For Jun

This one is from Megan (a friend of Jun and his family).

I arrived in Tokyo from the U.S. yesterday. It has been one year since I was in Japan and since I had seen Jun and the Hondas. In fact, I was here the day that Jun was in his accident last August. When I left Japan last year to return to my home in Michigan two weeks later, Jun was still unconscious, and I left with a very heavy heart, wondering if I would ever see Jun awake again.

This August, as you know if you have been keeping up with Mihori’s posts, Jun has come a VERY long way. I have only been here for about 24 hours, but I have seen him doing things that seemed impossible one year ago. He moved home last week, and his house has been adjusted to help him move around on his own. He walks without a cane, holding railings, getting around the house; he eats on his own (with chopsticks or silverware) along with his family for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; he plays with his Nintendo DS, doing games designed specifically for people who have suffered brain injuries; he talks with everyone around him, and has as much of a fun-loving personality as he always has had; he cleans up after himself after meals; he helps his family to keep the house in order, folding laundry, etc. In short, he is back to being a regular member of this family, living at home, working together, and laughing together. A fantastic thing to see!

I have been invited to go with Papa, Mihori, and Jun to Jun’s rehabilitation class next week so he can show off his mad skills. Stay posted. There is more to come!

みなさま、大変お待たせいたしました！
毎週のようにチェックして下さっている方々、いつもいつも更新なくガッカリさせてしまって申し訳ありません!!!

本日はみなさまに嬉しいご報告がございます。
7月24日に約11ヶ月、3箇所の病院で続いてきた入院生活を終え、完全に退院することになりました!!
やっとこの日を迎えられて、家族全員で本当に嬉しく思っています。
7月27日のお誕生日にも間に合ってよかった～♪

これからはまた新しい人生が始まります。
今リハビリやいろいろな訓練をする場所を探して検討しているところです。新しい場所に行くことはいつもちょっぴり不安だけれど、前進あるのみですものね！また私たちも気持ちを新たに、一緒に頑張って行きたいと思います！

この11ヶ月間、いつもあたたかくそして力強く私たち4人を支えてきて下さって本当にありがとうございました!!みなさま一人一人の支えがなかったら準もここまで頑張れなかったと思うし、両親も私もこんなに明るく前向きに準をサポートしてこれなかったと思います。どれだけ感謝の気持ちを言葉にしても足りない気がします。周りの人たちにこんなに恵まれて、私たちは本当に幸せです。これから少しずつお返ししていけたらと思います。

またこれからは自立、そして社会復帰に向けてまた新たな長い道のりが始まります。あたたかく見守って頂けたらとても嬉しいです。今後とも本田家一同、どうぞよろしくお願い致します。

2010年7月　本田美邦里

Hello, all! Thank you so much for your continuous thoughts and love! I’m really sorry it always takes long to update here.

Today, I have a big news that I want to share with you! Next Saturday, July 24th, Jun will be finally back home after his 11 month hospitalization!! We all are super happy to have him back and to spend time with him at home again! It is also nice to cerebrate his birthday, which is on July 27, at home !

We are currently seeking some places for him to have more rehabilitation and some training where he will be going from home. He should be trained to live by himself. We hope we can find the best environment for him and he can adjust well.

We appreciate again for all your thoughts, prayers, help, support, and love!!! We could not have reached this point without you. All of you have brightened our way and lifted us up. Thank you so much!

We will be starting our next stage. It will be a long one, unfortunatelly, but we never give up! My personal goal is taking him and parents to the States to see you all! 🙂

Love,
Mihori

With great friends!

こんばんは！
少し遅くなりましたが、先月末の父の誕生日の時の写真などをアップします！
準がお酌をした時には、父は感無量で思わず・・・（涙）
いいお誕生日を過ごしてもらえてよかったです！

いつもなかなか更新できなくてごめんなさい。
なるべく頑張ります！
絶え間ないご支援、本当にありがとうございます!!

Good evening!
It took me a while to post some pictures from dad’s birthday dinner last month. When Jun filled dad’s cup with beer, dad was so happy and got very emotional (tear) 🙂 I was glad that he had a good birthday! I’m sorry I can’t really write here so often. I’ll keep doing my best. Love you and miss you all!
Mihori

Dad should have deserved this moment for 9 months!

who wants to visit us to enjoy this cake?

with old buddies

he loved the graduation gift from his Hampton mommy!

