Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Portuguese Old Streetcar

　　I am often asked for a regular medical checkup in various workplaces from medical checkup outfits. Under the strict regulation of the government, workers are supposed to get their medical checkup once a year. Today, I was asked to join the medical checkup team and visited a CocaCola bottling factory. The regular physician seemed to have been called out due to a family emergency, and there was no substitute.
　　During the lunch break, I took a short walk in the grounds of the factory. The weather was clear without clouds and it was a very comfortable walk. I came across an exhibit of an old streetcar at the corner of the grounds. The street car was vividly painted with the logo of the CocaCola, but its inside was dilapidated showing years of neglect.
　　According to the description of the exhibit, this streetcar was produced in 1928 in Portugal and used to run on the street in Lisbon. The Tosa Railroad Company in the neighboring Kochi prefecture bought it in 1990 to run a variety of streetcars from the world as the memorial event of the company's 80th year. The logo of the CocaCola is apparently the same as its original in Lisbon. At the end of its useful life in Kochi, the streetcar was placed in the grounds of the CocaCola Company. I've been to Malacca where there were lots of ruins connected to Portugal, but I've never been to Portugal. I felt like visiting Lisbon seeing the streetcar.

Celebratory Meal

　　The following picture is the first meal of the year 2024 in my hospital. A sudden deterioration of a patient was detected yesterday and I was called. I spent a whole night in my hospital and the breakfast in the picture was delivered on the 1st with a kitchen staff's buoyant speech "Happy New Year". This breakfast is a kind of celebratory meal and was offered to patients who are allowed to eat an ordinary diet. What would become of this year? I'd have time to spare in the evening and shall I plan the trips this year?
　　When I wrote this entry up here, I heard of the earthquake in Noto District, north of Kyoto. The year 2024 got off to a rocky start.

(Vocabulary)
rocky start 前途多難なスタート［出発］
be off to a rocky start 困難な［波乱の］スタートを切る

Coffee Break

　　I make house visits every Thursday afternoon for patients with various hardships. Not a few elderly people live alone on small islands in the Seto Inland Sea. It is one of the social problems in Japan that the working-age people in the rural area have a tendency to move to big cities for work and financial benefits. Consequently, elderly people are left alone or with their partners. Some of those have physical problems and need assistance in every aspect of daily life. My house visit is a part of that assistance.
　　Today, the number of calls were smaller than usual and my colleague and I were able to take a coffee break during the house visit in a recently opened outdoor coffee shop on the island. The weather was clear and the scenery was great. The break was a real change of feeling.

Awful Pack Of Cigarettes

　　On the way back to my hotel, I felt thirsty and dropped in at a convenience store to get something to drink. A customer who was waiting before me asked something to the store staff member. Then, the staff member turned around and opened a hanging break-front cupboard behind him. With an instant glance, I understood that the contents of the cupboard were impressive packs of cigarettes. The awful pictures on the packs caught my eye and I'd like to have taken a close look at them, but its door was closed after taking some packs out. This is my speculation, but the doors of the cupboards might have been protection from the sight of younger generations. At the same time, I wanted one because of the health guidance for my patients. The following picture shows two packs of different cigarettes. The reminders that cigarettes are incriminated as the major cause of lung cancer are read on the packs of Japanese cigarettes too, but they are very gentle being different from those of the U.K.'s. Now, I use these packs as instructional goods.

(Vocabulary)
hanging cupboard つり戸棚
break-front 両開きの戸棚
cupboard doors 戸棚の扉
instructional (教材などが) 指導用の

喉が渇いて寄ったコンビニで煙草が販売されていることを知った。店員の後ろにある扉付きの棚にあった。店員は客の求めにより煙草を取り出しすぐに閉めた。青少年の視線に触れないようにしているのだろう。日本も真似たい行動だ。その煙草は今、禁煙指導のため、手元にある。

Tottenham Court Road Station

　　As we got out from the museum, the rain was falling more gently. We took a walk to nearby Tottenham Court Road Station with help from the Google map on my smartphone. We'd like to have wandered around the station for some time, but took a rain check due to the rain. It was the last opportunity to look around the London city center on this trip, we were reluctant to leave London.
　　We took the tube from here to Paddington for the second time. We were able to pass the ticket gate in a regal way. We didn't have any chance to get on a double-decker bus, and we'll wait for our next chance. We were at a loss to find the platform for Oxford in Paddington, but a person at the information counter helped us.
　　One day trip to London by the public transportation system was successful, but the devil was waiting for us at the last stage. We took a taxi from Oxford station to our hotel. At payment, the driver didn't take my credit card and asked for cash. We were quite at our wit's end as we didn't have any cash. At that time, my wife remembered that our daughter gave us some ￡20 for a rainy day. It was in my daypack. During a week's stay in the U.K. this was the only case that we weren't able to use our credit card. Does this episode mean that Oxford is rural?
　　The dinner was at an Italian restaurant with my wife. My daughter was on strike for higher wages. All young doctors seemed to be out of their work for ONE week. It was hard to imagine in Japan. I was afraid that the medical system in the U.K. was on the brink of disaster.

