Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Westerdam & Diamond Princess

　　The novel pneumonia, which derived from Wuhan, China, plunges the globe into a pit of misery. The new type of coronavirus is taken as the cause of this pneumonia. In relation to this virus, two cruise ships, the Westerdam and the Diamond Princess, collect strong public attention. Both ships were suspected that there might be some infected persons with this virus on board, but the aftermath of both ships were completely different.
　　In the case of the Westerdam, it was refused to land at several ports and drifted around the South and East China Sea, or North Pacific Ocean for more than one week to seek a port which welcomes it. Unable to stand by any longer, Cambodia reached its helping hand to the ship and all the passengers were able to step out on the soil. Then they left Cambodia for their home countries. However, an infected person was detected later, but no nations would ever be able to accuse developing Cambodia of passing them without any quarantine. Each country which received passengers from the Westerdam would have to check their medical check and quarantine.
　　On the other hand, in the case of the Diamond Princess, Japan, by itself, took on the quarantine of about 3700 passengers and crew members and medical treatments of infected people. Japan, as one of the developed countries, naturally lead the way in the process of the control of the infection, but I wondered why the U.S., which owns this cruise ship, and the U.K., where the Diamond Princess is registered, retreated into silence. A few countries like the U.S. and Canada decided to take their countries' passengers home. The U.S. responded to the American passengers who were tired of living in confinement. Canada was willing to mitigate the burden of Japan.
　　I heard that there's no international rule against such conditions. I think the international society requires some resolution against the next outbreak of some pathogenic organisms.

(Vocabulary)
retreat 引き下がる, 立ち去る, 逃げる
retreat to/into/from etc. sth ＜場所＞へ［の中から，から］逃げる

 

Infected Diamond Princess

　　Chinese originated pneumonia causes havoc in the northern hemisphere. The Japanese Government always ends up reacting after the event because they are concerned for China and trying not to dishonour the Chinese Government. However, the one thing that they have to do is protect the lives of their people, Japanese. I hope that the Government will take strong actions against the virus.
　　The Yokohama-based cruise ship, the Diamond Princess, came back to its home port, Yokohama city, on Feb 3rd, but almost all the passengers and crew members were stranded in the ship. It carried a Chinese from Yokohama to Hong Kong two weeks ago, who later developed the novel pneumonia in Hong Kong. Therefore, the Government suspected that there might be some people affected with pneumonia. Actually the new type of coronavirus was detected in the specimens from passengers. Both passengers and crew members are confined to their rooms until the end of the latent period of 14 days.I'm so sorry to hear that. Honestly, I had been on board this ship from Dec. 15th to 23rd last year. I can't afford to be indifferent to this incident.
　　The four pandemics occurred only in 20th century. All of their epicenters were the southern part of present China; Spanish, Asian, and Hong Kong flu, then SARS. From my viewpoint, the social conditions in China are too dirty for me to live, though I'm not going to live in China at all. I hope the virus will be confined soon.

(Vocabulary)
havoc 　大混乱, 大損害
end up reacting after the event　後手後手になる
latent 　隠れている, 潜在的な

Arrival in Yokohama

　　When the ship entered into the channel to Tokyo Bay, the sea surface became really calm. The Diamond Princess proceeded to Yokohama Bay. The last night was stormy, but the weather changed for the better this morning like my usual last day. It's always like that. The last day of my trip will be sunny with a high probability. I just hope that it will be so in the midst of the trip. Anyway, I enjoyed the scenery of Yokohama from the deck. When I started the trip 8 days ago, it was dark. There were lots of suitcases lined up on the pier. They would belong to the tourists who would join the next cruise. The staff members would be busy preparing for the next cruise by cleaning up the rooms and public areas, or to bring food and necessities in or to take garbage out, and so on within the limited time. We were able to disembark about 2 o'clock. As our flight to our hometown was at about 1900, we were able to take a rest in Haneda Airport.
　　On my last cruising trip on this Diamond Princess, I had an opportunity to talk with a medical crew. I learned how they work on board and her story aroused my interest. The company that operates the Diamond Princess is Princess Cruise in the U.S., and it apparently has 16 cruise ships or more. I informed her of my skills in the medical field and languages. She said to me, "fully qualified!" I can speak in German, though a little haltingly and naturally Japanese, so, according to her, I would be welcomed to the cruise especially in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, as the number of Japanese people who enjoy cruising in those waters is soaring. I started thinking of taking up a new lifestyle as a ship's doctor.

