Bad thing 1: Nanna dies (September 29, 2012)
Bad thing 2: First time in the hospital (November 12, 2012)
2nd time in a hospital diagnosis and finding out that surgery is inevitable (November 15, 2012)
3rd time in hospital, briefing before surgery (November 22, 2012)
4th time in hospital, 1st time admitted, surgery (November 28, 2012 - December 4, 2012)
Bad thing 3: Grandad dies (May 25, 2013)
Bad thing 4: Hit by car while riding bike to work on a Sunday! (September 15, 2013)
It was this last bad thing that is the occasion for my second hospital experience. In Japan, bandaging and care is way overdone, I think. At least concerning bandaging and hospital stays. However, medication is a slightly different issue. They prescribe tonnes, when only a little is necessary, but you have to go to the hospital to get it. OTC items (in the west), like antibacterial cream and allergy medication, are not available here without a prescription. Any way, I digress.
So I got hit by a car on my way to work. The car hit my back wheel and after that I don't really know what happened. The driver opened his car door and asked if I was okay a couple times and I said, "I'm fine." But I really just wanted to get away from the situation and get somewhere dry, because if it wasn't enough that it was a Sunday and I got hit by a car, there was a torrential downpour. I moved my bike from the road and the guy was gone. That's a crime in Japan. It's called hikinige (ひきにげ), hit and run. If you get into an accident you must call the police. I can't even file a report because I have no information about the guy, just his approximate appearance and car colour. Also, I had to pay my medical bills (luckily not too much) and I fixed my own bike. Ugh. The medical was covered by national health insurance (70%), but usually for car accidents, it isn't because the other person pays. I feel ripped off.
Any way, I didn't go to the hospital, I just went to school and got some teachers to open the nurse's office so I could get some bandaids. The next day was a holiday so I wasn't back at school until Tuesday, with some lovely cuts and bruises. The teachers told the vice principal what happened and then I was pretty much forced into going to the hospital. At the hospital, a clinic really, I had my wounds sterilized and got some antibiotic ointment applied, three X-rays, and a tetanus shot. Not to mention 2 types of pills and some medicated compresses. All for some cuts and bruises.
This is my bandaging pre-X-ray.
This is the bandaging post X-ray. Haha. So much stuff!
There's a foot to foot comparison. The bandaging lasted a day before I removed it and replaced it with bandaids.
Additionally I was supposed to go back for more sterilization, but decided not to because it would cost more money and it seemed unnecessary.
There you have it. Hospital experience 2.
No comments:
Post a Comment