Just when you think everything’s okay…
I’ve just been informed that our daughter has been admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. She’ll be there for a week, which means she’ll miss Mommy and Kei’s homecoming by several days.
This really upsets me because it should never have happened. This is almost entirely the fault of Japan’s socialized medical system (and its pernicious belief in the infallibility of doctors, but I’ll follow up on that later).
Our daughter went to see a doctor last week for a slight cold, but the girl behind her in the waiting room was to be treated for pneumonia. Why Japanese hospitals don’t have an appointment system is quite beyond me, but putting a bunch of sick kids in the same room and having them wait their turn to see the doctor (a wait that often lasts for hours, as it did in this particular case) is just begging for them to share germs. At the very least, I don’t see why the patient with pneumonia’s case couldn’t be placed at the very top of the pile, so that she could be dealt with before spreading her illness to others. But no, that’s not how Japanese hospitals work.
So what should have been a simple visit to get some medicine for a cold has evolved into a one-week hospitalization for full-blown pneumonia.
At least we can be thankful that this was diagnosed before the baby came home, I guess.
Oh, I am so sorry to read this. Praying for all of you. Please give dearest Reika my very best love and Grandma hugs. will call soon. Love, Mom
Yeah, it’s not good.\r
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We’re pretty upset with the doctor she saw on Monday, who said that Grandma Masako was just worrying too much and that Reika was fine (in spite of her super-high fever!).\r
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The doctor she saw on Tuesday (her condition having not improved at all after following the first doctor’s advice) said she should be admitted right away. :-(
Sako, I hope Reika’s feeling a bit better. I agree with you 100% about the hospitals, it always seemed even counterproductive to have things work that way. Even when I do get an appointment, it’s apparently a very casual thing and is never honored on time, with people walking in without an appointment getting in to see the doctor before me even though they submitted their slip after me.\r
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Kind of reminds one of the people who come to “serve” you at home, whether delivery, cable TV, phone people, or whatever, and tell you that they will be there “between 8am and 2pm,” and then show up at 4pm.\r
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Look on the bright side--now there will be two homecomings.\r
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