Thank you

To everyone who so kindly wrote to me, thank you so much.
Actually, I didn't know that so many people read my blog until I found out that it is also forwarded to Facebook. That is why I wasn't so clear in what I wrote.
Some of you already know about my condition, but most don't.
Several years ago, I was diagnosed with a rare liver disease called PSC (primary sclerosing cholangitis). It is a slowly progressive disease due to the regenerative properties of the liver, however there is no cure except for liver transplantation. Also, the disease causes other complications along the way. In my case, an unprecedented number of liver stones.
I was in he hospital to prepare for liver resection to remove to stones, however the doctors have recently told me that if I have liver resection, a liver transplant will not be possible when it becomes necessary according to Japanese law. Also, in most cases here, only live donor transplant between family members is possible. My wife, being the amazing person that she is, has offered. But she is considerably smaller than me physically.
Moreover, I can't see a possibility of liver transplant in the U.S. (of which I am a citizen) because I don't have health insurance there. And getting it is costly and sometimes impossible with a pre-existing condition.
Well, that's the worrisome part of my life. But I'm still happy with my life because I've got a great wife, two amazing kids (cute enough to be models, we think), great students in both my group and classes, and those taiko drums which forever challenge me to improve myself.
The chance to be cured would be a blessing for myself and my family.

Out again

Well, things changed again, so I'm out today after what seemed like another barrage of tests.
I just have to remain positive and try as much as possible to keep myself as healthy and strong for when the time comes for the part of my life that my family fears.
One nice thing to see, though is that there are a lot of empty beds here, which means more people are out enjoying their lives rather than being in hospital. It is good to know.

So, today I go to Tokara practice which will do a lot of good. We have two new apprentices, Takafumi Onozawa, who started in July and is really showing a lot of promise; and Kelly Reid from Sweden. Today will be her first official session as an apprentice. I am glad I can be there for it. It's an exciting time for Tokara. Good, dependable members, two apprentices, and everyone sharing the goal of working together to make Tokara the strongest performing group it can be.

Starship Tokara