Monday, April 4, 2011

A Nurse's Note vol.2 "Me At First Day"

This is a blog entry by a Japanese nurse who joined emergency response team at shelters in damaged area.  Originally, these entries were written in Japanese, and spoken widely in Japanese.  I decided to translate and summarize her notes in English, so that more people can understand what is actually going on in Japan.

She is a nurse who works in Tokyo, and her hospital formed emergency medical response team after series of massive earthquake and tsunami hit Eastern Japan on March 11, 2011.
You can find the previous entry in here: A Nurse's Note vol.1 "To The Damaged Area"


March 16, 2011, the team announced her destination: Rikuzen Takata, Iwate Prefecture. This is one of the most damaged area in Iwate Prefecture, and the team was transported by air.

10,000 units of IV, medicines, roll bandages, ice patches, feminine cares, baby diapers, gauges, masks and other aids were transported by air also without knowing it is not enough amount at all later on.

A uniform printed "NURSE" was supplied to everybody.

After they passed Tochigi Prefecture, they started seeing damaged houses and towns.  They also saw the nuclear plants.

She had received emails from friends at Sendai after the initial hit, saying "We are safe." and "It's all fine.", but the reality was not true at all.
Everybody became quiet as airplane got closer to Sendai city.
When they flew over Sanriku area in Iwate Prefecture, she was horrified to see war-zone like neighborhood which was under water and she realized this was same Japan as where she was earlier.

In the meantime, she was worried that she could be useful in damaged area.
However, what was waiting for her was so severe and tough that she had no time to be worried.



Aerial view of Rikuzen Takata after tsunami attack


Source:  http://blog.goo.ne.jp/flower-wing

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