Chapter 182
I went to the kindergarten to pick up Olivia. When Olivia saw me personally picking her up from school, she was very excited and hung on my neck like a koala, refusing to come down, just hanging on my neck all the way home. Katniss saw this scene and smiled happily, but there was always a hint of bitterness in her smile.
After picking up Olivia, Katniss and I took Olivia to a nearby restaurant, ordered some of the family's favorite dishes, and then drove to the hospital. Over the past five years, I bought a car for myself, so now I can be considered a homeowner with a car, which solves the problem of housing and transportation. Having a car does make life more convenient.
At the hospital, in the designated ward, we saw Jennifer and Nathan. Five years have passed, Jennifer hasn't aged much, but Nathan looks nothing like himself. Now in his 60s, he no longer has any brown hair, all white, and he is very thin, far from the healthy state he was in when he got married five years ago.
When we entered the ward, Jennifer was peeling an apple for Nathan, while Nathan was lying on the hospital bed reading a newspaper. I have to say, Jennifer is truly a virtuous woman. After marrying Nathan, she took care of the household chores, managed the finances frugally, and organized Nathan's life in an orderly manner. Jennifer doesn't have high demands in life, she just wants to live a simple life. She is very close to Simon and Olivia, and our family has no complaints about Jennifer, only warmth and gratitude.
As Nathan entered middle age, he began to be plagued by common elderly ailments.
This is related to Nathan's lifestyle habits and mental state when he was young. When he was young, coming from a poor family, Nathan had to drop out of school at a young age to work. After getting married, he had to support his parents, wife, and children. As I grew up, he earned money to pay for his mother's medical bills, and later he endured too much psychological pressure. For various reasons, Nathan's later years were destined to be plagued by illness.
Three years ago, Nathan developed benign prostatic hyperplasia, a common ailment in old age. Over the past three years, he has been suffering from the effects of this prostate condition, experiencing frequent urination, increased nocturia, urgency, incontinence, difficulty urinating, incomplete emptying of the bladder, residual urine, hematuria, urinary tract infections, bladder stones, kidney damage, and long-term lower urinary tract obstruction. Nathan has almost all the male urological diseases.
Actually, this condition is not considered a serious illness, but Nathan has been careless about his health. Even after developing these diseases, he didn't pay much attention and often just took some medicine to deal with it. And because this disease is related to male health, he kept it a secret from everyone, as it was difficult to talk about. Moreover, this disease is related to masturbation and excessive sexual activity, so most people who have it find it hard to discuss.
In the end, Jennifer, who lives with Nathan every day, discovered the problem. Due to the impact of this disease on Nathan's sexual function, as well as the presence of hematuria, Jennifer had to take Nathan to the hospital, where he had to be treated and catheterized.
Privately, Jennifer told me that although this disease is difficult to talk about, I am Nathan's only son, so it was necessary for her to inform me about the situation in order to help with Nathan's treatment. After discovering Nathan's condition, Jennifer bought medication for him and advised him to avoid certain foods, smoking, alcohol, and sexual activity. Smoking and drinking were Nathan's favorites, and quitting them almost felt like a death sentence to him. Avoiding sexual activity was only to prevent further congestion of the prostate and worsening of the condition, but Nathan did not follow Jennifer's or the doctor's advice.
He secretly smoked and drank outside, and when Jennifer found out, they argued for a long time, but it had no effect. To avoid further irritation to the prostate, Jennifer, who used to have a strong sexual desire, also refrained from having sexual relations with Nathan. However, Nathan seemed to solve the issue by masturbating in secret. I believe this because over the years, when Nathan and Jennifer visited my house, I would monitor them with surveillance cameras. I noticed that during that time, Nathan and Jennifer had no sexual activity, and Nathan would often sneak into my bathroom in the middle of the night. I would see the familiar scene, with Katniss's clothes hanging in the bathroom, while he masturbated with his 8.66-inch penis.
At the time, I found it strange to see these scenes. Why would Nathan, with a woman as charming as Jennifer, choose to masturbate in the bathroom instead of being with her? It turns out that Jennifer had enforced abstinence on Nathan due to his condition, but Nathan couldn't control his strong sexual desire and had to resort to masturbation.
Due to shame and other reasons, Nathan had always kept this from Jennifer and me, until now when the condition worsened, leading to hematuria, renal colic, and urinary obstruction. Only then did he inform me and check into the hospital. When Jennifer saw Katniss and me come in, she put down the apple she hadn't finished peeling, quickly got up to greet us, while Nathan looked at us with a complex expression, then quickly averted his gaze. There was a hint of embarrassment on his face, as this disease is not common, and the true reasons behind it involve some other stories and factors, which only Nathan, Katniss, and I know.
