Toast to Life 42 (Son's mid-school exams & season for my year-end parties)
Now that 2021 is about to end, the issue 42 is dedicated for 2021 look back, focusing on the recent events.
December was my son's exam season. The peak fell into the week starting from the 13th (Monday), and three middle schools of his choice came to the same week, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. The result turned out to be 2 wins and 1 loss, or in total of 3 wins and 1 loss with another one in November. This "3 wins" includes his second choice. His elder sister in the high schools's 1st grade claims that the second choice suits him better than the one she attends. His parents, me and my wife, also agree with her.
His heart is still wondering whether to take the final exam of the first choice school in February next year.
On 17th, son then resumed to a local public school for the first time in a week or 10 days. As soon as he returned home on the very first day, Friday, he said to me, "I have a fever and feel uncomfortable." His temperature on the left armpit was in the 38 degree range, and on the right it was in the 37 degree range. Strange. But anyway, he looked so uncomfortable, and at night, the temperature reached around 40 degrees. In the evening of the next day, it exceeded 41 degrees. Wife was out for her engagement, and I was at a loss for a second. Calm down!
Suppressing the downfall inside, I called up our usual medical clinic, and the nurse told me over the phone to call "#7119" instead for emergency consultation because the clinic didn't have a pediatrician (sxxt!). From the four hospitals announced from #7119, I picked up the first one for its proxy from our house, then rushed to to the hospital with son with a taxi.
The pediatrician there was young, whose right chest was dazzling with the embroidery "All for Kids" with multiple colors, obviously attractive to kids. His symptoms were found fever and diarrhea, and the MD told us see the son to another near-by doctor if the fever lasts for 4 or 5 days. I thought, maybe he had held back all of his tired-ness out of the exams and hard study in the last few months.
The next week, his fever went down, but diarrhea didn't go away. We then went to see a clinic new to us in the afternoon of the 22nd (Wed), to find him with "viral gastroenteritis". Antidiarrheal antibiotic and antidiarrheal agent were prescribed. He must have been tough and rough in the last few days, so was I just by watching his frequent visits to a washroom. He, then, resumed again to school on December 23rd.
As for me, the year-end party season was back. A friend from Singapore, an used-to senior from a newspaper company, a magazine editor, and a customer, etcetera, etcetera. By meeting and chatting them over dinner made me fell like the clock rounding behind. On top, at the beginning of 2022, four friends from the same club in the university are coming from west to Tokyo for cheering me up. I'm worried about the Omicron spread, but I'm excited just to imagine it.
I'm in good physical condition. Previously in this blog, I wrote about the tumor markers gradually rising, and attending MD Kato of the digestive system was also worried, too. So I had requested her earlier in December to test me through PET-CT examination (https://www.med.jrc.or.jp/tabid/792/Default.aspx, sorry for the Japanese language) on December 21, and the result was announced on the following day. The image of my physical system showed, as MD Kato explained, only two tumors remained in the lungs, instead of four at the tumor operation started in April 2021. "Two more to go", as I think.
For my brain tumor, MD Tabei requested me on Dec 21st to stop for a while, at least until Jan 12th, arrays on my heads (an ulcer on my scalp appeared). I was prescribed of two medications (in the photo below). So I'm surprisingly "light" now with full mobility.
Ah, I used to enjoy this lightness before starting the treatment. It's a shame, even now, that this will only continue next examination in January 2022.
Array emits heat, and without it make my entire body system cold in winter with a shaved head. It was almost a laughing that Wife and daughter presented me the same knit caps for Christmas. However, thanks to this free-movement, we the family decided to go on a trip during the winter vacation.
(To be continued over to the year 2022)