On September 29, 2015, I visited popo in her room at Kahala Nui's Hi'olani Care Center. She was mostly unresponsive and unable to speak. Every once in a while she would open her eyes to look in my direction. Struggling to speak, she'd let out a long sigh and would return to sleep next to a Minnie Mouse doll that my niece, Emma Yamada, gave to her as a gift. 

Dr. Alex listens to popo's breathing and monitors her oxygen level to make sure she's comfortable. Popo sits in a wheelchair outside of her room so the attending nurses can look after her during lunch time. 

My mother, Kathy Hida, tries to feed my popo some juice to keep her hydrated. A few days before popo passed away, she stopped eating and drinking altogether. 

As my mom held popo's hand, nurses slipped on thicker socks onto her feet to keep her warm. Over the past month my grandma had lost 10 pounds as she progressively stopped eating and drinking.

My mom slips a thick mitten onto popo's left hand. Popo constantly scratched herself in her sleep, which would lead to bad sores on her body. The mittens helped to prevent these self-inflicted wounds. Popo hated these gloves and was clever enough to tuck her thumb in her palm to make the task of slipping on the gloves challenging for the nurses. 

A nurse lifts popo from the wheelchair to the bed so she could get some rest. Popo quickly became exhausted after exerting a lot of energy from all the excitement of visiting family. 

After we watched popo pass away, a nurse came in to verify her death by checking her vital signs. My uncle Peter and aunty Penny stood close by. 

My uncle Peter and aunty Penny arrived on October 1, 2015 from Toronto, Canada. Peter bends down to listen to his mom whisper to him from her bed.

On October 3, 2015, popo passed away peacefully in her sleep. As her breathing slowed my uncle Peter and aunty Penny reached out to touch her forehead and chin.

As popo laid peacefully in her bed, my mom and my uncle Peter waited for a couple hours for the mortuary to pick up her body. 

My mom and my aunty Penny discuss which dress my popo should be wearing when she is cremated. Ultimately, we decided on the light yellow dress in the center. 

The nurses performed afterlife preparations and wrapped a gauze around popo's jaw. Popo laid peacefully with her arms crossed. 

The evening after popo passed away, our family sits together in my parents' backyard. We cooked too much food and enjoyed each others' company as my popo would have wanted. We toasted to her passing and celebrated our lives together. 

As dinner winds down, my mom holds her granddaughter, Emma, gazing up at the stars twinkling in the sky. 

Emmalyn Yamada, 4, takes ballet and jazz dancing classes every weekend. Before we put away the table and fold up the chairs, my mom and her granddaughter dance together around the backyard practicing her routine.