3/11/2011
We experienced the earthquake in Namie-machi, Fukushima. We slept in our car at a nearby park.
3/12/2011
In early morning, we evacuated to Tsushima in Namie-machi following an official evacuation order.
3/13/2011
We evacuated to Fukushima-City. When we went to a convenience store near the evacuation center, there was a burning pain and a sensation of heat on my face as if I was sunburned. I had a headache.
3/15/2011
I (age 43) had an iron taste in my mouth like blood. I had fatigue. My body felt too heavy to move, so I slept all day long. My eyes had a foreign body sensation as if there were glass fibers in them. At night, my husband (age 43) and I had severe headaches.
3/16/2011
Our younger son (age 8) had nose bleeding. We spent most of the day inside to avoid being outside.
3/18/2011
We evacuated to Furukawa-City, Miyagi. The younger son had diarrhea. The older son (age 15) had fatigue.
3/23/2011
We evacuated to Towada-City, Aomori.
Late March, 2011
I have difficulty speaking. The older son revealed he had been having diarrhea for a while.
Early April, 2011
The younger son developed asthma after having cold-like symptoms. We took him to a pediatrician. He was diagnosed with “asthma” and given asthma medications (bronchodilating patch, mucolytics, antibiotics, acute medicine, bronchodilator, steroid disc inhaler). It took almost 2 weeks for his recovery. Later I had similar symptoms which got better after 10 days.
Mid April, 2011
Mid April, 2011
I experienced a marked decrease in memory, concentration and decision-making ability. I had increased gray hair and hair loss. My throat felt like I had something stuck in it. The older son’s diarrhea subsided.
Late May, 2011
I discovered a mass in the front of my throat area.
Early July: We returned home temporarily.
I had headaches and an iron taste in my mouth like blood. I felt hot like I had sunburn. I felt fatigued. My uvula was swollen and I could hardly swallow my saliva for 3 days.
Late December, 2011, to early January, 2012
The older son stayed in Iwaki for a visit. He felt fatigued and lethargic after returning home, and he has not been able to attend school.
In the beginning of the evacuation, all we had was the clothes on our backs. We hardly had any money, and we could not do anything for our health. Since the fall of 2011, when our life began to settle down, we have been eating low-chemical apples with skin on them, brown rice every other day, and as much fermented food like miso as possible. Currently we no longer have such symptoms as headaches, nose bleeds and diarrhea. I still have “strange” sensation in my brain. It’s sometimes hard for me to find words to say or to concentrate. I have difficulty remembering what just happened a moment ago. My eyesight severely declined. Also, I see black spots in my visual fields, which are quite uncomfortable.
I thought keeping a record of what happened to us since the evacuation on my blog might be stimulating to the brain. I have been trying to write sentences, recall and remember things, but each day my brain wants to do it less and less. My memory is becoming vague. I can hardly renew my blog.
Excerpted from “Namie-machi Rhapsody.”
Record of events since the evacuation.
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