(Vocabulary)
reluctant 気が進まない, しぶしぶの
regal 威厳のある, 堂々とした, 壮麗な
be at sb's wit's end 途方に暮れて
for a rainy day まさかの時に備えて
be on the brink of disaster 破綻(はたん)寸前である





　大英博物館を出ると、雨が小降りになっており、Googleマップを頼りに最寄り駅のTottenham Court Road Stationまで歩いた。駅周辺を散策したかったがあいにくの雨。また次の機会に。ロンドン市内を見るのは今回の旅ではこれが最後の機会なので、小雨の中、しばらく駅からの眺めを楽しんだ。
　さてここからは、パディントン駅まで地下鉄。もう２回目なので自信を持って利用できた。写真にある２階建てバスには乗る機会は無かったが、これもまた次の機会に。パディントン駅ではオックスフォード行きの列車がどこから出るのかわかりづらかったが、周辺の人に尋ねながらオックスフォードまで帰着。
　公共交通機関を利用してのロンドンへの日帰り旅行。首尾良く行っていたが、最後に落とし穴。オックスフォード駅からホテルまで乗ったタクシーでは現金のみ利用可だった。クレジットカードは使えないという。焦った～～。娘から必要ないだろうけど、念のためと渡されていた現金２０ポンドが役に立った。１週間のイギリス滞在中、カードが利用できず現金を使ったのはこのタクシーだけだった。オックスフォードはそれだけ田舎と言うことか？
　今夜はホテル近くのパブで夫婦二人で夕食。今日は娘は仕事は休みなのだが、研修医の賃上げデモに参加しているとのこと。イギリスの医療の状況を聞いて、イギリスの医療制度はかなり危ないのではないかと心配になった。

A Business Trip

　　To be charged with an easy task in a tiny island, I'm here in a small shabby unassuming hotel along the coast. Through the window I can see the island which I'll visit tomorrow morning. A ferry will take me to the island in only 6 minutes. The following picture shows the scene which I'm viewing. You might take this channel as a river, but actually this is the genuine sea which even connects to the U.S.A. There are so many islands in the Seto Inland Sea and those islands became hot spots for scenic photo opportunities. If I have some free time tomorrow, I'm thinking of wandering around my workplace.

New Fiscal Year

　　A new fiscal year started. It starts from April and ends in March in Japan. In this season, the cherry blossoms front moves up across Japan from south to north. All the country is enveloped by brilliant scenes. Above all, as the pandemic eases this year, people look happy and loads of young men start their career. About 9000 people seem to be newly licensed to work as physicians. I nostalgically remember the time when I got into the medical field.
　　While I have been working in the medical field for about 40 years, I saw a huge number of patients. Some of them didn't accept the reality of aging. They clung to past glory and buried their head in the sand. I think it's like competing with the setting sun. I'd like to sink with the sun and enjoy the sunset.
　　Just to be sure, I'm not going to die soon. (grin)

(Vocabulary)
cling しがみつく, 握り［抱き］締める
cling to sb/sth ＜…＞にしがみつく

 

MY STETHOSCOPE'S BROKEN

　　My stethoscope abruptly stopped working. When I used it a few days ago, it worked. I've used it for more than 20 years and I didn't have any problem.
　　I didn't know about the detailed mechanical structure of stethoscopes, but I assumed that its chest- piece must be responsible. I was afraid to throw it away, so I asked its manufacturer for repair or replacement of the parts only. I didn't want to throw it away because I'd used for more than 20 years and I was attached to it.
　　The person on the other side of the line advised me to take it to pieces and clean inside its tubing. The most common problem is seemingly the occlusion of its tubing. He told me that an air duster is helpful. I followed his advice and the function of my stethoscope completely recovered.
　　Then, I wondered... What I blew out of the tubing was my earwax of 20 years? How did it smell or what was it like? The substance that was stuck in the tubing had already diffused in my room. I should have cleaned it outdoors.

