Toast to Life 6

Quite a few people came to the hospital until August 5th, when Covid-19 banned people's visits to inpatients. S family, who had lived together at Meguro mansion (apartment) before our moving to Singapore in 2012, friends who met us in Singapore and returned later to Japan, and a person who supported me so much when studying abroad in New York back in 2000. I am sorry not to give you a name one by one, but I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you. Yes, all of you. I also exchanged messages with people who worked with me in business, and members of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) of both Japan and Singapore Chapter many times. In addition, I was really happy when my family, who had been living in self-quarantine for two weeks after returning, came to visit me on July 29th after the isolation.

Narita Hospital is far from Tokyo. It takes more than two hours by public transportation even from the city center, and almost three hours from the place where my family was newly settled. S family with a car is OK with 1.5 hours drive, but it is inconvenient for a group without a private transportation. For the reason, I had a hard time with my family, acquaintances with only public transportation available to them, and relatives (mom especially) living in Saitama.

At the recommendation by Koko my wife, I kept a diary during the time in the hospital. The following is excerpted from the day of August 7th, the day I started writing.

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July 14: The family landed in Narita. S family picked us up. They gave a stop at Narita Hospital for me only (note, when I explained my symptoms to a young neurosurgeon doctor, he said, "that's aphasia". This was the first time I knew I had aphasia.

July 15: Covid-19 negative (twice at airport quarantine and hospital), then moved to 7th floor from 6th floor assigned to Covid-19 (possible) patients exclusively. The way serving meals are also changed (note: when I was on the 6th floor, the meals delivered were in plastic shopping bags for each item. The front door and my private room was segregated and the curtain in-between).

July 18: S family came to visit us by car (note, I still remember I felt very sorry for their visit, but Koko said, "they are our neighbor, like relatives. No worries about that" (S family came on July 24 and August 2, too).

July 19: My mother came to visit (note, she came on July 28, too, and at the time we had lunch together in my hospital room as no other patient was in the same place).

July 21: My sister came.

July 25: Friends from the Singapore days came at different timing but at the same day.

July 29: Koko, daughter, and son came. Family reunion for the first time in two weeks.

August 2: The friend who had helped me in New York, US, came (note, he would be transferred right after his visit to a remote area of Japan in September, but he is a "star" of our NY study group). Immediately after that, S family couple brought my family and joined my friend, who returned first afterwords.

Since Covid-19 surge banned people from visiting on August 5 and after, I'm glad now that various people came to visit me. My room is for four patients, and now three people including myself are occupying. All the three have brain damages. One person received Avastin from today (note, August 7th). He says, "I feel sick", on his bed. I will start next Tuesday (note, I was extremely worried about Avastin at the time).

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On the other hand, I started getting frustrated of my treatment not being progressed as much as I had received in Singapore.

(The photo is on January 6, 2020 in Hakuba, Nagano. Continued)