This year I’ve seen the insides of more
hospitals and the outsides of more houses than I ever expected.
Nobody—including me—is interested in hearing
a long litany of my maladies and medical adventures, but I’ve been asked to
provide a rundown, and shall do so, albeit briefly.
Shortly after the new year, I spent a week
in the Saitama Prefectural Cardiovascular
and Respiratory Center for treatment of circulatory insufficiency in my
lower legs. I went back a few times as an outpatient, then briefly switched to
daycare at the old, familiar center affiliated with the Kumagaya Co-op Hospital, so that
the nursing staff could deal with dressing changes and medication.
A sonogram done among the other pre-admission
tests caused some concern about the possibility of lymphoma, and I did some
tests and had some minor exploratory surgery at Fukaya Red Cross Hospital, with
only a short inpatient and relatively few outpatient visits for that and other
minor concerns. The negative test results were welcome news.
I caught pneumonia toward the end of June,
but it was a relatively mild case, probably ameliorated by having had the
vaccination.
Just as I recovered from that, a brand-new dermatologist opened in the
neighborhood, and the doctor and specialist nurse there are now treating my
lower leg issues, doing maintenance and monitoring compression stockings and
the like.
More recently I had a couple of colonoscopies
and a week-long stay at the nearby Kumagaya
General Hospital. I’ll be returning there some time next year to have
somewhat more invasive surgery done, but the good news (so far) is that samples
taken so far have been benign.
The worst part of that set of issues was
the post-operative dietary restrictions. The bright and cheerful dietician who
explained those to me on the day I was released became considerably less chipper
when she heard about my typical diet: mostly I eat the things that I had to
avoid, and the suggested substitutes were decidedly underwhelming. Avoiding fried
foods, spicy foods, and things like nuts was not a huge problem, nor was eschewing
alcohol for a while. No caffeine, however, was a serious downer. I’m very
pleased to be free at last from all such dietary restrictions, at least for now.
So much for hospitals and medical issues. This
year also involved a lot of land and housing investigation. The city’s long-running
and very expansive street renovation project has been progressing at its
near-glacial pace, but it was about time to consider when and how we’ll deal
with the need to demolish our current house and make accommodations for future
living arrangements. Accordingly, we investigated and consulted and drove around
considering various real estate possibilities last spring, including a rather
dramatic open house visit in mid-May.
Having seen an ad for an exhibition of a
newly built house by a local builder in Gyoda (the next town from
ours), we drove over to have a look. Just as I approached the house, my crutch
slipped into the grating of a roadside culvert, and I went crashing down, attracting
lots of attention from the builder’s staff (and very kind assistance in getting
back upright, too). We liked the attitude and design philosophy of the small
company’s owner, and started a relationship with him for consulting about land
purchase, infrastructure issues, and housing options.
After considering a few other possibilities,
and knowing that I was interested in a place with more greenery and fewer
cheek-by-jowl rows of houses regardless of how new, the builder, Kadokura-san, suggested
a place rather different from the others. This is an existing house, built a
couple of decades ago by his father to then state-of-the-art specifications and accoutrements,
surrounded by a rather traditional Japanese garden—boulders, stone lanterns,
streambed, bridge, etc.—and located right at the northern edge of the Sakitama Kofun
Ancient Tomb Park.
There’s certainly plenty of greenery around
the place, and much of the neighborhood is never going to be in danger of (sub)urban
encroachment, since it’s a national special historic site. Some renovation of
the building such as triple glazed windows and rooftop solar panels will be
needed, there are some other changes and additions that we’ll want to make, and
it will probably be necessary to find a retired gardener to come in
occasionally and maintain the grounds, but it’s a very attractive and surprisingly
affordable place. There’s no rush for
the administrative details, but we have officially decided to buy the place, and
detailed plans and schedules will be made sometime early in the coming year,
soon followed by the remodeling work.
It's good to have something to look forward
to in the upcoming Year of the Snake.
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