I Became Park Jeong-ui’s Nephew - Chapter 317



Only Noblemtl

He became Park Jeong-ui’s nephew. – (317)

“Your Majesty, would you like a cup of tea?”

“Okay, let’s have a drink.”

This is Geumneung,

After returning from India, I enjoyed a leisurely rest at my private residence.

If someone saw me, they’d think I was faking it, but I’m actually a patient who was recently diagnosed with the early stages of Parkinson’s disease.

Not surprisingly, my father, who is now 90, began showing similar symptoms in his early 70s.

So is this misfortune only happening to me?

Koreans have a high incidence of Parkinson’s disease because they have a gene that causes it. Recently, a paper on Koreans was published.

[The average age of Parkinson’s disease patients in Korea is 64 years (with a margin of error of ±7 years), and they show symptoms of finger tremors, slow gait, body stiffness, and postural instability. The reasons for their visit to medical institutions can be divided into gait disturbance (32%), head pain (29%), autonomic nervous system disorder (21%), and other disorders (17%).]

I am 64 years old this year,

It’s exactly the average age at which Koreans develop Parkinson’s disease.

It’s a natural illness that comes with age, there’s no one to blame, it just happened because the time came.

In fact, I’m lucky; other patients have less than a 13% chance of being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease on their first visit to the hospital.

This is why many people miss the timing for treatment. Parkinson’s disease is diagnosed only after an average of 20 months and up to 36 months have passed since the first symptoms were discovered.

Any problem that requires an accurate diagnosis is not something that can be solved by denying it.

“Are you saying I have Parkinson’s disease?”

“Yes, Lord, forgive me. But I dare not lie.”

“What do you have to apologize to me for? The patient should listen to what the doctor says. So… is treatment possible?”

“Yes, it is still early, so if you manage it well, you can extend your healthy lifespan.”

At first, I also had a hard time accepting this reality.

But what doctor would give me an accurate diagnosis if I got angry and said the quack was talking nonsense?

The important thing is to accept reality and find a treatment method. I acknowledged that I had Parkinson’s disease and chose treatment.

‘Yes, I’m sick, but I’m not going to hide it.’

I recently revealed to the public that I have Parkinson’s disease.

Even if I try to hide it by shushing it, the suspicions will only grow. Wouldn’t it be more honorable to admit that I have an illness and show that I’m overcoming it?

I focused on recovering my health while taking medication prescribed by the medical team and exercising.

If you think that a person with Parkinson’s disease will face death helplessly, you are mistaken.

The difference is that Parkinson’s disease causes motor impairment first, followed by cognitive impairment, whereas dementia causes cognitive impairment first, followed by motor impairment.

I just have a little trouble with my motor skills, but I’m still mentally alert and my work performance is just as good as before.

But even thinking like that, a patient is just a patient, and I started to reduce my workload and take a break from the headaches one by one.

A few days passed like that. I finally faced the reality I had tried so hard to ignore.

“Your Majesty, the advisor of Changgyeonggung Palace… .”

“Why, Father?”

“That’s… I think it would be good for the doctors to prepare themselves mentally…”

I nodded.

My father, who has been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for the past 10 years, has now lost not only his motor skills but also his cognitive abilities, to the point where he has difficulty recognizing people.

The death of a parent is something that will come to children one day. I am not yet mentally prepared to face that cruel fate. However, I cannot just sit still, so I took the time to visit the hospital where my father was admitted.

“Sanggeun… .”

The first thing that caught my eye was my mother’s face.

My mother is now in her 90s. Who would have the energy to take care of her?

In addition, you must have been very distressed recently after hearing the news that your son has Parkinson’s disease.

But I just tried to look confident and tried to look calm.

“Is your father okay?”

“You know very well… I don’t think you can last long.”

“is it so?”

I walked past my mother and took a seat next to the bed.

My father, who was breathing heavily through his mouth due to the windpipe stuck in his nose, turned his head toward me, still conscious.

“Father, do you know who I am?”

“Ugh~ Ugh~.”

“If you find it difficult to answer, you don’t have to say anything. Do you know who I am?”

Father nodded.

Was this the last time he came to his senses before he died?

According to the nurse, no one recognized him a week ago, so it’s fortunate that he came to his senses, even if only for a moment.

He continued a one-sided conversation with his father, who was of sound mind.

“You’ve worked hard all this time. The years that my father endured and carried were not meaningless. I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of the people. I will also work hard for the rest of my life like my father, so don’t worry about anything.”

Father nodded.

My father was an ordinary citizen who once wanted to become a teacher, but the Japanese colonial era did not allow that.

He got a job as a journalist and continued his independent activities as a member of the New People’s Association. He eventually survived and joined the Preparatory Committee, where he witnessed Korea’s independence and its development.

Although I explained it briefly, it is a history of struggle that spans over 70 years. How much effort must it have taken to shoulder that responsibility during those long years?

This is roughly the extent of my father’s contributions to Korean society so far.

