◆Alliance against physical restraint in psychiatric care （精神科医療の身体拘束を考える会） （仮）2017/08/19 「End long-term restraint in psychiatric care (精神科医療における身体拘束の状況の改善を求める)」［外部サイト（English・日本語）］
★Call for signs. 賛同を募っています。
The family of a Kiwi man who died after being tied down for 10 days in a psychiatric hospital are begging the Japanese Government to ban the practice.
Yesterday, Kelly Savage's family helped launch a campaign against the increasing use of physical restraints in the country's hospitals at a press conference in Tokyo.
They said Japan's use of the practice was out of line with the rest of the world.
"It's not going to bring Kelly back, but at least his death won't be in vain," said Kelly's brother, Pat Savage.
Kelly, 27, died after being transferred to Yamato City Hospital on May 17, a week after suffering a heart attack and more than two weeks after he was hospitalised for mental health issues.
It had not been established what caused the heart attack, but doctors suspected deep vein thrombosis as a result of being restrained for up to 10 days continuously.［……］
Kelly's mother Martha Savage spoke about her son's life, how loved he was, and how much he had been enjoying living in Japan, where he'd been teaching English for the past two years.
[Kelly, 27, has been teaching english in Japan for about two years before he died. Photo/ supplied by Harada Elementary School]
The alliance was being led by Kyorin University professor Toshio Hasegawa, who has spent the past decade researching the use of restraint in Japanese hospitals.
It also included psychiatric patients, lawyers and academics as well as families like the Savages who have lost loved ones.
At the conference, Hasegawa said restrained patients on average were strapped down for 96 days.
This compares with several hours to several tens of hours in many other countries, he said.
"What I would like to ask you first is to think about the feelings of those who are dying while under physical restraint."［……］
The alliance's first action was to call on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Minister of Health, Labour, and Welfare Yasuhisa Shiozaki to prohibit the use of restraint lasting more than 24 hours in psychiatric care.
They also asked for an immediate investigation into possible human rights violations and for tighter rules around how and when restraint could be used.
To sign the petition or learn more about the campaign, you can click here.
Rules around restraint:
The United Nations Convention Against Torture, which Japan has ratified, says use of excessive restraint is a breach of human rights, which must only be used as a last resort, and should be removed as soon as possible.
However, there are no exact guidelines about how long is too long or when restraint must be lifted.
A recent report into seclusion and restraint practices in New Zealand linked restraint to an increased risk of death and physical harm, including blood clots.
A New Zealand family says it wants to be a catalyst for change in mental health care in Japan, following the death of a family member who went into cardiac arrest after being restrained in a hospital for 10 days.
Kelly Robert Savage, who was working as an English teacher in Japan, was admitted to Yamato Hospital outside of Yokohama in late April after experiencing manic episodes related to his bipolar disorder.
He was immediately strapped down because the hospital thought he might become agitated, said his older brother Patrick Savage, who accompanied him at the time.
Kelly went into cardiac arrest after 10 days and was transferred to Yamato Municipal Hospital, where he died seven days later.
The family suspects the death was caused by deep-vein thrombosis resulting from his immobility, and blames the hospital for what it says was inhumane use of physical restraint.［……］
Toshio Hasegawa, a professor at Kyorin University in Tokyo, said at the news conference that psychiatric patients in Japan are restrained for an average of 96 days, while in other countries restraint lasts for only a few hours.
A health scholar and the family of an English teacher from New Zealand who died after being tied to his hospital bed for 10 days announced Wednesday the establishment of a group that will push for a review on the use of physical restraints at psychiatric hospitals.
The group, Seishinka Iryo no Shintai Kosoku wo Kangaeru Kai, which can be translated as “A group to review restraints at psychiatric hospitals,” is headed by Toshio Hasegawa, professor of health sciences at Kyorin University in Tokyo who has researched human rights abuses relating to the strapping down of patients at psychiatric hospitals across the country.
The group's establishment was spurred by the May 17 death of Kelly Savage, a 27-year-old JET teacher who lived in Kagoshima Prefecture. On May 10, he had a heart attack at Yamato Hospital in Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture, where he had been hospitalized for 10 days after suffering a manic episode linked to bipolar disorder while visiting his brother.
The Savage family suspects that the use of restraints at the hospital in which he was tied to his bed at the waist, wrists and ankles during most of the 10-day stay at the facility led to the formation of deep vein thrombosis in his leg and caused a fatal heart attack.［……］
Health ministry statistics show that the number of restrained patients doubled over the past decade to 10,682 in fiscal 2014. Hasegawa’s research of 11 psychiatric hospitals in 2015 also found that 245 patients were restrained for 96.2 days on average.
