(Before you look at the next two emails with pictures, know that the
images aren't pretty, and you don't need to look at them if you don't
want to, I just sent them in case you wanted to see them... The second
one isn't as bad, but the first one is shortly after the accident....
So it is now up to you, you have been warned... :) )
I hope you got a kick out of my letters title this week, though it is
indeed factual, or was for a short period of time...
So, last week, after I sent out my email, I had a great plan going
shopping for things I needed, and also some things I just wanted (like
cute notebooks for me to take notes in, that I won't be using for
quite a while now..... :( ). Anyway, while we were out, a member that
we had been trying to meet with, called us to invite us over for
dinner that night, and so we were very excited. Just a little before
p-day ended we headed off to the church to meet the elders, who were
also invited, so that we could head over together.... As we were on
our way over there, I got in a bike accident.... It was all my own
fault, but ah well.... It happens.
Anyway, so what happened was I was leading, and as I finished
crossing the street, I saw a bunch of cars coming, and the streets are
really narrow, so instinctively I knew I needed to squeeze the brakes
and slow down, to avoid an accident. But because the brakes are
opposite here in Japan, I squeezed the front brake instead of the back
brake like I had intended to do. So, I flipped... I don't remember
exactly how I flipped, just that it was fast, I knew it was happening,
and it must've been forward and sideways, due to the way I landed. And
then there was pain.. It happened so fast that my bike ended up being
on top of me, with my legs still in riding position, which probably
saved my legs, and I was of course wearing my helmet, which probably
saved my head, and the cute little bag I had just bought was on my
back... And you guessed it, that probably saved my back. But,
unfortunately I didn't have anything to protect my hand.... So my
right hand doesn't work anymore... Kind of sucky, but it is ok, and it
will be ok, I'll talk more about how it is broken a little later....
So we called the elders, and had them come help us, because we were
pretty close to the church, and I was broken, and then we called
sister welch, and she directed us to head to a hospital, because I was
broken.... The chorotachi arrived, and we had the district leader call
the member we were about to go visit, and explain what happened, and
ask for a ride to the hospital. We had the district leader do it,
because he has the most Japanese experience, and so yeah... We walked
to the church to meet her there, and though I hate to admit it, I was
kind of being a baby about it, and whined way more than I should of,
but ah well... After she arrived, she had to call hospitals to make
sure they had emergency doctors that were still there, because in
Japan, it seems only the really big hospitals have doctors after
6pm.... Strange, but that is how it is. We got to the hospital, and
had to do the normal paperwork.... Except in Japanese of course, and
then after waiting, for a while, and after some X-rays, we got to see
a doctor. Found out that my pinky was broken, and my ring finger
slightly fractured... So the doctor tried to just pull it back into
place that night, but they were concerned about causing me to much
pain, and i didn't know how to say just do it (basically at this
point, my brain was exhausted, and I wasn't thinking in
Japanese/understanding it any more...), so they wrapped me up, and
sent me off, with instructions to come back tomorrow, and they would
finish....
So we came back Tuesday, and met with a new doctor, who recommended
surgery, we asked how much, and they said about $1000, because my
insurance card still hadn't come from the mission home (which was
weird, because i later found out that everyone else had received their
card.... ), and so I was going to have to pay full price, well since
in Japan basically everything is in cash, I didn't have any way to pay
that much, so I was kind of hesitant to agree to that, cause I felt I
needed to talk to sis welch about it first. So that day ended with my
finger still broken.... That afternoon, we sent some pictures of my
X-rays to doctor Hansen, a radiologist in Tokyo who is a friend of
president and sister welchs', who is basically consulted when anything
like this happens... For a second opinion. He called, and we talked
for a while. He agreed with the doctors opinion, and after talking
with him for a while about it, I felt very calm, and decided that was
what I was going to do. He also told me not to hesitate to ask the
elders of Israel for a blessing, and that was funny, because I already
asked, and mills shimai and I were at the church waiting for them to
come give me one, which was very nice, and so comforting.
