What I do in the hospital - volunteer workers dont save lives, but they can help towards change

What do I do at the hospital?

Well, obviously I have no qualifications in health care or anything above A levels, so I can’t be given much responsibility, especially in a hospital environment where small mistakes can result in big problems. My job is to assist the health care workers and nurses in whatever ways I can.

Yes, most of the time, time I’m doing menial tasks, like paperwork, changing sheets and collecting prescriptions. But this is the health care professionals job, and if they weren’t there, taking care of the small, day to day workings of the hospital, then the nurses wouldn’t be able to do their jobs properly.
Volunteer work is never going to be lots of fun, and a lot of the time it can be very boring, but I think that learning to put yourself to one side to assist others is a valuable lesson. It teaches you to be less selfish, and not think ‘what can this do for me’ but ‘what can I do for others’.


So, on a daily basis my usual jobs include:
Welcoming new patients to the ward, showing them around and to their rooms, confirming their basic info and  giving them wristbands and lanyards.

Changing rooms, cleaning the beds and remaking the beds. I also clean the patients tables, handrails etc, which helps prevent the spread of diseases

Collecting prescriptions from the pharmacy and delivering memos for extra drugs to the pharmacy staff. Taking blood samples to the lab and collecting results.

Taking patients to different areas of the hospital, such as consultants, CT scans, X-rays or rehab. I enjoy this because I like to chat to the patients and specialized staff, particularly in the imaging rooms, because I find the process interesting and I’ve made good friends with a lovely X ray man. The rehab staff are also very nice and I enjoy seeing patients abilities improve with their help.

Cleaning the nurses equipment and restocking things like syringes, bandages etc. I enjoy spending time in the nurses’ station because they are all very lovely and many of them are interested in me and like to chat.

Obviously, some paperwork is impossible because I only know the two phonetics alphabets and about 15 common kanji, but I help out with things such as filing away patients records, stamping ward references,  and entering in basic patient data.

We also get the opportunity to work in the rehab ward, where we draw with the patients and help them improve their motility, and the kitchen, where we prepare the patients food.

We get to watch operations twice a month, which is always very exciting,  if a bit disgusting. We got the opportunity to accompany a community nurse on a home visit, which was very interesting, and the patients was really lovely, I enjoy any chance to experience more of real Japanese life.


My favourite part of working on the wards however, is the opportunity to talk to the patients, partially because it helps improve my Japanese, but also because some of the patients don’t have many or any visitors.
The nurses do what they can for these patients, but they don’t have much spare time on their hands, so I’m very glad that I’m there to help.

Sometimes the patients are very old or ill, and so can’t converse properly. In these cases I will tell them about myself and England, or draw for them. On a few occasions patients have called me to their rooms to play games (Othello in particular) or show me something (like origami or Japanese crochet).
They enjoy my company in particular because I’m a novelty, and something that breaks the monotony of hospital life, and they also like to try and teach me more Japanese.

Its very common to see, in particular old ladies, whose husbands have died, and they have no children, or their children cannot visit, who will be in the hospital for a long time. It’s very sad, but I think it reaffirms my reasoning for coming here.

Volunteer workers aren’t going to change the world or save lives.
But making a hospital stay a little less scary and lonely for one old lady, is enough justification for me.

My birthday :)

On my birthday we got to watch another operation (previous post), and then we decided to go out for food. I came home while the girls went to the local mall for a bit. I decided that this was the best opportunity to get out my polka dot swing dress, new heels and pin curls, and pretend I’m from the 50’s for a bit :P

When I was finally ready, and the girls had got back, we set off to coco walk, a mall nearby with two floors of restaurants. We decided to go for an Indian, as my usual favourite would be unfair on everyone (sushi). I ordered a super hot paneer curry, cheese naan and mango lassi, while the girls both got sweet chicken curry sets

The chef actually came out and handed me my curry, smiling in a bit of a worrying way. The curry didn’t seem too hot at first, but then it built up. I genuinely think that hardly anyone orders the super hot, so the chef thought he’d see how many chillies he could get in it XD. The cheese naan was Amazing, I love cheese.

