The past three years living in Japan have been the most life threatening. I have spent most of my life in England having been born there and grew up there. It wasn't until I just turned 22 that I left for Japan.
In all those 22 years living in England I have never been in hospital for anything more than an in growing toe nail. The only time I spent the night in a hospital was by choice when my parents wanted my ears straightened when I was very young.
Before leaving for Japan I looked up advice about vaccines and common diseases in Japan. There was nothing serious suggested but I still went and had a full course of hepatitis B vaccines. The course was three injections over three months and was not available free on the NHS. I decided to take the course even though the affects of hepatitis B were not severe in Japan because exposure was minimal. Better safe than sorry right!
I had other vaccinations before such as MMR so I went feeling I would probably get stomachache and worst.
About 4 months into my trip to Japan I got bumps all over my body. The first doctor I went to told me I had flea bites as the bumps were only minor. I threw away all my bedding and cleaned my apartment with a raging fever. The next day the bumps got bigger and started to blister. I went to a skin doctor who diagnosed me with chicken pox. The following days the bumps got bigger and spread all over my body. My fever was so high they took me into hospital where I stayed for the week.
I didn't want to see anyone in the hospital as I was covered in bumps and I could not wash or shave. My girlfriend, Yuuri (now my wife), was worried about me but I would not let her see me until I gave in and she came. She visited me every time she could. She would bring me food and drinks and talk to me. It made me realise how much she must have liked me.
I spent the next week indoors at home not going outside. The doctors did tests and said my liver was damaged. After more tests they concluded I had caught hepatitis C and briefed me on how I will have to take injections for the rest of my life and how I will have fits of great depression, possibly even feeling suicidal.
This was a scary prospect for someone who had barely spent a year away from home in a foreign country. The doctors told me to wait 4 months and not to drink. They said if my liver recovered then I had not caught the hepatitis C virus. That was a painful 4 months, not only could I not drink, and I needed a drink at that time, I had to prepare myself for bad news.
4 months later and the doctors told me I hadn't. I felt bad anyway, at least at first but surely enough I felt good to be healthy and I hadn't itched my scars so they mostly healed well.
The next year set to go well and later on I was set to finish my contract with AEON. Although the last few months I had caught a cold with a persistent cough. I should have gone to the doctors but on my day off I had concert tickets in Tokyo and I was really looking forward to it. I took a load of painkillers and went and had a great time. I was feeling rough though.
I came back and still had a bad cough all month, it was really hurting my chest. With a week left at work I did a busy Saturday and was feeling tired. I cycled home but was really getting out of breath. At home I lay down but every breath was so painful. I fell to the floor and called Yuuri again, i could barely speak and I lay on the floor waiting for her.
Yuuri took me to the hospital and I was in so much pain. Every breath felt like my lungs were getting smaller and my heart was being squeezed.
The doctor x-rayed me and eventually gave me painkillers. With painkillers I could inhale again, it was the pain that stopped me so much.
The diagnosis this time was pneumonia with pleurisy. The inside of my left lung had filled with fluid and it had surrounded the outside of my lung too. The left side was pushing hard against my heart every time I inhaled. I missed my leaving party and my final week at work.
It seemed Japan was trying to kill me but I thought I just had bad luck. I left Japan soon after and didn't return for 6 months.
The next time I came back was in February 2011, almost three years later. I was starting my home and new life further south. I was offered a place in Ishinomaki a beautiful coastal town near Sendai. I accepted almost instantly but was asked if I could change to the mountainous area of Tendo in Yamagata. I felt down about losing such a beautiful area such as Ishinomaki but decided it is better to be cooperative and I took the place in Tendo.
The next month a huge tsunami came a swept Japan, taking with it the town of Ishinomaki. Many people died and most were left homeless including the teacher of Ishinomaki. I was safe in the mountains of Yamagata but danger was near.
About 160km away the earthquake had struck Fukushima nuclear power plant and it was venting radiation. People were evacuating from the cities. My company offered to send me to Hirosaki in the north prefecture of Aomori. This was the very same prefecture where I had originally come to when I first started in Japan. Although it has been difficult finding a home here. The future seems safer at least from a life and death point of view.
I hope Japan is not trying to kill me but I am getting suspicious.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Hirosaki,Japan
