Influenza??

Thursday, April 24

I knew I couldn't go home without something else major/drastic/tramautizing happening to me. I'm just not that lucky, never have been.

So this morning was a typical day. I got up, ate my cereal, got ready for school. Then I left super hayai and took the 37 train to Nagoya, so I could use the wifi there to call my parents.
I sat there for about 15 minutes talking to my parents about everything Kanno and Chris had discussed with me yesterday.
I found out later that Una had been in Nagoya station that morning and had seen me! Small world!

Anyway, I wasn't positive when the 8:07 train came into Nagoya, but I made a guess and ended up timing it perfectly, so that when I got off the phone with them, I swiped through the gate and was just able to hop onto the train before it left! From there it's a short ride to Kanayama.

At Kanayama, I was standing in line, waiting for the subway, when someone came up and stood right against me, so our arms were touching. I turned towards them with a pissed off look and realized it was Sara!!
She laughed and asked if I was "bikurishita" (surprised). Lol, you could say that. So we rode the subway to school together. On the way, I started feeling sick to my stomach and kind of naseous. I was like, aw, crap, I finally ate too much chocolate.

I was able to hold off until we got to school, where thankfully Sara broke off to get a drink from the vending machine. I told her I'd see her later and rushed to the bathroom. When I came out, my stomach felt better, but I had an overwhelming feeling of naseua and tiredness. I really wanted to just lie down and sleep.
I was thinking, oh man I stayed up too late watching Free! each night this past week. But I hadn't gotten less than 7 hours a night! And last night I got 8 hours. But I just figured I was overtired, so I headed to check which classroom I was in (because once I finally got down what room I was in each day, the Japanese students came back and it all changed). But on the way, I saw Heather at the elevators, so I didn't have to, I could just follow her to class. I must have looked bad because she asked what was wrong. I told her I felt kind of naseous.

In class, we had a photographer coming in to take our pictures for the brochure. Mutuskawa sensei had warned us about this, telling us to make sure we looked nice. So I'd worn my bow in my hair. All I wanted to do was put my head down, but I couldn't with the camera man there. So the next twenty minutes were really hard.
Mutsukawa sensei was talking about the Lost&Found on campus and asked us if we'd ever lost anything. I was the only one who had, so he asked what I lost. I told everyone about losing my 3DS and they were shocked I'd lost it, but happy I got it back, lol.

Finally, the camera man left. I put my head down right after he stepped out the door. When I still felt bad, I excused myself to go to the bathroom. When I got to the bathroom, I couldn't stop shaking. I felt really, really cold.
I went back to class and Natalia noticed me shaking and asked Mutsukawa sensei to turn the heat up, but he wouldn't do it, because there were rules against using the heat in April. Lame. I wish I had brought a jacket, but this morning I'd been fine!
I sat there shaking horribly for the last thirty minutes of class until the break between classes. My head felt super heavy, and I got to the point where I couldn't keep it up anymore, so I just put it down and closed my eyes and tried to listed to the lecture. Mutsukawa sensei never asked me to pick my head up or pay attention. I guess he figured I have the best grades in the class, and I know this stuff anyway. But I actually don't know anything about what we're learning now.

At breaktime, Mutsukawa sensei was all like, "Biseru san, daijoubu?" And I was like, "no." 
I told him I couldn't take the reading & writing test we had next period and I was going to go to the clinic instead, but he said if I did that, I'd only be able to get a 90 or below.
So I decided I'd stay and take it. But I kept feeling bad, and so I just knew I wouldn't be able to do well at all, and maybe if I could take it when I felt better, I'd get a 100, which would give me a 90. 

Natalia wanted to know if anyone in my host family had been sick who I could have caught it from. I was about to say no, when I remembered Miya throwing up Tuesday night. And last night I'd sat next to her and played with her. Crap!

Mutsukawa sensei left to call the CJS office and then came back to tell me that they said I could go home right after the test. But I didn't think I could take the test, so I told him I was going to go to the clinic. So he said I could go, but stop by the office first.