Then just as I was about to leave, the waitresses came over with an birthday cake from the girls. It was a gorgeous Baskin Robbins ice cream cake, whippy ice cream coating with Oreo ice cream centre. It was so nice. I think the waitresses thought it was a bit weird, because in Japan they all think I’m about 28, so they were wondering why I was getting essentially a children’s cake.

 Chloe then explained that the cake would melt, so we therefore had to finish it all. It didn’t take long. Love the girls so much for the cake J
And for their awesome presents, a beautiful black watch with diamantes, a long necklace with a camera on it (so cute) and cat bus chopsticks (CATBUS!)

On the way back we bought some drinks and another mini cake from the supermarket. The mini cake was because my lovely mum and dad had sent me some cake decorating stuff, icing, candles etc, and wanted a photo of the cake. Then we had our drinks and watched Get Him to the Greek J

Operation: Laryngectomy

On my birthday, we got another opportunity to watch an operation. This time we watched the entire thing, including the set up of machines etc, which was really interesting. The Anaesthetist explained to us what the operation would entail, but through his broken English we couldn’t understand too much, just that it was something to do with his throat.

The surgeons began drawing a line from just above the mans Adams apple, to between his collar bones. We realised they were going to cut this line, which made us all feel a bit queasy (I don’t like Adams apples). First they cut the line and basically dug around in the hole, cutting into the trachea. Then they inserted a tube attached to a breathing machine, and stitched it in place.

We thought that might be the whole operation, but they then started to cut around the larynx (the top part of the trachea, made of cartilage and containing the voice box). They removed the entire larynx and showed us the vocal chords, which was interesting, but pretty disgusting. Then they stitched up the hole, leaving a dent in the man’s neck. I was wondering why they had to remove the larynx, so I asked the Anaesthetist to write down the man’s condition. He shook his head, and asked me to meet him on Monday. I did, and he’d written out a case report for me in English, which was really kind of him. Here is the report overview:



Operation:  Total laryngecotomy (with permanent tracheostomy)
Cause of operation: Increased risk of accidental aspiration due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ASL, progressive disease with systemic muscular dystrophy, leading to reduced breathing and coughing power)

General condition: Severely deteriorated, needed support of breathing by mechanical ventilator
Preoperative condition: Pneumonia (left lung) diabetes mellitus, past cerebral infraction (right hemisphere)

Then there is a short paragraph about the anaesthetics used, propofol, remi-fetanyl and sevoflurane.

Operation time 3:09

Postoperative period: after cessation of propofol, his ability of oxygenation became stable so that aspiratory oxygen concentration could be decreased from 30% to 25%. Now he can recognize what we are saying, and sometimes smile. He is also able to make movements with his left hand (right hand has been paralyzed due to past cerebral infraction)




This report was very interesting to me, but made me quite sad, because the operation we saw was not going to save the mans life, or really improve it in any way, just prolong it.

Golden Week - Okinawa

So, in the first week of May in Japan, there are a series of public holidays, called golden week. We got these days off work, and decided to go to Okinawa!
Okinawa is a tiny island off the southern coast of Japan, its famous for the shi dogs, karate, and beautiful beaches.

We left on Wednesday 1^st, me and Chloe dragging our entire wardrobes stuffed into bags, me in a giant sunhat, docs and leather jacket, obviously prepared for the sun. we got the tram to the bus station in Nagasaki centre, then a 2 hour bus to Fukuoka airport, a shuttle bus to the domestic terminal, then a 2 hour flight to Okinawa Naha airport. The flight was pretty good, a bit bumpy, but the views were nice, and the plane was painted like a basking shark (an aquarium in Okinawa is famous for basking sharks).
The airport in Naha was beautiful, covered in thousands of orchids.

