Kaita byouin

Kaita hospital has quickly become the place I look forward to visiting again. Starting in July, I take a short bus ride (and enjoy the gorgeous view of the Japanese countryside) to the Kaita hospital to volunteer. The Kaita hospital specializes in home care, rehabilitation, long term care and has a brand new (and very busy!) dialysis center. My schedule for the next weeks varies and I work in a different ward each week, but, half of the day is spent accompanying doctors on home visits. And it has been a wonderful and very different experience.

Home visits are so very different than working in a hospital. It's really nice to see the patients families and, when in their own environment, how different the patients interact with doctors and receive medical care. Upon entering the home, we are greeted warmly ("err......who's the blonde you brought with you?") and we sit on the floor together and talk to the patient and work a check up. Did I mention treats? Japanese culture obsesses over tea and o-miyage (o-miyage are small souvenirs from around the country that are usually in treat form like little chocolates, cakes, cookies or rice crackers) and I certainly don't ever have a problem with getting offered some tasty snackies on the house. :)

This Thursday was the greatest. I went along with Yoshida sensei to visit 5 different patients. His English is excellent and he was happy to answer all of my questions and interests about patient conditions, treatment plans and his likes/dislikes about home care medical practice in Japan. He taught me so much and I was very grateful to work with him. I also met some absolutely wonderful patients! Including a man who, when told I came from Canada, asked "did you swim here?". He has an excellent sense of humor. We joked about my height (I'm big in Japan) and that I'm not from Kanada, Tagawa-shi, Fukuoka, Japan (it exists! - the high school is relatively close to the Kaita hospital, check it out!).

 I now tell people that "I'm from Canada. Not the country north of America, but the one in Tagawa-shi. I'm Japanese.......just kiddinggggg." Always gets a laugh.

 In the afternoon, I worked in the busy, crazy, did I say busy? dialysis center. It was mayhem in there! So many people moving in and out, but at the same time it was SO wonderfully organized. Those Japanese and their amazing ability to do all the things. I helped to prepare beds for new patients and bring patients back to their rooms following their treatment. I spent excellent time with the nursing staff and we sang One Direction songs together. One Direction..or in Japanese "One D" is another obsession in Japan that I will probably never understand. No matter who you are; man, woman, child, grandparent, nurse, doctor, whoever...you like One D.

I was also introduced to a patient at the Kaita hospital who learned English while he was living in America 50 years ago (and still hasn't forgotten - that smart cookie). We listened to the Carpenters together and I traded him a Canadian flag for a solar powered waving flower....what a steal! We look forward to seeing each other every Thursday to exchange words and laughs.

Kaita Hospital, her nurses, doctors, patients and staff are simply a wonder to work with. I left Thursday with a huge smile on my face and thinking about going back next week already.

The fact that Yoshida sensei took us to sushi at Ichitaro (my new favourite place on planet earth) isn't the reason at all for my new found love for Kaita.....

but it helps.

"Did you swim here?"