The Quiet Ripple Defines The Pond

So hospital is a lot of fun. The Okinawans have a talent for creating an ambiance of competence, efficiency and enjoyment. My stay is a vacation.

I have a lot of checks: blood pressure, temperature, heart beat, four times a day. Multiple specialized blood tests and a memorable bone marrow biopsy, which hurts!

Apart from that I doze until the next meal.

The food is so good. It is plain, presentation is utilitarian but is is so healthy, so delicious. You may remember that I ate nothing for 10 days during the throes of Covid – no appetite. Confronted by hospital meals my appetite springs, tiger like, back to life.

So you get the idea. Yum!

I think I mentioned before that, because I am over 70, the maximum I can be charged for all hospitalization, treatment, medication, even if I stay a month, is 15,000 yen – approx $100!

” We have private rooms, Neil san but they are very expensive – 5,000 yen a day! ( about $ 30.)

” Oh, I think I will have one of those please.”

So I spend a blissful week, horribly curtailed by the consultant haematologist who announces out of the blue, ” We have finished all our tests. You can go home tomorrow.”

Long term prisoners who are released frequently panic at the prospect of coping for themselves after a highly organized and protective regime. I feel the same.

My fellow internees rattle their tin cups against the bars and shout encouragement as I step over the exit gate into the uncertainty of freedom. How will I manage?

Thanks so much to all the people at Chubu Tokushukai Hopital – stars all. If you have some spare time in Okinawa, book in here.

I am sick – very sick. Headache, razor throat, fever, cough, shortness of breath, extreme feebleness. etc.

I make it to the clinic. As I approach the sliding glass doors, the nurses spring up, wave and dance around like happy puppies! “Ohayugozaimasu Neil san!” they chortle.

The doors slide open and I croak”Ohayugozaimasu mina san.”

All change!

“Go away Neil san! Do not come in! Go back to your car!

Nagasaki sensei examines me in the car and tells me I have Covid or Corona virus in Japanese. I get lots of medication.

I spend 10 days unconscious in bed. I eat nothing at all but drink litres of Aquarius, which kind Arisa san drops off in front of my door.

It is not that bad as I have hundreds of audiobooks. I start to listen and imagine that it is my Mummy reading me a story. I suck my thumb. Within minutes, I am unconscious again.

I am really weak. Getting off my bed and hobbling to the toilet is a major effort.

I have to organise a trip to Europe, find accommodation, book ferries, rent a car etc. etc. Deadlines loom. I cannot do it. When I try, I get very anxious and notice that I am trembling. Early onset something .

After 10 days I go back to the clinic. Nagasaki sensei looks at me of 2 minutes.” Neil san, you are very yellow. You must go to hospital immediately!”

30 minutes later I am in a hospital bed!

I still am. 2weeks with remission for good behaviour.

I came to Okinawa believing that I would be able to get my eye fixed quickly. Lurking at the back of my feeble mind was that I was making up the ease of getting cataract surgery in Okinawa. It would in reality be complex and take months.

Notwithstanding, I amble into the  Hayakawa Eye Clinic, which is just up the road – no appointment.

” Gimme cataract surgery!” I suggest Dreedle-like.

A wonderful nurse leads me off immediately and places me in front of a series of eye machines.

5 minutes later I am talking to the the clinic head honcho.

” Yessiree, y’all got cataract big time in right eye. Lookit, because of history of Uveitis there is 5% maybe 10% risk of complication after the surgery. D’y’all wanna go ahead?”

” What was the name of Fridtjof Nansen‘s boat?”

“The Fram of course!”

” So Forward!” I cry.

I am led off for a blood test and an electrocardiogram.

” OK,” says head honcho “Can you come in on 4 March? I can slice up your eye at 09:00”

” The surgery will be expensive.”

” How much?”

“18,000 yen!”

Food background noise.

Wrong of me to doubt the excellence of Japan.

James and I go up to the relatively new Presidio Tunnel Tops Park. https://presidio.gov/explore/attractions/presidio-tunnel-tops

It is a great place with lots of space, incredible views, tons of birds and fantastic food trucks.

James and I go to different food trucks but come back with the same thing – pork belly sandwiches.

Great place to visit as the views over the Bay are stunning and there is a good, er, vibe.

With me shillelagh under me arm
And a twinkle in me eye
I’ll be off to Okinawa in the morning.

Bad and very long trip. When I check in at SFO, Japan Airlines tell me that my connection from Narita to Okinawa has been cancelled but I have been booked onto a flight early next morning. I will have spend a night in Narita.

There is great confusion when I go to catch the flight early next morning as they can find no record of my booking.

JAL do not come out very well as they seem more concerned about working out what went wrong than giving me a ticket. I have been traveling for 2 days and am a little frazzled. The clock is ticking, the flight leaves in 30 minutes. “Please give me a ticket.” I sob. I make the flight with at least 45 seconds to spare. Too much excitement for an elderly chap like me!

I often go for breakfast at the Pork Store on Haight, mainly because it is a great place but also I can , in my blindness, find my way there easily.