The group will also collect signatures both in and outside Japan to ask hospitals to stop the excessive use of restraints and will submit them to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other key government officials, Hasegawa said.
The group's campaigners include former Miyagi Gov. Shiro Asano, former Chiba Gov. Akiko Domoto, sociologist Shinya Tateiwa, Martha Savage as well as some lawyers and groups of people with mental disabilities.
Kelly Savage, un profesor de ingles de 27 anos que residia en Japon desde 2015, murio el pasado abril de un paro cardiaco, causado posiblemente por una trombosis intravenosa debido a las condiciones en las que se encontraba internado, explicaron sus familiares en una rueda de prensa organizada hoy en Tokio.
El fallecimiento de un joven neozelandes en un hospital psiquiatrico de Japon tras permanecer diez dias atado a una cama ha puesto de relieve una practica “inhumana y generalizada” en el pais asiatico, afirmo el 19 de julio un experto nipon.
Kelly Savage, un profesor de ingles de 27 anos que residia en Japon desde 2015, murio el pasado abril de un paro cardiaco, causado posiblemente por una trombosis intravenosa debido a las condiciones en las que se encontraba internado, explicaron sus familiares en una rueda de prensa organizada hoy en Tokio.
La practica de inmovilizar a pacientes atandoles de pies, cintura y manos durante largos periodos de tiempo esta “generalizada” en los psiquiatricos de Japon, dijo, por su parte, el profesor de Ciencias de la Salud la Universidad Kyorin de Tokio, Toshio Hasegawa, quien comparecio ante los medios junto a los allegados de Savage.
En Japon hay actualmente unos 20.000 internos en centros psiquiatricos sometidos a una inmovilizacion fisica similar o encerrados en cuartos de aislamiento, lo que supone el 7 por ciento del total de los pacientes, segun Hasegawa.
El numero de pacientes sujetos a estas “practicas alarmantes” se ha duplicado durante la ultima decada, dijo el experto, quien afirmo que el fenomeno es producto de un sistema psiquiatrico “basado en el autoritarismo”, “contrario a los estandares medicos internacionales” y que vulnera “los derechos humanos y la dignidad del paciente”.［……］
La autopsia no pudo determinar si la trombosis intravenosa fue la causa de la muerte, aunque senala como posibles motivos disfunciones circulatorias o del ritmo cardiaco derivadas del tratamiento del paciente.
La familia ha solicitado al hospital todos los informes del paciente sin obtener respuesta por ahora y ha reclamado al Gobierno una investigacion, mientras que el centro medico ha evitado pronunciarse publicamente sobre el caso.
“No queremos que esta tragedia suceda a nadie mas. Solo pedimos que Japon cambie la forma en la que trata a los pacientes psiquiatricos”, dijo la madre del fallecido, Martha Savage.
O professor de ingles Kelly Savage tinha 27 anos e desde de 2015 morava no Japao. Ele teve uma parada cardiaca e morreu em abril, provavelmente por uma trombose intravenosa devido as condicoes em que estava internado.
A familia do jovem da Nova Zelandia que morreu em um hospital psiquiatrico no Japao depois de ficar dez dias preso a uma cama deu uma entrevista coletiva nesta quarta-feira em Toquio. Acompanhada de um professor da Universidade Kyorin, eles afirmaram que o falecimento do rapaz trouxe a luz uma pratica “desumana e generalizada” no pais.
O professor de ingles Kelly Savage tinha 27 anos e desde de 2015 morava no Japao. Ele teve uma parada cardiaca e morreu em abril, provavelmente por uma trombose intravenosa devido as condicoes em que estava internado. De acordo com o professor Toshio Hasegawa, a pratica de imobilizar pacientes pelos pes, pela cintura e pelas maos durante longos periodos e amplamente difundida nas clinicas psiquiatricas do Japao.
Segundo ele, o pais tem, atualmente, 20 mil pessoas internadas em clinicas como a que o neozelandes estava e que sao submetidas a imobilizacoes parecidas ou fechadas em quartos de isolamento (7% do total).［……］
A autopsia nao conseguiu determinar se a trombose intravenosa foi a causa da morte, mas apontou como possiveis motivos disfuncoes circulatorias e do ritmo cardiaco derivadas do tratamento do paciente. A familia pediu ao hospital todos os relatorios do tratamento, mas ainda nao teve resposta. Tambem foi solicitada uma investigacao ao governo, enquanto que o centro medico evitou se pronunciar publicamente a respeito.
