Hospital Day and Postcards at Café

Hospital Visit – July 18

[____] sensei, Kanpo Dr at Okayama University Hospital

Received injection, right arm, neurotrophin and various vitamins, especially B varieties

The phlebotomists are always so sweet, or are the hematologists?

I tried to have a topic to chitchat about
to distract myself from the comically large yellow syringe

Aside: I’m always kind of polite to everyone
but today I tried to be extra so
because of the media attention around foreigners
in the buildup to the upper house elections on Sunday

Then a hot hojicha from an on-demand brew vending machine

Anyway,

Kind Dr. U, the Kanpo specialist (he’s a fully qualified MD)
read my memo quickly but carefully
noting my recent crash and obvious weight loss

He said
“you did so much, you did too much”

Checked my pulse
“your pulses are very weak”

Checked my tongue, eyes
and palpated abdomen

“You are very tired”
“You’re trying too hard
please go slowly
please cancel everything possible
please rest
and please have hope.
You have a very good life
you have a great wife and great son”

I had some tears

We discussed the upcoming trip
and the measures I’m taking to reduce impact
by avoiding my triggers
crowds
bright light
chaotic sounds

and finding places to swim
be in nature
enjoy picnics
soak in hot springs

Plus avoiding crowds during the O-bon holiday
by staying at Sensei’s house in remote Noto
(plus ensuring we take emergency supplies
to this earthquake-ravaged area, including extra medications)

Then goodbyes and thank you to the clinic support staff

Onwards to administrative check out
present hospital and insurance cards
hospital appointment check sheet
and the phone application showing automatic payment set up

Across the street to the pharmacy
where I scan the QR codes
and ask them to courier everything
nothing needed today
will pay online later
no new medications of note requiring pharmacist review

Then onwards to Liberal Café
where my art hangs on the wall
the kind master brings me hot water for my Chinese medicine tea first
plus cold water
I ask him to give me 10 minutes before he brings lunch

It’s glorious
I asked for an extra cup of the salmon cream soup

Later
I lean against his counter as he makes siphon coffee
and explain my recent health predicament
including several days of not eating
he notices my weight loss
so I say
“this food is bringing me back to life
the gentle soups
but full of protein”

We talk about my ancestry
from Norway and Scotland
we talk about the hot weather
Ryoko’s tree doctor exam

I write four postcards
to K Rose in Logan
to artist LT at Acorn Cottage
to poet Jason in Gifu
and traveling K on Expo Blvd
plus a note to the proprietor
on my Dad’s real estate checklist notepad

Waiting for my food
and trying to calm my nervous system
I read John K. Samson’s Poems and Lyrics again
looking at the form
both of the physical book
and the way he transformed his poems and lyrics
into blocks of text
remixing punctuation and terminals
read the front paper
the printing information
examined the paper stock
and the trim size

Then off to a taxi to Uno Bus Center
quick connection to the Higashi Station bus
where the driver is grinding gears
and driving more aggressively than expected
the bus is full
I wear a mask
and stare at my shoes


On the way home
discovered Winterkeep‘s newest song
using my spoken word
which I didn’t recognize
until I realized it was from San Francisco
2006 or 2007
when I was there for a tradeshow
with one of those stupid internet companies
and reading Jack Kerouac’s San Francisco Blues
on the locations where he wrote the pieces

I left a comment to the effect of
“I’m not sure where and who I was
but it’s like seeing a flashback of myself
to a time that hasn’t happened yet”

And then I saw John K. Samson’s additional shows in Winnipeg
all sold out
I mentioned "am reading his book
at a café by the hospital
in a provincial corner of Japan"

One of these days
I’ve got to send him a little packet

Now,
tomorrow is the neighborhood festival
which I need to approach strategically
and Sunday is a big day
with Ryoko’s test
a day that could very positively impact our family moving forward

Either way
I’m incredibly proud of her

now the hermit wizard,
out of the hospital from battling the C 
and harassingdoctors and nurses
in Matsumoto
called me four times today at the hospital
so I’m going to call him back

Now