There seems to be a real split here on how to handle illness. There's the home, holistic, organic treatment crowd, of which my wife is a member and I'm on the fringe. These folks don't go to doctors or clinics much, except in an emergency, and prefer homemade remedies consisting of teas, roots, flowers and such. They'll go to the internet on occasion, but tend to stay within their own culture and associates, often on Zalo or Facebook. I'll use any online advice I deem appropriate and end up applying ice to 75 percent of my ailments. Unlike Peru, where the pharmacists would provide decent suggestions or advice, the pharmacists here haven't been particularly helpful to me, often giving hand waves and suggesting medicine not relating to my problem. When I try to speak Vietnamese, it only makes matters worse. No doubt a language thing. My Spanish seemed to be understood at times. The clinic/hospital advocates here understandably consist of many elderly people, but not exclusively. I mentioned my son's coughing and upset stomach to a young woman who suggested I take him to the hospital for chest X-rays. I appreciate her concern but thought X-rays weren't necessry at this point. Besides, hospitals are full of sick people. I guess you could have a family doctor, but I've never heard of anyone having one. Still, most medicines are considerably cheaper here than in the U.S. My glaucoma eye drops cost about 75 percent less here than in the U.S. For now, I'll stick with the Internet and cheap meds.
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Homeschooling is going surprisingly well with my daughter, who remains focused on drawing and coloring animals, especially Komodo dragons and iguanas. But she has also combined art ideas with our lessons on landforms and illnesses due to poor nutrition, telling me "I have to draw a Komodo on a plateau with goiter." She never did draw the elevated, iodine-deficient Komodo dragon, but she drew more than 20 miniature book covers on one sheet of paper; each one focuses on different aspects of her life, art and school the past few weeks. If you look close enough you can see a shark and whale breaching, a reading tiger, king Komodo and frog, the Lorax, and even Horton holding a clover with the Who on board. Joanna is approaching 6 years old -- hard to believe -- and she's really changed for the better but remains as quirky as ever. No real peers or organized outdoor activites may contribute to a little frustration at times.
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Speaking of frustration, I let my emotions get the better of me for the first time in a long while. A car came off the street onto the sidewalk where Joanna and I were walking to get a birthday gift for my wife. The car started backing up toward us, so I held up the umbrella I was carrying and yelled as politely as you can yell, "Careful, there's two people here." At that, the car accelerated a little so Joanna and I moved to the side and I asked the guy "what's up, man?" He gave a mean-looking stare like I was in the wrong. That's when I lost it and shouted profanity-laced invectives at him and stared that loser down. And loser is the right word for someone who drives on a sidewalk, accelerates toward a father and his 5-year-old daughter after the father shouts "careful" and then tries to give the father the awkward eye. My daughter laughed hysterically at my vulgar behavior and language. That helped calm me down and we continued our walk to get Phuong's gifts. I'm sure Joanna will remember every inappropriate word I used, including the mother of all curse words. My $#@^%* bad.
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Our son Elijah has been pretty sick this past week with a horrible cough, runny nose and vomiting for a few days. He really hasn't eaten much, and when he does he spits up pretty quickly. He still causes mischief around the house, but without the usual elan he exhibits. Too bad there isn't a magic wand or way to make a sick child instantly better. It's so tough to watch.
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We had the mother of all birthday parties this past week for the mother of Joanna and Elijah. It's been a tough week for Phuong with Elijah being sick and not sleeping much. Good thing she's still a young woman -- she needs the energy to handle Elijah. I got her some headphones, fancy bath soaps and sponge, and a computer table so she can lie in bed and use her laptop. I cooked -- nothing new there -- and Phuong's aunt made a fabulous cake -- nothing new there, either.. It was a wonderful little gathering; I wish Elijah felt better. Anyway, hope you had the happiest of happy birthdays Phuong, and many, many more.
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