From Far Away

This has been a happy time for Hajime because he has had many visitors.
Yesterday, some friends came to see Hajime from far away.
It takes two hours, but the whole family came all the way from San Diego to Pasadena.
Thank you, Yukko, Hiro, Hazuki!

They are very close friends of ours.  Our family has visited their home in San Diego before. We hadn't seen them since the time Hajime had to be hospitalized.  Everyone is so kind, and they are always thinking of us.  I am very grateful.
They hadn't seen Hajime in a long time, so they had a lot to talk about.  Hajime looked happy.

I am so very thankful for this time with them.


(translated by MS)

A Surprise Gift

We had a surprise on Sunday.

Hajime's favorite pastor, Allison, came to see him.
She has been helping us and supporting us so much, even after Hajime got sick.
But she became busy and couldn't visit for a long time.
I think it's been several months since she last came, so Hajime was very happy to see her.














At night,  Hajime's friends who are home from college came over.
They sang Christmas carols for us.  We had a very good time.

Thank you all so very much!
We had a wonderful Christmas!


(translated by MS)

A Casual Word

Someone told me something that made me very happy.
He is someone that I've recently gotten to know.
He said that he hadn't read much of my blog about Hajime before.
But he is starting to read it now little by little.

He says he wants to do something for Hajime, but first he has to meet him!
It makes me so happy to hear words like this.

I think it's hard for someone living a normal life to understand how hard Hajime is fighting to live.

Normal people have five senses, but Hajime cannot move or speak at all, so he can't communicate anything he wants to say.  He can't eat.  The only thing he can do is watch TV.  That is his life forever.

I can't say anything to people who tell Hajime, "You'll be fine for sure", and never come back to visit.  This is what Hajime hates the most--to be told things like this.  It makes him feel hopeless.

I am bothered by all kinds of things, but I can take being criticized.
What I cannot take is being told things about Hajime.
I struggle with these feelings every day, but I received this message from my friend and it made me very happy.

Thank you so much!


(translated by MS)

Wonderful visitors

Friday night, High school principal Janet visit to see Hajime.

She comes to see Hajime from time to time. I know she is very busy. We are so thankful.

Saturday afternoon, Lia and Josh brought us a Christmas flavor to us.

Lia played a flute.












Josh played a keyboard.

They played the Christmas music.
They also read bible for Hajime.



During the holiday season, many people visit Hajime. Hajime is enjoying very much.


(translated by HM)

A Busy Afternoon

We had a very busy afternoon yesterday.

First, his friends Lia, Catherine, and Helen came over after 1:00pm.

They are all home on winter break and they looked great.  They read the Bible to us.  Thank you, everyone.

Then at 2:00pm,  Rev. Sasaki, Rev. Fuchino, and Shoko came.    (I'm sorry the picture is out of focus).

This time, they sang Hajime's favorite praise songs for him.




After that, they prayed for him.
Thank you so much for coming to pray for us.  Hajime and I both feel uplifted.

And, at 3:00pm, we gave him a bed bath...

His younger brother Ryo came home, and then his younger sister Yuki came home...
So it was a busy afternoon.
But we hadn't seen these visitors in a while, so I think Hajime was happy.


(translated by MS)

The New Nurse

Hajime had to start antibiotics again.  He's been taking antibiotics since last week.
He has a runny nose but no fever, so I'm wondering if he really needs to take antibiotics.
We have to think carefully because he can only endure so much.

Our new weekend nurse started yesterday.
She seems like a sweet person, but no matter how many times I explained what she has to do, she can't remember and keeps making the same mistakes.

For Hajime, the respirator is the most important thing.  It will be a problem if she can't remember what she needs to know about it.
She only comes on the weekends, so she may forget after a week...

My husband and I are a bit worried.

To change the subject,  I have received many messages of encouragement.  I am grateful to all of you for always being so concerned for our family.


(translated by MS)

I Am So Sad

I am so, so sad......
I'm wondering if I should quit blogging......

People have so many different opinions.


(translated by MS)

A Sudden Fever

On Sunday night, he came down with as high a fever as he's ever had.
It was 101 degrees (38 degrees C), which is not a big deal for the average person, but for Hajime is quite high.
Even after we gave him Tylenol, it stayed above 100 degrees but after allo maybe because of all of our prayers, his fever has remained stable.

The doctor thinks Hajime probably caught a cold, so I'm not that worried.  I guess he's fighting the cold with his own immune system.
I think that's great, because having a fever means that the body is fighting.

