Thursday

China: May 5th - 8th 2012

When we arrived in Chongqing (pronounced Chong Ching) April 22nd Skyler was quite thin and obviously not feeling well.  He'd been told he had gastritis, but after a couple of weeks here we could see he was still losing weight and feeling worse, so we all went back to the hospital.

This time they did more tests and made a tentative diagnoses of diabetes.

He was admitted into the hospital May 5th.


He chose to go to one of the several public hospitals here in Chongqing.  This is the same one little Guy was born and where the care is affordable for them, less than one hundred dollars a day.

The diabetes ward was nearly filled to capacity when he was admitted Saturday morning.  There are forty-two rooms with two beds in each, and about forty cots, gurneys, beds, and bed/chairs in the hallways.



Each patient's support team (us) was responsible for getting them their food, water, and other amenities beyond  sheets and one pillow.  Behind Sky on the hand rail are some snacks and drinks as well as a print-out of his name and "space number" in the hallway.





His name and space location in the hallway.  He's taken Yue Li's last name, Huang, which is the first character at the top, and his name,  Skyler,  or Tian Kong, pronounced Tee-in Kong, meaning sky, are the last two characters on the top row.  


In China when a couple marries both traditionally retain their own last names, or surnames,  although if they wish they can take the name of their spouse.  A child will take the mother's name half the time, the father's the other.  It has more to do with how the name sounds and other complicated considerations involved in name choosing that I do not understand.


Support people find anywhere they can to sit and sleep.  Usually it's on the patient's bed, if they can sit up and share.  Here Yue Li's "borrowed" a patient's "bed" (name and space information above) to nurse the baby.  Brother Fat, a more seasoned diabetic than Sky, is in the background.  He and his family and friends offered a lot of help and support our first few days there.


We share Sky's bed while we eat rice and dumplings.  Below, Xiao Yang sleeps on Sky's bed while daddy gets more drip.


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