終わりのない物語 / Never ending story

私の友人夫妻にある日、大きな出来事がおこりました。今から数年前、当時中学生だった長男が100万人に一人と言われる慢性小児白血病と診断されたのです。それは想像をしなかった出来事でした。「どうして我が子にこんなことが起こるのか？」何度も何度も自問したといいます。

An expected incident happened in the life of my friend’s couple. A few years ago, the eldest son who was a junior high school student at that time was diagnosed with chronic childhood leukemia which is said to be one in 100,000 children. It was an incredible event for them. “Why does this happen to my child?” They said that they asked themselves so many times.

今から20年も前に遡りますが、お母さんは元々同じ職場の部下でした。専門学校を卒業して入職しましたが、夢は世界の子どもを助ける仕事がしたいというものでした。結婚して退職し、子育てとボランティア活動をしながら、夢の実現に向けて4年制大学の通信教育で児童心理学を学び収めました。

It dates back to 20 years ago. Mother used to work for me in the same office. She graduated from a vocational school and entered the corporation. Her dream was to work for helping children in need in the world. After getting married and retired from the job, while doing mother work and some volunteer works, she studied psychology completed in correspondence education at the university for realizing her dream.

男の子を二人授かり、ある意味で順調な人生を送っていました。そして突然の長男の発病でした。夫妻はもがき苦しみながらも長男と向き合い、長男も治療を続けながら中学での部活と学業を最後までやり抜き、念願の第一志望の公立進学校への入学も果たしました。治療の副作用で身長の伸び率が著しく低下し、今では弟の方が高くなりました。それでも彼は黙々と学校生活を続けています。とても強い精神力の持ち主です。

Two boys were born, and they lived a still life in a sense. Then suddenly came the sickness of their first son. The couple faced with the sickness of the first son while suffering, and the eldest son kept on going to junior high school for studying and club activities till the end and finally entered the public high school of his first wish. The side effect of treatment significantly reduced the elongation of his height. Now the younger brother has become higher than him. Still, he continues his school life day after day. He has a powerful spirit.

この難病は罹患率が極めて低いために国の難病指定を受けられず、ある年齢に達すると保険が効かなくなります。そのために少数派である患者家族は泣き寝入りをしているのが現状です。友人はここで大きな決意をします。同じ病気で苦しんでいる子供、そしてその家族たちのために現状を調査、研究し、広く世に訴えていくことです。

This disease is extremely low in morbidity, so it cannot receive a designation of the difficult-to-cure sickness, and insurance will not be provided after the patient reaches a certain age. For that reason, patients and their families are in a minority group and nowhere to go right now. My friend made a big decision at that time. It is to investigate, study and widely appeal to the societies the reality of the situation for those children and their families suffering from the same disease.

彼女は、ご主人の後押しも受けて大学院に進むという一大決心をしました。努力の甲斐があって見事に合格し、二年間、血のにじむ思いで、主婦業、母親行、ボランティア活動、研究生活の何足もの草鞋を履きながら見事に人間学修士号を取得しました。研究論文テーマは、「思春期の慢性疾患児における心理的問題」で息子さんを育てながらのそれこそ生きた研究になりました。

She firmly made up her mind to go to post-graduate school with support from her husband. With a great effort, she passed the admission examination and continued her utmost effort for two years. She acquired a Master degree in Humanities while disparately playing multiple roles such as housewife, mother, volunteer and research student. The master thesis theme was “Psychological problem in adolescent chronically ill children,” truly living research while raising her sons.

将来は医療心理学分野の博士課程に進み、更に研究を続け、実際に社会の医療福祉システムを変える努力を続ける意思を持っています。そんなときでした。居住している区が区立中学校での生徒心理相談員の募集を行い始めたのです。まさしく、これまでの人生経験と学んだことが最大限に生かせるチャンスだと確信した彼女は早速応募します。彼女は即、採用されました。この4月のできごとでした。

In the future, she intends to proceed to the doctoral course in the field of medical psychology. She wants to continue her research for making changes in the social, medical welfare system. It was just at such a time that the residential district where they live was recruiting a psychological counselor for students at the district junior schools. She immediately applied for this post as she was convinced that her life experience and acquired knowledge could be used to the fullest. She was recruited. It happened in last April.

現在、彼女は週2回、午後から中学校で学校相談員の仕事をしています。訪れてくる一人ひとりの生徒を我が子と思って耳を傾け寄り添っているそうです。将来、彼女は一人でも多くの子どもたちと関わっていきたいと考えているそうです。

Currently, she is working as a school counselor in junior high school in the afternoon twice a week.　She listened to each student coming to see her and trying to be with them as her children. In the future, she wants to encounter and meet with students as many as possible.

我が子の思わぬ発病をきっかけに彼女の人生は大きく変わりました。それは苦しみへと変わったのではなく、多くの子どもたちの悩みや問題の解決への道と変わったのです。若い時から子供たちを助ける仕事がしたいと思っていた彼女の願いはこうして我が子の病気を通して現実のものとなりました。息子さんはエンジニアを目指して病気を抱えながらも現在、高校に元気に通っています。

Her life has changed drastically following an unexpected illness of her boy. It has not changed to worse, and it has changed to a direction in which many children’s problems are eased and solved. Her dream from her young age that she wanted to be of any help to children is thus coming true through her boy’s illness. He is now commuting to high school cheerfully while having his sickness with a wish of becoming an engineer.

病気は悶える苦しみ、不安です。今も不安は続いています。しかし、その病気が人生を一変させたのです。彼女は言います。

「自分みたいなものが人さまの子どもたちから先生、先生と呼ばれる人生を歩むなんて思ってもみませんでした。これからも精いっぱい、悩み苦しむ子供、親たちのために命を捧げていければうれしいと思います。」

Illness is agonizing suffering and anxiety. Anxiety continues to be in themselves even now. However, the illness has transformed their lives. She says; “I never imagined that I would live my life of being called a teacher by others’ children. I will be delighted if I could devote my life to the children and their parents who suffer from various problems.”

彼らの人生はこれからも続いていきます。これから先、どんな物語が綴られるのでしょうか。それは誰にもわかりません。でも一つだけ言えることは、あきらめずに素敵な夢を持ち続ければ、これから起こるどんな困難をも糧にして前進し続けることができるということではないでしょうか。

Their life will continue from now onward, too. What kind of story will be spelled in the future? No one knows about it. However, only one thing I can clearly say is that as long as I keep having a wonderful dream without giving up, I can keep on moving forward by making any unexpected difficulties into power and energy.

夢は正しき夢ならば、それはいつか必ず実現する。このことを信じて今日を生きたいと思います。

If my dream is a right one, I could realize it one day in the future. I want to live today with this conviction