So that was Tuesday, Wednesday we met with the doctor again, and said
we wanted the surgery, and he started talking about what was going to
happen, but because I don't understand hospital Japanese basically at
all, and because what he was saying, that I did understand sounded
different from what doctor Hansen had talked about, I got super
confused, and a little worried... I don't like not knowing what is
going on... So we contacted sister welch, who had doctor Hansen call
us, and he was able to explain to me based off of the little I did
understand what the doctor was talking about, and so that was good...
It is just such a blessing to be able to talk to someone in English
about this, who knows what is going on, and can help me understand...
So once that was figured out, i decided to go ahead and schedule the
surgery. Which lead to a bit of confusion, because of misunderstanding
what we had decided, more like which hospital I wanted to have the
operation at, but we eventually got it sorted out, and it was all
good.
My insurance card still hadn't come by this point, so elder Evelyn,
one of the senior couple serving here came down to pay for the surgery
the next day. It was so helpful to have him there, because he is
fluent in both Japanese and English, so he could translate for us, and
we were finally able to effectively communicate (we had always had a
member with us, but the members don't really speak English all that
well so it was a challenge) this was in the morning, and they
apparently hadn't scheduled my surgery, but they were able to put it
in in the afternoon, but we ended up being at the hospital all through
that! It was a very long wait... Elder evelyn had to get back to Kobe,
do he just handed us plenty of money to cover it, and told us to call
after it was all over. Before he left, I had to sign some papers
agreeing to the surgery... Just more paperwork basically, and also
agreeing to the rehabilitation.... And that was fun, my left handed
writing isn't very good.... Anyway, The surgery was.... Fun? I don't
know if that's the right word... But whatever. The Japanese are really
polite, and they tried hard to communicate with me... And they always
asked my permission before doing anything, including the iv, and the
anesthesia.... Except, I didn't fully understand what they were
saying, but ah well.... I figured it and, and then was like "dozo"
basically go ahead... They are the doctors, they know more than me,
right? So the surgery was actually really simple, they just numbed my
fingers, and the area around them, put my bone in the right place, and
then put pins in my fingers to keep them in place. I didn't feel it at
all, which was a strange sensation, because they had a screwdriver
like thing, and a hammer to put them in with, so I could hear it, but
I couldn't feel it, and I also couldn't see it, because there was a
curtain type thingy in the way... I imagine that that is how would
feels.... If would felt, cause it doesn't feel it, but yay... That was
where my mind was....Anyway, so they wrapped up my hand, after taking
X-rays to check that it was good, and sent me on my way to pay, with
instructions to come back the next day for a cast. Surprisingly the
surgery was not near as much as they said, it was under $300 dollars,
so that was good, and if my insurance card comes within 30 days, I can
take it and the receipts from all the payments to the hospital and get
reimbursed for what the insurance would have covered, so it is all
good. They also asked me some questions about the difference between
Mormons and Protestant and Catholics, so I got to try and explain
that... Which was hard, mainly because they didn't understand word
like prospect or servant... And i was kind of struggling to define
those... One of the doctors spoke a bit of English... But my brain
kept on trying to speak Japanese, so I couldn't really take full
advantage of that anyway....
The next day was super painful... I had been fairly hyper right after
he surgery, probably from the anesthesia... But that wore off... But
then I woke up in he muddle of the night, and I no longer felt so
wooden, I could definitely feel the nails in my hands... It was
painful, but I took some pain pills, and eventually went back to
sleep... Though American drugs are so much better than Japanese drugs
I will tell you that... The doctors here don't like American drugs, so
they gave me some pain pills, and they work... They are just weak...
Anyway, so we went in and got my cast.... And due to the fact that I
will need to move my fingers during the six week cast period, which is
in large part my rehabilitation, it is shaped kind of funny... And
bent... Pictures to follow of course, but in order to get it into that
shape, one of the doctors had to push the already hardening cast over,
and since my hand was inside said cast, I could feel it, and it
hurt.... A lot! But it no longer hurts.... Very much, so I'm good,
don't worry about me, and my fingers should heal just fine.... I'm
just left handed until they do....
