Notice

It has been a while since my last post. I hope you are all doing well.

In late November of last year, my mother was hospitalized with aspiration pneumonia. Although she was discharged in December, her food intake dropped significantly, and her swallowing function declined.
She reached a state where she could not ingest the nutrition necessary to live without procedures such as a gastrostomy or IV drips. After consulting with my doctor and the director of the group home, I decided to accept her physical decline, forgo life-prolonging treatment, and have her cared for at the facility until the end.

The group home honored my wish to be with my mother at the end. I stayed overnight starting the day before she passed away, called my family at dawn, and at noon that day, she passed away while being watched over by me, the grandchild she adored, my spouse, and two facility staff members.

Since she was diagnosed with dementia in 2019, I continued to care for her while prioritizing her wishes, desperately researching and thinking at every turn to choose the best path for her. I was able to do the one thing I wanted to do for her at the end—'being there at the end'—and though it may be inappropriate to say, I felt a sense of accomplishment, or even a sense of refreshment, rather than sadness.
Until a month before she passed away, my mother was physically well enough to use a walker to go to the bathroom. She did her best until she was 92! Mom, you were amazing!

The funeral, where I served as the chief mourner, was small, attended only by family and my mother's friends and acquaintances. We decorated the venue with mementos such as her photo albums, and after the wake, we shared memories of her while dining with the attendees. Since the wake was on Christmas Eve, we served Glühwein (mulled wine*), which my mother loved and found delicious when we traveled to Germany together in the winter long ago, as an aperitif, and I shared a few stories from our travels.
I was able to send my mother off with a warm heart.

Thank you to everyone who has read the Mofumofu Rakko posts until now. I plan to write again later about my mother's condition from around the autumn of 2025 until her passing, as well as things I realized anew after seeing her off. Please stop by here again when you have the time.

*Glühwein is a hot wine made by heating wine that originated in Germany. It is a classic winter drink made by adding spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and orange, as well as fruits. It is an essential part of Christmas markets and is cherished as a drink to warm the body during the cold season.