“Nao queremos que esta tragedia aconteca com mais ninguem. So pedimos que o Japao mude a forma como trata os pacientes psiquiatricos”, disse Martha, a mae de Kelly.
日本で英語教師として働いていた外国人男性が神奈川県の精神科病院で入院中に急変し、死亡した件。死亡と入院中の「身体拘束」の関連性が疑われる中、杏林大学の長谷川教授は「おそらくサベジさんの死は氷山の一角」と危惧する。海外と大きな隔たりのある日本の身体拘束の現状とは。【BuzzFeed Japan / 朽木誠一郎】
On April 30, a 27-year-old English teacher from New Zealand was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in the city of Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture, after a manic episode linked to bipolar disorder.
Ten days later, his heart stopped.
Kelly Savage was rushed to another hospital in the city, where he was resuscitated but was left with severe brain damage. He died seven days later.
The Savage family alleges that the death was caused by the use of physical restraints, pervasive across psychiatric hospitals in the country and a practice long criticized internationally as inhumane and cruel.
Kelly’s older brother Pat, who lives in Yokohama, was with him when he was hospitalized at the privately run Yamato Hospital. He suspects the death resulted from the use of restraints, saying his brother remained strapped to his bed at the waist, wrists and legs nearly continuously for 10 days.
Savage said the lack of mobility during this period likely led to the formation of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in his brother’s leg, which traveled up the bloodstream, blocked the flow of blood in the lungs and caused a heart attack.
“I don’t have problems with the doctors who treated him,” Savage told The Japan Times last week. “The only one that sticks out is the restraints.”
He said they “should never have been used in the first place” and especially not for 10 days.［……］
Savage, who was with his brother throughout the process, said he was surprised to see restraints being used right away. By then, he said, his brother had calmed down and was complying with orders.
“I was shocked that they suddenly put restraints on him,” Savage said. “And I told them I don’t think he needed that, but they said he will remain restrained for a while.”
During the Golden Week holidays, family members were not allowed to visit the hospital, but Savage called every day to ask that his brother’s restraints be removed. The request was not because of the risks of DVT ? which he did not know of at the time and which was never explained by hospital staff ? but simply because he was worried about his brother’s comfort, he said.
But his brother remained strapped down, Savage said, quoting a doctor who briefed the family after his death. The doctor explained that, during the 10 days, the wrist restraints were sometimes removed but the leg and waist restraints were not, he said.
On the night of May 10, Kelly Savage was found in a state of cardiac arrest and was taken to Yamato Municipal Hospital. He died on May 17 from brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen, but an autopsy failed to pinpoint the cause of his cardiac arrest, his brother said.
But according to hospital records dated May 14, a cardiologist at Yamato Municipal Hospital wrote: “To speculate, given that he was restrained for 10 days, it is possible that DVT was formed at some point and that this led to pulmonary embolism and cardiac arrest.”
Asked by the family why a blood clot wasn’t found, the cardiologist explained that when a blood clot is new, it’s hard to distinguish from regular blood that hardens after death, the family said.
It has long been accepted that physical restraints on psychiatric patients increase the risk of developing DVT.
In a study published in the medical journal Psychosomatics in 2014, Dr. Takuto Ishida examined the conditions of 181 restrained patients at Sakuragaoka Memorial Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in Tama, western Tokyo. The study found that, while all restrained patients wore compression stockings and received anticoagulant shots to prevent DVT, the condition was detected in 21 patients, or 11.6 percent, much higher than the incidence of DVT in the general population ? 1 in 1,000.
Meanwhile, in a letter addressed to the family dated June 26 and seen by The Japan Times, Yamato Hospital Director Dr. Kazuhiko Ishii defended the decision to not report the case to a third-party medical accidents investigation center ? created by the government in 2015 to probe “unexpected” hospital deaths ? despite the family’s request to do so.
Ishii wrote that the hospital’s treatment was “appropriate,” and that the death “cannot be considered to have resulted from treatment” at Yamato Hospital. Ishii also suggested that the municipal hospital should report the death to the investigation center as it “has more expertise” about what caused the death.
In addition, Ishii wrote in another letter dated June 27 that the cardiac arrest was “beyond (the hospital staff’s) control” and that Kelly Savage had been restrained “only when it was necessary.”
