Four months later

It may seem odd attempting to post so late after the trip, but I have yet to finish this trip by previously defined conditions. While my fathers health has somewhat stabilied, he's still not completely out of the woods, and still has a long way to go in terms of recovery.
Wnter has almost run it's course here in michigan and soon my local temperture will more closely match what I experienced in Taiwan. The sun is starting to make it's appearance more often these days and the snow is finally starting to melt. The warming temperatures make me think back to my time abroad although thoughts of my fathers current condition makes me slump in disbelief. It's amazing how much can happen in the turning of a season; amazing and horrible. My world now is worlds apart from my relatives, but there's still a tenuous thread that connects us. That thread was strengthened slightly on this trip, but with the future of my fathers traveling abilities in question, I wonder if the thread will eventually thin and break. While the recent misfortune may have strengthened the bonds of my nuclear family, my extended family remains separated by distance.
On to recollections of the trip. Things I miss in no particular order. The ease of public transportation. It was fantastic to be able to buy a card, load it up with credits, and explore the vastness of Taipei. Even our trip to the south was made possible by direct connections to the mass transit train. Granted, the island of Taiwan is much smaller than a few States, but I can't help but wish we had some kind of implementation here. While we're on the topic of transportation, I've come to realize how practical travel by scooter is. There have been many times when I thought that the particular errand I was on would be made much easier if I cow ld travel by scooter. My only modification would be to utilize rechargeable electric scooters. The pollution put out by the combustion kind in Taiwan was an unfortunate side effect that I could do without. It could't be used for everything, but I would say that at least 30% of my current travel could be replaced by scooter. I don't think this could ever be implemented in the United States, or at least in the area that I live in. It's often a precarious enough endeavor to drive around encased in steel, I would hate to imagine the accidents that would occur when texting and cellphone distractions were added to the dynamic environment of scooter travel.

Here and still There.

I’ve been home a little over a week now and have had a little time to decompress from the flight and think about the trip as a whole.  My sleeping schedule is still a bit out of sorts and Tanja’s fluctuating shifts don’t help regulate it.  A few times I’ve woken up, confused as to where I was, but the plushness of my surroundings quickly helped me realize I was at home.  When I fall asleep at an appropriate time, I’m still waking early in the morning, unaided.  My body still isn’t used to the cold, but I think this year will feel a little colder than last since I’ve dropped a good amount of organic insulation.

Although I’ve packed away all my luggage and laundered all the clothes, there’s still one important piece of business that lingers after the trip has concluded, the health of my father.  We took him directly to the hospital emergency room from the airport and admitted him for care.  The first day, they performed a head CT to get a baseline, and monitored his health over night.  When a nurse noticed that he was slightly less responsive the following day, they ordered another head CT and thought they saw something of concern, thus admitting him to the neurological ICU.  Stroke was suspected, but more test were needed to confirm and see if there was any damage.

After moving him, an MRI was ordered since it provided a higher resolution of the brain and the supplying arteries.  We requested a digital copy of the scans so Tanja could take a look at them too and help us decode what’s going on.  She said she couldn’t see what was concerning about the brain, and the arteries looked clear so if it was a stroke, it most likely wasn’t the traditional massive blockage or leakage, but something more along the lines of a transient ischemia, or mini strokes.  An enhanced MRI might provide further answers as to where the effected area was and how it happened.

The EMRI was performed the next day, and Tanja wasn’t scheduled to work, so she accompanied me to the hospital for a visit.  She suggested we go in the morning during the shift change, as it would be the best time to ask questions and perhaps see the doctor.  Of course she was correct, and the doctor in charge of my father was actually a doctor she served under during one of her rotations through the ICU at Henry Ford.  To her credit, he instantly recognized her and treated her as an old colleague, showing her the scan images and discussing the diagnosis, almost exclusively with her, despite the presence of his PA and 5 other nurses in the room.  It’s always a source of pride for me to see her in her professional element, and the information she dumbed down for us provided a greatly needed source of security concerning the future course of treatment.  The EMRI showed some diffused lesions in the area of a few meninges (brain folds), which were areas of slight inflammation, likely the source of the odd decrease in brain functions.  This sort of meningitis isn’t common in stroke so the cause of his ailments would was hypothesized to be an infection of some sort, either viral or fungal since if it was bacterial, he would likely have died already.  A lumbar puncture (spinal tap) was ordered and the spinal fluid pressure was recorded, with the withdrawn fluids being sent to infectious diseases to have whatever the foreign invader was cultured for identification.

