yamaonna

Well, I’ve got a little story to tell.  I find it difficult to cope with some aspects of winter.  Most people I know from Brisbane absolutely love ‘snow’, and I do understand.  Growing up in Australia, there aren’t many places that experience a real winter.  But moving to Tokyo, and learning how to cope with winter weather has been a bit of a learning curve.

Last winter we had a very very snowy day whilst I was at work.  In the morning I had rode my bicycle to the station, and when I got back there in the evening, I didn’t want to leave it over night.  That’s how I learnt that riding in snow is not a good idea, and that wearing shoes with good grip is a good idea.  I got stuck in the valley between two hills and couldn’t move anywhere because I just kept slipping over.  Luckily for me, a stranger rescued me and my bicycle.

This year has also brought with it some weather problems.  On the 9^th of January we had some rain in the evening.  The following day the temperature reached below zero, so the water on the ground was slightly frozen on my way to work.  Now, my usually routine is to ride my bicycle to work, so on the 10^th that’s what I set out to do.  However I didn’t get very far.

The first corner that I turned that morning had icy blacktop, and I went over.  In terms of a fall from my bicycle, it could have been worse.  I only had one little scratch, and a couple of bruises.  But the thing that has really screwed me over is that my knee hit the frame of my bicycle.  It was painful at the time, but after a few minutes of resting the knee, I started to limp my way on to work.  I figured at work at least the school nurse could give me some ice and strap my knee for me. 

That day was really painful, and everyone told me to go see a doctor.  But the thing in Japan is that you don’t go to a family doctor, you go to a Hospital (which is actually more like a walk in clinic).  And hospitals have really strange open hours.  Basically, unless you get sick between 10am and 6pm on a weekday, there isn’t much option for you. 

I had no luck finding a hospital on the Saturday, partly because I had to search in Japanese.  And I got myself pretty worked up.  Living alone in a non-English speaking country, fairly isolated from my other friends living in Tokyo, and in pain is a scary experience.  I felt at the time that it couldn’t have been any worse.  I really thank God for the internet in these situations, because I don’t know what I would have done without my parents support on skype.

So, the next day, after not sleeping very well, I rang the closest clinic to my house to see if I could get treated there.  That’s when I found out that you don’t see a regular GP in this country, you have to see someone who is a specialist.  In my case, an orthopedic doctor.  Which meant more searching on the internet to find somewhere.

I did find one website about going to the doctors in Japan that was very very useful.  Find a doctor now (http://www.findadoctornow.jp/en/index.html)  is actually intended for students from Todai, but is really really useful for any English or Chinese speaker living in the Tokyo area.  From there I was able to find a link to the Saitama Medical Association homepage (http://www.saitama.med.or.jp/) which has a search engine (only in Japanese) to find a hospital in Saitama with the kind of services that you need.  From there I found that the Minami Koshigaya Hospital was open on a Sunday, and had an orthopedic doctor on staff.  So it was off to the station, to catch a taxi there.

Really, I would like to emphasize again how lucky I was able to find a place to go on a Sunday.  Japanese hospitals are well known for having very inconvenient open hours.  And are almost never open on a Sunday.

Anyway, the doctor spoke some English, enough to worry me I should say.  My knee bones weren’t broken, but something was.  Unfortunately x-rays only show bones.  So, the doctor told me it was probably a ligament or the meniscus that had been broken, and that I was probably looking at surgery.  He gave me some pills, a knee splint, and told me to come back as soon as I was able.

On the Tuesday I was able to return with Rei, my friend who is half Japanese.  Again the doctor said he couldn’t tell me what was wrong, but it was possible that that it could heal by itself.  I was to keep off the leg as much as possible and come back every week for a checkup.

The last time I went back the knee seemed to be getting a little worse.  I lost a bit more movement, and at the moment, I can’t bend my knee more than 45 degree without pressure and some pain.  Also after working a few days I get pains from standing too much.  So, in February I’ll be going to get an MRI and after that we will decide what needs to be done.  If worse comes to worse – it will be surgery for me in July (but I hope for March if I need surgery).

Everyday life had been really difficult for me.  I can’t stand for long periods of time, and I can’t sit properly on chairs because I can’t bend my knee.  Walking everywhere takes double the time it used to, and stairs are very very slow going.  By the end of the week I get aches and sharp pains because I use my leg too much.  I’m still going to work, but now I catch the bus in the morning, and John gives me a lift home in the afternoons.  Luckily for me January and February have many days that I don’t have to work, because the school is holding entrance exams for prospective students.

I can’t go shopping for food as the super markets are too far away for me and I can’t carry too much.  I can’t really go anywhere, because catching the train is a lot of effort.  On my days off I tend to sit at home with my leg up.  That usually works because by the time I go back to work my knee doesn’t hurt.  Cooking also doesn’t agree with me on days, due to the standing up thing.  My Japanese class is now held on skype because I can’t go into town.  Its difficult to clean my house.  Washing my clothes is a big challenge.

Basically life is go to work, go home, and sit with my leg up. 

It’s certainly not an easy or good time, but it’s not all that bad.  John has been great helping me with giving me a lift home.  I should have more time to study Japanese (should…. But I surf the internet  and watch TV too much).  I can get my groceries delivered to my door.  And for the first time in my memory I can touch my toes (from having to put socks on without bending my knee).

But, in the end, all I can say is – Do not injure your knees – they are really useful.