother, youngest brother, and me) say our final goodbyes together.
Well, Yuki has still enough hair. He looks usual, so even from his tennis mates, and band mates, he is teased.
Yesterday early morning my mother passed away peacefully. Her funeral is hold next week.
Getting older means life gets shorter.
So, before some side effects appear, we go to a gallery in Mashiko at noon. I had an invitation ticket. There is only one, so we need to buy one more.
From Monday, going to the hospital every day is added on his routine. I might attend on walking on my routine. When it is sunny , I will go to the hospital by car with him and I might walk back home. Probably it is 30minute walk. When his routine finish, winter will come. So it might be a good opportunity for me to improve my physical power.
I try not to talk about his disease to others, but I want to talk about it. It is difficult to find other topics. On the other hand I noticed that talking of over their 60’s is mainly health problem like knee&back pain, high cholesterol, etc.
Anyway gym is one of my refreshing place. She doesn’t know my current situation but no problem.
It is still Tuesday.
I’m all right.
Yesterday I did exercise well. I went the gym. I did walking, and before going to bed I did yoga.
Too much!
Before this summer, I kept doing this routine, though I often skipped. This scorching summer stopped this routine.
When I was walking yesterday, I dropped one temple nearby. Coincidentally I could talk the monk. At this temple they resumed “syakyou”. “Syakyou” means to copy sutras by hand on paper. I knew it when I started walking exercise in corona pandemic. Of course at that time it was stopped. But I could talk the monk and his wife. They remembered me. As of now they only open to parishioners..However he said “if participants are not so many I will call you”. A new thing might be added to my fun list.
Today a plumber? comes and changes the washlet (electric toilet?).
This year we bought new home appliances before they are broken, like electric fan, small air conditioner, washing machine and washelet. Last year we bought new refrigerator. Two years ago we bought new car which size is small than previous one.
Older we are, older our belongings are.
It was raining in the morning. I joined a group meeting for cancer patines and their family.
I was thinking about whether I joined or not because of the weather. It was all right to join online.
Anyway I put my rainboots and went out.
It was the first time to go out with my rainboots in 5 years.
My daughter was also caught by virus, she had a high fever. But the fever has gone yesterday. She has lost voice, (and coughing?)and slight dizziness.
Our granddaughter suffered from a slight cold, but she is all right.
Her main symptom is running nose. I think it is allergy caused by a temperature difference.
Well I cloud’t find the suitable word of this allergy in English.
It doesn’t seem to be considered as allergy . It seems to be non-allergic Rhinitis.
Anyway she was prescribed sinus medicine.
Today I am gong to join my haiku club meeting. It is the first time in three months. For the three months many things happened suddenly.
Our gurden was organized. I'm very happy.
The other day, my friend asked me that why Yuki needs hosptalizaion. In America usually patients who have the same disease regurally go to hospital without staying in the hospital.
Yuki's treatment is taking chemo drip for 3 hours once a week and radiation for five minutes with pinpoint accuracy every day.
Radiation treatment is to eliminate the malignant tumor or make it smaller. Chemo therapy is to assist ratiation treatment and also to eliminate hidden ones in the body.
In Japan in most hospitals patients are hosptailed for about 10 days monitoring the sideeffects from chemo. During their hosptalizaiton, they take chemo once or twice. Dependding on their health condition, docotrs decide the suitable kind of chemo, and whether to continue the treatment.
This is called "standard therapy" for (lung) cancer.
Here in Japan most of people take this standard therapy thanks to our public insurance system. And the insurance system also offers "high-cost medical expense benefit".
Usually a shared room is inexpensive or even free for some hospitals. This time Yuki uses a private room, but thanks to his private cancer insurance, the fee will be coverd.
Nowadays "immunotherapy" is also added on top of the standard therapy. It is partly covered by our public insurance. Of course a hopstial-free life is better mentally, and financialy. However, we are able to take such treatment with less burden.
Immunotherapy is to strengthen the immune system and prevent reccurence of new malignant tumors .