Postscript:
Disgusting Wuhan pneumonia occurred on the Diamond Princess during the next next cruise tour after our disembarkation. I was so surprised as I had already submitted my resignation on Dec. 30th. declaring that I would quit my job on June 30th. Postponing my ship's doctor plan, I had to seek for my new job until that day, but don't worry. I already received so many offers from various facilities.
(Jan. 30th)


東京湾に入ると、鏡のような海面になった。ダイヤモンド・プリンセスは滑るように進んでいく。いつものことだが、旅の終わりには晴れる。本当に良い天気だ。昨夜の嵐は夢だったのか。ベイブリッジをくぐり、大桟橋に近づくと、大量のスーツケースが見えた。どうやら今日、乗客を入れ替えてまたどこかへ向けて出発するのだろう。客の入れ替わるわずかの時間に掃除をしたり物資の搬入、搬出とスタッフは忙しいことだろう。我々夫婦は１４時頃に下船できた。６時間以上遅れたけれど、羽田発は１９時頃の便なので余裕。前に乗ったときにも思ったのだが、この船、あるいはこの会社で船医として働きたい。船医への転身を真剣に考えてみようと思う。ま、これまでも、多分これからも、成り行き任せの人生だから、、、

（２０２０年１月３０日)
追記　次の香港へのクルーズのその次のクルーズで例の武漢ウイルス感染が起こった。心底驚いた。船医計画は延期となった。１２月末に辞表を提出してしまったし、さて次は何をしよう(^_^;)

At Sea, Day 2

　　We were on the sea all day long on December 17th, too. Today's sea was rough and our ship rocked all day long. This cruise ship was so enormous and I assumed that it never rocked. To be honest, I'm a poor sailor and easily get seasick, but a variety of events made me feel free of seasickness. Some events were held in Japanese and others in English. I joined some English events for the purpose of testing my English listening ability. I manage to understand conversations concerning the medical field containing lots of technical terms, but sometimes have a hard time in common conversation, as it contains slang and phrasal verbs. I didn't know whom and what most American people know. This also stood in the way of my understanding. Anyway, events and concerts were enjoyable.
　　The Diamond Princess has a repeaters' club called the Captain's Circle. This cruise was the second time for us and we were invited to this meeting. We enjoyed short talks from the captain and other crew members, concerts, and then received presents from the cruise company.
　　Before going to bed, I climbed up to the highest deck wondering whether I could see outside, but I didn't see anything. I expected to see some lights from the land or other ships, but there was nothing around the ship. No stars and the water in the pool was billowing. I felt a little scared and returned to my room just like taking refuge.

(Vocabulary)
billow (風で) 膨らむ, はためく;〈煙などが〉 渦巻く, 巻き上がる
refuge
[C] 避難所, 保護施設
a refuge for battered wives 配偶者から虐待を受けた妻の保護施設
[C] (悪天候・危険などからの) 避難場所, 逃げ場, (野生生物などの) 保護区
a refuge from the rain 雨宿りの場所
[U] 避難, 安全
take/seek refuge 避難する
When the bombing started, we took refuge in the cellar. 爆撃が始まったとき地下室に避難した．

