A Puffy-Ankled Napoleon

Not that I mean to write about personal ailments, but this morning the doctor said something interesting enough to share.

I've had some swelling in my right ankle over the past couple of weeks. It's not particularly severe or uncomfortable, but I've had no injury or disease that would explain it. A little research on the Internet confirmed my suspicion that it's likely too many late nights/early mornings in front of the TV or PC catching up with me, but also mentioned the possibility of enough scary looking but unpronounceable diseases that I decided to see the doctor just for peace-of-mind.

Doctor K. and his nurses poked and pricked and monitored, but to my relief found everything normal. His prescription matched what I'd learned on the Internet: regular sleep, reduced salt, plenty of water.

The doctor's gem of a quip was imparted while we were discussing lifestyle factors. When I fessed up to averaging three hours of sleep each night Doctor K. looked shocked. The first words out of his mouth were, "But that's like Napoleon."

I was impressed he thought of the legend about the French Emperor that I only had a vague memory of ever hearing before. I'm not sure it was the most effective advice for a closet egomaniac like me, though: Puffy ankles seems like a small price to pay if I get to have a place in history conquering Europe and reforming France in my own image. (But would people read my blog then?)

Living in Japan, there are enough horror stories about treatment (or mistreatment) received at the hands of Japanese medical institutions that I have some anxiety about what would happen if I found myself with a serious medical problem. However, I realized today that although today was the first time to csee Doctor K. for my own sake, I've seen him enough times for the kids that I feel comfortable with him even having to rely on my broken Japanese to communicate. His manner talking to patients is open, direct, and respectful. He seems competent and his clinic is well-equipped and has a friendly staff. I feel like he is at least one doctor in Japan I can trust.