In the office, Kanno jumped up when I walked in and asked if I was okay. I told her I wasn't. So she asked if I wanted to go home, because they could send a taxi to take me home. But I said Ichinomiya was kind of far, so she said there was somewhere in the clinic where I could rest. Ah, yes, that's what I'd been hoping for!
Then she walked with me to the clinic. She kept her hand on my back the whole time and talked with me (in Japanese) the whole way, and kept saying we were almost there. She's so sweet! I kept telling her I was really tired and all I wanted to do was lie down, haha.
So when we got there, they led me straight to these rooms with beds. The beds looked super comfy with big comforters on them. When we walked in I was all like "ii desu!" and Kanno laughed.

So I got to sleep!! It was beautiful. Everything I wanted. And I didn't have to wait the hour and a half it would take me to get home. Oh man, I was in Heaven.

I woke up and looked out the window and saw Japanese students eating bentos on the steps of the gym. I looked at my phone and saw it was 12:45. I went out to find the bathroom. I ended up finding a lady who showed me where the bathroom was. I thought I'd been feeling better, but once I started walking, I felt cold and queasy and super tired again.
When I came back from the bathroom, one of the nurses took my temperature. It was 37.8. I couldn't remember what body temperature is in Celsius (I just knew it was in the 30s), but she said I had a fever. Then they all started bustling around and calling people. They wanted to know if I'd eaten lunch yet, but I told them I didn't want to eat lunch. The thought of food made me want to throw up. Thankfully she let me go back and sleep. She asked if I had water, which I was happy about because I'd finished my water bottle earlier and was dying of thirst. She gave me a bottle of Pocari Sweat.
I've been wanting to try that, especially after I saw the guys on Free! drinking it. But I was expecting it to taste like water. I almost gagged because it was all nasty and sweet. So I didn't drink anymore of it and just went back to sleep.

I woke up again around 2:30. Sun was pouring in the window even though the blinds were closed, so I was super hot and sweating like crazy. I wanted to ask to switch beds, so I stood up to go out and ask. But when I stood up, I was hit with a wave of exhaustion and just collapsed back onto my bed and decided I'll just sleep in the sun. Thankfully, the nurse came in then to ask if I wanted to go to my 3:15 class, Folklore. She saw how hot I was and let me move to the next bed. She only spoke in Japanese, but thankfully spoke slowly and super basic Japanese so I could understand her. Then she asked if I liked the Pocari Sweat (she said it was a sports drink), or if I preferred something else. I told her I'd prefer water, so she brought me a water bottle. Thank goodness!!
I said at first that I did want to go to class, but when I stood up to switch beds, I was still really tired and figured if I went to Folklore, I'd just put my head down the entire time anyway, and at least this way, I could actually get some sleep in.

So I told her it would probably be better if I slept. She left and then came back to take my temperature. It was 39.5. She kept saying "sugoi netsu" (bad fever) and "takasugiru" (too high), but I think my body might have just been overheated from the sun.

(I look so sick and gross in this picture, which is exactly how I felt. But when I took it, I thought I looked great, haha!)

She let me sleep more until a little after four when she came in and woke me up to take my temperature again. It was 39.3. She left and then another lady came in, who spoke English as well as Japanese, and asked to take me to the hospital. I'd refused earlier because whenever I'd had a fever when I was younger, I'd just slept and it went away. But they were scaring me because they were saying my fever was really bad, it hadn't gone down, and I might have influenza. I was like, what's influenza?? And why did it sound like one of those plagues that killed everyone in my history books?

So I agreed to go to the hospital. They put me in a wheelchair and wheeled me out to the taxi that was waiting at the curb. It was super awks because all the Japanese kids walking outside were staring at me and the taxi because cars hardly ever drive down the main street of campus.
I was allowed to lie down in the back seat of the taxi, which was nice, but I was starting to feel back to normal at this point and kind of regretted going to the hospital.

