Wednesday, September 04, 2013

Hospital Food in Japan

Driving home from a private English lesson on Friday the 16th of August, a random black car decided that they deserved to be in the right lane instead of me. I slammed on my brakes, they clipped me, I went down, they drove away. It was a low speed accident, but when the onlookers asked if I was ok, I pulled up my jeans to check. Not ok. Not at all. Fractured Tibia and Fibula (or is it Tibula and Fibia?) The kind of visual that induces vomit.



What followed was two and a half weeks in the hospital, surgery, and a lot of down time.

So if you were every wondering what hospital food in Japan is like, I took some photos. It was surprisingly tasty. Breakfast (not pictures) was crap. Two pieces of white bread, some margarine, some jam. Edible though, with the provided milk. Lunch and dinner was always rice, soup, and a protein sort of thing.

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On occasion the lunch was a noodle dish.

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I'd say fish was a good 2/3 of the time.

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Portions weren't the best for my 80kg frame. I quickly lost 5kg.

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By the 2nd week, I was able to move around, barely, in a wheelchair. Did I mention I also fractured my shoulder? Well I did.

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So all movement was restricted to 100% right leg and right arm. Try it sometime!

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By the way, hospital food isn't covered by the insurance, but it was pretty cheap.

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I only paid about $120 for almost 3 weeks of quality meals.

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Don't ask me how much the surgery came to.

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(15 grand)

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I'm back home now, blogging from the comfort of my own room.

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I'll try and write up something more substantial, as the whole experience was new to me. From another encounter with inept cops (hit and run? Sorry, there aren't any cameras at this intersection), to the joys of Japanese ambulances (they aren't allowed to administer medication), to the Japanese public health insurance system (I'm out some cash, but nothing life changing).

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7 comments:

Kurt Mifsud Bonnici said...

Good to know you're back home mate. Keep well.

Ἀντισθένης said...

Not glad for your suffering, but glad it was no worse. I'd heard there's lots of hit and run here (which gives me pause as a cyclist in Tokyo), which is the bad side of the more severe penalties on drivers making a better collision rate than North America. I think the sensible solution to hit and run is a firing squad. Bastards.

thegypsie said...

Damn dude, glad you are no worse than what you suffered. Motorcycle accidents can really mess you up. Didn't have your GoPro going when this accident happened sounds like, too bad. You weren't able to have a buddy smuggle you in some eats? What kinda damage did it do to your motorcycle?

Michael Vito said...

No meds in the ambulance? Sometimes they take the gaman thing a little too far.

megan said...

Damn, sorry to hear about that. Thanks for sharing the pictures though, some of that looks decent.

Ramen Adventures said...

Susietron - Yes, friends brought in food quite often. There was a great brick oven pizza spot next to the hospital. And the bike? Almost no damage. In the end, a totaled bike would have been much more expensive than a totaled leg!

Michael - Japanese ambulance workers are severely limited. They are basically just a transportation service with basic training.

Rob said...

That's fucked. Luckily the last two times i've been hit on my motorcycle the cars have stopped but I'm always afraid of something like this happening.

Heal up - if nothing else it has allowed us an interesting look into Japanese hospital food.