Japanese Hospitals

What I Learned from My Accident

If you’re not humble, life will visit humbleness upon you.

–Mike Tyson

Looking back over things, it was entirely my fault. Just a few days before, I had been violently thrown from my bicycle in Okayama Prefecture. The result was a grievously broken collarbone and elbow. As I lay in my hospital bed post reconstructive surgery, I found myself unable to sleep due to the throbbing pain in my shoulder. Strangely though, my thoughts were surprisingly clear in a way that only true agony lends itself to. Mulling over what had transpired, it was clear that my ego had gotten the better of me yet again. Unable to merely sit around and wait while the others selected their rides, my impatient and idiotic self somehow thought it would be a good idea to cruise around the dirt parking lot. Not realizing the strength of the front brakes, all it took was a slight grasp to send me flying. Truth be told, I’m honestly lucky to be alive. The ordeal could have been much, much worse.

Now one thing I’ve come to realize during my reflections on my calamity is that I’ve been turning a blind eye to silent risks almost on a daily basis. I’ve jaywalked in front of oncoming traffic while mindlessly replying to comments on Instagram. I’ve darted between cars while bicycling around the streets of Tokyo. Hell, I’ve even squatted heavily in the gym without even taking a second to think about warming up. Talk about the perfect recipe for disaster! In fact, it’s surprising I haven’t encountered some sort of catastrophe sooner given my out of control ego. Meditating deeply on the quote above by Mike Tyson, it became clear that I would need to make some major lifestyle changes and that my lengthy path to recovery would be my instructor in the discipline of humility.

So, long winded introduction aside, what the hell does any of this have to do with traveling to Japan? Quite a lot it turns out. Since my accident, I’ve been to the hospital at least twice per week following my initial three-day internment for surgery. As such, I’ve come to intimately fathom the minute workings of the Japanese health care system in a way that I had once been oblivious to before. Prior to eating literal dirt, I had never once in my adult life had to…