Good god.The time is just flying past.And it is already November.And quite cold now…for us,that is,as a high of 15C is probably considered as being rather warm and balmy in the really cold parts of the world;)
Well,things remain pretty much the same.My mad routine is still in situ and we try to keep to it all the time,including days off.Work was insane last week but a couple of major presentations went really well which bodes well for the upcoming months and the coming year.A good tonic indeed after a lot of hard work.
Annie is helping me out so much from unlocking the front door for me when my hands are full,to feeding Millie,laying the table,feeding the dog(a lot easier and cleaner than Millie),answering the phone and the door and rescuing Millie when she gets stuck in various places around the house and garden.She is a good girl and growing up rather faster than I thought she would through this experience.
Emilie is still strutting her stuff daily at the hospital and quite the attraction now.Due to the colder weather,she wears a variety of woolly hats on that big old bald head of hers(photos to follow).And it looks rather comical as her legs and torso are still so spindly compared to the big thing on top.And up and down those corridors she goes,chuckling and often shrieking to herself and somehow attracted to the little wards in which lie the very sick oldies who are gasping for breath.
Kenichi is doing pretty well.His painkillers were cut from 3 doses a day to 2(morning and evening) this Monday.On the same day,he has also started some physiotherapy/rehabilitation and allowed to walk a little now.He says that he is sleeping incredibly well due to the “exercise”.He had an X-ray on Tuesday and the doctor says that they will take a further one next week and then on the 16th of this month,they will assess his situation;naturally we are hoping that he may even be allowed to come home although the journey to full health for him is still long and uphill.
His first room-mate went home after a four-day stay following a cataract operation.He was a fascinating character;around 70 years old,born and brought up in this town but went to work for the tuna boats at an early age,sailing the seven seas .He met and married a local woman on Cuba,and lived there for 13 years.They divorced and he left his daughter.He also lived for 5 years in Mexico .He is now retired and back in the town living with his second wife .He had no contact with his ex-wife nor daughter until his estranged wife became sick ,but she died a few months later.He was reunited with his daughter who is now our age and lives near Paris with her 2 daughters.He is planning to visit the there next year.And oh my,he had plenty a tale to tell and many that I didn’t hear but Kenichi will no doubt tell me all about when he comes home.
A second roommate went home on Monday morning;he had been transferred from a city hospital after a serious work injury involving a crushed hand.No more details required and the man in question was very quiet but had a few good waving matches with Millie as she went over to say hello and good-bye to him every visit.
Now he is rooming with an ex-student of mine,a bit of a naughty boy since I have known him,who is in hospital for “unknown” reasons;his mother,who usually talks my ear off when I meet her,has been avoiding me at all costs and I have seen her run in the opposite direction,and the boy’s name is being kept secret.The intruge is killing me and reckon it is a drug related thing.I just hope that is isn’t due to him being caught smoking weed or something as trivial.The boy(well,young man as he is 19) is amicable as ever and chats quite happily but on a drip,and no food since he was admitted last Saturday.
Yet again,may I thank you all for your continued love and support;so many mails have gone unanswered and I am so sorry.I try to reply to all my comments here as it is easier to do it in one fair swoop.Also,I have had cards and even a few parcels have arrived for us;I will be in touch with those who sent them but in the meantime,THANK YOU! It means the world to us and we are so very touched.Just to be thought of keeps us strong.
So that is us.I shall now look through our photo collection and try and find something that adds a bit of interest to an other boring post.
Baked Beans;a rare thing in Japan.Rebecca,you made Annie very happy last week(and me as I snuffled up the few beans left in the pan)
Before Emilie was born,I remember being terribly worried that I would be incapable of loving a child as much than I loved my Annie.How would it be possible to duplicate the intense feelings that I had for Annie with my un-born child?Then Millie was born.From her first lusty cry,I fell in love yet again.With Annie,it was such a massive shock to the system to get that baby out of me ,and then change my entire way of life,that the falling in love part took sometime.Second time round and it was instant.And I fell hard.Very hard.
Emilie is so different from her sister yet there are so many similarities.In looks,she seems to be more of a Tokita than a Durrant at this stage.Her hair is dark and her features are more Japanese.Yet she resembles Annie so very much that we often have problems identifying who is who in old photos;it does help that Annie was a blondie though!