So that was the majority of my week, that and a lot of sleeping,
because my energy store had been wiped out by hospital visits, but it
is all good, and I'm glad I no longer have to go to the hospital every
day, just once or twice a week...
Anyway, to the awesome experience of my week. Saturday we went to
takahashi, a city in my area, because we had several teaching
appointments, and a member who would be going with us, that was the
granddaughter of two of the people we were meeting with. The first
grandma we saw before, and had agreed to this second appointment,
which she had apparently never done with missionaries before... Which
in and of itself is a miracle, but she is super busy... Anyway, so we
got to know her some more, and then shared a message about what
eternal families are, how God loves us and wants to help us, and about
prayer, and how that opens the way for Heavenly Father to help us. She
actually asked us questions about how we ask for help, and that was
how we lead into prayer... Without even realizing it, I kind of took
over the lesson. And taught most of it, and it went well... She asked
us to share a personal experience about receiving an answer to our
prayers, and my companion couldn't think of one, so I also was the one
to share... I could really feel the spirit, and at the end of that
lesson we invited her to pray.... But she refused... Which I didn't
really understand, because she seems to want to receive help from God,
and also wants an eternal family, but she said no... She is just
stubborn I guess... She wasn't exactly excited to plan another visit,
but with her grandmothers help, we made another appointment, so that I
can 'practice my japanese'. Not necessarily the best reason for her to
keep meeting with us, but we will keep sharing messages when we meet
with her, and hopefully, her heart will be softened... We then visited
the daughter of a less active family, and talked with her for a bit...
Getting to know her, and just trying to build a relationship with her,
but she was super busy, so it wasn't a long visit.
We then went to the other grandmas to visit with her for a little bit.
She wasn't feeling very well, so it was a short visit, but it went
really well. We got to know each other, and since the last
missionaries had committed her to read from the Book of Mormon for
five minutes a day with her granddaughters. That was a couple months
before, but the awesome thing is that she has not only been reading,
but keeping a journal about what she read and such! She is at the time
of the savior a birth currently and is enjoying it! Because she wasn't
feeling to good, we ended there after singing love at home (her
favorite hymn), but I am hopeful that she will be feeling better when
we next visit... She is also the bishops mom, so we have lots of
member support from him and his family as we try to help her! She is
just so sweet and awesome, and I can't wait to get yo know her better.
We then took a card and a small treat to an inactive who's birthday
had been Friday.... She wouldn't come see us, but her mom and dad, who
are both very strong members were happy to see us, and we had a good
chat with them.
We were then invited to the oosugis for dinner, and the elders were
also invited... It was wonderful, and delicious, and we shared a
combined (all four missionaries) short message on families, and how
important they are. Hey really seemed to enjoy our testimonies, and
they asked some more questions about how we all got sealed in the
temple, because I shared that with them the first time mills shimai
and were over, and they had gotten curious.
Sunday was good... Everyone asked about my hand, and expressed
condolences, but I just tried to be upbeat about it, because yes, I
miss the use of my right hand, but no, it is not the end of the world,
and doesn't change how much i want to help these people!
To answer your question mom, the storm did hit our area, and was
fairly bad, but we didn't get the worst of it, and due to my injury we
were inside, so we weren't really affected.... I am glad that
everything is going so well for the family, and that Marvin is having
so much fun, even if it does cause problems for everyone else. Hope
everything continues to go well, and that you continue to feel better.
Know that I am well, and also happy that since I had to learn
something fro this experience the injury was minor, and easily
fixable... Looking forward to learning the lesson I need to from being
'hand'i'cap'ped... :)
Thank you all for your prayers in my behalf! They have really helped
this week, and I can feel the support! You are all amazing, and I love
and miss you! I am so grateful that I am on a mission, and get to
share this knowledge that I have with others! The gospel is true!
Christ is our savior! The Book of Mormon is so important! Read from it
every day, every day, every day! As Kevin w. Pearson said in his talk
'stay by the tree' last general conference. I am so grateful that I
get to have my family for eternity, and that I know the gospel is
true, and I get to be in Japan sharing that knowledge.
Love, Sister Makin
 |
| They turned my arm pink with whatever they used to clean it. |
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