(Vocabulary)
attached 《[名]の前不可》 愛着［愛情］を感じた, 情がわいた [＋attached to]
earwax 耳垢

VACUUM CLEANER FOR MY MODEL 3

　　Japan is a disaster-rich country like earthquakes, volcano eruptions, and typhoons. Companies over a certain magnitude are required by law to always keep necessities for employees to survive several days just after the disaster. My company stores 5-year drinkable water, food, materials for emergency aid for all employees who are left stranded in their workplaces.
　　The other day all those items were replaced by new ones due to the expiration of their appreciation limit. Old expired items were going to be thrown away, but some workers insisted that it's a huge wastefulness because they can still be useful. Actually I thought that the food was still edible. Under the consensus on their own responsibility, abandoned food was delivered to employees who wanted it. I'm one of them and received a box of small hard dry biscuits that do not spoil easily. A box contains 60 packs with 400 kcal in each pack.
　　I don't have hard evidence about the security of eating them, but the food which has a 5-day appreciation limit would keep its freshness for at least 6 days in general. The biscuits I received, which have a 5-year limit, would be likewise ok for 6 years, maybe. The biscuits are put in my office and car as an usual snack. They're tasty and I like them.
　　There's a problem with this biscuit. It spawns small pieces of biscuit when I eat it. It scatters on my chest and in my car. I can dust my chest, but I couldn't remove the small pieces that dropped into narrow spaces in the car. Mice would never invade into my car, but I become irritated.
　　When I made a trip to a nearby electrical appliance store to get some dry cells, I happened to find a small charge type vacuum cleaner, which looked nice for narrow and small spaces. I bought one without a second thought. This was a very good purchase! The best thing which I did today was the discovery of this type of cleaner in the store.

(Vocabulary)
appreciation limit 賞味期限
spawn [他] …を引き起こす, 生じさせる
dust [他] 〈家具・部屋など〉 のほこりを払う［ふく］ [自] ほこりを払う
dry cell/battery 乾電池

Preliminary Consultation for Vaccination

　　The Government urges citizens to get vaccinated as soon as possible, but lots of people are reluctant to get vaccinated. I was asked to attend a mass vaccination event today taking on the preliminary consultation. My task is to judge if recipients have something allergic or harmful to the vaccine and make the final decision for his/her vaccination. According to today's news, the government are considering the 4th vaccination. I wonder how many times we have to receive the injection and when I will be able to make a trip freely.

 

The 3rd Vaccination

　　Tomorrow is the day when I have to receive the 3rd shot of vaccination against COVID-19. The previous two shots' side effects weren't so severe and I felt only a little muscle pains and general fatigue. However, those of the 3rd shot seem to be harder than before. The vaccines which I took were COMIRNATY(by pfizer) as the 1st and 2nd vaccines, but I chose Spikevax (by Moderna) this time. This combination is said to enhance the antibody titer, but I just want to know how severe the side effects of Spikevax are. I took two day-offs in advance in case of the appearance of severe side effects.

 

Full Harness Type Safety Belt

　　Japanese industry is strictly regulated and protected at the same time by the Industrial Safety and Health Law. It was revised and the simple safety belt is set to be replaced by the full harness type safety belt. I don't need this type of safety belt, but all employees are required to wear it when entering the factory. So, I put it on and took pictures. Does the belt suit me?

(Vocabulary)
Full Harness Type Safety Belt　フルハーネス型安全帯
Industrial Safety and Health Law 労働安全衛生法

VISIT TO MY FRIEND

　　I went to Okayama City on business, where I had lived during my university days for 6 years. I strolled around some nostalgic places where I used to go in those days. At last, I visited my friend's grave. His ashes had been placed in his family's grave at his death, but something unhappy happened and his soul was moved to the communal memorial tower to be able to get services performed in perpetuity by the Buddhist temple for the repose of his soul.
　　Only 40 years ago, we shared the same time as medical students, chatting over much stuff facetiously, as if not knowing that life is limited. I became overwhelmed with grief. I told him in front of the memorial tower that I'd go to your place in not such a long time and to wait for me until then.

(Vocabulary)
services performed in perpetuity by a Buddhist temple for the repose of a departed soul 永代供養
in perpetuity (法) 永久に
facetiously ふざけて

Bridge Viewed From Below

　　I'm currently working as a company doctor in a huge manufacturing company. I'm entrusted with keeping all employees healthy and secure and I regularly patrol various workplaces, checking harmful particles in the air and organic solvents like toluene.
　　The following pictures show a bridge under which I passed on the way back. I used to be indifferent to such a structure itself before I became a company doctor, but I wasn't what I used to be. I was interested in the path added under the bridge for maintenance work. I was gazing at the small parts of the bridge until the ferry boat passed under the bridge.

