NOT GIVING UP

WISH BOOK l Couple fights serious diseases

so frail it is difficult for her to walk. She also is legally blind.

Things were so bad for a while that the family lived in a hotel room. Thanks to help from Hospice of the Valley’s Transitions program, they have rented two rooms in a home in the Blossom Hill area of San Jose where they can use the kitchen to prepare simple meals.

Michael sits in a wheelchair, his cane nearby, and Kishiko props herself up on the mattress that sits on the floor of their small bedroom. A large TV, the sole possession they were able to keep from their previous life, looms over the bed. Its size allows Kishiko to make out the picture in spite of her limited vision. A cardboard box serves as an end table and holds medicine and some crackers.

‘‘I’m in round three of chemo,’’ says Michael, whose gentle face and manner belie 15 years active military service and more than seven years in the reserves. ‘‘I have a part-time job at Wolfe Camera where Michelle works, and they’ve been very accommodating up until now, but I don’t know how much longer it can last.’’

He gestures to his swollen legs and wonders whether he’ll have the strength to keep working.

‘‘My biggest worry is them,’’ says Michael, looking at his daughter and wife. ‘‘They have nothing. We don’t even have the bottom of this bed.’’

The frame that held up the mattress broke, explains Michelle. She tried to fix it with duct tape but couldn’t make it sturdy. Now, because it’s too hard to put sheets on the bed, a sleeping bag provides cover. A new bed frame ($75) would make bed-making easier.

Michelle and her boyfriend share a room down the hall, but they don’t have much either. A borrowed futon has to be returned to a friend, says Michelle, so a new bed ($399) and some linens ($55) would be a help.

‘‘I just want to be sure they have what they need,’’ she says. ‘‘I try to save and buy them things. Right now I’d like to get my mom a new pair of pajamas that are softer’’ ($25).

The Buchans also need basics such as cooking utensils ($175), a compact refrigerator ($249) and microwave ($149).

In addition to finding the Buchans an alternative to the hotel, the Transitions program assists the family with stabilizing their daily needs — from emotional support to transportation and other forms of practical assistance. The free services are available to families throughout the valley who are facing life-limiting illness.

Michael worries every day about losing his medical insurance, and what will happen to Kishiko if he cannot care for her. Their Buddhist faith offers comfort, and they try to go to the local temple when they can, but it’s hard enough to get to medical appointments, let alone other destinations.

Michael hopes to improve the situation for his daughter and wife while he can. ‘‘We’re not giving up,’’ he says. ‘‘It’s not over ’til it’s over.’’ Questions about Wish Book stories? Call coordinator Holly Hayes at (408) 920-5374.