Seeing the gate bar of a coin-operated parking lot and yelling “Kahn Kahn Kahn!”

My son, Takeh, had anaphylactic symptoms from a school lunch at his preschool, and we had to rush home. When I went to pick him up from daycare, I saw that Takeh’s face was swollen and he looked like a different person, but he said, “Oh, did Daddy come at this hour?” I smiled.

The childcare provider gave me an antihistamine, Celestamine, and as a parent I could not take any further action. If the child develops symptoms such as difficulty breathing, coughing, or vomiting, an ambulance must be called, but what to do now? Back at home, the parent and child looked at each other.

But you never know when your condition will suddenly change. First, I called “#7119” for advice. This is a medical consultation service for those who are at a loss as to whether or not to call an ambulance.

Then, after listening to my story, the operator decided that I should go to a hospital but not call an ambulance. After asking for my home address, the operator said, “The automated voice will tell you the five nearest hospitals after this call. Please go to one of them. The symptoms had developed at noon. All the pediatricians in town are on lunch break and do not accept outpatients. Also, food allergies require special knowledge, so not just any hospital will do.

After the operator hung up, a synthetic voice read the name, address and phone number of the hospital. I quickly wrote it down.

The five hospitals I was given were all major hospitals with secondary and tertiary emergency services.

I immediately called the closest hospital.

The call was connected to a representative number, and the voice kept saying, “If you are calling from Fatty, please press 1. If you are calling from number 2, press 2…” I was surprised to hear the talkie go on and on. I was surprised because I was calling because it was urgent. I thought I could ask them directly and frankly, “Can you accept an urgent patient from now on? The call was connected to a representative number, and the voice kept saying, “If you are calling from Fatty, please press 1. If you’re calling from number 2, press 2…” I was surprised to hear the talkie go on and on. I was surprised because I was calling because it was urgent. I thought I could ask them directly and frankly, “Can you accept an urgent patient from now on? I thought I could talk to them directly.

After pressing several times, the person who finally connected me said, “It takes about 30 minutes from the time you arrive to the time you are seen because you have to fill out a medical questionnaire if it is your first visit. I see, that’s right. This is a university hospital, right?

That’s not what I’m talking about, I’d like to call you directly and discuss this with you and I’d like you to accept me even though it’s after outpatient consultation hours.

I called 7119 again and explained the situation to another operator who answered the phone. When I asked for a number that would connect me directly to the children’s outpatient clinic, instead of the operator’s number, I was told that all hospital numbers listed here are operator numbers.

This means that no matter which hospital you go to as an emergency patient, you will have to go through the tedious Talkie process and it will take time to fill out a medical questionnaire for your first visit. So it’s not an emergency.

I decided to bypass the five hospitals from which I received the #7119 call and went to my university hospital, even though it was far from my home. I started with the same representative number, but as long as they accepted me, I could talk to them quickly because they had my medical records.

Takeh and I took a taxi to a distant hospital.

Takeh was examined at the university hospital.

Since he had come all the way here in a cab, I thought he would be given some kind of treatment that might be effective, but nothing special happened. Although his face was still swollen, he did not seem to be in any pain, so it seemed that there was no “more medicine” for him.

The day ended with a blood test to investigate allergens. It took over an hour to arrive at the hospital.

During this time, Takeh was gradually regaining his strength and spent time walking around the hospital grounds while waiting for the bus to return home.

His favorite ambulance was parked in the parking lot, so he went to see it up close and shouted “peep peep peep”. He loves fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars, and whenever he sees one, he always mouths the sound of its siren. Then he would politely add a “woof” sound after the “peep peep” sound.

In a one year old, the first sound effect he learned in life is the siren sound. You’re lucky you don’t have to ride in a car that makes that sound today.

His attention then turned to the bar gate installed at the entrance to the hospital parking lot. The bar was striped yellow and black, so it looked like a railroad crossing circuit breaker to him. He was humming “Kahn Kahn Kahn Kahn Kahn.”

One of his favorite picture books has a story about a circuit breaker, which is why he is exceptionally attached to it.

Incidentally, the so-called “tiger rope” is the same when it comes to yellow and black stripes, but when Takeh sees a tiger rope, he shouts “kahn kahn”. Adults don’t notice for a moment the similarity between the tiger rope and the circuit breaker, so they wonder, “What? Why is the circuit breaker alarm sounding here?” they wonder.

Whatever the case, I’m glad you are feeling better.

(2023.01.24)

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