That FRIGGIN toe ! I thought it was all festered out and now it is acting up again...it's leaking again..... Is it Scalpel time in Japan?
I'm undecided..... ..... should I go to the hospital today ....or would that make me a wuss ?
8:30
And now ..... .
I went to the loo and I pushed the button!
HOW does the toilet do that?
Automatic bum-hole-position detector?
.... and from where the sun don't shine to the longest day of the year:
9:00
Still UNDECIDED ..... Japanese hospitals don't have a simple Emergency Department as North America does....something about 3 different types of ERs..... if you show up at the wrong hospital, they won't treat you....
9:55
Decision time:
that veiny thing on the right side of my big toe is NEW....
But I'm going to meet Alan & Family first to personally apologize for not coming along today.....
Hundred Stay reception is fabulous... they translate my note to Japanese, order a taxi, and even tell me to the minute when it will arrive.
At first I hope that taxis might be cheap in Japan.... alas NO, the half hour ride costs me close to 5000 Yen (CAD$ 60).... but I know that if I had taken the Metro, I would have got LOST.... and without WiFi, I would have stayed lost .... that might be fun on some days, but NOT today!
I get my registration done at 11:30 and Koenig San is already talking to a doctor at 12:00.... that is FAST for an Emergency Department !
By 12:20 they have already finished several X-rays of my toe to locate that paint flake.... and I'm sitting in the main reception again..... if someone had told me that there were hospitals operating this fast and efficient, I would NOT have believed them....
By 13:00 I have perused my clean X-rays, they have explained to me that it's most likely an encapsulated infection, have written my prescription for antibiotics, and I've paid my bill for CAD$ 490.
SHIT, that was FAST ! In Canada the whole ordeal would have taken at least 6 hours longer.
By 14:00 I'm back in my hotel......I didn't fill the prescription in the hospital because I didn't have enough cash to pay for both prescription AND taxi back home.... and ATMs are fiendishly difficult to find in this country....
Let's go to the supermarket first... I haven't had any food since this morning and I'm getting CRANKY!..... I can handle living in a COMPLICATED country..... if it balances the complications out by being CHEAP...... but Complicated AND Expensive.... No, thank you!
15:00
Time to walk to the pharmacy..... Google Maps has it in the right position..... and guess what.... the prescription I got is ONLY valid in the hospital.
NO, I can't even get those antibiotics in the pharmacy for money.....
Which means that I'll have to take the taxi BACK to the Hospital to get those pills.... that'll be another $130 in taxi fare.... and that will have to be tomorrow.... understand now what I mean about a complicated and expensive country ?
15:15
So I need more cash..... The ATMs shown in Google maps don't exist.....but I finally find 2 ATMs at the train station...... and they accept neither of my cards.... GRRRR
Walking through the CONSUME district doesn't help my mood either.....
I MISS MY VILLAGE SO MUCH!
I find another bank machine... OMG, this one actually WORKS !
Time to enter one of those public smoking areas..
Another concrete park.....
NO THANKS, even if it comes with heated toilet seats and butt-hole sprinklers!
16:00
I haven't felt this discouraged in a month.... NAP NOW!
The day is looking up..... we'll be going for Sushi..... in Japan ;-) Alan e-mails me the name and location of the place and I head out with my GPS.....
Another Karma intervention.... the GPS does not work properly among the high buildings.... but I find myself standing right in front of the place ....
 |
| talk about Miso soup ;-) |
 |
| heavenly morsels |
 |
22:30
No comments:
Post a Comment