Japanese medical care

I had another appointment today. The fracture is gone. I still have to take it easy for another month (no kicking, specifically), but the doctor was twisting my toe all around so I know it's pretty safe to use it. I can bend it now, but it's a little stiff.

I was talking to the new American mom that just moved here (more on them later, I'm sure). She broke her toe a few years ago and says they looked at it, declared it broken and sent her on her way. Hers will require surgery to really fix it someday. It made me really reflect on how excellently I've been treated for this *relatively* simple problem.

I had 3 visits in a month. At each of them, they saw me, took an x-ray and I spoke (if only briefly) to the doctor. At the first one, I was given anti-inflammatory bandages to wrap around the toe 2x per day. The next one was just in and out. The third was in, twisting the toe, and out. The x-rays were doubles - top and side - of my toe. All of that...and I shelled out about $150, total. I'm pretty sure there's no way you could get that kind of care if you were uninsured in the states.