I'm sure you have all experienced sickness. Yourselves. In your family. Your friends and neighbors. Sickness can really change our plans, can't it?
I was sick off and on (折々、時々) for a number of years after I turned 42. I went to the doctor many times. I was tested for many diseases. The doctors couldn't find a clear diagnosis (はっきりした診断). They told me it could be a serious disease, or it could just be menopause (ただの更年期).
Should I worry? Should I not worry? Anyway, I often felt very, very sick. Some of my online students have seen the hammock (ハンモック) in my living room. I bought that hammock when I was feeling so bad, about 6 or 7 years ago. I would get in the hammock and curl up like a cocoon (蛹, 繭). Sometimes I couldn't cook or shop or clean or do laundry. I cancelled a lot of classes at that time. I even missed my daughter's Sports Day. My mother-in-law made the obento, and my husband went alone to cheer for my daughter. I stayed at home in the hammock. My whole body hurt. And I felt so discouraged (気落ち?) I had never missed one of my children's Sports Days before!
The next year, my husband lost his sight. He could see a tiny bit, but he couldn't walk around outside by himself. And of course he couldn't drive or work. That was another very hard time. That year I was the neighborhood leader (組長), which is a hard job in my neighborhood. My daughter was in the third year of junior high, so she had to study hard. She went to cram school (塾）at night, and needed to decide which high school to go to. It was a stressful year. So stressful.
My husband had surgery (手術) and experimental injections (注射) in both eyes. The injections were not covered by insurance (保険適用ではない), and were very expensive. My husband still couldn't work. Slowly, slowly his sight became better. Now (thank God!) he can see again. It's like a miracle (奇跡).
Then I had retinal detachment (網膜剥離) 3 times--once in one eye, and twice in the other eye. I had to stay in the hospital twice for surgeries. The surgeries were very long, and the anesthesia wore off both times (麻酔が切れた). It was very painful. And neither of the surgeries helped very much. The second time was on my birthday. My daughter was in her third year of highschool, so it was a time when she really needed my support at home. And both times were during Covid, so I couldn't have any visitors (面談禁止).
Then, in May of last year, my husband fell 2 meters and severely broke his pelvis (股関節). He had internal bleeding (内出血), and the doctor told me that he might die from the bleeding. My husband went into intensive care (ICU), and I went home and cried all night. That was also during Covid, so I couldn't see him or visit him. He stayed in the hospital for weeks, and walked with a cane (杖) for months, but now he is walking and working (and seeing!) again. My family calls him the Miracle Man!
These past 10 or 15 years were supposed to be our most productive years, but life had other plans for us. I'm sure we face more medical problems and decisions in our future.
I know that we are not unique. Many people have faced much more serious health problems and family tragedies. It's part of life, isn't it? I'm telling you these things to let you know that everyone has problems. We all share that.
I like this saying:
Let's be as kind as we can to everyone, because we have no idea what they are going through.
I wish you all good health and happiness. 