I go back to the eye doctor at the Zuckerberg Hospital. My vision is still blurred. The drops don’t seem to make much if any difference. The doctoresse thinks that the problem is cataracts. These need surgery. Only the big chief Ornithologist can approve surgery. I cannot see him until March 17! Even if he says, “Get those doggies rolling!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFGyhSifqzA there is at least a six month waiting list until I could go under the chain saw. Oh dear! Months and months of almost total inactivity due to inability to drive does not sound good.

Yesterday being a day when the vision was pretty good. I drove down to Palo Alto to have lunch with Jonathan and Renee. I made it OK but it is not safe.

Plan B – fly back to Okinawa, see specialist Ornithologist the next day and if he agrees that it is knife time, have the operation quickly. All free. Then I could see again and hit the adventure trail.

It’s just that mine is large, occupiying the right side of my world. I have been on the eye drops for a week without significant improvement. This limits what I can do more than I had imagined. I can however tootle around in the backyard.

The house has now been fully restored and the other 3 apartments have been sold off to young, wealthy and very nice folks.

James has very skilfully negotiated full access to the back yard, indeed the others living in the house are very happy to let us take control of the garden.

We are given about 70 pansy bedding plants!

James take me for a vacation in the Mission. Always a blast.

My right eye hates the international date line. Every time I fly from Haneda to San Francisco the eye develops infection, moss and rust. https://thequietripple.com/2024/03/02/8-hours-in-er/

This time it is not so bad when I get to San Francisco but my condition rapidly deteriorates. Strangely enough, no pain nor swelling but badly impaired vision.

I set off for a Goose watching adventure that necessitates blasting up Highway 80 for a while. After 30 mins or so I realise that my vision in the right eye is not just impaired but I am in fact blind in my right eye. Not blind as in deep blackness but more the London Pea Souper Fog variety. I turn around.

Something has to be done! I go to the Zuckerberg General Hospital https://www.zuckerbergsanfranciscogeneral.org where I have been treated before.

“Have you got an appointment?”

“No”

Don’t worry sir, I’ll find a nurse to see you now.”

They were wonderful! 3 different nurses put me through lots of tests and finally a doctor tells me that it is my old buddy Uveitis but with an special New Year Offer of a membrane growing over the iris thus causing blindness. Thanks everyone. Not exactly the gleeful party of most Okinawa medical visits but very efficient and above all free! Medi-Cal covers all treatment and medication. Hooray!

I am told to take lots of eye drops but that if they don’t work I will need some sort of cataract type surgery, which means a ticket to Okinawa!

Anyway thanks to everyone at the hospital, thanks to Medi-Cal and big shout out to Marc Zuckerberg who provided the money.

I would like to see a King Charles 3 Dental Hospital or a Prince William Cancer Clinic in the UK. They should give some of their incredible wealth back to the people.

Anyway, I hope it goes away soon as I can’t, drive, read, watch YouTube etc.

Good news, my Medi-Cal has been extended for another year!

They also offer me free food but I will not apply as I have plenty of money.

It’s Boxing Day!

James and I take the truck North to see what mischief is ongoing at Point Reyes.

Across the bridge, through Fairfax into the dense Redwood forest to emerge at Point Reyes only 1hr 15 mins after leaving.

The weather is what would normally be referred to as appalling or gey driech in Scots. Rain, wind and deep fog makes for very poor visibility. I love it!

We head off for Drake’s Bay to see if there are any Elephant Seals recovering from Xmas excess. There are: many seem to be very hungover.

Strong wind, driving rain, huge seas pounding onto the beach and lots of Elephant Seals recovering. Wonderful sight!

So exciting to get so close to these huge creatures in suitably viking conditions.

We go looking for Elk. The weather is against us as visibility is very poor.

We have a wonderful time and feel much better than the seals, not having had any alcohol over the festive period. Feels strange.

Xmas day! We, Eileen, housemate, James and I go to Corona Heights Park https://sfrecpark.org/facilities/facility/details/coronaheightspark-328. while the huge duck is cooking.It is close to our place and famous for wonderful views over the city and, as only James knows, lots of Cepes, French, or Bolets, English.

We find lots!

James is wonderfully skilled at finding mushrooms. He finds many large cepes of which we plunder 3 big ones.

The duck is perfectly done when we get back.

Sorry for silence but not much happened in Okinawa over the last weeks.

Let’s go to San Francisco!

I go down to The Apple Store on Chestnut St to get James an iPad. It is Xmas Eve and I expected the place to be packed. Not so, I am seen to immediately and leave the place 10 minutes later with the gift and lots of Californian festive greetings.

I cross the the road to get some breakfast.

I WaytogoMo back to the house!

James has decided on roast Duck for the celebratory meal so we go down to Chinatown to get a good duck.

Chinatown is fantastic! James of course knows a shop down some tiny alley that only sells duck. Incredible place – so Chinese! We buy a massive MuscovyDuck complete with head, neck and feet.

We go for big Dim Sum lunch.

I love Chinatown! I would take weeks to get to know all the different streets, alleys and incredible shops.