Acoordingly our publisc insurance is too kind to aged people and cancer patients.It is becoming a problem causing burden to the insurance system. So the budget is getting tight. Compared to the time this insurance system started, there are more aged people and cancer patients now.
The luckiest thing for us is having a hospital which offers standard therapy for lung cancer near our house. It takes 10 minutes by car to get there. So we don't worry about transportation and transportation physical power. It is difficult for some people to get there especially if they need to go everyday.
Well, Yuki finished his first chemo and as of now, he has not felt any severe side effects.
He learned what is needed during his hospitalization last time, so this time he takes two big bags: one is for clothes, the other is for electrical gadgets, magazines and side foods like instant soup, coffee etc. not including snack.
Anyway our new stage of our retirement life has started.
Every eveing a helper comes. So M waited for the helper, while trying to contact my younger brother (she also contacted my daughter, but my daughter was working outside and a little bit far). The helper came and called my mother’s doctor.
Currently my mother gets regular "medical house call service". So when something bad happens, the doctor is called. Yesterday the doctor came in the evening to check whether she got flu, corona virus or pneumonia. It is corona virus. Then immediately, and smoothly, she was taken to the hospital.
She doesn’t have pneumonia yet, so if her fever goes down and no other symptoms, she could come back in 5 or 7 days.
I was just waiting for my daughter’s message last night. (She came back when the doctor came). It was 1:00 PM(it means today) when I got last message about my mother’s situation. It was a long night. Of course for M, my daughter and my younger brother, it was a longer night too.
I don’t have much clothes. It I need to constantly organize my closet.
Today I have a meeting at the library. Finally the staff of the library try to hold an Englishpicture book reading performance by themselves. So I will tell my (our group) way to read them to the staff and I can assist them. Unfortunately there is no member to do it at the library in my group, though I keep I touch them. So if the library organize the performance proactively I am really happy. My book collection is also useful.
It is raining and it feels "cold" for me so I turned on the heater. Finally,fall has come! I think,
Yesterday,we got to listen to the doctor's explanation about radiation treatment and they examined Yuki as a preparation for it.
Anyway,as long as he doesn't catch a cold or have a fever,he could proceed with the treatment.
I am really worried about flu,corona virus and pneumonia but Yuki still goes playing tennis and joins his band practice.
He cannot have a surgery to remove the tumors but there are other ways to completely cure him.
Anyway,I hope his treatment will start as scheduled.
While we were at the hospital, my daughters visited their grandmother (Yuki’s mother). She seemed so happy. Yuki and I thought that probably they have more chatting contents than Yuki has. And she must have been very proud of her granddaughters’ visiting.
According to my daughters, my mother in-law might need more socks. So I went to a clothes shop, bought some and sent them by post.
For me it was a day.
Tonight Yuki goes joining his Jan band practice.
Today we are going to go to a second shop with my reminisced goods and Yuki’s books which he read in hospital.
In the afternoon I will go to a clinic to talk with my doctor about my sluggish.
For a while we enjoy “usual” days .
Yuki was released temporally yesterday. And now he has gone out to play tennis.
When he left home, he said "I will play tennis shorte time than usual". But he hasn't come yet.
On the other hand I am not feeling well. As soon as we came back home, I felt very executed. So I went to bed earlier than usual. Today I am awake, but I am spending laisily. I have no fever. So this sluggish probably comes from two things. Anyway Yuki came back so that I'm relieved. And before his rehosptalization we try to avoid being caught by corona and Flu (Ful is getting spread little by little), it makes me nevous. Moreover the next hopstiatlizaion makes me anxious.
Relief, tense, and anxious come together. It makes me feel not well.
Well, yesterday I had chai tea latte at Starbacks in the hospital. It was the first time for me to order custmized tea.
light syrup, all milk, and extra hot.
I thought light syrup means less sweetness, but less "chai syurp". So the tasete is almost hot milk.
Have you ordered such a customized drink?
