Sunday, April 22, 12:00pm. I slept in due to a late night of American TV watching, thanks to Ryan's parents. They sent him several tapes chock-full o' Simpsons, Law and Order and ER episodes, so Ryan, Guillaume and I spent all night watching them. After a quick lunch I Ryan and I left for basketball. We arrived at the Epson gym to find only Isogai and Ogi (two of our Japanese friends) there. I start to warm up by shooting the ball in the general direction of the net, occasionally bouncing it off the backboard or (if I was really lucky) the rim. When one other Japanese got there, we decided to play a little 2-on-3 until the others arrive. For those who don't know, 2-on-3 involves two players defending the net against 3 players. The offence starts with the ball, and tries to shoot. As soon as a basket is made, or if defense gets the ball, the round is over.
We had been playing for about 10 minutes and I was on defense. Someone tried to pass to Isogai (offence) who was behind me. I lunged to get the ball when what was later described as "a dry cracking sound" echoed throughout the gym. I was suddenly in excruciating pain. I hobbled over to the wall and looked at my left hand. My pinky finger was red, and stuck out at an unnatural angle. It had already started to swell at the base. I looked around to see everyone else holding their own hands in sympathy pains. With as much dignity and lucidity as I could muster, I informed everyone that I thought my finger was broken and asked if someone could please bring me to a hospital. Ryan went out in search of ice, and Isogai ran off to get his car.
What seemed like hours passed. I had my hand in the water fountain, and I was trying to keep a conversation going with Ogi, who doesn't speak English. Eventually I gave up (on the conversation) and sat down with my hand in a cup of water. Moui then showed up, ready to play basketball. When she learned what happened to me, she told me, in that special French sympathetic way she has, that I should have stretched first, and that a real man wouldn't need to go to the hospital.
Ryan arrived with some ice, and moments later Isogai arrived with his car. We made a brief stop at the dorm to pick up some insurance forms I was given when I first got to Japan. I wasn't sure if the policy covered accidental injuries, since the wording was a bit vague ("Covers death, etc.").
Isogai drove fast, and I thought it was because he wanted to minimize the amount of pain I had to go through. Actually, it was because the doctor -- the only doctor at the hospital's Emergency ward -- was scheduled for surgery at 3:00. I asked how there could only be one doctor available. Isogai told me that was because on Sundays, all the hospitals are closed. Apparently, every Sunday, the city plays "Musical Hospitals" and rotates the hospital that is open. That day, Matsumoto Hospital was the lucky one. We actually passed by several closed hospitals on our way there. Isogai then explained that he had to look up in the newspaper, much like movie listings, to find out which hospital was open. I then realized we had nothing to complain about in Canada.
Once we arrived at the hospital, I had to fill out a form with my name, birth date, address, etc, then we sat down to wait for the doctor. We waited maybe 15 minutes when the nurse called me in. The doctor looked at my hand, then ordered X-rays. We waited 10 more minutes for the X-rays. The whole time Isogai is complaining about how long it was taking. I, however, was amazed at the speed, and how uncrowded the emergency room was. I was also amazed that all the nurses wore those white dresses and little hats that some guys go crazy over. I, however, am not one of those guys.
Finally the doctor called us in again, and showed me the X-ray of my fractured left pinky finger. He then had me lay down and, while a nurse held my arm down, he re-set the bone. He told me it would hurt. He wasn't lying. Afterwards I wasn't sure whether to thank him, or hit him. He put my hand in a splint, and then we went to pay. The nurse showed me the bill: 33000 yen. That's roughly $400 Canadian! I'm working it out with my insurance to cover the cost, and we all know that since no one has ever had trouble with insurance companies, I have nothing to be worried about. Right? Right?
Thank God they gave me painkillers.