Ambulances are Free in Japan
You learn something new everyday. In addition to ambulances being free in Japan (so people are less likely to hesitate calling one), you can request a non-emergency ambulance (no sirens & no stretcher, but they will bring you to the hospital). The reason I know this is because I came this close to calling on last night.
I spent most of the day yesterday hammering out details for India, came home for a quick dinner (soft tacos with the stuff I got at Costco last week... yum) and went to Japanese class. It was a pretty normal night and I probably got to bed just after midnight.
I am a heavy sleeper, but I woke up to my phone vibrating around 2:30am last night. It was Kelly calling. She hadn't been feeling well the day before and I stopped by to check on her after class, but she was having a serious asthema attack and needed to go to the hospital. I went over to Miwas and rang her doorbell until she woke up. We were both really groggy, but got in the car and headed to Kelly's. Miwa was pretty adament that we call an ambulance rather than driving to the hospital (because they are free of charge and would know where to go... we weren't sure of a hospital), but Kelly refused. She didn't want all the sirens and attention. It was really late, but I also called a friend who said he has had a few serious asthema attacks to make sure there was nothing else we should be doing. If anything, it was probably just good to get a better idea of what to expect so I could keep Kel calm and focused on breathing, but other than not bringing my inhaler (which I couldn't find in the half-awake rush out the door), we were on it.
When we got to Kel's place, she was wheezing a lot and seemed sort of delerious (she was having trouble standing and walking. We ended up driving about 20-30 minutes away to Okubo (next to where Kelly works) to a hospital that Kel had been to before. I think Miwa went with her once because both she and Kel were less than thrilled to see the doctor, a pretty young guy they called an "intern" (probably doing his rounds). Luckily, the nurse that was there was pretty good and the doc seemed competant from what I observed. They gave Kel a nubulater, which was a bit different than what we expected (no mask to cover your face, but rather Kel had to inhale the vapors) and hooked her up to an IV. We were the only ones at the place for most of the time, which was nice because the beds were in a large, open room and we had to sit (and answer questions) for a while. I thought it was a little strange that they used the veins at near Kel's elbow (on the inside) for the IV, but other than that, the rest was pretty easy and Kel was feeling better.
I fell asleep on the car ride home and stumbled back to my place when we got back. Poor Miwa (my neighbor) didn't have time to get back to bed before going to work (going to be a rough day for her today), but I did get in about an hour in before having to run out the door for work. With only a few hours rest, I am thanking my lucky stars that I don't have a real class schedule right now but I am still feeling pretty tired.
I spent most of the day yesterday hammering out details for India, came home for a quick dinner (soft tacos with the stuff I got at Costco last week... yum) and went to Japanese class. It was a pretty normal night and I probably got to bed just after midnight.
I am a heavy sleeper, but I woke up to my phone vibrating around 2:30am last night. It was Kelly calling. She hadn't been feeling well the day before and I stopped by to check on her after class, but she was having a serious asthema attack and needed to go to the hospital. I went over to Miwas and rang her doorbell until she woke up. We were both really groggy, but got in the car and headed to Kelly's. Miwa was pretty adament that we call an ambulance rather than driving to the hospital (because they are free of charge and would know where to go... we weren't sure of a hospital), but Kelly refused. She didn't want all the sirens and attention. It was really late, but I also called a friend who said he has had a few serious asthema attacks to make sure there was nothing else we should be doing. If anything, it was probably just good to get a better idea of what to expect so I could keep Kel calm and focused on breathing, but other than not bringing my inhaler (which I couldn't find in the half-awake rush out the door), we were on it.
When we got to Kel's place, she was wheezing a lot and seemed sort of delerious (she was having trouble standing and walking. We ended up driving about 20-30 minutes away to Okubo (next to where Kelly works) to a hospital that Kel had been to before. I think Miwa went with her once because both she and Kel were less than thrilled to see the doctor, a pretty young guy they called an "intern" (probably doing his rounds). Luckily, the nurse that was there was pretty good and the doc seemed competant from what I observed. They gave Kel a nubulater, which was a bit different than what we expected (no mask to cover your face, but rather Kel had to inhale the vapors) and hooked her up to an IV. We were the only ones at the place for most of the time, which was nice because the beds were in a large, open room and we had to sit (and answer questions) for a while. I thought it was a little strange that they used the veins at near Kel's elbow (on the inside) for the IV, but other than that, the rest was pretty easy and Kel was feeling better.
I fell asleep on the car ride home and stumbled back to my place when we got back. Poor Miwa (my neighbor) didn't have time to get back to bed before going to work (going to be a rough day for her today), but I did get in about an hour in before having to run out the door for work. With only a few hours rest, I am thanking my lucky stars that I don't have a real class schedule right now but I am still feeling pretty tired.
posted by Brenda Ann Elizabeth McKinney @ 2:13 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home