The culprit was found within the day, to be Cryptococcus, a yeast common to everyone.  For some reason, perhaps diabetes and travel stress, my father was immune suppressed enough for some inhaled spores to invade his cerebral spinal fluid and work their way to his brain.  Now that the cause was known, the course of treatment was clear and administration began immediately. 

So that is where we stand, the immediate course of treatment is an IV administered antibiotic for ten to fourteen days followed by an oral pill for much longer, as much as two years, until the infection has cleared.  During his stay, more lumbar punctures and CT scans will be used to diagnose his progress, but every day shows some sign of promise.  He still sleeps much of the day, but some cognitive abilities are returning.  Seven days into the treatment, and he is starting to be able to definitively recognize faces, and recall and say their names.  His ability to read aloud is returning and image recognition is staring to return.  It will probably be a long road to recovery, and we’re still not sure what to expect in terms of autonomy.  One positive from these events is the retirement that was forced upon him.  I’m just hoping for enough recovery for him to fully enjoy it without hindering my mom’s plans too much.

I think until that happens, a part of me will still be on that trip to Taiwan.  His illness started about halfway through the trip and really reduced the amount of time we had to experience the trip together.  While I still tried to remain active and see the required sights, much was lost because he wasn’t there with me.  I got one good, very hectic, week with him but I can’t resolve to file away any memories of the trip until all aspects of the journey have been completed.  As far as I’m concerned, this journey isn’t complete until he’s better, so I remain in a limbo; at home, but not completely here.  So I hope you’ll allow me to further bore you with posts, until I feel complete.

Home Again

Well, I’ve had a little time to decompress and get some sleep.  Rest crammed in the belly of a flying metal beast is near impossible unless you have the advantage of being stacked in the esophagus, closer to the maw.  I think they call it business class. 

My dad is resting and being analyzed, and will hopefully recover fully from his travels.  The flight went well enough, without any major incidents.  When I checked us in online and printed boarding passes, I requested a wheelchair at every airport, which helped facilitate movement and allowed us to bypass most of the lines through security and boarding.  All the airport staff were very nice and accommodating, which eased much of my travel anxiety.  None of them will ever read this, but I thank them just the same.

I’ve had a little time to unpack, do some laundry, and organize things, but not thoughts.  I imagine I might have some more posts trickle out of  my head during the next week.  I thank you for reading thus far, but don’t want to try your patience any longer than necessary, so you don’t have to read the wrap up if you don’t want.  You’re more than welcome to, but it will just be my after thoughts, preserved for my own posterity.

It’s great to be back.  The air is drier, and has a sweeter smell.  All the surfaces are softer and more familiar.  To celebrate my return, Tanja took me to the local coney island where I broke diet to have two chili dogs and a helping of chili cheese fries.  I needed to shock my gastrointestinal system into western diets, at least that’s the excuse I’m using.  I worry about the welfare of my relatives in Taiwan and their worry for my dad, but unfortunately, I have no way of communicating directly to them.  I emailed one of my cousins to keep him abreast of my fathers condition with the hopes that the information will disseminate to everyone else.  I’m sure my mother has contacted people as well.

I can’t foretell when the wrap-up posts will be made, but I can guarantee that they will be made.  If you’re leaving me now, thank you for bearing with me this long.  I appreciate your audience, patience, and well wishes, and more than welcome your comments. 

Long way back home.

I’ve begun the final leg of my journey.  The trip from Taipei to the Narita airport in Japan felt blessedly short.  I managed to switch seats with someone on both legs so I could be seated next to my dad, at a sacrifice for the leg room afforded to me with an isle seat.  He seems to be traveling well and has more mobility today than he has in the past week.

Farewells in Taipei were tearful all around.  I wasn’t sure if the tears were because of our departure, or because of the health circumstances surrounding it, but I suspect it was some mix of both.  One part was odd though.  After we checked our luggage and the farewells were in process, two of my aunts and my uncle Joe appeared to be praying Christian prayers with my dad.  The only reason I suspect it was Christian was because one of the Aunts was saying short phrases, and the other two were saying something that sounded like “amen”.  I knew my grandmother was a Christian, but I didn’t think anyone else in the family was.  It was an event that neither me, nor my youngest uncle partook in.