When we got there, I got to walk in this time. I gave them my health insurance card and then they led me to the back room where I got to lie down again. A nurse came in and asked me something in Japanese that I didn't catch. Thankfully she was able to ask in broken English when the fever had started, so I told her "kesa" (this morning). Then she left me there for a few minutes before the doctor came in. He had a super deep voice and talked really fast, so I didn't catch what he said. So he switched to English. He told me they were going to test if I had influenza. He made me cover my mouth and then he stuck this long stick down my nose. Ah, it hurt so badly!!!

After he whipped it back out, he pointed to where there were tissues on the floor and then he left. After a while, I heard him talking with the lady who had brought me, Takada. He took his time coming to me to tell me what was going on.

When he finally did, it was to tell me I'd tested negative (I knew it!) and he was going to give me anti-inflammatory medicine and then let me go.

So a few minutes later, I got my medicine. They made me pay $20 for it and I left feeling robbed. So I guess in that respect, Japanese hospitals are the same as American hospitals.

Kanno was in the lobby with one of my fellow ryuugakusei. I don't really know him that well but he's roommates with Dylan from my 300 class. I guess he was sick too? Takada took me back to the taxi. The driver was asleep, but she tapped on the window and he woke up.

I got to lie down in the back again while he drove us all the way back to Ichinomiya!! Sweet! I looked at the fare when we got there and it was over $100!! Good thing Nanzan pays for the taxis!

At one point, I sat up to see where we were and Takada saw I was awake and was like "ohayo!" It was cute. She asked if I recognized where we were because it was in Ichinomiya, but I only did a bit. I think my host family and I had driven past it on our way home from one of the places we went to.

When we got to my apartment complex, Takada gave the driver the paper saying Nanzan takes care of the bill and then asked him if he would take her to Ichinomiya station on the way back and he said he would. Then she walked me inside. I was about to unlock the door, when Yuko opened it. Miyabi was behind her and they both were wearing face masks. Yuko sent Miyabi back into the kitchen and then told me I could go sleep. Ribbon also came out and Takada really liked her!

I went to my room to lie down while Yuko and Takada talked for a while. Then, when Takada had left, Yuko came in and gave me this ginormous bottle of Pocari Sweat that Takada had left for me and told me to keep drinking it so I'd have to pee a lot. Then she gave me a face mask and told me to wear it whenever I was around the rest of the family.

Then Yuko asked if I wanted dinner and I said I did, since I hadn't eaten lunch and plus I'd started feeling better on the way home. So Yuko said she'd bring me some. As I lay back down, though, I started feeling bad again. I was nauseous and really cold like earlier, and I didn't think I could stomach dinner. I figured I should go tell Yuko I didn't want dinner anymore, but I was too tired to get up. And anyway, I figured I could at least try to eat it when she brought it to me.

She came shortly after with my dinner. It was a lot!! There was a bowl or rice, a bowl of meat, a salad, and a bowl of something else that I forgot. I thanked her and let it sit there for a while to see if I'd feel better, but the smell was making me more nauseous. So I went over finally to try to eat a piece of chicken. But I just couldn't do it. The thought of eating made my stomach turn. I was too tired to chew the chicken, so it took me forever to eat. But I finally ate the one piece! And then I couldn't eat anymore.

I texted my parents that I was sick, which really worried my mom, so I tried to call them. But the wifi in my room has started sucking again, so I put on my mask and went out to the kitchen. I passed Ken in the living room and he asked if I was "daijoubu?" I confirmed that I was "daijoubu". I probably sounded ubrupt, but I was so, so tired. 

Then I asked Yuko (in English, because I was too tired to speak Japanese), if I could call my mom somewhere. She let me have the kitchen and she and Miyabi went into the living room.

After I talked to my parents, I told Yuko I couldn't finish dinner, so she came in to get it. I think she was kind of upset and I felt really bad, but I thought I'd be able to eat it since I'd started feeling better on the way home. I apologized, though.

She let me keep the glass of water though. Then I went into the kitchen to fill my water and Yuko told me I should drink the Pocari Sweat, though, because it's made to help your body. Yeah, no. I don't believe any of those ads. Water is forever and always the healthiest thing to drink.

After that, I went straight to bed. I was so tired I didn't even shower, brush my teeth, or change clothes. It was wonderful!