Character wise,Emilie is a real firecracker.She loves to laugh and to make us laugh.She is very vocal and even now,she uses a few sounds and words;Japanese for daycare life and English for home.Just before her first birthday,she picked up a tissue and gave it to Kenichi saying ”Dozo” or her loose equivilant.Then she turned to me and said “Here you are” (or her version) but she had obviously changed her wording.We were amazed.
What else comes to mind?Well,she copies everything that Annie does ,and Annie and Millie are very close.You have seen a few photos of them sleeping together;it actually happens every night.And is beautiful to see.
Millie also loves her food.If she isn’t hungry,something is very ,very wrong.Every day she eats,on top of her regular meals,4 or 5 mikans(satsuma oranges).
She hates being restrained and we have major problems keeping her safely in her high chair and her child seat.The child is a mini Houdini;she gets out of anything.
She is ,of course,walking,She started taking a few tentative steps when she was 1o months old( later than Annie) but although she was strutting her stuff at daycare,she saw no reason to use her legs at home.But now,she is fully mobile.And her favourite romping ground is the hospital…Picture long corridors plus a number of bored patients happy to have someone to spur on.Perfect team;)
Kenichi and I were married for 7 years before we conceived Annie .And she was our miracle baby;Or so I thought.But now we have 2 of them.And my goodness,am I ever thankful.
Kenichi has been in hospital for a week and a day now.It was an emotionally and physically draining week and the wait for the MRI scan results was tough on us all.However,it is amazing how quickly new routines are established and how the girls,especially,have seemingly got used to a daily pattern which is rather different from what they are used to.
I can’t lie and say that all has been plain sailing ,as the toll on the accident makes its way known in subtle ways; I woke up on Friday morning unable to open one eye as it was swollen shut.No pain,no real itching but just a little discomfort.By early afternoon,the eye was back to normal and my colleagues at school and the nurses at the hospital insisted it was due to stress.Who knows?And Annie,who has been so brave and understanding about all the mayhem and unrest in her usually pretty organised life,seeming to show no upset;Until she wet her bed the other night for the first time ever.And she has been fully potty trained since she was 2 and a half.
Kenichi is doing pretty well.At first,he was in denial that his injury was severe enough to warrant a month in hospital.The shocker for him was subsequently hearing from the doctor that after his months stay,he will need to spend a further 2 to 3 months at home before he is able to return to work.Obviously,there is a financial aspect to his shock but hopefully the workers union(of which he is a committee member)will tide us over as they have previously when he was absent due to illness.However,the hospital bills are a little worrying for him and he keeps asking how much one nights stay is,plus all the extras like the MRI,X-rays,pain killers,back brace etc .I will be finding out for him ASAP and also suggesting that he reads through his insurance information just to reassure himself that he is covered;)
He has moved rooms from his Big Brother-type private room with 24 hour video surveillance and is now in a 4 bed room;until this morning,he was the only patient but he texted me a few minutes ago to say he has a rather chatty roommate now.We will meet the gentleman this evening and I hope he doesn’t mind 2 children rushing around.Kenichi has a pretty cool bed(standard in the hospital) which he can raise and lower himself.He is not allowed to sit up fully but can “recline”.Yesterday,his order-made back brace arrived.He has to wear it 24/7.It is rather restricting and he may well have problems with rubbing.It limits his moments but he said that it does make him feel rather more secure and he has less pain(although he maintained that he wasn’t in pain previously,which shows what an apt liar he is at times!).Now that he has the brace,he is allowed to walk slowly to go to the bathroom.Until yesterday,he had to use a wheelchair.So he has the freedom to pee and poop at will now(sorry,too much info there but need the details eh!).He ,unfortunately, is not allowed to bathe or use the shower so is wiped down daily.His hair is washed for him every 4 or 5 days which is not that good as he feels uncomfortable with dirty hair.I will be trying to find some dry shampoo this weekend.