This morning, he had a lot of blood drawn from both thumbs.  The person who did it today was good.  I think it's hard to take blood from Hajime because his veins are narrow.  Actually, he was supposed to have had his blood drawn yesterday.  The person who came yesterday was here for her second time, but she couldn't do it.  She had to ask the other nurse to do it. She got flustered and scared and just left.  The first time she came, she tried and couldn't draw blood and made all kinds of excuses. After poking him a second time, she was finally able to draw his blood.

He is also supposed to give a urine sample.  I hope the results are good.


(translated by MS)

Rearranging

In preparation for guests, I thought I'd change around our room a little.  We moved the tobii here and Hajime's wheelchair there and so now it looks like this.

We moved the sofa so that we can watch TV, but now it seems like Hajime is a bit farther away.  It's not easy...

Hajime's runny nose seems to be much better.  But his secretion is green and smells pretty bad.
He had a little fever for a few days last week, but he doesn't have a fever now.  He seems pretty good.
But emotionally, he is down.


(translated by MS)

His Pupils and Eyelids

Recently, some friends that I haven't seen in a long time told me, "I've been worried about you", and I felt really happy.
When I'm blogging, I hear all kinds of opinions from people.  Sometimes they get me down and sometimes they lift me up.
Thank you for everything.

Hajime is having a much harder time trying to move his eyes.  We almost can't tell the difference between yes and no, and it takes him a long time to give a response.
That's because his pupils can't stay fixed and when he tries to move them, his eyelids close.  It takes him a long time to answer.

Mary came to visit yesterday.  Hajime's eyes were red from crying just then.
We had been giving him a bed bath before Mary came, but I think he was upset about something that happened during the bath.
It looked like Hajime was trying to tell Mary about it, and it was taking him a very long time to explain.

At these times, we worry about Mary, but she listened patiently to Hajime without concern for the time.
What happened was that the day nurse hurt Hajime when she was wiping his legs and that really bothered him.

It is also becoming quite difficult for him to communicate with his eyes, so I am very worried.  It seems that Hajime is able to understand what might happen in the future, and so he is feeling more and more depressed.  It looks like he isn't sleeping very well at night, so Mary said to give him a little something to stabilize him.

Hajime's grandmother and others are supposed to come visit early next year, so I hope Hajime can hang on until then...

(translated by MS)

Ultraman Tiga

Recently Hajime has been saying he wants to watch videos.
But I don't know which one out of the ones he has, so I ask him different questions.
It wasn't any of the ones I asked.  After a few days, I thought it might be a certain one so I asked.
It was Ultraman Tiga and Dyna.

Now that I think of it, he would set his alarm and watch it every week quite a while ago when it was being shown on Channel 18.2.
Of course, Hajime was still young when he was faithfully watching the programs that were broadcast in Japan.
He loved it that much.

Is there anyone who has some Ultraman Tiga DVDs?  When I checked on Japanese Amazon, I saw that they sell only used ones for about 50,000 yen.

Is there someone who can help us out?

Hajime may not be able to see much longer, so I'd like to let him see something that he really enjoys one more time.

If someone can help us, please let me know.


(translated by MS)

Birthday Plans

Hajime's birthday is approaching.

Last year, many of our friends came and celebrated with us.  We all sang Happy Birthday together.

This is how it was on his birthday last year.

Hajime will be 20 on his next birthday!

I want to have a big celebration this year too.

I'm planning to have a birthday party on Saturday, January 12.  It will be an open invitation so anyone can come.

I haven't decided on the details yet, but I will post them later when I do.

(If you think you can come, please email me).

My husband will unfortunately be gone for a meeting on the day of Hajime's actual birthday.

So I'm thinking of having the party on Saturday of that week.

To all of you who are reading this blog, please come.

(translated by MS)

I Can't Fight

Hajime's face was red from crying tonight.
I thought he might be hurting somewhere so I asked him, but he said no.

When I asked  him if it was about his illness, he replied yes.
Are you tired of it?  You can't fight anymore?

His answer was a shock to me.
I can't fight...I want to die...
As he said this, Hajime shed big tears.

In America, the individual's wishes are the most important.
I hurriedly said,  "Please, let's keep fighting.  You'll get better for sure!"

Hajime is really a sweet child.
He said yes.

Although, that was shocking incidnet.


(translated by MS)

Welcome Visitors

Hmmm...Hajime's infection is not improving.

His runny nose is still quite heavy and green.

He doesn't have a fever, but I am still worried.

But it isn't good if we worry too much.

Yesterday, our friends Toru and Mr. Kuraishi came to see Hajime.

They are dear friends who have come to visit many times.

They are both busy with work.
As you can see in this picture, Hajime is happy.
We look forward to them coming again.

Please come to visit Hajime, everyone!


(translated by MS)