Until I Became Me [4] Mom's Illness

When I was still in elementary school,
Mom got cancer.
I remember Mom herself

"Mom has cancer."
telling me that.
Even so, Mom was

kind,
and would take baths with me.
She started going in and out of the hospital repeatedly,

and the days she wasn't home increased.
By that time,

the uncle from the mountains who had been in Mom's room
was gone before I knew it.
Instead,
Grandpa was by Mom's side.

Changing her bedpan,
cleaning the room.

Grandpa was
doing his best

to take care of Mom.
As a child, I
could only

watch what was happening.
When an animal TV show started
while Mom was hospitalized,

I would call her
and tell her,

"There's an animal show on TV right now."
Mom
was very happy about that.

One day,
when I went to visit her.

Mom
was in a wheelchair.

Just by moving her body a little,
her bone broke.

As a child, I
didn't understand what had happened

and just watched.
The next time I saw her.
Mom

was lying in bed.

Her eyes were open, but
she seemed to have almost no consciousness.

Her broken leg
had a device attached to it

and was suspended from above.
Seeing that,
I became very scared.

And a few days later.
My mother was called to the hospital.

At that time,

my older cousin

came to our house,
and I was looking after the house
with my younger brother.

Then,
the phone rang.

When I picked up the receiver,
it was Mom's voice.

▶︎ Continues to Episode 5