(Vocabulary)
toluene 芳香族炭化水素の一つ。染料・火薬・医薬・合成樹脂・合成繊維の原料。また溶剤として重要。

Crane Climbing 2

　　Finally I got it! I climbed up to the operation room of a huge crane in my office. I had tried it once last year but couldn't make it. Since then, I have been feeling regrettable every time I look up at the crane. I took some pictures from the level of the operation room as a token of my successful climbing. Closely looking, there was a long ladder on the arm continuing to the tip. A specialist seems to investigate the crane up to the tip several times in a year. He brings some oil to the tip and puts it on the moving parts. I would never perform such an awful task.
　　You'll know where I took the following picture judging from my former entry (LINK). Stairs to the room were exposed outside and my climbing was thrilling. When I climbed down and stood on the earth, my glove was dirty with the dust and coating material of the handrail. I did a good job cleaning the handrail.(grin)

https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2020/10/crane-climbing.html

Radiology and My Present Job

　　I had worked as a general surgeon for nearly 40 years. During those days, I often utilized a variety of tests using radioactive rays, like chest X-ray test, CT test, etc. I sometimes adopted radiation therapy for breast cancers and esophageal cancers. However, I didn't know exactly about the principle of radiology. Just like you can drive a car, not knowing the structure or mechanism of the car. In the clinical scene, many specialists assisted me.
　　Now, I've changed my job from a general surgeon to a company doctor and the radioactivity has also changed its character for me from the means for the treatment to something to protect. However, there's no radiologists around me.
　　The following picture shows a book, which I received from my Shakuhachi - Japan's traditional bamboo flute- instructor, who was a specialist of radiology by trade. I had to learn the radiology and radiation hazards from this book to keep the employees of my company safe and healthy.

(Vocabulary)
by trade 職業は
He was a boat builder by trade. 彼は船大工の職人だった．

Heavy Rainfall

　　Heavy rain has been continuing across Japan like in the rainy season, which is from June to mid-July in a usual year. A part of Kyushu got devastated by a landslide and inundation above the floor level.
　　This abnormal weather is said to continue for a week judging from the pressure pattern. It seems timely for the Government which requests its nationals to refrain from going out for nonessential and nonurgent business, but the expansion of damage is concerning.
　　The sectors of transportation, sightseeing, hotels, restaurant business, and so on are already suffering hardship. Then, this heavy long-lasting rain is added. I hope that they will survive the hardship and live up to the expectation of people who are itching for a chance to set out for trips.
　　I got an e-mail today from the organization consisting of all the hotels in the Dogo Onsen Spa area, which is the most popular tourist spot in my hometown of Matsuyama City. They asked me to assist in the mass vaccination, which is scheduled next Thursday, of the staff members of tourism industries in Dogo Onsen Spa. I replied OK promptly.

(Vocabulary)
inundation 浸水, 氾濫(はんらん)
live up to sth [句動詞]《受け身形不可》＜期待など＞に添う
The movie didn't really live up to expectations. その映画は実際のところ期待はずれだった．
be itching to do sth (inf) ＜…＞したくてうずうずしている
be itching for sth (inf) ＜…＞が欲しくてたまらない

 

Small Trip to Fuchu City

　　I was asked to check the condition of the applicants for the vaccination from Hiroshima Prefecture, and I visited Fuchu City in the Prefecture. I left my house on the previous evening and took a hotel in Fuchu. I love wandering in strange places and I took a walk around the hotel. It was located near the Fuchu Railroad station and the station was thought to be the center of the city, but I felt it was deserted. It might be due to the pandemic and/or the restriction from it. Almost all of the commercial facilities were closed.

 

Lunch Break During the Health Check Session

　　The annual medical check of the employees is regulated to be compulsory for every business unit by law. If something wrong was found in the tests, the employee will be sent to a clinic. I had been working in the clinic side for a long time until last year, but now I'm in the medical check side and I deal with people who sometimes strongly declare that they don't need any medication.
　　If they don't feel any health problem subjectively, they don't comply with my opinion often. I soothe them to consult a doctor at that time. It requires much effort, but my job is rewarding.
　　The following picture shows my table at lunch time during the session. My lunch was a sweetened bun and a canned cafe au lait over reading a book through my kindle.

Mass Vaccination

　　The mass vaccination had already started in Japan. The health care workers, including me, were given a shot on a priority basis. Next, the elderly who wanted to get vaccinated and people with chronic diseases have been given the shot. Then ordinary people began to receive the vaccination.
　　However, there's a shortage of doctors, who perform the preliminary examination of applicants. I was asked to attend the vaccination meeting planned by the nearby municipality. Arriving at the designated place, there were about 10 doctors and 30 to 40 paramedical staff members along with clerical staff.
　　In addition, there must have been some more staff behind the scene who prepare the vaccines, which was frozen. The vaccine was from Pfizer and it was preserved frozen. It should be thawed before use and should be set in syringes. Paramedical staff members would be ready behind the partition wall. I'd like to join the vaccination projects when I have time.

(Vocabulary)
on a priority basis　優先的に
thaw [他] (thaw something ↔ out とも) 〈冷凍食品〉 を解凍する