At 2 AM, I received a phone call. It was from the facility where my mother resides.
Six years ago, she moved from her familiar home in H to the countryside where I, the second son of S River, live. Due to the progression of frailty and difficulty living alone, she moved to the newly established Resident House J. I have been managing her health myself.
She has mild diabetes, high blood pressure, and age-related cognitive and physical frailty. I used to accompany her for morning rehabilitation exercises when I could find the time, but if I was away for two days, her activity level would decrease. Over time, her cognitive function declined, and her food intake decreased. For the past year, she has been receiving difficult-to-maintain biweekly hydration therapy at the facility. I am truly grateful for this. To be honest, I had been feeling the severity of her condition since a year ago, but the facility's former head nurse from the hospital where I work, familiar nurses, and above all, the caregivers, took great care of her. I had considered admitting her to my hospital, but I had hoped she could spend her final days in her current residence. Fortunately, she did not suffer and passed away peacefully at 2 AM.
I conducted her final examination. It was peaceful. I believe she did not suffer from cancer, but rather, her strength waned, and she peacefully lived out her 91 years.
I am spending time with my wife, taking turns to ensure the incense does not go out, for the first time in decades.
My free time is, of course, for running. I run 3 km from the ceremony hall to my home in the morning. I handle mourning procedures and various tasks, and from 6 PM, I take a little time for myself to write this article. I finished it in the morning. In the end, running made me feel refreshed both mentally and physically.
I have some time until tomorrow afternoon, so I plan to run a little in the morning. After that, I might find it challenging to run for about three days.