Tuesday, November 08, 2005

The sickness, the drugs, the recovery

Last week I got sick. This was the first serious illness of this winter/cold phase. It started after the weekend debacle that was Halloween. I woke up on Monday feeling just cruddy, went to school (although pulled a halfday), and then woke up on Tuesday morning with a raging fever.

I called my elementary school and told them I was not coming and to reschedule on another Monday (yeah, I think that may have been partially the reason why I have no classes on Monday this year: so that any time a holiday falls on an elementary Tuesday or Friday, or I miss one for some reason, they can slap it on Monday).

To make matters worse, my right hand middle finger got infected, and swelled up to a large elephantitic size. This all prompted me to go to the hospital to get it looked at (and the pus drained).

So this is my second time in a hospital. Still just figuring out how it really works, and explained what I wanted (somebody to look at my finger). I get in to see the doctor after about a ten minute wait, he looks at it, says that it is infected and wants to take an x-ray. An x-ray? What? I refuse the x-ray saying I had one taken 2 months ago when I thought I broke my hand, and this has nothing to do with bones. If you can drain it, do so, else anti-biotics now would be nice.

I think I frustrated/humiliated the doctor a little with my adament put-down of his suggestion for an x-ray and ensuing directions on what I think should be done about it (most Japanese people do not offer their suggestions on what should be done, especially to somebody 先輩 or senpai (elder) like a doctor). Enough to not only get 3 nurses to come and watch the spectacle, surprised to see me half running the show, and to also call in another doctor who spoke better English than him.

It was finally decided that there wasn't much pus yet (which I still disagree with considering how swollen my finger was), but he prescribed anti-biotics and I went on my way. In the end, all is well, I think. I got the pus out of my finger myself using a need, and everything healthwise seems to be back to normal, though my training for the duathlon in Iwakuni on the 20th took a serious hit. Oh well, it's all for fun anyways, not like I'm going to win it.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where on your finger was the infection?
Where did the infection come from?
How much ($) did the visit cost?
How much ($) did the drugs cost?
What makes you so sure that an x-ray wasn't necessary, Dr. Pallaver?
Maybe it's a tumor.

Hopefully you catch the reference in that last sentence.

vince

pallaver said...

Infection on the finger.
Most likely from the vice.
The visit was 900yen (or about 8 dollars).
The drugs were about 1600yen (or about 15 dollars).
Because I had one done two months before and at no point sustained any significant impacts to my hand. I also figured it was my lack of vocabulary to explain what really happened which prompted this tangent.
Whatever you say, John Kimble.

Anonymous said...

You are hopeless. The correct response should have been "It's not a tumor."
v

pallaver said...

I caught the reference though. It was a line in fact iterated by John Kimble. No points for that even?

Anonymous said...

If John Kimble is an emergency room Doctor at the Lahey Clinic, then I think you caught a reference and deserve lots of points?

Dad