11/04/2008 ready for Chemo course 2

(back then, Danni still has a wealth of long hair)

1.
Back late last night. Allowed myself stayed in bed a little longer than usually I would do.

Danni was going to hospital for preparing next chemotherapy. Thought it would just be administered some tablets, we were taking things easy.

Later, I contacted the hospital and been told Danni must come back to hospital as soon as possible for drips. There were a catalogue of drips waiting to be taken through out the day.

So this was it. The 'holiday' was over.

Danni quickly finished her breakfast and off to hospital. I stayed back and would go to join her later.

Wiped clean Ryan's toys and playmate, he was chewing a square cubic, nan wanted to take if off from him, fearing the hazard.

I took Ryan out for a walk at a pond in the estate. It was a haze cloudy day like every other day. With only a handful gardeners around, very quiet. We looked out to the jade colour pond, he went quiet, like his dad. I tried to giggle him, he wasn't as cheerful as he usually would. I told him to be a good boy. He is a good boy.

Children's play-station is still too big a size for him, I griped him tight and lower him down the slides. He probably still not quite understood how the thing worked.

Back to nan's house, fed him for one more time; hung out the laundry; packed up our stuff for the next phrases.

Nan cuddled Ryan by the fence. Waved goodbye. He finally burst out a modest smile. It would be a while until we saw him again.

Through out the day I was thinking those patches of rash around Ryan's face. Some were mossie bites, some were not so sure. Every time I saw a child with their parents, I found it difficult to turn away the eyes. I wish Ryan could have an immaculate face like them.

2. Cantonese Soup

I moved back to live at my mother’s. On one hand it would reduce the cooking work Ryan’s nan have to prepare for Danni, on the other hand from my mum’s it is easier to get to the hospital by public transport service.

If you, my dear reader have been wondering what this cooking were all about, you are absolutely right to. Chinese takes food and eating seriously. Proverb says ‘Mass concern sating is the (true) heaven.’

Among Chinese, Cantonese people are ever more famous for ‘drinking & eating culture’. They indulgent themselves in the sensory pleasure of taste buds. It is quite common for housewives or house-husbands to spend 2 hours for a gourmet lunch or supper. In Guangdong (Canton) one’s daily living is starting from morning tea and dinsum, from around 6am; then luncheon from 11am to 3pm; then afternoon tea from 3 to 5pm; Then evening meal to around 10pm. Social and business were well-known to cultivate around a round dinning table.

Cantonese also believes remedy and health enhancing/damaging effect food could bring. According to traditional Chinese herbal medicine every nature produces has its fundamental classified to generally one of the five categories.

* ‘hot’–meaning more agitating to human body, such like mango, ginger, black tea;
* ‘warm’ – tender than ‘hot’, produce such like jujube, chestnut, peach, apricot, litchi, cherry, pomegranate, pineapple ;
* ‘cool’-meaning …well I find it is difficult to accurately translate the meaning but you got the idea, the opposite to warm. Just like ‘cold’ to ‘hot’.
* ‘mild’ – most produces are in this category: such like yellow bean, carrots, apple, milk. They represent a balance of ‘hot’ and ‘cold’.

Traditional Chinese herbal medicine also identifies each person’s body nature by ‘hot’ and ‘cold’. One should use food as a way to rebalance the weather in one’s body. Like the balance of ‘Ying’ (negative, of female) and ‘Yang’ (positive, of male) chi. A ‘hot’ person should have more ‘cool’ food. Alas, a ‘cold’ person needs more ‘hot’ ingredients to compensate one’s ‘hotness’.

When they are not committed to dining table, they probably talked about how to make the perfect soup, exchanging recipes, household secret of some wired named herb like English people talking about weather.

People were quickly change the topic to the nature of milk when I walked into the ward carrying a case of milk.

Making a nutrition soup with right balance on ‘hot’/’mind’/’cool’ could help one enhancing health and recovering quicker. It worked at the similar principal to traditional Chinese herbal medicine, just not as intense.

I learnt 'Grass-Snake-Tongue grass' (百花蛇舌草) has a cooling power of detox, cleansing 'wet and hot' off a person when it became really hot and humid in the summer.

Though my mother isn’t a Cantonese, she heavily influenced by the eating culture after living here for more than 20 years. She became very good at making soups.

However she is still in recovery of a recent surgery to remove a spiral disc. Last few weeks had made her felt poor and difficult to stand or walk for long period.

I decided to take on two tiresome duties in the mornings: buying farm produces and cooking. In order to do this I have to delay two hours for going to the hospital.

I suggested changing current routine of buying fresh produces daily to every odd day. It was simply unwise using of time to pursuit the 100% perfection.