Yamato Hospital, when contacted by The Japan Times, requested that inquiries be directed to its lawyer, Kimihiro Itaya.
Itaya declined to answer questions about the case, saying that since the Savage family has given notice of plans to sue, the hospital will make its case in court.
Norio Sato, head of the general affairs department at Yamato Municipal Hospital, declined to comment, citing privacy concerns and saying the case mainly concerns Yamato Hospital.
The death and the family’s quest for an investigation have bigger implications for mental health care in Japan, where the use of physical restraints has surged over the last decade.
The use of restraints at mental hospitals is permitted by law only when designated doctors determine that patients can harm themselves or others.
According to the latest health ministry statistics, the number of patients strapped down was 10,682 in fiscal 2014, compared with 5,109 in 2003, when the government started taking statistics.
Toshio Hasegawa, professor of health sciences at Kyorin University in Tokyo, said the use of restraints is increasing, adding that the duration of their use is inhumanely long. His study of 11 psychiatric hospitals across the nation in 2015 found that 245 patients were restrained for 96.2 days on average, with some being restrained for more than six months or even a year. While statistics are hard to find, that’s much longer than in countries where data are available, where the use of restraints typically lasts less than 50 hours at the longest, he wrote in his 2013 book on the issue.［……］
Pat Savage is also asking that the policy of tying down patients be reviewed ? at Yamato Hospital and beyond.
“The problem is that it’s legal, that it’s been done all throughout Japan,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a case we can win in courts; the problem is bigger than that. The laws need to be changed to bring (the situation) in line with the international community.
“We just want all the hospitals in Japan to change their practices.”
Wednesday, July 19, 2017, 16:30- 17:30
"Unruly physical restraint of patients at psychiatric hospitals must stop"
Language: The speech and Q & A will be in English and Japanese with English interpretation
There is a dark secret in Japan’s psychiatric treatment, in which physical restraint of patients is widely practiced. It is so widely practiced that it might be causing unnecessary death of patients.
The questionable practice was highlighted earlier this year when Kelly Savage, a 27-year-old English teacher from New Zealand, died in Yamato Hospital’s psychiatric ward. Kelly, who was put waist, leg and wrist restraints, and tied to a bed for 10 days before he suffered a heart attack on May 10.
Physical restraint refers to patients’ limbs being tied to a bed using specialized tools. It causes substantial physical and psychological distress on the patient. However, it is widely practiced in Japan because a psychiatrist alone can authorize it on the basis of clear hyperactivity and/or agitation.
In Japan, although the number of patients in psychiatric wards of a hospitals is decreasing, cases of physical restraint are increasing. According to national data, 10,682 people were restrained in 2014 more than double the number from a decade earlier.
An investigation of 11 hospitals conducted by Prof. Toshio Hasegawa of Kyorin University showed the average duration of physical restraint was 96 days. This directly contradicts UN Resolution 46/119 on “The protection of persons with mental illness”.There are approximately 290,000 patients in Japanese psychiatric hospitals, of which over 200,000 are hospitalized for more than a year. The average length of stay is approximately 280 days.
There are many reports of patients and their families being shocked to find restraint being applied even at times when patient are perfectly calm. It is also common for patients to be restrained on the grounds of fall prevention, and there are examples of restraint being used in a disciplinary manner.
Speakers will share the awful experience they had with Kelly’s hospitalization, and call for reviewing the legitimacy of the widely practiced use of physical restraint.
出典:The Foreign Correspondent' Club of Japan
日本で英語教師として働き暮らすニュージーランド人のケリー・サベージさん（27）が5月17日、心臓発作のため神奈川県大和市内にある大和市立病院で死亡した。入院中、サベージさんを長時間にわたって無理に拘束していた疑いがあるとし、遺族は病院に対して診療記録を公開するよう訴えている。ニュージーランド紙『ヘラルド（Herald）』が伝えた。（中略）
サベージさんは日本に渡航する前、ウェリントンの病院でも精神病と診断され、通院していた過去がある。最近はほぼ回復したため兄と日本で一緒に暮らし、英語教師として働きながら日々の生活を楽しく過ごしていたという。しかしサベージさんは今年4月頃から再び妄想的な発言が多くなったり、奇怪な行動が増えてきたりしたため、兄が日本での入院を勧めたという。
ニュージーランドの外務貿易省（Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade ）は診療記録の公開に向けて、東京の在日本ニュージーランド大使館が遺族に対し支援を行っていることを明らかにした。
The family of a New Zealand man who died after being tied to a bed for 10 days in a Japanese psychiatric ward say his care was an abuse of human rights.