We procured a wheelchair for my father which was fortunate since we were running a little late.  The wheelchair gave us easier passage through security and customs, and allowed us to board the plane early so I could get him situated.  While I requested a wheelchair at every terminal in our journey, it was lacking at the Narita airport.  I’m not sure what oversight caused it, but fortunately, I was sure to address the boarding attendant when we reached our gate, and they let us board the plane early.  It was a little frantic trying to get seated next to him, but it will be worth it since I’ll be able to check his welfare the whole trip.  There was actually a medical emergency on the flight to Narita, with the crew asking if there wa a medical professional on board.  It made me wish Tanja was with us so she could administer emergency help like she has on another occasion.  It’s always a source of joy and pride when I get to watch her in her profession, unexpectedly.  There was a little delay in disembarking the aircraft since the emergency crew needed to clear the ailing passenger before th other passengers could leave.  That gave us just enough time to pass through Japanese security and make it to the gate to board the plane.

So now I’m an hour and a half into this final leg of the journey.  A surprise that should have been expected is that, while the flight will take bit longer with the absence of a tail wind, it is shorter by four hours compared to the flight from Detroit to Japan.  So I’m looking at approximately ten more hours of flight, and the four hours reduced feels like a blessed stroke of luck.  It’s still a long time to sit in one place, but it’s comparable to watching all three extended version of the movie “The Lord of the Rings”, a feat I have done once, with minor physical ailments resulting.

The first meal served on this last flight was dinner-like with a choice between chicken and beef.  While the food had some Asian flair, it was the first non-Asian meal I’ve had since HuaLien, disregarding fast food.  The salad had half a grape tomato in it, and after I bit into it, I realized that it was the first fresh tomato I’ve had in three weeks.  Biting into something that fresh, flavorful, and raw was such a shock, it was all I thought about for the rest of the meal.  I hadn’t realized in all the meals in Taiwan, not one had uncooked vegetables, only uncooked fish.  This will be something I’ll be happy to return to. 

The current movie is, unfortunately, “How the Earth was Made”.  While I might have watched it at home, I’ve had my share of nature education for at least a week.  I might make another entry after my brain is broken by the flight process.  For now, I’ll try to escape into a book.

Last Day

Well, it’s my last day here in Taiwan if you don’t count the time it will take to hop on an airplane to begin the arduous journey in the flying torture chamber they call an airplane.  Today was spent finding one last geocache, successfully, wrapping up some loose ends and packing.  My dad brought so many gifts to Taiwan, that I can use one of the empty suitcases for my carry-on bag, significantly lightening my load.  On the other hand, he’s bringing so much back, that two of the largest suitcases are full and one of them may be overweight.  I did manage to exclude the 7 wooden ducks that he was supposed to bring back; orders from my mom.  Unfortunately, many books and DVD’s made it into the bags.  After I packed up all the extras, I locked up the bags to prevent any unauthorized stowaways.  However, that all took place later in the day.

My primary intent today was to find one more Geocache, after dropping by my aunts one more time to return the key and print up our boarding passes.  The cache was hidden near the Taipei Sports Arena, and was fairly easy to find.  I traded in my last travelbug and traded out a travel coin from Germany.  Unfortunately, I didn’t know the goal of the coin was to make it to New Zealand, so I’m taking it way off it’s course.  Hopefully it will find a way back.  The main highlight of the day was something that should have happened weeks ago.  I got to talk to Tanja on the computer via Google Chat.  I missed our meeting yesterday, and we never planned on coordinating any time of real time communication.  She surprised me by taking the webcam off my computer and installing it on hers, so I got to see her and Chloe for the first time in three weeks.  It will be even more wonderful to see her in person “tomorrow”.  I put quotes around it, because, while I’ll be leaving Taiwan on Saturday at 9:00 and arriving in Detroit at 12:00 Saturday, I’m actually leaving on Friday at 20:00 EST, so my tomorrow is your two days from now.  It’s a little mind bending.

