Aug 15, 2024
Hitting the Streets the Wrong Way Part 2: Oh No Indeed
The hospital we came to was Ohno Memorial Hospital which kind of fits with the experience. Weirdly, they had English on their intake forms and a neat aquarium in the lobby, but that's where my positive impressions of their facility cease.
None of the medical professionals spoke English to me. In fact, when it was clear that I wasn't completely fluent in Japanese, they stopped speaking to me entirely. They also didn't allow my husband time to translate and explain. They just talked to him like he was the patient, then wheeled me away in the wheelchair they demanded I use.
Even in Osaka, Japanese wheelchairs barely fit a size 16 American ass.
This communication issue would prove to be a problem as my husband doesn't know or remember that I used crutches in high school thanks to repeated soccer injuries, so I don't need a training course in using them, which they tried to provide anyway while standing in my way so I had trouble getting up to show them what I knew.
Because none of them were listening to anything I said in any language, the twenty-something nurse who is used to guiding weak geriatrics to their feet managed to grab the two open wounds on my elbow that no one in the hospital could bother to notice despite me mentioning them repeatedly.
After I shouted in horror, the woman realized that 1) she should maybe not be touching the open wounds and the 2) perhaps bandaging them might be a good usage of her time.
They did finally bandage my elbow after that, but one of the bandaids would not stay in place and wound up later sticking to the wall of the elevator to the metro.
They took X-rays and said that my bones seem to be in good condition, but getting in for a CT scan would require a wait that we wouldn't be able to make.
The got me a half-cast, fit to the back of my leg and wrapped around the front with bandages. I was happier to be able to take it off and shower later while keeping the knee stabilized otherwise, but their wrappings were a poor match for navigating the streets, leading my husband to acquire duct tape to keep the damn wrappings on my damn leg.
We are "renting" the crutches from them and will have to send them back when we're finished, at which point they will likely keep the deposit regardless.
Total cost: less than 14,000 yen
3 Comments
DavidM
on Aug 15
Goodness. So sorry to hear. I would've expected better from Osaka. I keep hearing how they are more foreigner-friendly than other areas in Japan. I had a much better experience with Tohoku Kosai Hospital and after reading your experience, I am even more appreciative of Kosai's staff. I recently spent 10 days there. Almost everyone had a translation device (Pocketalk). One of the doctors spoke nearly fluent English. The other had broken English and did try to use it. He apologized for his weak English and I apologized for my weak Japanese. The nurses were all good to me and usually in rather good moods (nurses work hard and see terrible things so I am not surprised that one, one day, seemed a bit sad). One nurse early one came in with a sheet with some medical questions that I get asked 3 times a day in both Japanese and English which I asked for a copy so I could learn. Some were happy to teach me some Japanese. They seemed pleased that I was trying. And when my wife was there, they allowed her time to translate for me. However, this was just the ENT patients' floor, so I can't vouch for the other departments. We just paid the bill today after a follow-up appointment. The bill for 10 days, plus the follow-up appointment, would cover a bit less than 1/3 of a day in a U.S. hospital.
JTsu
on Aug 15
@DavidM I'm so glad your experiences were better than mine! I've also not had medical experiences this bad outside of Osaka. I think one problem is that the foreigners they are used to seeing are either completely fluent or complete novices so they have their big city busy push to get things handled and no reason to take time for someone who must just be some rando tourist even if she has Japanese insurance. The price was good, though. I'm not hating on the price. And honestly with how they treated me, I'm happier to have had my MRI in Miyagi, where the doctor tried to explain it to me and cared if I understood it.
DavidM
on Aug 15
@JTsu Good to hear about your MRI experience here in Miyagi (I have one coming up).