We then got a bus from the airport to Chantan, the area we were staying in. We hadn’t done much research on the hostel, just booked it at it was very cheap for the time, so we were a bit surprised when we found it. Hamby resort, from the outside looks like a big wooden beach hut, and from the inside too really. It’s divided up into private rooms and dormitories, has a social area, kitchen, and roof terrace. It was a bit minimalist, and quite funny, but there’s was lots of free things, wifi, coffee etc, eggs, rice and kitchen things, all bathroom things you might need, and free bike rental. I really liked it, mainly because it was just a funny place to be.We were in a dormitory with a lady from Spain called Vanessa. She was lovely and told us how to get to the American village. We all went out for tea, with Vanessa, to a little bar/restaurant overlooking sunset beach. It was really beautiful, and we all had cocktails (me having my favourite tequila sunrise)


On the second day we went down to the beach next to our hostel. It was beautiful, long stretch of white sand and shallow blue water. It wasn’t very busy which was nice, so we set our towels down, then me and Chloe immediately tested the water, it was pretty cold but nice, as it was a boiling day. We saw that there was a pier with a group of Japanese men with jet skis and some inflatable things, so we went to investigate. Ten minutes later we were on a giant inflatable sofa being pulled around by a jet ski. We’re not good at sitting still.  We managed to sit and read for about half an hour before going shopping in the American village.

 I bought a long red skirt form an American second hand shop, Chloe bought a gorgeous outfit complete with killer heels, and I bought some little black heels, just so she didn’t feel left out.  Unfortunately, the okinawan sun was clearly too much for our northern skin, and we turned redder and redder as the day went on, finally wincing our way back to the hostel, buying moisturizer on the way (which turned out to be makeup remover, silly Japanese packaging).

Us in our awesome leggings and heels :D

We couldn’t find Sarah and Vanessa, so we went to a Tex Mex place nearby, which turned out to be awesome, I Love Mexican food, and it was so nice to have cheese!

The next day we covered up a bit more, with a sun umbrella, hats, floaty scarves and maxi dresses, but still ended up on the beach, and eventually, in two inflatable rubber rings being pulled around by a jet ski. The Jet Ski man was lovely, and later on he asked us to go on the banana boat with a few of his friends for free. We did, but as we sat down it became obvious that they were planning on throwing us in the water. They managed it, but it was really fun.

On the Saturday me and Chloe went Parasailing, which was really fun. Ive only ever been parascending before, being over water was really exciting. We did worry about them dipping us in at one point, as they were friends of Jet Ski man, and would probably have found it hilarious. Thankfully we landed back on the boat nice and dry.

That night was Vanessa’s last night before her long journey home, so we went out for nice food. Chloe got a pizza and chicken, then me and Vanessa went to a gorgeous sushi bar and shared two platters. The fish was Amazing.



The next day we packed up and left, all a bit grumpy as the people who had come in Vanessa’s place were very loud and giggly. The journey home seemed very long, and we had an age to wait at Fukuoka airport. It was nice to be back in our apartments, mainly because I hate living out of a suitcase, and I was sick of sand being everywhere.

What's fun in Nagasaki?

I think the best way to feel settled in Nagasaki and not get home-sick is to go out a lot and explore.
I really enjoy just wandering round the city because there’s tonnes of fun little places, parks, monuments and sights to see.
We also like planning where we could go, for little weekend trips to places like Beppu or Kummamoto (real onsen, macaques, and the samurai village) the penguin park (:D) or the many islands around Nagasaki, such as Gunkanjima, an island made in the shape of a battleship, that used to be home to the prefectures coal miners, now uninhabited and ruined by the waves, it was the setting for the James bond Skyfall baddies hiding place.


We also try to make friends, because that’s the best way to really understand the culture. Me and Chloe now go to tai-chi every Wednesday afternoon with a lady called Ezo-san, and her best friend Fujiko-san.
They both travel the world to see solar eclipses, and have been practically everywhere. They are also trying to learn more English, and are happy to teach us Japanese in exchange.
The tai-chi is pretty difficult, but very fun, and everybody in the group is really lovely.

