Last Thursday found me headed back to Beijing. I had a follow-up appointment to the one that I had scheduled the week before. Dr. Yanzani, an Australian, saw me. He commented on the need to monitor my blood pressure as the key indicator to future problems. Tests results from the summer showed an elevated level of possible inflammation of my liver. He thought perhaps I had extra iron in the body or Hepatitis. Both tested negative. However, I did end up having an ultrasound of my liver. Another new experience to my list of many.

On Saturday, I had an appointment to have an echocardiogram, which checked out normal save a small anomaly in the size of the left-side of my heart. The specialists I saw (yes, Dr. #3) indicated there was no need to wear the 24-hour heart monitor and that I should just monitor my own blood pressure. He also believed that the numbness was somewhat of a fluke given all the tests I submitted to. Basically, after all of the visits and tests, there seems to be nothing medically wrong, save the warning of a slightly higher than normal blood pressure. I truly know WHO was involved in this, and I truly know the One who saved me during this time.

This is my testimony, and I’m sticking to it!!!

Last Saturday, I felt slightly “under the weather”. I went to bed with a sore throat, thinking nothing of it. The weather in Siping was getting colder, and, with changes in weather, I often get some sort of sore throat/cold going on. The sore throat was worse on Sunday, but, again, I felt fine.

I woke up Monday morning to numbness in my left hand. I had a sore back that night, so I thought it was just the way I slept. The numbness gradually spread to my feet and face (both on the left side). I became a little concerned. I was looking up information online in regards to these symptom, but there was a ton of stuff on it. I told Jennifer & Daren about it; they gave me some medicine, some advice to just monitor it, and watched out for me.

It was Tuesday morning that the numbness persisted – not any stronger than Monday – and, I found myself calling a doctor with SOS in Beijing. The doctor said I should take a shower, a couple of Ibuprofens, and rest for 3-4 hours then call back. It was while I was in the shower that I noticed the numbness had spread to my lower back, abdomen, and groin (again, all on the left side). I called SOS back, and they recommended that I go to a hospital in Siping.

Steve, one of the foreign affairs officers in my school, took me. This was my first experience in a Chinese hospital, and I was a little freaked out, but Steve was great, always willing to give me a correct translation, explaining all of my questioning, and doing an A+ job at helping me out. I had a CT scan and an ultrasound. The neurologists that I saw said I had high blood pressure (which I had never experienced before) and recommended a couple of medicines that are used traditionally in China. I began taking them and over the next 24 hours, I felt better with the numbness slowly going away (but not completely).

It was during the next day (on Wednesday) that I received a call from an SOS doctor in America who had been looking over my case. He recommended a trip to Beijing, have some extra tests done, and to see a doctor who speaks English and perhaps could give a secondary diagnosis. So, by Friday evening, I had booked a flight for me and a friend to go to Beijing, reserved a hotel room in Beijing, secured a doctor’s appointment for Saturday, and headed out.

At Beijing United Family Hospital, I saw Dr. Hilka, a sweet and funny German woman. I explained my symptoms, and she checked me out. I gave her the names of the Chinese medicines and showed her all of the test results that were done in Siping. After further exploration of my symptoms and performing rudimentary neurological testing, she thought it necessary that I have some blood drawn for some tests and to submit to an EKG. Blood was drawn, the EKG was done, and I headed out for some lunch awaiting the results.

When I returned after a couple of hours, Dr. Hilka told me that nothing was conclusive as to my problem. She mentioned that I may possibly have had a TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack), but more tests were needed. I did have high blood pressure – that was comparable to the blood pressure tests done in Siping – that would be handled and controlled, at least temporarily by some blood thinners to be taken daily. Blood tests showed normal in many key areas, like white blood cells, triglycerides, glucose, and cholesterol, but the TIA was not ruled out. I will need to return to Beijing next week for an echocardiogram and have a 24-hour period of blood pressure testing with a brace on my arm. As of now, that is where I am. Thank you in advance for remembering me.

The next seven days are special for two reasons: 1) the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节) is next Sunday, October 3rd and 2) China’s 60th Anniversary Celebration is October 1st. China, as a country, is over 5-millennia-old, but, as the modern People’s Republic of China (PRC), they’ll be 60. The sixtieth birthday in China is highly significant, as about.com explains. There is much preparation around the country for these two events, but nothing compares to “the show” that will be Beijing this week. But let me digress…

The real issue at hand is the H1N1 virus. Apparently, there is a lot of fear out there…and the government is addressing it. Not only the Chinese government but my little university is addressing it. Basically, gates to my campus have been “closed” with increased security as to who gets through them. In years past, the October Holiday (often referred to as a “Golden Week” in China) may not be a holiday, if the rumors are true. I’ve heard through the “student grapevine” that they have been told that they cannot go home during the holiday week, and, if they do, they won’t be allowed back on campus. Larger cities to the north of Siping, in such places as Changchun and Jilin City, have had reported H1N1 cases. And we’ve heard that some of their campus are on lockdown. Ours has not yet reached this stage, but rumors have it that it could. I’m not sure what to think of all this, but I find myself wondering how I should respond in this crisis. WWJD?