Hi everyone! I'm still coughing, sniffling and being overall pitiful, but Bryn seems to have promised y'all an entry on my behalf. So, please ignore any typos or sentences that make no sense, since everything's still a little foggy!
I woke up on Thursday morning with a scratchy throat and headache - you know when you can just feel a cold coming on? Yeah, that was me. I managed to make it though the school day, then came home and Bryn and I bought a couch (as one does on a Thursday evening!). That night was NOT pretty, and when I woke up with a temperature of 38.4 (that's over 100 I think) Bryn told me to call school and let them know I wasn't coming.
I called Oda-sensei and she promised to pass on the message to the vice principal. I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. A few minutes later, my phone rang - it was Oda-sensei. She had been asked to inform me that if I stayed home sick, I had to use a day of my regular leave, unless I went to the hospital and got a receipt from them. I tell you what, with the way I was feeling, the LAST think I wanted to do was go to a Japanese hospital and sit and wait for lord knows how long. Also, I was fairly certain I just had a bad cold or stomach bug, not something one usually goes to the hospital for where I come from. In Japan, however, it's perfectly normal to go see a doctor the second you start sneezing.
I texted Bryn to tell him what the school had said. He suggested I go to the hospital for no other reason that to prove that I really was sick, not faking it for a long weekend. Seeing as he had elementary school all day, he couldn't come home to go with me, so I called the Yoshida's. Since I was a bit out of it (and my Japanese is out of practice after being in the states for two weeks) I misunderstood "can you go to the hospital by yourself" for "are you by yourself now", to which I answered yes. Ooops.
I sat around for a few more minutes, then picked up my dictionary and decided I would go try it by myself. I got the the hospital, walked inside, and was completely lost. I immediately turned around, walked back outside and called Kumi to beg her to come help. She and Masami came to my rescue and helped me get signed in and such.
I was prepared to wait several hours before anyone saw me at all, but it was only a matter of minutes before they called my name, and low and behold, the doctor spoke English! He asked some questions, then did a quick examination - the usual stuff, checked my blood pressure, eyes, etc. Then out of nowhere he says, "ok, next I do rectal exam."
WHAT?!?!?!?!? I asked if that was really necessary, and he said yes, because I was sick. So, I said back to him, I am pretty sure I have a stomach bug. (I wanted to add that the only reason I was even there was because the school insisted I go to the hospital to use sick leave). He gave up and said he would give me medicine, and if i don't get better I should come back on Monday.
I spent the rest of the day sleeping and watching Gossip Girl. Saturday was spent much the same way, only we watched Lost instead. Today Bryn has school, so I am waiting patiently for the stores to open so I can go try and get some cold medicine (the little packets of white powder the doctor gave me just weird me out...) Fingers crossed this cold or whatever goes away soon though...as nice as it is to lay around doing nothing all day I do like breathing!
Hopefully the next time you hear from me I will be a much healthier Liz!
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