Rest In Peace, Tokuda-san

Tokuda-san passed away sometime yesterday.

I finally visited Tokuda-san in the hospital on Friday evening. I was actually surprised that I got to see him, because I heard that other people from school, including the principal, one of the vice-principals, and the second-highest-ranking office staff member (after Tokuda-san) had been turned away on earlier occasions.

As expected, Tokuda-san was in really bad shape. He was unconscious and on a respirator.

His wife said something about his condition having gotten much worse that day, so I was extremely worried about his situation. And then, when she said, "Tomorrow" and pointed to the sky, well, I started to cry a little.

I guess Mrs. Tokuda knew what she was talking about.

When I left the hospital, I wondered why I was fortunate enough to get to see Tokuda-san (for the last time, as it turns out). I suspect Tokuda-san's wife knew that the end was near and was therefore willing to let visitors see him in his condition.

I'm still in shock. I don't even clearly remember the last time I talked to Tokuda-san, but it must have been Friday, July 11, a couple hours after the mini-triathlon.

From what I understand, Tokuda-san must have had a heart attack, seizure, or other major complications the very next day and wasn't the same after that.

I clearly remember coming to school the following Monday and not seeing Tokuda-san at his desk. At first, I thought perhaps he was elsewhere in the building. But as the day went on and I still didn't see him, I figured he must have been on a business trip.

The same thing happened on Tuesday. No Tokuda-san.

And Wednesday. Still no Tokuda-san.

That's when I started to get worried about him.

Finally, after school on Wednesday, I asked the office staff where he was and was told he was in the hospital. But no one told me how bad the situation was. And, as far as I know, there was no announcement regarding Tokuda-san's condition until perhaps Thursday, when I finally heard from my supervisor that Tokuda-san was in the hospital and in bad shape. Why was there no announcement?

Anyway, as I said in my previous post, Tokuda-san was a great guy. He had a great sense of humor and he was very kind to me. I will miss him dearly.

I always knew I'd have to say goodbye to him some day, because he would probably be reassigned to another school before my time in Japan was over. That thought alone made me sad when I started to think about that, as far back as, oh, December probably.

I just never thought I'd be saying goodbye to Tokuda-san like this.

Hey, Tokuda-san, "I geh haom."

"I geh haom."