Hannah

 Yesterday I spent most of the day at the hospital with Hannah!

The day started at 4:30 am!! There are only 3 epilepsy specialists in the whole of northern Kyushu! Hannah managed to get an appointment with the nearest one, but that was still about an hour and a half from where we live! I asked Hannah to check the times of the trains and the bus. She said the best would be to get the express train that leaves at 6:24, which would get us into the city just after 7, so we would have about 20 minutes to find the bus stop.

From our house, in the middle of nowhere, to the station is about 40 minutes. Also, there has been a lot of road works and we weren't sure how busy the roads would be, so an early start was a good idea. 

We got to the station just after 6am. I'm looking at the board for the 6:24 train, but it's not listed. There's one at 6:40! I asked Hannah. She's looking at her phone, then at the board. She grins at me and says that she was looking at the wrong station. The 6:24 train was from the station near her apartment! Never mind!!

We got to the city, then got lost looking for the bus stop. Hannah had Google Maps on her phone, which is great, but the train station and bus station are large buildings, with things on different floors that don't really show up on the map! Took about 10 minutes to find the bus stop. We just got to the stop when the bus pulled up, good timing.

I found the bus ride to be very interesting; it went through parts of the city I hadn't seen before, lots of places I would like to go back to! Also, the passengers were interesting, lots of people going to work, kids going to school. I enjoy watching people and wondering what their lives are like!

The bus stopped right outside the hospital! I was really amazed at the hospital's reception area. More like a hotel than a hospital, there was even a grand piano there! Lovely, comfortable chairs that helped you relax, nice music playing. We went to the receptionist's desk, Hannah gave her name and appointment time, and she was asked to fill out a basic form. I noticed on the form that you ask for help with languages, English and Chinese were offered! We were directed to the second floor. At the elevator, I saw the listings for the floors. From the basement to the 3rd floor were the diagnostic areas, outpatient departments, and doctor offices. On the 4th floor, there is the administration office and a hall. The 5th floor has a restaurant and an indoor pool. The 6th floor is preventive medicine, then the 7th to 10th floors are for inpatients!

downstairs waiting area

The lights for the downstairs lobby area

We had to wait a while, but it was very comfortable, so no problem.

The doctor really took time to take a detailed history from Hannah, he also had the MRI from her last doctor and the notes from the doctor. He asked a lot of questions. Hannah had to have an EEG, which took about 50 minutes!

The conclusion is that she has epilepsy. According to the doctor, she was born with it! He showed us on the MRI an area of her brain that is a lighter color than it should be and not connected to another area! I asked why she didn't have seizures as a child or teenager. The doctor explained that her seizures are triggered by extreme fatigue. Her seizures started because her life became so tiring and stressful, which is normal for a young adult! When we talked later about this, we realized that each seizure came after a particularly hard time in her life, exams, teacher training, and the heat in the summer were all factors in each seizure! Hannah was prescribed some medication; she'll have to take them for the rest of her life!

The visit was long. I'm glad that she has this sorted. She knows what's wrong and has medicine to help her. She is looking into some lifestyle changes, learning how to relax, and also thinking about dietary changes that might help!

After we finished with the hospital, we went back to the train station to get a late lunch!

We found Burger King! There aren't that many in Japan, so it's a nice change. I'm not sure what Hannah ordered, but I got a burger with avocado on and iced Earl Grey tea! Very nice!

Lunch

After that, I was totally exhausted. I was so hot and ached in every part of my lower body!

I would have loved to look around the shops, but felt like I was going to collapse! So we got the train back. Mikey picked us up and drove us back to Hannah's apartment. I'm staying here for a few days!

Tomorrow we have tickets to see Les Misérables! I can't wait!