==JAPAN: KM== [Family]

My grandma's pulse was so weak that ‚hcouldn't feel it. Her breath became faster and fainter. And then it suddenly became deep and slow and that is a severe vital sign. The deep breaths had longer intervals than before. I could not know how long a time had passed. Time stopped exactly at that time and nothing seemed to exist except for my grandma, my aunt and myself who attended her during that terminal stage. She breathed her last deep breath in my aunt's arms and mine.
My grandma was born in Kyoto in 1909 and devoted herself to Christianity and prefered frugality to a wasteful life. This was common to persons who were born in the Meiji era. After she married, she lived in Kobe and worked as a teacher of a private kindergarden belonging to a church. During the World War II, my grandpa went to the front of the fight as a member of the Japanese obligatory army in Korea. Their household economy was so poor that she had to work hard to maintain their household by herself. I can't imagine how hard she worked to manage to bring up and feed her three children during the war and how she was persecuted to protect the liberty of christianity against the circumstances of the imperialism of Hirohito.
She had nothing in particular to call a hobby or a form of play. She was not so sociable and had a quiet character, making me feel her to be a difficult woman in my childhood. To tell the truth, it was difficult for me to attach myself to her and I do not have memories when I was intimately in contact with her.
The big occurrence happened in my life with one call from my father on the 24th of Dec.1998, the last day before winter vacation of our medical school. It was early in the morning when I was still in bed. He told me that grandma had fallen into a serious condition. At that time when I heard that, I was confused about what I should do, but I managed to attend school first. Then later, I decided to go to see her in the evening by car. I had not seen her for a long time since I had come to Fukui.
The next day, I arrived at grandma's home and at a glance, I was shocked to see her pale face that told us of the serious condition. I could not talk to her nor say anything to my aunt. She was unconscious in bed. My mother told me grandma hadn't taken any food at all for a few days and had no power to swallow any drink, even water. She was in a diaper and did not have the ability to pass water. It is a very dangerous sign for anyone who cannot urinate for even one whole day. And it seemed to me she was passing to and fro between life and death in the next couple of days and I could not do anything but hold her hands.
To my astonishment, two days later she miraculously recovered from the serious state and became conscious and could communicate with family. Moreover she started again to take soft foods and had the desire to pass water. My aunt and my parents had jobs outside, so I took care of her in the day time. I also stayed overnight with grandma and tried to cheer up my aunt. During my childhood, I had not had the opportunities to be in contact with grandma so much. So I was really glad to be there even though she was not active and only lay in the bed.
At that time I really hoped she would continue to keep her improved condition and consciousness forever, but on January 6th at 8 pm, her breath became fast and rough. Finally she passed away about 1 hour later. During the last few minutes, my aunt and I hugged her and my aunt said good-bye to grandma with tears.
At that moment I couldn't feel anything but sorrow. Time has passed and now I believe I was able to have the experience of something holy, a solemn moment. My grandma made me aware of one truth. It is of great value to me and I will never forget about it all through my life. She taught me the existence of death and death is inevitable for living beings. To tell the truth, I had not been aware of it, because it was too far from me to recognize it and I had no experience to watch it with my own eyes. Now I comprehend it is a natural phenomena and all living things comprise their own death. Until that time, I had not so much contact with my grandma and didn't understand her personality, but after I spent time with her during her last, I began to understand her and that her way of life was a valuable time and it will become my treasure in the future.

"Getting It Together"

At first I had written another essay about my dog. But my grandma passed away during winter vacation. It was so impressive that I could not help writing down the events of her death.
I would like to give two pieces of advice to the students who will write an essay. First, we must write what we can find in our heart to write about. Second, it is better for us to decide our own opinions. If we do not do so, our essays will not be complete.