⁕ Started independence movement as a member of Shinganhoe, pursued harmony between left and right wings

⁕ Served as Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for Construction in place of Yeo Woon-hyung

⁕ After liberation, as the president of Dong-A Ilbo, he focused on reporting on social issues and solutions (reporting on the current situation of Japanese people in Korea and supporting naturalization, adjusting commuting hours for office workers, reporting on the Ulsan factory fire and inspecting safety at industrial sites)

A person who accompanied me on my way to and from work, saying that he wanted to experience the hardships of office workers’ lives firsthand, and who lived a life completely different from that of people who serve society with their mouths.

I too was greatly influenced by that kind of appearance and have lived diligently until now.

The father, who often said, “What a pity,” when looking at such a child, was perhaps saddened by the child who could not let go of his sense of responsibility and only ran forward.

But I have no intention of acting weak in front of my father.

As my body gradually weakens due to Parkinson’s disease, I can confidently say that I will not live a passive life of sitting around and waiting for death.

I will just live the rest of my life bravely. I think my father will know what kind of person I am.

He didn’t give me a look of pity.

Today might be the last day I would be by my father’s side, so I canceled all my plans and spent the night at the hospital.

Until 6pm, my father’s breathing was relatively calm, but when that time came, his breathing became labored again.

Medical staff was rushed to the scene, but the patient never regained consciousness. The medical staff, who had done their best, bowed their heads in front of me.

“Mr. Park Sang-ui… passed away at 11:07 PM on April 13th.”

“Oh my~ honey… What should I do… Take me too… Why are you going alone… .”

The mother couldn’t control her emotions.

After losing her husband, who she had spent her entire life with, she now has only one child, and how does she feel now that he has Parkinson’s disease?

But the truth is that nothing changes even if you hide it,

I returned to work as soon as my father’s funeral was over and showed off my health by taking care of the pending issues.

My mother also felt relieved when she saw me in good health, and I increased the time I spent with her by occasionally taking walks with her.

No matter how old I got, I was still just a child in front of my mother, and just like my father, my mother kept nagging me.

“Sang-geun, shouldn’t you stop doing politics now?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re sixty-four now. Isn’t it time to stop? And you’ve got a terrible illness too… .”

“Mother, I know I am sick, but there is still work to be done.”

“What to do?”

“Yes, once I complete that, I will retire. Don’t worry.”

“Yeah… I thought about it carefully. How long do you think Mom will live? I want to spend the remaining time with you.”

“Don’t worry. It won’t take long.”

Even though I said that, I wasn’t confident that I could keep my promise to my mother.

Will the day ever come when I step down from politics? I’m not the type of person to make promises I can’t keep, but this time I ended up lying.

***

“Will the day ever come when Marshal Park Sang-geun retires?”

“Well, I don’t think that’s possible. Rather, it’s the impatience of not having enough time that might drive him mad.”

“Madness?”

“Yes, mental illness tends to eat people up.”

This is America,

The news that the leader of South Korea had Parkinson’s disease shook American society.

Even the world’s most powerful dictator, who once threatened the United States, is helpless against the flow of time?

Some people have belittled Park Sang-geun as an old man on the verge of death, but many have also pointed out that this is a hasty judgment.

“There are currently 6 million confirmed Parkinson’s patients worldwide. If you include people who don’t know they have Parkinson’s, the actual number of patients is probably over 20 million. So why don’t politicians do the same? Parkinson’s is a disease that politicians can’t avoid. They’re also human.”

Adolf Hitler is a representative Parkinson’s patient.

Records from the medical team that treated Hitler show that Hitler was already showing symptoms of Parkinson’s disease in 1933, at the age of 44.

If you look at the footage from the 1940s, the left arm barely moves compared to the right arm, and in 1945, the left arm couldn’t move at all.

His gait has also become noticeably slower than before.

But why was it that all of Europe was almost conquered by a Parkinson’s patient?

Even if the other person is mentally ill, we cannot ignore the power he holds.

What’s even scarier is that even before he got sick, Hitler had a rigid attitude and a rigid way of thinking.

Parkinson’s disease just gave him a little push towards madness,

In that respect, the Parkinson’s disease that struck Marshal Park Sang-geun is more frightening than Hitler, who caused World War II.

However, Park Sang-geun acknowledged his illness and chose treatment.

If this dictator had not faced reality, humanity might have suffered terrible losses in the face of tyranny.

Marshal Park Sang-geun is the one who massacred 2 million people in Pyongyang while he was still sane. How many people did he kill while commanding military operations in Colombia and Iran?

That person even has Parkinson’s disease?

The bigger problem is that there is no way to control Marshal Park Sang-geun.

What would have happened to humanity if this person had hidden his illness and continued to engage in politics?

Even today, many people are unaware that they have Parkinson’s disease, and in some cases, the diagnosis is only discovered during an autopsy after death.

In that respect, Marshal Park Sang-geun is a unique person. Would he allow himself to be revealed to have Parkinson’s disease when he holds the power to rule the world?

It’s not something just anyone can do.

“I will fight the disease and receive treatment. Parkinson’s disease is a disease that can be overcome, and I will consult with the medical team and receive consistent treatment. I will prove to myself that I can overcome it.”

Park Sang-geun, the enemy, defined his chronic illness as something that must be overcome rather than something that is hidden.

He showed a different attitude from politicians who talk nonsense due to their senility.