Finding “Yoyu” [Excerpt 13]

Even though I was absorbed with my work, we did stay in contact with Akira’s parents. He called his mother regularly, and we were tentatively planning to visit again in November to make sure she was OK.

When Okasan started having trouble and needed a few days back in the hospital to recuperate, we headed for Hiroshima a month earlier than planned.

After our quick October trip, I still wasn’t that concerned about either of Akira’s parents. We continued to call Okasan regularly and felt sure her short hospital stay would help.

Even though Okasan lived on for several more years, I would pack my bags and head back to Hiroshima immediately if I knew then what I know now. I don’t know if staying there again would have made a difference, but I regret not giving it a try.

Listen to the excerpt above to hear what made us decide to move Akira’s parents to Tokyo.

If you missed any of the previous excerpts, you can find the playlist here.

About the book:

A few years ago, we moved my husband’s parents from a rural part of Japan to live with us in Tokyo in our tiny 800 square foot (73 square-meter) condo. My book, Finding “Yoyu,” is about what it took to decide to move them. It’s also about navigating the Japanese health care system and finding an appropriate nursing home for my mother-in-law while helping my father-in-law transition from a lifetime of farming to retirement in the big city. It’s about how we discovered he had Alzheimer’s and my husband had stage 3 colon cancer. It’s about how I managed to support these two men and keep (or find!) my yoyu all while going through a career change.