Kelly Savage, 27, died in Yamato Hospital, Japan on 17 May (file photo)
Kelly Savage, 27, died in a hospital in Japan on 17 May (file photo). Photo: Supplied
Kelly Savage, 27, had been teaching English in Japan for two years when a pre-existing mental health condition worsened.
His Wellington-based family say he became manic after stopping his medication because of the side effects.
He was admitted to Yamato Hospital under a compulsory order and restrained on a bed in a secure ward for 10 days.
A nurse found him in cardiac arrest in mid-May and he died seven days later.
His death certificate lists the cause of death as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy caused by cardiopulmonary arrest.
But his family say the cause of the cardiac arrest is inconclusive and it has been suggested to them that deep vein thrombosis may have been involved because of the long period of restraint.
They say researchers in Japan have reported that 30 days' restraint is common there.
出典:ニュージーランド・ヘラルド電子版
New Zealand man died after being tied to bed in Japanese hospital, says family
Kelly Savage, 27, was admitted following a manic episode, but died after 10 days in which he was reportedly restrained at the wrists, ankles and waist
出典:ザ・ガーディアン電子版
Kelly Savage, 27, was admitted following a manic episode, but died after 10 days in which he was reportedly restrained at the wrists, ankles and waist
[Kelly Savage had ‘bloomed’ while teaching English in Japan, his mother told the Guardian. Photograph: Savage family]
A New Zealand man has died after allegedly being forcibly tied to a bed in a Japanese psychiatric hospital for 10 days.
Kelly Savage, 27, who also had US citizenship, died in May after a massive heart attack at the Yamato hospital, where he was admitted on 30 April following a manic episode with psychotic features.
His family believes the heart attack was the result of deep vein thrombosis, which he developed after being unable to move or walk at the psychiatric hospital for 10 days.
Savage had a history of depression in New Zealand but had worked for two years as an English teacher in Japan without problems until April this year. His mother, Martha Savage, said her son had “bloomed” in a country he loved, was living a full and productive life, and was beloved by his students.
Savage stopped taking his medication in April and his bipolar symptoms reappeared. His brother Patrick, who was with him when he was admitted to the acute ward, said Kelly was not violent and his symptoms were not severe enough to warrant forcible restraint.
He said the restraints at Yamato were secured to the teacher’s wrists, ankles and waist, tying him to a bed, and meant he was unable to feed himself or use a toilet.
“I was there when the restraints were put on. He wasn’t resisting, he wasn’t struggling, there was no violence,” Patrick Savage told the Guardian.
“He definitely needed to go to hospital because he wasn’t in a good state and he shouldn’t be left free to run around completely, but he was already in a locked room, a locked ward.”［……］
Although the autopsy was inconclusive, Martha Savage told the Guardian that the attending cardiologist said Kelly showed classic signs of deep vein thrombosis, which could have lead to a pulmonary embolism. Another possible cause of death was a reaction to the strong medication he was on, though this was less likely.
“They did give him compression stockings but that was the only measure they took,” Martha said of the hospital’s care for her son during his lengthy period of restraint.
“They didn’t massage his feet or exercise him or let him out of the restraints. They told us they didn’t do anything.”
Yamato hospital told Kyodo News on Friday it was not directly commenting on the case or on its policy on restraints.
The United Nations special rapporteur on torture has called for an absolute ban on the use of restraint in healthcare settings, as excessive or unjustified use could amount to torture as defined by the UN.［……］
[photo: Kelly Savage spent 10 days strapped to a psychiatric hospital bed in Japan before a nurse found him dead.]
Wellingtonian Kelly Savage spent 10 days strapped to a bed in a psychiatric ward in Japan before suffering the heart attack that killed him.
His family is demanding answers, claiming the restraints were a breach of his human rights. They are calling for the practice to be banned in Japan.
Martha Savage, the 27-year-old's mother, said her son's official cause of death was a heart attack, which she said was likely caused by the restraints.
[photo: Kelly Savage with his parents, Martha and Michael, during his graduation from Wellington's Victoria University.]
"It was very shocking. How could they put him in restraints, basically tied to his bed," she said.
"He needed to be in the hospital. He was in a lot of distress and he needed help ... he wasn't violent in any way, he didn't hurt anybody."
