March 5th - The Recovery

As I write this, my wife is burning up, and there’s nothing I can do about it. No Nyquil, no Lemon Tea, not even my precious Buckley’s is available. We are about to venture into the strange realm of Chinese medicine. It turns out that my wife’s Aunt (not sure if they are actually related, or if it’s another “family friend” aunt type thing) is a doctor, and she recommended some medicine that will help bring the fever down. My job is to periodically take her temperature and play Forest Nightingump while trying to nurse her back to health.

I know we’re all in this to help her get better, but I get the slight feeling that Mother-In-Law is treating this like a competition between the two of us. Who loves you more, your husband, or your mother? All I can really do is talk to my wife, run a needs analysis (thank you marketing 101) now and then and offer my love & support. Mother-In-Law has just entered the room with a pharmaceutical cocktail for my wife to swallow down. She took it like a soldier, but a few minutes later, I could hear her puking up the pills, along with anything else that was still inside her. She’s barely eaten anything, so I imagine she’s in pain right now. We all know what a dry-heave fells and sounds like. I imagine the best thing for her right now would be a good night’s sleep. She asked if I could lie down next to her. It would help her sleep. It’s only about 9:00, but I climbed into bed anyway. Maybe an early night would be good for me too. Couldn’t hurt.

I woke up at 6:30 the next morning and felt my wife’s forehead. She wasn’t feeling as hot, but her face looked kinda clammy. She came around, and I asked to take her temperature. We have one of those old school mercury thermometers, the kind you stick under your armpit. I got her a glass of hot water while waited 5 minutes for her armpit to perculate. When I checked the little glass vial, it read 38 degrees Centigrade. A little warm. Mother-In-Law was up now, and entered our room to check on her daughter. The exchanged a few words, and my wife told me she was going to see the doctor today, and I was to stay home. I don’t know if that was her decision or her mother’s, but either way I stayed put.

A couple hours later, they returned. My wife looked worse than before. “The took blood outta me,” she said weakly. I walked her to our room and helped her into bed. She fell asleep almost instantly. A few minutes later, the maid knocked on the door to tell us that lunch was ready. I just noticed I was starving. Amid all the medical melee, breakfast had slipped my mind. I helped my wife out of bed and suggested she eat something. After I give blood, they always give me cookies to help get the juices flowing again and all that. She had a small bowl of congee, a sort of mushy rice soup. She requested some ice cream, but her mother told her to avoid sweets. I fed her some vegetables, which I thought would help restore her iron, but mother gave me a scornful look. Only congee. Ahh well, mother knows best.

After we attempted to eat lunch, I helped my poor wife back to bed and tucked her in. She told me that she’s been sick 3 times so far in this young 2008. What could cause this sudden rash of sickness? She’s usually quite healthy. Guess what he doctor told her. The pollution is making her sick. They took a swab from her throat , which didn’t look good. It’s probably a result of the toxins in the air and water. That explains it. Vancouver is so nice and green, with a few old growth trees still kicking around, and tons of green space right in the city to help cleanse the air we breathe. I guess we’re lucky that the citizens stood up to industry there, and said “Put your mills somewhere else – not in our backyard.” Now that I think about it, my wife and I both got sick when we visited my parents in Saint John, NB too. Here in Harbin, the air quality is pretty bad, and once we get back to Vancouver, her chances for recovery will likely increase.

For now, she's sleeping away, and I’m just trying to give her some space. I’ve vacated the bedroom in favour of the living room, where ironically, I have a perfect view of the smoky skyline. I’ll keep you posted on the recovery efforts, but for now, I’ll thank you not to disturb the patient. Visiting hours are now closed. I’m just gonna sneak in and close the window. I think she’s had enough “air” for one day.