みなさま、ゴールデンウィークどのようにお過ごしでしょうか？お仕事の方々はお疲れ様です！準のリハビリにはゴールデンウィークも関係なく、毎日しっかり頑張っています！

タイトルにWelcome homeとあるように、先日準の初外泊が叶いました！（退院?!と期待させてしまったら申し訳ありません・・・）今までは、家に帰って来てご飯を食べて病院に帰る･･･という外出はたまにしていたのですが、外泊はまだなかったんですね。それが、最近階段の昇降練習も頑張った甲斐もあって、2階の自室に行けると判断し思い切って外泊させてみました！

ご存知の方も多いかと思いますが、本田家の階段は狭くてけっこう急なんです。その階段を1歩1歩支えられながらも、しっかりと上がりきることが出来、夏以来初めて自室に戻ることが出来ました!!!!思わず目頭が熱くなりました。本人はひょうひょうと家具やぬいぐるみに「久しぶり」と挨拶していました（笑）8ヶ月ぶりの自分のベッドはさぞかし心地よかったことでしょう。朝までぐっすり眠ったようです。ちなみに階段の下りは、お尻をついて1段ずつ下りました。これを機に、頻繁に帰って来れたらいいなぁと密かに期待しています。

自宅に戻る前には、先月までお世話になっていた病院へ遊びに行きました。先生方に少し成長した姿を見ていただけて、嬉しかったです♪退院した後もあたたかく迎えてくださって応援してくださって、本当に感謝です。みなさまのお気持ちに支えられて、今日も頑張っています！

あ、美容院にも行って来ました☆シャンプーが気持ちよかったみたいです！髪型もサッパリかっこよくなりました！

おかげさまで楽しいゴールデンウィークになりました！
みなさまのゴールデンウィークも素敵なものでありますように☆

Hello! Thank you for your continuous thoughts and love!
As you may know, we are having a holiday week called Golden Week now in Japan. Parents and I got out of work, so we tried to let Jun stay over night at home for the first time ever since the accident! Before, it was quite challenging for him to go upstairs to reach his own room. Since he started practicing at stairs these days, therapists allowed us to give him a try! We helped him, of course, but he did go upstairs and got to his room!!! It was a pretty emotional moment for me. He said hi to his furniture and toys lol
It must be nice to sleep in his own bed and I believe he slept pretty well. We were really happy for him. We should do it a lot since now! (even though it is hard for us to do so when one of us has work)

We also visited his last hospital and saw his therapists there. They were happy to see his progress and I was happy to see them happy! It was nice to know that they are still thinking of him and it truely helps us to keep our heads up.

Jun got his hair cut, and enjoyed nice meals (as always) over his stay. We had such a fun holiday!!

少しずつお箸が使えるようになってきました！
Jun is practicing using chopsticks!

PTでは四本足の杖での歩行練習をしています。
Jun walking with a stick!

準から皆様へのメッセージです！
聞き取れますか？
「みなさん、こんにちは。本田準です！
元気ですか？遊びに来てください！」
と言っています☆

Jun is saying
“Hi, everyone! How are you?
Please come see me!”
I’ll try to get one in English sometime soon!

階段の上り下りも練習しています！
Jun even practices going up and down the stairs! Isn’t it amazing?

こんばんは

あっというまに4月ですね。準が新しい病院に転院してから、早3週間が過ぎました。最初の2週間の間は、脳へのホルモン注射を毎日打ちながら、少しずつリハビリを再開していきました。注射の直接の効果は確実にはわかりませんが、最近は前にも増してよく話すようになってきました。今はリハビリ病棟に移り、以前のようにリハビリ中心の毎日を送っています。たまに自宅にも帰ってきて（やはりまだ外泊はできないのですが）母の手料理に舌鼓を打っています。そのおかげか、体格もかなりしっかりしてきました。（ちょっぴりしっかりしすぎ・・・？メタボにならないようにリハビリ頑張らせます！）

病院が遠いのが唯一の難点で、なかなか気軽に遊びに来てくださいと言いづらいのですが、自宅に帰ってきた際などは是非会いに来てあげてください☆よろしくお願いいたします。

Hi!

Just a quick update…it has been 3 weeks since he moved in current hospital. During first 2 weeks, he had got the shots to stimulate his brain activities (I believe…) while his new therapists were trying to figure out what to do for his rehabilitation. He started regular training last week. We can’t see the effects of the shots clearly, but it seems like he talks much more than before. He sometimes comes home for lunch/supper and enjoys mom’s meal. He regains his weight (unfortunately a little too much…he needs to work out!)