　終日航海２日目。この日は揺れた。この大きな船が。実は僕は船酔いにはとことん弱い。屋内プールを見ると、使用禁止になっていた。ただ、船内は賑やか。イベントが盛り沢山で、飽きることはない。英語版イベントも日本版もあり、英語版はリスニングの勉強も兼ねて参加。専門用語の多い医学の学術会議は聞き取れても、スラングの含まれた日常会話は難しい。
　ダイヤモンド・プリンセスにはキャプテンズサークルというリピータの集まりがあり、今回我々は２回目なのでリピーターとなりこの集まりに招かれた。船のいろいろな説明を聞いたり、音楽を楽しんだり、帰りにはちょっとしたプレゼント。
　寝る前に何か景色が見えるかと思い、最上階に上がってみた。周囲には何も見えず、星も見えず、プールの水は大きく波打ち、あふれていた。少し怖くなり逃げ込むように部屋へ戻った。(^_^;)

Birthday Present?

　　Today is my birthday and Japan's official holiday also, but I'm staying in my office for inpatients. I have to remain inside just like a prisoner for a few more days. The following picture shows things sent in to me. The partner of my boss is Iranian and pistachio is from Iran. I like it a little roasted. Luckily, all the inpatients are in stable condition, so I'm going to read some books over beer.

Imotaki, Taro Potato Party

　　Japan has four distinct seasons and every season has its own amusement. One of the autumnal events in Ehime prefecture is "Imotaki" party. "Imo" means potato and "taki" means boiling. My colleagues and I ate a huge pot of hot and sweet soup with all kinds of root vegetables, including taro potato and chicken.
　　To tell the truth, and originally the party should be so, I wanted to enjoy them outside viewing the moon, but it was cloudy and chilly, so the party was held indoors. The party was also an annual event of my hospital and all the fee was paid by the company. That means, all the meals and drinks were free. The following first picture was shot when I went to the pot to take another helping. Everyone is smiling!

(Vocabulary)
taro 里芋

Numb

I was totally numb today:
　　An old university acquaintance, who was a few years senior to me, asked me to do some work in his hospital last week. He and I spent a few years together on the same campus, and he often helped me on various occasions. Currently, he runs a hospital in Hiroshima Prefecture and suffers from the shortage of surgeons. I decided to join his surgical team as a part-time surgeon at his request today. I headed for his hospital by car.
　　I dropped in at Kurushima Kaikyo Rest Area to take a short rest on the way to the destination. The following pictures were taken at that time. The bridges in the pictures connect Honshu and Shikoku. Anyway, I found several full body massage chairs set in the resting room, and anyone was allowed to freely use them within 15 minutes. I took one of them and got a massage. Its mechanical massage was really relaxing and before you know it, I fell asleep. I put my personal bag aside before the massage and when I stood up from the chair, I forgot to take it. After one hour's drive, I found that I had left my bag there. I was totally numb as several valuables were in the bag. I immediately called the information desk of the Area and knew that someone had already taken my bag to the desk. I didn't know his/her name, but I was really grateful.

(Vocabulary)
numb
〈手・足などが〉 感覚のなくなった, 麻痺(まひ)した, かじかんだ
(ショック・悲しみなどで) ぼう然とした, 頭が真っ白になった .

大学時代の先輩から手術の応援を依頼され、広島県へ向かう途中、四国から広島県へ渡る直前のサービスエリアで休憩を取った。写真はそのときに撮ったもの。ここに疲れたドライバー用に無料のマッサージ椅子があった。一人１５分まで使えたので利用することにした。そのとき、肩から掛けていたボディバッグを椅子の横へ置いて、そのまま忘れてサービスエリアを出てしまった。１時間後に気づいた。サービスエリアへ電話をしたら、誰かが届けてくれて保管されていた。助かった～～　中には現金、クレジットカードなど貴重品だらけ。現金は良いとして、免許証やらクレジットカードなどが盗られたら後の手続きがめんどい。どこの誰かはわからないが、発見者の善意に感謝！

Concert

　　I'm a Japanese traditional bamboo flute, shakuhachi, player. I started learning and playing it in my student days, so my career streches about 40 years. I take part in the joint concert with lots of people including school boys and girls once or twice a year these days. I'm writing about a mini-concert in my office in this entry.
　　My office has a daycare department and people who live in that facility wanted to listen to my performance. The following pictures show the concert held in the hospital. Three koto - Japanese harp - players in the picture were also professionals. I hope that people who don't have enough pleasure in their daily lives got some happy time even if it was a short time. Anyway, I also spent a wonderful time in the daytime.

