Tuesday, January 22, 2013 - A side of Japan I did not intend to experience

Just when I thought I was out of the woods, this darn fever slammed me back down -- harder this time. I spent Monday night wracked with fever and body aches and by Tuesday morning, I had little left in me. I called my sister Lisa for advice (but mostly for comfort) and she recommended getting to the doc in case it was influenza. I was worried that I was becoming dehydrated from all of the fever sweats.

My roommate notified the Prof and Lauren, the director of the CET here at OGU. Lauren and our landlady, Ariyama-san picked me up and took me to the clinic. Lauren stayed to translate all of the strange proceedings, directions for prescriptions, and to make sure I knew how to pay the bill.

Here's how it works in Japanese clinic.

FIRST: Triage of sorts in what looks to be a multi use room (office, exam room, consult, etc). Although Lauren tried to calm me by letting me know that privacy is not a concern in Japanese medicine, I was still uncomfortable being examined in a group setting. Other than the setting, the normal triage steps were expected -- history, current meds, allergies, etc.

SECOND: Ahh, a familiar procedure -- a swab of the inside of my nares to test for influenza. While the test was culturing, I was brought to an overheated waiting room (but was grateful for the heat as I was still shivering with fever). Test results showed NO INFLUENZA, YAY!

THIRD: So then, what's causing the fever? Next up, chest x-rays to check for pneumonia. Another awkward situation not knowing what to do and needing Lauren with me to translate. Then, back to the room to wait for the developing. The x-rays showed NO PNEUMONIA, YAY!

FOURTH: Now what, an IV? Really? Lauren says not to worry, as this is pretty standard in Japan. Rather than wait for you to absorb antibiotics through your stomach over time, they put it right into your bloodstream. Besides, I was a bit dehydrated (but not dangerously so) so the additional fluids would be a benefit (or so I told myself). The room where they administer the IV was interesting. One sick person would get out of bed and another would get in -- no changing of bedding or disinfecting at all. I sure hope I don't catch something else!

FIFTH: The doc (BTW a female doc, more on that later as this post is getting long) prescribed something for fever and something for cough (see pic below). Lauren wrote out the directions in English (thank God for Lauren!).

SIXTH (and last): The bill (see pic below) came to a total of 10,950 Yen. That's just over $120. This amount covered the office visit, all of the procedures, and the meds. I can't even walk in the door of my clinic at home for that price. Makes me wonder about socialized medicine. Of course, I recognize that increased risk accompanies some cost containments (right Lisa?)

When Lauren had to go back to work, Ariyama-san stayed with me until everything was finished and brought me back to the apartment. She was soooo sweet! She does not speak english, but she can communicate well anyway. She brought me food and beverages and wrote notes with English letters so I might better understand what I was doing. She also warmed up something reminiscent of grits, although I'll bet it was a rice of some sort. Then she opened a package of pickled plumbs that could be added to the rice mixture, but I elected to keep them separate. The rice could have used some cinnamon, I'd say. I am so blessed to have had Lauren and Ariyama-san with me today!

I am writing this post about Tuesday on Wednesday morning as I am stuck in bed again. I elected to skip the outing today (tour of Sumitomo Chemical) in favor of regaining my strength and ridding myself of this awful bug.

Pics below:
1. Drugs from the doc with English instructions written by Lauren.
2. The bill for my services.
3. A store of food from Ariyama-san
4. Drinks from Ariyama-san