Dan in Japan: Not quite dead yet!

Just severely wounded.

I apologize for not updating. Not only for friends and family who are reading, but also to myself since this blog will serve as a lasting memory of my trip that I look back on as my life goes on. The more I post, the more memories I'll be able to reflect on fondly.

Unfortunately my back problem has sapped a lot of my will to keep up on a variety things. Since it's not on the blog yet, I suppose I should start with the results of my MRI (Only took me two and a half months to write about it... *cough*). The results very clearly show a hernia between my 4th and 5th lumbar vertebra. I have been doing a variety of conservative therapies to try and combat it. I have been given a series of spinal injections (Which have had no effect), a series of increasingly stronger pain medications (Which have also had no effect), and Traction therapy (Which helps for about 2 hours). I don't know if I'm immune to pain killers or if it's just got zero effect on nerve pain. I've also been going to the onsen frequently. And although I generally do feel better afterwards, I don't know that it's markedly better then a regular shower. I do enjoy the outdoor pool though, so I will continue going. I did find out (Rather painfully) that bubble jets, even at low strength are terrible for my back. Based on the ineffectiveness of the treatments (My condition has slowly but steadily worsened) the doctors are saying I will most likely need surgery.

The severity of my pain changes from day to day. Some days I can get up and move around with minimal pain. There are days where I've walked a few Kilometers without much trouble. Then there are other days (Like yesterday) where I can hardly shuffle my way to the lobby (About 70' away). As you may have guessed, it's had a rather negative impact on my schooling (The chairs on campus certainly don't help either). I missed about 3 weeks of classes, and have had to leave school on several occasions to go to the hospital.

Despite all that I do try and do some fun things when my body allows me to. I've gone on a couple of field trips with my class mates that have been pretty cool (Aside from the bus ride, which is terrible for my back). I've found some cool stuff and attended some nifty events in downtown Oita. I've managed to get my hands on some awesome mementos. And of course I do get to hang out with the other exchange students and a small hand full of Japanese as well. Of course I've been taking pictures throughout all of this. Despite the knowledge that I'm supposed to be carrying as little weight as possible, I can't bring myself to leave my camera behind when we go places. Here are a few pictures from October and November. I'll have more time in a week, once I've finished the 4 papers I have due on Friday.