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Essay “The Sound of the Heart”

March , 2022
A Day of Full Medical Check-up

I went to take a full medical check-up.

I have been going for the check-up almost every year in the last 10 years since my mother passed away.
I feel so grateful that they check our bodies up thoroughly in turns, and feel it is very effective for people who usually don’t have the time to go to the hospital but are concerned about their health.
Hospitals have been under a state of emergency for a very long time now, still with the coronavirus going on. The health professionals have been under terrible pressure for more than two years, with no time to rest. It made me wonder if it was a good idea to go for a “medical check-up” under such a time. But it is true that a medical check-up reveals a variety of hidden illnesses, and it is said that finding out such serious illnesses in an early stage, sometimes can save lives.
So, I headed to the Keio University Hospital this time, with those thoughts on my mind, thanking for the opportunity.

The Keio Hospital has been our family’s regular hospital for many years, since my father’s generation.
The hospital has been renovated and has expanded a lot since the old days and has become a beautiful and spacious building with some constructions still going on in some parts.
They have several restaurants and coffee and tea shops, a beauty salon, and a few convenience stores within the hospital building and the facilities are excellent.
The consultation rooms are clean and bright, with big waiting rooms and the staff are so helpful and polite.
Such a hospital makes you feel like wanting to visit more often! If anyone has a dark impression about a hospital in general and feel tense going there, I really would like them to visit this one, once the Coronavirus is over!

Feeling so grateful of being able to get a check-up done even under the coronavirus disaster, I went to the hospital and asked for the one-day course.
I had a PCR test a few days before the check-up, and on the actual examination day, we were asked to ware masks at all times, disinfect our hands after each test, and make sure that we kept a distance from other patients, and everything was controlled under a tight schedule to keep us safe. Therefore, the patients didn’t
get close to each other, only passing by occasionally, and the examinations were carried out one after the other very smoothly and we didn’t have to wait at all.
For my endoscopy, I asked for an anesthetic as I don’t like the pain (don’t we all), and it went so smoothly that I went to sleep and woke up naturally, feeling rather refreshed and felt like “when did it happen?”.
After resting for a short while on a chair, it was the fun lunchtime, using the lunch voucher they provided! Patients who were there for the medical check-up did not have to wait at all after handing in the voucher (because of the time limitations) and were taken to our tables. The restaurant was on the 11th floor, run by the Imperial Hotel, and the lunch was so delicious! We could choose from a variety of courses made for the medical check-up patients and though I usually make up my mind in an instant, I had the fun of wondering which to choose. The lunch was served swiftly once it was ordered.

After lunch, I rapidly headed to the brain scan in time for my appointment.
The examination itself was very thorough and it made me feel so comfortable and safe, examined by a specialist to the detail.
As I do not like waiting, I felt so good about the whole schedule being smoothly carried out.

After all the tests were over, I went to the Starbucks in the hospital and enjoyed a soy latte and a snack, and that was the end of the check-up day.