To My Father Living in the Present

A month has passed since my father was transferred to the rehabilitation hospital.

One day, I received a LINE message from a friend who works on the inpatient ward.

“Your dad was able to eat by himself today.
I was so happy that I just had to message you.”

What...?
He was able to eat by himself?

“That’s amazing! Thank you!”
I replied immediately, without thinking.

He still needs a little help with things that are hard to scoop,
but they said he has become able to eat on his own.

My father, who was hovering between life and death,
is now able to eat his own meals.

It is all thanks to the staff.
And above all—
Dad, you worked so hard.

My heart felt warm and touched.

Honestly, I don’t know how far his rehabilitation will progress.
Getting up on his own or going to the bathroom,
that will likely be difficult.

Still, his life was saved.
I hope that even a little, the things he can do on his own will increase.

Perhaps that is
just my own ego.

My father doesn’t know his own past.
But it is certain that he is living in the present.

—

The day I went to visit him.

As always, my father didn’t recognize me.
But it seems he has learned to recognize his own name
after hearing it called so many times.

“Dad, I heard you were able to eat by yourself?
That’s amazing.”

When I said that to him,
my father nodded happily.

Because of his aphasia, I couldn’t make out clear words, but
he made faces as if he wanted to complain about the food,
looked dissatisfied,
and sometimes showed a playful expression
as he tried his best to talk to me.

I didn’t really understand what he was saying.
Even so, I nodded, saying, “Uh-huh, uh-huh.”

It wasn’t a conversation.
But—

memories of having idle chats
with my father when he was healthy
suddenly came back to me.

Thank you for being alive.

For now, that is enough.

Thank you always for reading my father series.