Some relatives and friends stopped by tonight after dinner to say their good byes and wish us safe travel.  It’s difficult to say if I’ll ever see them again, even though they’re family.  It would be nice to be closer to people you have an innate bond with, but even with computers, the distance makes a meaningful relationship difficult. 

So baring any accidents, this will be my last entry from this connection, in this location.  Experience tells me that I won’t have a connection in the interim unless I purchase some time on the airplane, which I’ll only do in an emergency.  I’ll probably still write some entries on the ride back, and they’ll probably be filled with how horrible the experience is, and I’ll wrap up the blog with a few introspective posts.  While this is about finding my roots, maybe it won’t be isolated to this specific travel event.  It will be difficult to find Chinese culture related things to write about in South East Michigan, but I’m not ruling out the possibility.  I guess that’s it for now.  See you on the other side. 

No update today

I didn’t get to do anything I had planned for today so there’s no update.  I’ll hopefully have something to report tomorrow.  Sorry.

Sun Yat-Sen: the father of Asian Democracy

My suspicions were partly true about sleeping in when in more comfortable surroundings.  However, I can’t say that it was rigorously tested since I went to sleep late the night before, so I might have just been more tired.  I did set my alarm and woke to it, planning on hitting one more site before I headed back to my father’s apartment: the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial.

As I understand it, Sun Yat-Sen was a political figure in China in the early 1900’s and was a key inspiration in overthrowing the Qing dynasty.  He’s often considered the father of republican democracy in Asia, so has a particular place of reverence in the mind of Taiwanese seeking independence from China.  Since I was planning on returning to my Dad’s around noon, I skipped breakfast for now to hit the memorial.  Luckily I made it there 15 minutes before the hour.  Just enough time to snap some pictures of the outside before the changing of the guard.

 

 

The changing of the guard happens every hour, on the hour, although I’m not sure if it happens at night.  The changing of the guards is a highly ritualized affair with precision synchronized marching, rifle presentations and twirling, finalizing in two of the five members ascending metal boxes on either side of the memorial to stand guard until relieved the next hour.  I took a few videos of the procession, but the files are large and will have to wait for upload until later.  The pictures will have to do for now.  I hope I wasn’t too blatant about the target of much of my photography, because the guards were using M1 Garands as their ceremonial weapons.  As far as I could tell, everything was real meaning they were performing the drills with 10 pounds of gun.  The weapons themselves bore bayonets and all the metal was chromed and polished.  The stocks were too black to be normal linseed oil treated walnut, so they might have been painted or lacquered.  I did get a picture of the receiver markings on one of the guards which displayed the Springfield Armory stamping and the serial number of 5383491, placing it in the same year bracket as mine, 1954-1955.  After the ceremony ended and the crowd cleared out, I took some better framed pictures of the memorial statue and headed out for breakfast, skipping most of the informational sections, for brevity’s sake.  I would need to head back soon.

Breakfast was Burger King, this completing my western fast food round up, since I haven’t seen a Wendy’s.  No, I’m not including Pizza Hut or Domino's since they often add multi-limbed seafood as a topping.  With breakfast over, I packed up my belongings and took the MRT back to my father.

 

 

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, consisting of minor local exploring and some quiet reading and planning of the remaining two days.  We did go out to eat one more time with my dad’s friends, at a fancy Chinese buffet.  Because my dad is still a little fatigued, we decided to grab a taxi to take us from door to door and all met up at the restaurant.  The served a tasty lychee flavored carbonated drink that tasted more like a light citrus than a sweet lychee.  Unfortunately, you can’t purchase it anywhere, or I would bring some back so you could sample it.  One of my dad’s friends brought his two kids, so I had some English conversation with them, but their level of English competency about equaled my level of Chinese.  I could follow most of the rest of the conversation, until they would break out into Taiwanese, which sounds like absolutely gibberish to me.  The difference is night and day and I can’t understand a lick of it.  Provided translations were lacking.

I hope to do a little more souvenir shopping and find one more Geocache tomorrow.  I think the weather will hold out.  The past few days have had a 30% chance of rain, which in Taiwan means it will rain, but only at 30% of a full downpour, i.e. a light mist.  Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll make it to the Taipei Zoo to see the pandas unless I can squeeze it in on Friday.  Otherwise,  it will have to wait for a return visit.

Link to today’s web album.