Today, I'm thrilled to introduce my first ever guest blogger, Steve from www.chronsinjapan.wordpress.com! Steve is an expat living in Japan, where he was first diagnosed with Crohn's. He shares a powerful story about the importance of finding good doctors while traveling or living abroad. Having a physician who is comfortable treating foreigners, and speaking up for oneself during treatment are all wonderful take-away's from Steve's blog. Take a read, and join me in offering thanks for his willingness to share his story!
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Hello! This is Steve from www.chronsinjapan.wordpress.com and here is a little about my experiences living with Chron’s Disease in a foreign country. Thanks to Crohnie Travels for the invitation!
I have been living in Japan since 1999, but in 2008 I got sick and it turned out to be Chron’s Disease. Living in Japan with Chron’s has been tough, not just a battle with the disease, but also a struggle to get to grips with a different medical system. I don’t know if I would recommend the experience, but somehow I managed to do it!
I have been living in Japan since 1999, but in 2008 I got sick and it turned out to be Chron’s Disease. Living in Japan with Chron’s has been tough, not just a battle with the disease, but also a struggle to get to grips with a different medical system. I don’t know if I would recommend the experience, but somehow I managed to do it!
As I said, I have been living here for 14 years and have been studying the language and culture for just as long. In 2008, when I got sick, I was already fluent in the language. I had never spent much time in a hospital though!
The first hint that I had Chron’s Disease was a fistula, and I was admitted to hospital to have an operation and clean up the mess. The doctor, who ran a private clinic, came highly rated in the area. Unfortunately he had a horrible bedside manner and probably no experience in dealing with foreigners. I suspected this from the start, but only truly understood it once I was admitted to hospital. You see, he never talked to me directly. If he did have something to say, he usually spoke to me through the nurses… with one foot out the door. No really… one foot out the door. The ridiculous thing was that the nurses couldn’t speak English either, so he would ask them something in Japanese, they would then ask me in Japanese, and I would reply to everyone… in Japanese. As I said, my Japanese was already fluent, and my medical Japanese took off rapidly, but it didn’t matter much to him. Just kind of a downer when he personally wheeled me out of the operating theater to the recovery room, yet didn’t say a word to me, or even make eye contact.
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