The session is two and a half hours long, and pretty intense, but they we have a break about halfway and everyone offers round snacks. Last week a lady had just got back for Uzbekistan and gave us dried fruit she'd brought back. She’s called Kanaka-san, and offered to teach us how to do ikebana (Japanese flower arranging) So we're going to her house next week. Fujiko also took us for cakes at a gorgeous little French themed cafe. Giving gifts and treating people is a very big thing in Japan, so we're going to be prepared with snacks at the next session.






On Friday we went to our local haunt, the shopping centre/food court/cinema called Coco walk, just down the road from the hospital. We decided to go for an Italian, due to the two whole fish we got for dinner. It was really cheap and verrry tasty. Then we went on a bit of a wander, trying on shoes for around half an hour, bought some drinks and headed home.

 Due to the kanji on the labels, its hard to tell what most of the drinks are, and what we thought might be cider turned out to be a 9% lemonadey thing, that was pretty nice. I also thought i'd be a good idea to buy sake (not a good idea)
We spent 3 hours watching beyonce videos on you tube and looking up places Chloe would like to get married. It was a fun night XD

On the saturday, when I was feeling a bit better, we headed over to the train station, basically hoping we could get a train to Sasebo, a US navel city on the other side of the prefecture. Luckily there was a train as soon as we got there, so off we went. It was literally the most beautiful train journey I’ve ever been on. The tracks hugged the very edge of the coast almost all the way, so we looked out onto the perfectly calm sea with hazy islands in the distance. It looked like we were in spirited away, on the water train.





Sasebo was nice, a few more westerners than central Nagasaki, and with a shopping arcade that was 1km long. To be fair, we didn’t buy that much, but it was fun to walk down. And there was even the perfect shop for me, a tiny, stuffy second-hand shop in an upstairs room, filled with black flag t-shirts, sisters of mercy posters and a chopper covered in warning tape.

After the arcade, we got some food and sat by the harbour. It had been blue sky all day, and was really nice to watch the boats go out and the jellyfish squidge around. The baskin robbins chocolate orange ice cream was pretty good too.

Work on 5W, the rehab ward and watching an operation

Last week I started work on a new ward, 5W. Im doing the same kind of work as the other wards, but its nice to have a change of scenery and meet new people.
The nurses im following round are really lovely. Theres a lady called Yamaguchi-san who is very sweet and is trying to learn english, and who likes to try and teach me kanji (not happening).

Theres also a lady called Tsutsumi who's re-training as a health care proffesional, so is kind of in the same boat as me, which is fun.
My main responsibilities on this ward are taking patients to the different consultants or x-ray rooms, which is nice because I get to stay and chat with them, and learn about the different specialized parts of the hospital.

Last thursday, I went to work on the rehabilitation ward for the first time. I was a bit worried, because the ward was empty when I walked in, but eventually I was met by an occupational therapist and he showed me around.

He spoke a little English, but was obviously keen to learn more, so we sat and chatted while he showed me the different things he uses to increase patients mobility.
He taught me how to make an origami crane, and we spent a while with the patients drawing on paper fans.

He also explained that there was a lady who had just recovered from hip replacement surgery, who had been confined to a wheelchair for two years previously.

All the patients and OTs gathered round as she stood up using a zimmerframe, and everybody clapped. It was really lovely, Im looking forward to being on the rehab ward again.






On friday, we all got the oppurtunity to watch an operation.
We got changed into super flattering scrubs and were shown around the Ope ward. They have 5 operation theatres, and three large rooms containing all the equipment and autoclaves.
We did a few little jobs for them first, like cutting lengths of tube and sorting autoclave bags, then we got taken through to watch the surgery.

We were watching keyhole surgery on a collapsed lung. Because it was keyhole, the inside of the ribs was displayed on two large television screens, so we could see everything the surgeons were doing. First they were using tiny clamps that heated up when closed, to cut the lung away from the ribs where it had become attatched.