POCKETALK™

　　I've been hearing of pocketalk™. In case you are wondering, it's a translator gadget. It seemed to be able to handle 74 languages, but I didn't have any interest in it at all.
　　However, I had to buy it the other day, because several Chinese came to often visit my office. They are from Dalian and are staying for two years near my office to work in some factories. They are ordinary people and can't speak in English or Japanese, naturally. They can ask for an official interpreter at every consultation, but it's costly. I'm learning Mandarin now for the next trip, but my Chinese skills are not enough to use in medical conversations. The pocketalk™ was an answer eventually.
　　This is surely helpful even in the consultation room, but I found that it's very handy also for learning languages. Chinese pronunciation is unique and difficult for non-natives, and learners don't know if their pronunciation is correct, or not. Yes, I'm using this for my learning. I speak to this in Chinese or other languages sometimes. If my pronunciation is correct, it answers back a correct translation in Japanese. I recommend this for foreign language learners.

Bicycle Race

　　Bicycle races are naturally a kind of sport, but at the same time, it's recognized as a gamble. I like wandering on my bicycle, but I'm not interested in cycling competitions as a method of gambling at all. I'm such a person, but I ended up visiting the bicycle racetrack today.
　　I learned for the first time that the cycling competitions' organizer was obliged to assign doctors like a general or orthopedic surgeon at the medical office in the racetrack when the competition is held. If there is no surgeon, no competition is allowed by the regulation of the association of the bicycle competition.
　　The organizer is Matsuyama City and they struggled to find a surgeon for the past several days because the due surgeon suddenly got under the weather. My second daughter works at the city office and she was asked to ask me to work at the racetrack today. Fortunately, today was free and I attended. I've never been to a cycling racetrack and it was fun to see the back side of the competition.

Big Bullet

　　A patient in his late nineties consulted me with a big bullet. It was his regular consultation. After that, he started to talk about his bullet.
　　He had been on the Chinese front during the Great East Asian War as a maintenance personnel of railroads. The bullet was U.S.-made and what he brought back from the Chinese continent. Gunpowder was already removed and it was not dangerous, but I felt uneasy as I hadn't seen such a big bullet before.

Pre-packaged Food

　　International trips are one of my hobbies and during trips I make it a rule to visit local markets to see how the people live in the area. I often compare food or its price with Japanese ones at the market. I have no exact data, but I feel that more than twice as many kinds of pre-packaged food are laid out on the shelves in Japan's supermarkets than those in other countries which I have visited. These foods are easy to cook by just pouring hot water, or being put in microwaves, which might not be called "cooking". My routine isn't controlled by the clock and I often have no lunch time due to the consultation of surging patients. Pre-packaged and ready-to-eat food are really handy in such hectic days. The picture shows my stock of pre-packaged food in a bag. What shall we try at midnight snack time on today's duty hours.

Water Supply for Hospital

　　I wrote about the water supply operation by the army in the last entry, but it was not enough in the case of my hospital, as the hospital offered shower-taking opportunities to the neighbors along with inpatient needs, so the neighboring municipalities reached their helping hands to us. Take a look at the following pictures. The red vehicle was a tank truck for firefighting operations. It brought us 10 tons of water twice a day. It was really helpful. As for me personally, I was able to drink hot coffee in my lunchtime break thanks to them! Though Japan is rich in natural disasters, I think that the rescue system also is better compared with other developed countries.