I personally started to work full-time from April (I was working part-time since the accident) which keeps me super super busy. I can visit Jun only once or twice a week now (I did 5 days a week until March!!) and I miss him so much, but I guess I should do whatever I need to do! I hope he wil lbe back home as soon as possible!

After Jun left his second hospital and before he moved in his third one, there were 3days of no hospitalization. Our home is not Jun-friendly yet; we need to remodel some parts in our house to be more accessible for him, so we all stayed at a hotel for 3 nights together. It was such a great refreshment from the long-lasting life in hospital for Jun and from all chores and works for parents and me. It was first time to spend a whole night with Jun since the accident, and we had an amazing time together! We talked a lot, laughed a lot, and slept a lot! Yay!

On March 15th, the beautiful day, Jun had his commencement. I didn’t know that he was such a great student but he had earned enough credits to graduate as of last August. He wasn’t able to sit with his friends but instead we got to sit by him at the area for the wheelchairs. During the ceremony, one student from each department went up to the stage to receive Diploma on behalf of the rest of the graduates while they stood up at their seats. Yes, Jun also stood up with all his friends. It was just a very emotional moment for us all. I am truely proud of Jun. At the same time, I am very proud of my parents who never lose their hope and be ALWAYS positive throughout last 7 months. I am super grateful to be a part of this family!

We have been putting all our energy, time,
and love on Jun since the accident, but we wouldn’t have been able to done so without you all. Every single one of you has been a great help and support for us. We appreciate for your warmful thoughts and prayers so much!!! It has been very touching to see how much love we are surrounded by! We hope we can give it back to you at some point. Jun keeps working pretty hard, and I always tell him that we need to travel around to visit everyone to say thanks!

Thank you again!

Love you all!
Mihori

もしかしたら写真がうまくアップされていないかもしれません！早急に対処いたしますので、しばらくお待ちください。ごめんなさい！

Sorry you might be having a trouble seeing the pictures. I will take care of it as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience. I will add a post in English soon as well. I’m just telling you that Jun graduated from college!!

3月13日に病院を退院したあと、転院先に移るまでに3日ほど時間がありました。自宅はまだ改装されていないので、準が寝泊りするには不十分ということもあり、家族も少し家事などから離れて気分転換をしようということになり、家族全員で新宿のホテルで3日間を過ごしました！思えば事故以来、家族揃って朝を迎えることは初めて･･･。病院に集まろうと、準が外出して自宅に帰って来ようと、いつも準は病院で一人で寝ていましたので。
それはそれはもう賑やかで笑いの絶えない、最高のステイでした!!!まだこれからの治療やリハビリは長く先の見通しはたちませんが、今までの半年強の時間を労い、これからの新しい日々への英気を養うための貴重な時間になりました。

そして3月15日、お天気にも恵まれ絶好の晴れの日・・・無事に大学の学位授与式を迎えることが出来ました!!!!いつからそんなに優良学生だったのかしら、この子･･･と姉としては未だに不思議に思いますが、8月の時点で卒業に必要な単位を習得していたので、予定通りに卒業の認定がおりたのです。
式典ではお友達と一緒に座席に着くことは出来ませんでしたが、自分の学部が呼ばれた時には凛とした表情でしっかりと立ち上がりました。式典後には先生方やたくさんのお友達に囲まれ、楽しく感動の時間を過ごしたようです。
わたしたち家族も感無量･･･と同時によくここまで回復してくれたな、と心から準のことを誇りに思った1日でした。こんな最高の弟をもって、わたしは本当に幸せです。また、この半年間1日たりとも希望を失わず、常に前向きに明るく過ごしている両親のことも誇りに思い、2人にとってもこの日を迎えられたことを嬉しく思いました。

この3日間で、どれだけ多くの人たちに支えられてここまで来れたかを改めて実感しました。皆様一人一人の応援やサポートがなければ、わたしたちはこの日を迎えられなかったかもしれません。わたしたちがいつも笑っていられるのは、紛れもなく皆様のおかげです。何度も何度もしつこいようですが、本当にいつもありがとうございます!!まだまだ立ち止まることなく、頑張っていきます。その中で少しでも皆様に恩返しが出来たらいいな･･･と思っています。これからも本田家一同、よろしくお願いいたします！