Sabaidee! My name is Yoshida and I’m a nurse at Japan Heart! It has been six months since I came to Laos.
The other day I got the chance to participate in a surgery in Laos for the first time. I’ll talk about the family scenes I witnessed at that time.
During my duties I saw patients eating lunch with their families in the courtyard of the hospital. Looking around, I found that many people were eating together. One patient even had their drip with them. Every day, there is a picnic.
I was surprised by the calm atmosphere in the hospital, probably because I am used to working in an emergency hospital in Japan.
One time I entered the room of a patient who was nil by mouth after an operation. I saw the family in a circle eating rice. In Japan perhaps it would be uncomfortable to eat in front of a patient who was nil by mouth, but the room was filled with a warm atmosphere. The patient watches their family with a smile and the family smiles in kind. Witnessing this, I thought that eating rice is not just about getting nutrients, it is about being around the table together. Listen to everyone’s happy conversations, see everyone’s happy expressions, get energized. The Lao patients feel the nutrition of love with their five senses.
After the operation, a mother uses a needle to prepare a fishing net while their child rests. In the Lao hospital room, everyday flows as usual.
In recent years, Japanese hospitals have been strengthening their efforts to improve the treatment environment and strict visitation restrictions have been set. Some people may not be able to visit because they live too far away from the hospital. In Japanese hospitals, I feel that those family scenes are fading.
In these moments I feel the gentle richness of Lao people and I fall in love with Laos evermore.
Laos Project Nurse Yoshida