Necktie

　　I don't usually wear neckties even in my office. While commuting, I wear everyday clothes. As soon as I arrive at my office, I change my clothes to my white coat or surgical gown, so I don't need so many neckties.
　　Today, I had to attend an important meeting and looked for a suitable one in my closet. The one I found and will show you below was new to me. I didn't remember where or when I got it. Anyway, someone might have presented it to me on some special occasion. I tried to put it on. When I asked my wife for her advice, she found a weird word on it. Takeshima island, which has been illegally occupied by South Korea, was described by its Korean name. I immediately pulled this necktie off and threw it away. I got angry at South Korea.
　　Most Japanese media don't want to report the inconvenient truth of both Koreas and China, but now even ordinary people can get the truth online. Lots of Japanese people know the fact that Korean people distort their history. They damage lots of books and maps in public libraries worldwide. They insist that the Sea of Japan should be called "East Sea", though they don't appeal to China for the modification from Yellow Sea to "West Sea". I can read Korean a little, and the more I know about Koreas, the more I hate them.

ネクタイ

日頃ネクタイをしない。通勤はほぼ普段着で、職場に入るとすぐに白衣に着替える。ところが今日はライオンズクラブの会合があり、久しぶりにネクタイを着けることになった。誰かにもらったものだと思うが着けたことのないネクタイをクローゼットの中に見つけて着けてみた。家内がじっと書かれている地図を見て大変な事実を発見した。南朝鮮が不法占拠している島の名前が朝鮮読みになっていたのだ。すぐにこのネクタイを外し、捨てた。いったい朝鮮人ども、どこまで腐っているんだ。
　
日本のメディアの多くはシナ、朝鮮の不都合な真実を報道したがらないが、今では普通の日本人がネットで正しい情報を得ている。朝鮮人たちが世界中で公立の図書館などで本や地図を毀損していることを知っている。彼らは日本海を「東海」と呼べと言うが、ならばシナ様に黄海を「西海」と呼べとなぜ言わない？日本を馬鹿にしているのか？少しだけ朝鮮語を読めるのだが、知れば知るほど嫌になる国だ。＞朝鮮
　
黄海北道・黄海南道という北朝鮮の地名から黄海と名付けられたのでは？と思われる方へ：
　
ＷＩＫＩからの引用ですが、黄海道（ファンヘド、こうかいどう）は、李氏朝鮮の行政区分朝鮮八道の一つ。主要都市である黄州と海州から頭文字を取って命名された。黄海に面していた故の名称ではない。高麗時代は「西海道」と呼ばれていた。現在の北朝鮮の行政区分、黄海北道・黄海南道に相当する。なので、日本海を東海と呼べと主張する奴らが筋の通った連中なら、黄海を西海と呼ぶよう主張するはずなのです。

Installation of Sprinkler

　　Today is Sunday. In the OPD, an installation work is underway while the department is vacant. What will be installed is a sprinkler system, which is obliged to set in all the hospitals including even small clinics by the Japanese government. It will be a strong measure against a fire. A part of costs is a state-sponsored subsidy. It's really welcome.

(Vocabulary)
a state-sponsored subsidy 国からの補助金

スプリンクラー設置工事

今日は日曜日、この日を選んで外来の工事をしている。この数ヶ月、病院のスプリンクラー設置工事が進んでいる。国の方針で2020年までに設置が義務づけられたものだ。火事に対して十分な防護が出来ることになる。費用の一部は国が負担してくれるという。有り難い。

Birthday Party

　　My hospital has an aged care facility. Japan, along with other developed countries, has the issue of decreasing birthrate and aging population, and so most hospitals have such facilities. The birthday party for facility users who were born in February was held today. Some entertainment is usually supposed to be prepared for every birthday party, and a group of Japanese traditional music players visited us for their consolation today. As I myself play the shakuhachi, Japanese bamboo flute, I can evaluate the skill of other shakuhachi players. The man who played shakuhachi in the group was really great. I was happy to hear their performance.
　　After the performance, some cakes and cookies were offered to the audience. Not only the facility users but also the inpatients, who were able to sit on the wheelchairs for some time, attended. It was a comfortable and relaxing time also for inpatients who can't live in their own houses due to some reasons and would stay in the hospital until their last moment.

