All I can say is.....

I WISH I HAD MY CAMERA when I went to get my second opinion for my surgery which will happen by the way.  I will go under the knife to get the tiny polyp removed and I will be silent, not even heavy breathy the doctor said for TWO WHOLE WEEKS.  Can I do it?  Well we know I can.  The real question is will I?  I say yes.  It is a challenge indeed.  To not speak or utter a sound, voluntarily for 14 whole days.  I was thinking maybe I should just go into the mountains while I'm at it and contemplate.  

When you visit a specialist in Japan you cannot make an appointment.  You must go and wait your turn.  We waited, Masa the translator and I, for about an hour and a half.  The hospital looked like a US version hospital circa 1965.  Not that I was alive then but I'm just sayin.  And there were a LOT of people there.  In Japan if you have any ailment you wear a mask.  I think its to keep germs out but it looks like they are keeping them in.  What a polite society.  Wearing a mask to protect others from catching your germs.  Not just cover the mouth with your hand when you sneeze or cough, no you cover your face and walk around like you are about to go into surgery all day.  So polite.  The files move throughout the hospital via some type of train on the ceiling.  I really felt like I was in an episode of Star Wars.  There is this mixture of modern technology, extreme proficiency and ridiculous steps that are intriguing.  My emotions ran from feeling very safe to feeling like I was trapped in a alien spaceship.  

After my evaluation with the doctor, Masa and I received a map.  On this map were the 8 different locations throughout the hospital that we had to visit before departing.  1st stop get blood taken for tests.  Not 1 not 2 but 10 viles of blood.  I needed a transfusion before going to step 2 which was the ol pee cup trick.  Next and electrocardiogram, chest x-ray, a pin going through my ear to see how long it took me to stop bleeding, a lung function test, setting the operation date and finally the bill....TBC...