March 2023, when mom was 77 years old, she moved into a city that was foreign to her. Prior to her move, she lived independently, involved in church activities, and loved window shopping in Manhattan.

Although it was her decision to be closer to her children, the whole thing was initiated by one of my siblings without a family discussion. It caused many frustration and annoyance for me. Mom has been healthy most of her life, but then suddenly she started having inflammation in her teeth, UTIs, constant high blood pressure, and most of all, it became burdensome to spend time with her.

October 2024, I got a call from LEE about mom while I was in line for an early in-person voting for the 2024 Presidential election. LEE admitted mom to ER. A few tests have been run over a few days. Mom eventually got discharged with two kidney urine catheters (nephrostomy tubes) soon followed by more doctors’ appointments along with Cystoscopy, Laparoscopic, and PET Scans.

Mom developed a bladder cancer due to her mistreated UTIs that also damaged her kidneys. Removing tumors was not in option because tumors were already invaded muscles and spread to lymph nodes in her bladder area. She opted out of removing whole bladder, no chemo, no radiations. Her life expectancy would be about 3 years living with nephrostomy tubes until she passes away.

I started reminiscing about my childhood, unpleasant experiences, and able to laugh out loud. It has been the long drip of blessings!

October 2025, both of the left and right urinary catheters were removed that were attached on the kidneys through back of her skin (nephrostomy tube). CAT Scan was scheduled to check the cancer tumor size. Mom has been drinking the five elements miracle soup/broth created by Dr. Tateishi Kazu to fight against cancer for the past 10 months along with periodic Keytruda immunotherapy shots; and most importantly her prayer was answered.

She was informed that one of her kidneys is not draining properly so told to drink plenty of water to flush it out.

Starting 1/12/2026, mom started getting combo of the Padcev chemo and Keytruda immunotherapy bladder cancer shots because her tumors did not shrink.

I took mom out for her birthday lunch and foot massage in mid-January; she shared that she is praying she could die without much pain and suffering.

Early in March 2026, mom let me know her bladder cancer tumor shrank per CT scan.

I hesitated to pick up the phone when I saw mom’s phone number on 3/31/2026. She needed someone to take her to see a Gastro doctor due to her loose stool that Moon made an appointment for 4/1/2026. I don’t remember her being a caring person toward to her children. That’s why I moved out as soon as I got my own place.

Mom collected her stool sample per Dr Stephen Goodman’s instruction, and we dropped it off at local UPS. Dr Goodman thinks it might be due to combo shots from Padcev and Keytruda. The results came as normal in a few days. About a week later, I took mom to Ophthalmologist due to red veins in her right eye. Dr said it is harmless and told her to use eye drops.

Mother’s Day is coming soon; but wasn’t sure if I wanted to see her… days have gone by. Then I have chosen to cherish and accept her as “she did her best in her ability” and picked her up on Sat 5/9/2026 with a bouquet of beautiful flower, her allowances from her children, coffee and pancakes at McDonalds. I liked it because the taste of coffee was better than any other fancy restaurants.