職場には老人介護施設が併設されている。今日は利用者の誕生会があり、２月生まれの人たちの誕生を祝った。毎月、何か催しがあるが、今日は病院のスタッフの一人が通っている三味線教室の人たちが来てくれた。僕は尺八を吹くが、この尺八奏者は僕よりも遙かに上手かった。

演奏会の後にはケーキやお菓子が配られた。利用者以外にも車椅子に乗れる入院患者が集まっている。なんらかの障害があり、自宅に戻れず病院で暮らしている人たちには和やかな時間となった。

Evacuation Drill

　　The annual evacuation drill was performed in my office today. The drill was set under the assumption that a fire broke out in a hospital ward after midnight, when the number of staff members on duty was extremely small. A few nurses played the roles of long-term bedridden patients, the finder of the fire, the informer to the fire department, and some trying the initial fire extinguishing, shutting the fire protection doors, and so on. At the end of the drill, a veteran firefighter dispatched for supervision from the fire department stated his opinion. His assessment was really good and I was relieved to hear his remarks. Then the session of the actual handling of fire extinguishers started. Several staff members who hadn't used them learned how to use them.
　　Even though you know what to do in case of fire, you'll find something if you actually do the drill. This drill is required by law. I felt the significance of doing the drill annually.

 

今日は職場で火災の際の避難訓練が行われた。設定は深夜、職員数が減り、患者もおおかた寝ている時間帯に病棟から出火したという設定。火災が起こった部屋で休んでいる患者役、火事の発見役、消火器を用意したり、患者の搬送をする役、消防への通報役など役割を決めて万一の際の手順を確認した。防火扉の開閉や、実際に消化剤の代わりに水を入れた消火器を使って訓練した。やはりやってみるといろいろと見えてくるものがある。消防署職員の指導の下、法令によって年に一度することを義務づけられているのだが、火災が起こらないことを願いつつ毎年訓練をすることの意義を感じた。

Company Recreation Trip

　　The company recreation trip was scheduled in September, October, and November. My office is a hospital with 75 inpatients and so all the staff members can't leave the hospital together. All the staff were divided into three groups at each section, like the nursing department, doctors, dietary department, and so on. The destinations are Beppu Hot Spa one night and two days, Dogo Hot Spa one night and two days, and Universal Studios Japan two nights and three days. People who don't have enough free time chose Dogo, which is one and a half hours from the hospital. A gorgeous dinner will be offered there. Beppu is alike, but it takes a 4~5 hours' sea trip to reach Beppu.
　　As for me, I picked Universal Studios Japan(USJ) in Osaka with about 20 colleagues. We left the office at 7 o'clock in the evening and got on a night ferry to Osaka, which would arrive at Osaka at 6 o'clock the next morning, and went back with the same overnight ferry. That means two nights on a ferry, and a whole day in USJ. It enabled us to enjoy the park from opening time to closing time. Most colleagues were waiting with patience for several attractions, but I didn't want to waste time and wanted to take a walk in all kinds of park areas. However, I was asked to get on the Spiderman's special car with three other colleagues and tried,,,, but it was scary to me. My face in the following picture is frozen with fear.
　　I had time to enjoy the park until closing time and stepped into the night scene of a 19th century British town. As you can imagine, it was the world of Harry Potter. My brand-new camera worked really well and I'll show you some pictures of the world of Harry Potter.