"Come here, Olivia, let Grandpa hold you." Nathan's gaze shifted to Olivia with a hint of shyness, and a flash of doting love could be seen in his eyes. The bond between generations, this statement is absolutely true. He missed Simon and Olivia so much, and this was also a good way to shift the topic and attention.
"Grandpa." Olivia saw her beloved grandpa and her chubby face lit up like a little flower.
"Let's have dinner together, Mom." I said to Jennifer. Over the years, we have all seen the dedication Jennifer has shown to Nathan and this family. It can be said that her love for this family is no less than that of my biological mother. Since my mother passed away early, I have rediscovered a mother's love in Jennifer. When Jennifer and Nathan first got married, I used to call her by her name, but later the whole family started to acknowledge Jennifer. On Jennifer's birthday later, our family and Emily celebrated her birthday together. At that birthday party, I personally raised a toast to Jennifer and called her "Mom." Although it was just one word, it carried extraordinary significance, representing so much. It moved Jennifer to tears, perhaps at that moment she truly felt that all her efforts for this family were worthwhile.
As a family of five, only Simon was missing, as he was still studying at Michael's place, so he could only come back on weekends to reunite with the family. Nathan's appetite has noticeably decreased now, as he used to enjoy drinking, but now that he's not allowed to drink, his appetite has naturally decreased a lot. Nathan took a few bites and stopped eating, and compared to before he got sick, Nathan has lost a lot of weight. Jennifer and Katniss also have small appetites, so in the end, only I, with a big appetite, and Olivia, who eats slowly, were still eating. Eventually, Olivia and I finished all the remaining dishes, and even ended up arguing over the last chicken wing.
The family was harmonious and everyone was very satisfied. Everything seemed to be back on track, as long as Nathan's illness was cured, everything would seem perfect.
"Mom, let me help you clean up. Katniss, you stay with Dad." I saw Jennifer starting to clean up the tableware and take out the trash, so I quickly followed her to the kitchen to wash the dishes. The reason I followed her and left Katniss behind was because I wanted to discuss and understand Nathan's condition with Jennifer. Since it involved male issues, it was best to keep Katniss away, and both Katniss and Nathan knew what was going on.
Leaving Katniss and Nathan alone in the ward, where there were no cameras, I might have been worried in the past, but now I wasn't concerned about anything. Nathan was already a patient, and even if something were to happen, it was uncertain if Nathan could even have an erection now. Giving them some alone time could help them eliminate some barriers and naturally build their relationship.
"Mom, what did the doctor say? They've been examining and observing for so long." With Nathan and Katniss not around, Jennifer and I regained our serious and tense expressions. It seemed that Nathan's actual condition was worse than we had imagined, but we had kept it hidden from Nathan and Katniss.
"The doctor hasn't confirmed anything yet. Today, they did all the tests on urine and prostate fluid, and the results will be out tomorrow." Jennifer sighed, her face showing deep concern and sadness.
"Did the doctor mention the possibility of Dad having prostate cancer?" I sighed as well, feeling anxious.
"This disease is common in older men, with a high incidence rate and a mortality rate second only to lung cancer, so it's hard to say for sure. We'll have to wait for the final results tomorrow." Jennifer ran her hand through her hair, trying to sound casual. Even though I was already thirty-six years old, ever since I started calling Jennifer "Mom," she had always played the role of a mother, always looking out for me.
"Let's go back now, so Dad doesn't worry too much about us being away for too long. For now, let's keep his condition hidden from him. It's best if he doesn't know, and Katniss shouldn't know either. The fewer people who know, the better." Jennifer tidied up the washed food containers and cutlery.
When we returned to the ward, everything was as usual. Katniss was still peeling apples, and when Jennifer and I came back, we saw that she had already peeled four or five apples. It was evident that while we were out, Katniss had been peeling apples the whole time, probably to distract herself and avoid awkwardness. Meanwhile, Nathan was holding Olivia and telling her a story.
Seeing this heartwarming scene now, I felt a mix of emotions. Honestly, despite everything that had happened in the past, I sincerely hoped that Nathan wouldn't have that kind of illness. After all, my mother passed away from cancer, and I didn't want the same fate for Nathan. The days ahead were long, and I was content with the present. The future quality of life would depend on the results of tomorrow's examination.
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