He keeps himself busy but obviously looks forwards to seeing the girls so very much.So,it is my job to make sure that at our end,we do everything like clockwork in order to go and spend time with him .Yes indeed,the German DNA is at large in the Tokita Household!Routine dictates our lives:
Each morning,I and the girls are up and dressed by before 7am and breakfast is over by 7.30am.My father-in-law arrives around that time and takes Emilie from me to give me and Annie a chance to do our teeth,get Annie’s hair looking respectful and the breakfast dishes washed up.If I have time,I get our evening meal ready as well,or at least part of it.AT 8am,an hour earlier than our pre-broken back routine,I drop the girls off at daycare and then head over to see Kenichi and take him a can of hot coffee(the latter being his “drug”).This is our time to chat properly in peace and I take his dirty washing and any orders for things he wants or needs.Then I leave for work,usually arriving just before I am due to start at 9am.After work finishes at 4am,I get the girls.Then we go home and I put a machine on and put the dry washing away(to hell with the ironing);all a daily event as Millie uses cloth nappies/diapers at daycare,say no more;)Then we take the dog for a walk with me pushing Millie in her buggy as she tries to grab the poor dogs tail and Annie on her bicycle.Quite a juggling act but adds a bit of spice to things!After getting,back,the girls play for a while and I get our supper ready.After eating, I do the dishes,the girls play and we have a bath or shower,into PJs and jackets and off to the hospital we go, arriving at 6.30pm or so.Annie is happy to draw pictures and chat with Kenichi but Millie just wants to walk along the corridors,into peoples rooms,screech at the passing nurses and best of all for the entire hospital as she is quiet,sit with Kenichi and eat a pile of mikans(satsumas).Then I feed her(and try not to flash my boobs everywhere as the door is never shut) and after another play/walk around,we leave.Back home and Millie goes straight into my back sling and as I hang the washing out(inside our tatami room) she falls asleep.Annie is staying up a little longer every day and either watches TV or draws more pictures for Kenichi.I get everything ready for the morning and usually at 9 or 9.30pm all is done.I have a read of a book or two with Annie and more often than not,we do our teeth together and go to bed,lights out by 10pm.And then it starts all over again.And the timing is so crucial…..!
There you have it.Blogging,when I have time,keeps me sane.I apologise to those I owe mails and letters to;this will have to do for now.Many thanks for the well wishes and wonderful comments on the blog;it is such a comfort to not only me but also to Kenichi.
Next blog entry will be,I hope,a little tribute to the youngest member of our family.I feel terrible for not having given her a special mention when she reached her first birthday 3 weeks ago;I shall make up for it ,with bells on!
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
And I am off to join them right now:)
Indeed,things could always be worse;) So today,Kenichi had his MRI scan and I was asked to accompany him in the ambulance so rushed straight from school to the hospital just in time to see him being wheeled outside.Not nice seeing someone you love on a stretcher.
It was a long afternoon;we left the town at 12:30pm and the usual 30 minute journey took an hour as the driver(who is also the radiologist at the hospital and I have taught all his children as well as being a triathlon friend of Kencihi’s) had to go slowly to avoid bumping Kenichi.Once we arrived at the hospital,we had an hour and a half to wait for the scan as they had an emergency case.The scan lasted 30 minutes.After a little more waiting around,the specialist showed us the photographs and basically said that the fractures were pretty bad but could have been worse…a lot worse.We arrived back at the Reihoku hospital at 5.30pm.I flew off to get the girls from daycare.Kenichi was wheeled back to his room just in time for tea.Lucky lad.
Shortly afterwards,the senior doctor came to see him.He had seen the pictures and read the report.And the low down was that although they would like to keep Kenichi in hospital for 2 months(gasp) they would asses his situation after a month and if all was healing well,he may very well be allowed to go home.Eeeeek.A month.But the nice radiologist had told us to expect that amount of time as they really want the fractures to heal properly once and for all.Hooray for insurance I repeat;)
And yes,things could be a lot worse;Kenichi doesn’t need any surgery(major sigh of relief),will be looked after very well and most importantly I feel,he is staying in the local hospital so we can continue to see him on a daily basis.I was dreading the thought of a transfer as it would be virtually impossible for us to see him so much.And just too draining.
Next month is a very busy working time for me.And we have had to cancel some engagements that we were really looking forward to.But life goes on.And the silver lining will start to reveal itself little by little.I know it:)
Our little sunshines;)