[photo: Kelly Savage's family say he was not violent, and did not need to be restrained while he underwent psychiatric care.]
Savage said her son's heart attack, which happened on May 17, could have resulted from a clot brought on by his immobility.
"If six hours on an aeroplane can be a problem, 10 days being tied down could be a problem too," she said.
Kelly was moved to hospital after the heart attack but remained unconscious and died several days later.
[photo: Kelly Savage had been in Japan teaching English.]
［……］The hospital claimed to have released her son for short periods to bath and eat, she said. But they had refused to release nurse records that would support the claim, despite allowing family to see his general medical records.
The family do not believe this, however, and Martha Savage said the restraining was most likely continuous to the point where her other son, Pat, was asked for money for nappies, because Kelly would not be able to use the toilet.
The family are currently approaching a judge, who will be able to demand the nurse records be released.
[photo: The family of Kelly Savage will talk at the launch of a new group, which aims to end the use of restraints in medical ...]
"They are affectively blocking everything, and making things drag out, and we have to go through legal precedings," Martha Savage said.
The mother and son are now telling Kelly Savage's story in the hope Japan will phase out the use of restraints.
They will speak at a press conference outside the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare on July 19, which will launch a new awareness group apposing the widespread use of restraints in Japanese hospitals.
"They are not the only hospital that does this, it's widespread throughout Japan," Martha Savage said.
"There's bound to be people who have gone through the same thing we have, and we want to stop that. We don't want anyone else to go through the loss of a loved one through such a horrible experience."［……］
A young Kiwi living in Japan died after having his legs and waist strapped to a bed in a psychiatric ward for 10 days without release, his family says.
Kelly Savage died in Yamato City Hospital on May 17, a week after suffering a heart attack and more than two weeks after he was hospitalised for mental health issues.
The 27-year-old's family is fighting for access to his medical records, after hospital officials denied saying he had been restrained for so long.
His mother and brother, Martha and Pat Savage, have spoken to the Herald about his death in the hope international attention on Japan's use of restraint on mental health patients will help force change.
"They're sick, they're not criminals," said Martha. "They need care and help."
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat) confirmed the New Zealand Embassy in Tokyo had been providing consular assistance to the Savage family.
Correspondence between Mfat and the family also showed Mfat offered to help where it could with access to Kelly's medical records.
Kelly, from Wellington, had a history of mental illness and had previously been hospitalised in New Zealand.
But he'd recovered and was enjoying life in Japan as an English teacher, where he'd lived for nearly two years.
[Kelly was a fun and well-liked teacher at Japan's Harada Primary School, where he taught English to schoolchildren. Photo / Supplied]
Then, in April this year Kelly began acting paranoid, lashing out and behaving in increasingly bizarre and concerning ways.
He came to stay with his brother Pat, who also lives in Japan. Pat, 32, organised for Kelly to go into medical care in the hope it would be the first step to recovery.
"I was really worried that something was going to happen to him, so I was trying to protect him and do what was best for him."
But on May 10, Kelly's heart stopped beating for nearly an hour.
He was rushed from Yamato Hospital, where he had been receiving psychiatric care, to Yamato City Hospital for treatment, but he never recovered from the extensive brain damage caused by the cardiac arrest.
A week later he suffered another cardiac arrest and died.
His cardiologist, Dr Kei Miyagishima, suspected the first heart attack was a result of a pulmonary embolism caused by deep vein thrombosis (DVT).［……］
A much-loved son gone too soon:
[Kelly was loving living in Japan and his family said they took comfort he was so happy in the years before he died. Photo / Supplied]
Kelly Savage was a loving, playful son, his mum says.
Martha Savage said although the family sometimes felt overwhelmed by grief, she was comforted knowing her son had been working in his dream job in Shibushi city, Japan.
Father Mike found talking about his son too painful.
Kelly's first serious battle with psychosis was in 2012, and it took him years to recover.
But in 2015 he graduated with a BA in psychology and Japanese from Wellington's Victoria University, moving to Japan shortly after to teach English, where his older brother Pat also lives with his wife and two young children.
His teaching job was a triumph, a dream job for someone who loved kids and proof of how far he'd come.
"He worked really hard for this, he finished his degree even though he had this depression," Martha said.
"We take a little bit of comfort that in his last years he was doing what he wanted to do and that he was appreciated.
"He was a very loving person, everyone loved him."
The outpouring of love from Kelly's friends following his death was hugely appreciated, she said.［……］