The hot metal cortorized the flesh so there wasnt much bleeding, but the smell of burning lung was a bit wierd. This part took a while, but when the top of the lung was seperated, they used a funnel to cover the lung in saline soloution and basically give it a good swill.
There were malformed areas on the top of the lung, large pockets of air and scar tissue from the trauma that had to be removed. They used a horrendously large implement that simultaneously cut away the flesh, and stapled the remaining lung together. It was very interesting to watch. We get to see operations around twice a month,  and I found it really exciting :)

Visit to the Atomic Bomb Museum

On August 9th at 11:02am an American B-29 bomber
plane dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. As a result of this almost 74,000 died and just over 74,000 were injured, 6 days later Japan announced they had surrendered.

So on Saturday we went to the Nagasaki atomic Bomb Museum and Memorial Hall.
As you walk up to the museum, its not very clear where the entrance is. There’s a large structure of glass, and a massive red brick cube building, which is the art museum. We realised however that the entrance was underground and to reach it you were directed around a large water feature. It was a circle of black marble; about 30ft in diameter with water flowing unbroken down the edges in every direction.

 

In the centre were two large green glass pillars. As we walked around the arc, we read the meanings of the feature on the walls. The water is there to symbolise the victims of the bombs struggle to find basic things like water. The glass pillars extend into the remembrance hall below, and form a line pointing towards the hypocentre. As night falls, 70000 LED lights set into the black marble turn on, in remembrance of the dead.

 After walking around the arc, we were led down some steps into a dark, quiet hall. As we walked round we were directed in a certain way, to observe different elements of the hall. The first was a room with liquid crystal displays with photographs of the victims of the initial blast. Then there was a room with the two glass pillars that extended from the water feature. These pointed towards a glass structure, with all the names of the dead written in it, kept from air and UV light to preserve them. There were many offerings and origami around this main room, and the atmosphere was very peaceful, but sad.

After the hall, we were directed to the museum. This too was underground, and was reached by a long half spiral walkway under a glass mosaic ceiling. Along the walkway was a length of 1000 origami cranes.

The first thing as you walk into the exhibit, are two photographs, one of Nagasaki 5 years before the bomb, as a large prospering harbour city, and one just after the blast, with almost all buildings and plant life gone. It was a very emotional picture, so we stayed here for a few minutes. The room containing the pictures was very dark, with lights on only the exhibits. There were recreations of twisted staircases and blackened stone littered about the place. There was a wall clock that had been found near Sanmo Shinto shrine is sakomoto-machi, which was around 800m from the hypocentre. It had been saved by the building it was in, but stopped at the moment of the blast.
There were melted rosary beads, recovered from the ruined Urukami Cathedral , and recreations of the only remaining wall of the cathedral, with blackened statues of saints.

There were charts on the walls with dates and events that lead up to the bombing. Originally, Nagasaki was not the main target after Hiroshima, it was Kokura, however the clouds had been too thick for the pilot of the bomber ‘Bockscar’ to see the city of Kokura. Nagasaki too was covered with cloud, and the pilot had considered returning to the base to refuel, when the clouds parted, and he dropped the bomb.

The bomb ‘fat man’ was an implosive device, around 3.3m long and 1.5m in diameter, and used plutomium-239. A ball of plutonium, surrounded by high explosives. Over 30 detonators were fired simultaneously to pressurize the core to cause nuclear initiation. This caused the explosion to occur 469m above the Mitsubishi plant works. The resulting blast generated heat of 3900°C and winds of around 1005km/h.

The initial blast killed around 60000 people, through severe burns or being crushed by rubble. There were many testimonies in the museum of people who were children at the time of the bomb, watching their parents die of the burns, or seeing their families become sickened by the radiation poisoning.


Everyone has different opinions on war, and on whether the dropping of the atomic bomb was justified. I know that I have only seen this side of the story, and there were many other factors involved, but I don’t believe devastation on this scale is ever justified. The demolition of an entire city. Men, women and children alike burned alive, there’s never justification for that.