慰安旅行
　
秋の慰安旅行のシーズンとなった。職場が入院患者のいる病院だから全職員が一緒に行くことはできない。3つのグループに分けることになった。別府温泉１泊２日、道後温泉１泊２日、ユニバーサルスタジオジャパン２泊３日の３コースだ。家庭の事情などあまり時間に余裕のない人は往復１時間半の距離にある道後温泉。最高級旅館に泊まって温泉と料理を楽しむ。約５時間の船旅の先にある別府温泉も全国的に有名な温泉地。そして僕はまだ行ったことのないユニバーサルスタジオジャパン。
　
病院を夜出発して夜行の船で大阪へ。一日遊んでまた夜行で帰る。そして仕事。スケジュール的にはきついがめいっぱい遊べる。若いスタッフはアトラクションに並ぶが僕はそんなことは面倒で、散歩していたかったが、誘われて１時間ほどの待ち時間のスパイダーマンの乗り物に乗った。大きな動きは無いはずなのだが、錯覚を利用した乗り物で正直怖かった。(^_^;)
　
夜行の船の出発時刻までは間があり、２１時頃まで滞在し、僕は一人ハリーポッターの区画へ入ってみた。プロジェクションマッピングという技術でショーが行われていたが楽しんだ。また１９世紀頃のロンドンを模した街もまた面白く撮影を楽しんだ。

Good Comes out of Evil

　　Last November I carelessly hit my left foot against the wall of the garage and the fifth proximal phalange in my left foot was broken. I'll show you my X-ray film below. If you observe it closely, you'll find the crack on the fifth proximal phalange. After the accident I decided to give up jogging for three months, but I thought at the same time that no physical exercise wouldn't be good for my health and I took to a muscular workout. I've continued training under the instructions of a professional trainer until now. The weight became heavier and that let me know my improvement. Today, however, an unexpected happening made me recognize the value of the workout and I'm writing about it.
　　In some conditions, which I cannot tell you all the details about due to the confidentiality doctors must observe, I had to do an urgent tracheotomy on a choking patient, who was lying on his low bed whose height was only 40 cm or so. We didn't have time to transfer him to another bed suitable for the operation. I was able to open the trachea in a minute or so, and saved his life. Then, I realized the improvement of my physical strength.
　　I had to keep my body bending forward for more than 10 minutes on his low bed to perform the operation, and successfully completed all the procedure without lumbago or stretching myself. This was unthinkable before. I understood my stable and strengthened trunk. I was determined to continue the workout.
　　Good comes out of evil! If I didn't get this fracture, I wouldn't start this kind of workout. I remembered, "Inscrutable are the ways of Heaven." Yes, Exactly!

(Vocabulary)
proximal phalange 基節骨
Riss （ドイツ語）リス（細い割れ目）
confidentiality 内密であること, 守秘, 機密保持
a breach of confidentiality 守秘（義務）違反, 機密保持違反
inscrutable 〈人が〉無表情の; 不可解な, なぞめいた
Inscrutable are the ways of Heaven. 人間万事塞翁が馬

（抄訳）

昨年１１月、不注意から足を壁にぶつけてしまって左第５趾基節骨を骨折してしまった。それ以後、３ヶ月はジョギングを中止することにしたが、何もしないのは良くないと思い、筋トレを始めた。きちんとトレーナーについてもらい、弱いところを補強するようにしてきた。持ち上げるバーベルの重さが重くなってきていることから進歩は感じていたが、今日、思いがけないことからその効果を実感できた。

ある状況で（守秘義務のため詳しくは書けない）、緊急に気管切開をしなくてはならなくなった。患者はほぼ窒息状態。患者の寝ている介護用の膝下くらいの高さの低いベッドで手術を行った。１分程度で気管を開放、救命しえたのだが、このとき、自分の身体の変化を実感したのだ。

というのは、前屈みで細かな作業をし続けて１０分、背を伸ばすこと無く腰痛も起こらず完了。こんなことは考えられないことだった。明らかに体幹が強くなっている。これからもこのトレーニングを続けなければならないと思った次第。

写真は昨年１１月２１日、痛みが引かないため撮ったレントゲン写真。禍転じて福となすという言葉があるが、この骨折がなければ筋トレをやっていなかったのだから人間万事塞翁が馬である。

 

