My father’s near-death experience

 My father had a serious operation on his heart. According to the doctor there was a thirty percent chance he would die during the operation. There was also a thirty percent chance he would never regain consciousness after the operation.

 The operation was safely performed, but my father did not regain consciousness on that day, so I came home. My mother, who had Alzheimer’s disease, daydreamed about a flower garden. That is a common near death experience to the Japanese. I really worried about whether my father would regain consciousness.

 The next day, I visited the hospital in the early morning to see him.

 In the hospital, a nurse said to me casually.

“He has already woken up.”

I was surprised that this important information was passed to me in such a casual tone.

 I saw my father in the intensive care unit. He had still many tubes in his body.

 He recognized me. The first words from him surprised me again.

“Did the Dragons win last night’s game?”

The Dragons are the professional baseball team based in my home town. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the team.

Were these his first words after the big operation? I expected to hear about a near death experience, like my mother’s flower garden dream. He couldn’t remember anything about during the operation. He had just thought about baseball.

 Some people just can’t have near death experiences.