A-bomb microcephaly patients celebrate their 70th birthday
Jun. 26, 2016
by Kyosuke Mizukawa, Staff Writer
On June 25, the “Kinoko-kai (Mushroom Club),” a group of A-bomb microcephaly patients, along with their families and supporters, held an annual meeting in Higashi Ward, Hiroshima. Some 50 people, including nine patients from the cities of Hiroshima, Hatsukaichi, and Miyoshi who turned 70 years old this year, attended the meeting to celebrate this milestone and to reaffirm that they will continue providing mutual support.
At the start of the meeting, they made a silent prayer for a man with microcephaly, a former resident of Higashi Ward who died last July at the age of 69. Nine patients then blew out seven candles on the birthday cake marking their 70th birthday. Yuji Kimura, 70, a patient and resident of Naka Ward, played “Aka Tombo (“Red Dragonfly”), a traditional Japanese children’s song, on the guitar. “I’m very glad that I’m able to play my guitar in front of all of you on our special day,” he said with a smile. Playing the guitar is Mr. Kimura’s hobby. After his performance, all the participants sang “Sore Ike! Carp,” the fight song of the local professional baseball team.
Following the birthday celebration, the patients and their brothers and sisters took turns talking about their current lives. Many of them mentioned health issues, saying things like “I can’t go to work by myself anymore because of my bad legs” and “I’m always going to the hospital these days.” Yoshio Nagaoka, 67, the president of the Kinoko-kai and a resident of Asaminami Ward who has a brother with microcephaly, closed the meeting by saying, “I hope that our brothers and sisters will have a long and peaceful life. If any of you are in trouble, I’ll come and help you right away,” and he urged the participants to keep in touch with one other.
The patients with microcephaly were exposed to the atomic bomb while in their mother’s womb in an early stage of pregnancy and were subsequently born with mental and physical disabilities. The Mushroom Club was formed in 1965 and currently has 16 members. The last remaining parent of these patients died in 2014. With their brothers and sisters getting older, the club has been calling on the central government to expand its support for A-bomb microcephaly patients by taking such steps as strengthening counseling services to assist the patients in their daily lives.
(Originally published on June 27, 2016)
On June 25, the “Kinoko-kai (Mushroom Club),” a group of A-bomb microcephaly patients, along with their families and supporters, held an annual meeting in Higashi Ward, Hiroshima. Some 50 people, including nine patients from the cities of Hiroshima, Hatsukaichi, and Miyoshi who turned 70 years old this year, attended the meeting to celebrate this milestone and to reaffirm that they will continue providing mutual support.
At the start of the meeting, they made a silent prayer for a man with microcephaly, a former resident of Higashi Ward who died last July at the age of 69. Nine patients then blew out seven candles on the birthday cake marking their 70th birthday. Yuji Kimura, 70, a patient and resident of Naka Ward, played “Aka Tombo (“Red Dragonfly”), a traditional Japanese children’s song, on the guitar. “I’m very glad that I’m able to play my guitar in front of all of you on our special day,” he said with a smile. Playing the guitar is Mr. Kimura’s hobby. After his performance, all the participants sang “Sore Ike! Carp,” the fight song of the local professional baseball team.
Following the birthday celebration, the patients and their brothers and sisters took turns talking about their current lives. Many of them mentioned health issues, saying things like “I can’t go to work by myself anymore because of my bad legs” and “I’m always going to the hospital these days.” Yoshio Nagaoka, 67, the president of the Kinoko-kai and a resident of Asaminami Ward who has a brother with microcephaly, closed the meeting by saying, “I hope that our brothers and sisters will have a long and peaceful life. If any of you are in trouble, I’ll come and help you right away,” and he urged the participants to keep in touch with one other.
The patients with microcephaly were exposed to the atomic bomb while in their mother’s womb in an early stage of pregnancy and were subsequently born with mental and physical disabilities. The Mushroom Club was formed in 1965 and currently has 16 members. The last remaining parent of these patients died in 2014. With their brothers and sisters getting older, the club has been calling on the central government to expand its support for A-bomb microcephaly patients by taking such steps as strengthening counseling services to assist the patients in their daily lives.
(Originally published on June 27, 2016)