Medical Center

　　The next spot which I visited was the medical center. I was so much interested in its equipment, the number of staff members, the work shift, and so on. I wanted to chat with the ship's doctors of the Diamond Princess. I feel a little bit like working as a ship's doctor.
　　I asked the concierge at the front desk if I was allowed to make a medical center tour, showing my doctor's certificate in advance on the previous night after the musical. She told me to wait for the captain's directive. I wondered if my request was a big issue that required the captain's permission. Anyway, the concierge called me about an hour later and told me to visit the center anytime directly and comply with its receptionist.
　　I dropped in at the medical center just before noon. The equipment was beyond my expectation. I wanted to talk with doctors, but they were absent at that time, and a nurse guided me in the medical center as long as I was out of reach of personal information.
　　There was an operating room equipped with shadowless lamps and a gas machine, which seemed to make surgeons capable of performing simple operations. There were three or four wards, which were equipped with pipes of oxygen, ventilators, X-ray film viewers, and one of them was designed for isolated patients. A stretcher, which takes on the role of the ambulance on board, was placed in front of a silver and seemingly thick door with lots of medical apparatus for emergencies. I often see stretchers in my office, and wasn't interested in it. However, the silver door behind the stretcher caught my eye. The nurse, who guided me, didn't explain about the door, but I asked if it was a morgue. My speculation wasn't wrong, but not correct. It was a refrigeration morgue. The longest voyage of this ship is from Japan to Hawaii and from the U.S. to the U.K. and if someone passed away during these voyages, he or she would be kept in this morgue, because there's no means to take the body out of the ship.
　　When I told her about my specialty, cross-sectional emergency procedures, she replied that I was eligible enough for a ship's doctor. I thought that a ship's doctor was an option in the future.

(Vocabulary)
comply with something (フォーマル) ＜法律・規則など＞に従う, ＜要求＞に応じる
The company has not complied with the law. 会社は法律に従っていない．
gas machine / anesthetic machine 麻酔器
an X-ray film viewer / Schaukasten シャーカステン
morgue 死体安置［保管］所、霊安室

マラッカ海峡クルージング記：　メディカルセンターと霊安室

次に立ち寄ったのが船内にあるクリニック。いったいどのような設備があるのか、スタッフの数や勤務形態などに興味があった。可能ならこのような船に勤務してみたいという気も少しはある。

昨日の夜、ミュージカルの終わった後、コンシュルジュに医師資格証を呈示して医師であることを示した上で、クリニックの見学ができないかと尋ねた。ちょっと待て、キャプテンに相談するとの返事、、、船長にまで通さなければならないことか？と驚いたが、１時間ほどして電話があり、明日直接クリニックへ行き、窓口で相談するようとのこと。閑なら応対してくれそうだ。

で、寄ってみた。思った以上の施設だった。医師と話をしたかったのだが不在？『不在』ってあり得るのかなと思ったが他に何か用があったのだろう。ナースが対応してくれて、個人情報に触れない範囲で隅々まで見せてくれた。

無影灯や麻酔器の置かれた手術室が有り、簡単な手術ならできそうだった。入院用の病室は３室あり、酸素配管、呼吸器、シャーカステンなどが備わっており、隔離用の部屋もあった。船内で救急車の役割を持つストレッチャーは重装備ですぐに持ち出せるよう専用の場所に置かれていた。ただその奧にあったドアが気になった。説明をしてくれたナースはスルーしたのだが、あれはもしかして霊安室かと尋ねたら、やはりそうだった。しかも、冷蔵霊安室！日本からハワイ、アメリカからイギリスへの大西洋横断、これらの航路が５日から１週間の終日航海となり、その間に亡くなられた場合は運び出せないのでこの霊安室へ安置されるとのこと。

自分の得意な分野（各科横断的な救急処置）を説明すると、船医として十分に勤まる、というよりももったいないくらいだとおだてられた。先々でこういった豪華客船の船医も良いなあ。