A Few Musings

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Six months later, there are still traces of culture shock occurring in our household, as illustrated in the following scenarios:

Jason: Why are you wearing that thing all the way up your neck?

Me: It’s called a turtleneck.

I was driving on the north side of town (known to be the richer section of the city) and I saw two pipes that were wrapped with some kind of cloth and curved down toward the ground. Out of my peripheral vision, I honestly thought they were goats eating grass. I did a double-take, and then realized of course, that there wouldn’t be goats in the posh part of town. In fact, I haven’t seen a goat since we left Zambia.

Peter, who declares he never felt cold once while living in Zambia (even during cold season), admits to being cold here. He had forgotten that it can get cold in Fresno during the winter months. The last time he lived here, he was coming from Spokane as a young college student, so the winters here seemed mild. Coming from Zambia, all of a sudden it feels a lot colder. I did have to buy him a squeegee for his car so that he could scrape the slushy ice off it in the morning. So he isn’t just a wimp like me.

I find myself listening to Christmas carols on the radio while I am driving around town, and usually that is quite enjoyable . . . until I heard this line in a song: “Let’s give thanks to the Lord above that Santa Claus comes tonight.” Really?? Crazy.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

We attended our church’s “Christmas Coffeehouse” this evening. Being new to the church, we didn’t quite know what to expect. Now we know that it is a children’s Christmas program and talent show all rolled into one. Jason heard the announcement this morning in church and put his name on the list to play the “Imperial March” from Star Wars on the piano. Having just learned it, I was a bit nervous for him but he did really well and received a lot of applause. I love a church that can have Darth Vader’s march in their Christmas program!

At the end of the program, each child received a brown paper bag gift. When I opened Jason’s bag, I was immediately transported back to my own childhood. I had completely forgotten about this tradition until I saw the peanuts in their shells, the orange, and the chocolate candies. The memory of receiving these bags at Christmas as a child was so vivid! But it was a fragmented memory and I had no context for it. My parents filled in the missing pieces for me. The tradition of these Christmas bags goes way back to the Mennonite Brethren in Russia. My parents grew up receiving these bags as well, called “Weihnachte Tute.” It was a poignant moment for me to have my children be recipients of these bags, just like me, my parents, my grandparents, and probably even farther down the family line.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

We were back at the microbiologist for a follow-up blood analysis for Brendan and an initial consultation for Jason. It was immediately apparent that Brendan was dehydrated so Dr. Will had him go and drink a few cups of water then come back to get a second blood slide. The difference was amazing! He continues to battle a number of parasites and so will continue the treatment that was recommended. I was curious to see if Jason had similar issues but aside from also being dehydrated, he had a completely different set of problems to contend with. Many of his blood cells were elliptical and he had reactive lymphocytes as well. It appears that his endocrine system is compromised as well as his immune system. It is likely that he has Epstein Barr Virus but with few symptoms. Dr. Will asked if he had less endurance or stamina or had trouble sleeping but Jason doesn’t. In fact, if this is treated, I’m a bit worried he will become the Energizer Bunny! Epstein Barr Virus is quite common but the shape his red blood cells were in was a bit worrying. Jason was told he had “stud blood” if his cells looked that bad but he still had the energy to play soccer and football and run around all day. Some people with EPV develop mono so we are going to keep an eye on him and watch for symptoms and have him work on boosting his immunity, since antibiotics don’t work on viruses. So another fascinating day with the microbiologist!