i haven’t been here much. Have been busy with my study and calling mum every day
to cheer her up. Also, it is Chinese New Year, busy cooking nice food for the
two. Since i came here, don’t really celebrate Chinese New Year anymore. I don’t
really keen on Christmas either. Not because i don’t like the holiday and
family gathering. I just really dislike the drinking business. I have grown up
in a culture that alcohol only for celebration usage, its icing on the cake. In
China, there is no law against young to buying alcohol, but drinking never a
problem among young ones. Unlike in England, so many teens want to pass that
certain age to be able to buying their first drinks. To me, this is so strange
and weird. Why people like drink so much? To me, people drink every day is an alcoholic.
Don’t think my husband and all those people I knew down here will agree with. But
this is for sure is my way of understanding the situation. Unless, they can
stop drinking every day at least for more than 6 months, and no side effect
what so ever. I don’t think sooooooo. People often said, sometime, drink a
little will relax you and make you happier. If the old responsible for the
young, I think such message is the problem. I always telling my daughter, no
one need to drink to get happier. All external seeking of help for ones’ happiness
are all wrong. Happy or not, never depends on a wine or a beer, if you want
lose your mind of, go crazy into the music, painting, reading, go help someone
and enjoy those feelings of achievements. Go run and have a warm bath, but never,
rely on alcohol to accomplish these for you. You have to be your own control,
not anything eternal. Make sure alcohol
is the icing on cake, not become the cake. The cake will not be devalued
without icing on top.
While,
better back to the original thoughts. Mum spend holiday at hospital. I don’t think
she’s very happy at the beginning of the week. But she starting to accept what
as it is. Since nothing she can do about it, she said she might just try to
enjoy the peace a little. But dad wasn’t fully on these week. He decided go
home rather than stay with my mother at hospital during the New Year eve. My sister
have to find a way make him stay. Mother not happy with him. I think maybe dad
is too tired. The burden is high since last summer, and spending New Year in
the hospital doesn’t sound good. You call this tradition or his own superstitious,
he just doesn’t like it. In our life, we live for those non important too much,
aren’t we? But I don’t think my dad can see the point. Feel very bad for my
sister, she has to cope with these all by herself. I was tried go back before
the holiday, but my study situation just won’t let me.
On
the Chinese website, have been watching a girl struggle with her mother’s illness
and last day of the event. She and her dad had choose Gerson therapy for her
mother. This therapy involves a very specific
diet with nutritional supplements, which one have to drink 20 pounds
crushed fruit and veg. 3 or 4 coffee enemas and castor oil enemas. Plus some
other supplements such as vitamin b12. For doing this, one have to use special
blender to do it. The girl published her mother’s progress on the net. I went
through it for a bit. I am not sure she had done the right thing, but I don’t think
I am in a place to judge. However, I just bit confused by her commitment to
this so called Gerson therapy. Her mother not really agree to take it. But her
and her dad decided to do so. This is not strange in China, like my mother, she
openly telling everyone, whatever the treatment, my sister and my dad can
decided for her. This is cultural thing. So, pretty much in a same mentality,
the girl’s mother obeyed their way as well. But she herself suffered. Because
in order to do this therapy, they stopped painkiller for her, and other
mainstream medication. A month later she had water in her abdominal, also sign
of mineral imbalance. The even stranger thing I find, the girl and some other
blogger seems have this perception about once send the patient to the hospital
to dry the water, they will die quicker. So just leave the water issue not
doing anything about it is the best way. I have no clue where they got this information.
If this is part of the Gerson therapy and I cannot understand how anyone
believe it with such confidence by denying the whole existing medical
professions. I find the whole thing so bazaar. Finally, the mother’s family interfered.
While, this is cultural thing in China too. The extended family members, especially
the closer relatives can intervene since they are part of the family. The mother was send to the nearby hospital and
doctor diagnose her with Acidosis and electrolyte imbalance. I had a little dig
on this, and I found ‘Electrolyte
disorders result in an imbalance of minerals in the body. For the body to
function properly, certain minerals need to be maintained in an even balance.
Otherwise, vital body systems, such as the muscles and brain, can be negatively
affected. Also
one of the symptom of disorder is changes in mood and/or coherence, irritability,
confusion, depression. That is also said by the girl, her mother want to jump
out of the building and accuse her and her father not have good intention for
looking after her. I also checked Cancer research UK, in their website on
Gerson therapy, they have mentioned one of major side effect of Gerson therapy
is dehydration, Salt and other mineral
imbalances in the body. I don’t know whether the girl received all these information
when they decided for her mother to take this road. However, in the middle of
journey, the girl did mentioned that her mother’s salt level is too low, and
she starting to put some extra salt to go with the diet. I do wonder who really
guiding her for this therapy and how. Who take the responsibility for any wrong
doing? But whatever the outcome of, it’s no use for her mother anymore, the
lady died yesterday morning. Finally, her suffer end. I don’t want to draw any
conclusion on anything. But I am sure learned a lesson down here about alternative
treatment. I do not against any alternative treatment, but I do believe,
without thoroughly knowing and searching all the necessary information, one
have to consider the possibility that one day, one wake up suddenly relies,
gosh, what have I done……..
Talk about alternative medication. Recently, some Chinese doctors also expressed
their concern about American A4M
selling false hopes to those Chinese cancer patients by saying Ketogenic Diets
curing cancer. I don’t know much about this. So I went for a good read about
it. Apparently FDA already send their warning to
Stanislaw R. Burzynski, who invented this diets and
also under investigation. There are many news report about this but they still
try to bring/push it into China. However, one good thing is, in this days,
there are great number overseas Chinese doctors, and people like me who can
read English. Thanks to the internet!
Finally, I want to clear up is I don’t
against any alternative medication, at least now. But One thing I want to say is,
yes it may be worked for some people in whatever their circumstance, but that doesn’t
means it will work for many. So far, majority western drugs are tested only
based on the western population, these therapies also based on such. But, biologically,
socially, and environmentally, life style, personal issues, there are so many
difference and factors need to be considered. Maybe in this darkest moment of
our life we just try to grip anything put in front of us to be able to live
longer and become healthier or allow our love ones to suffer less, stay with us
as we wish. But not everything we grip will do this, there are plenty of them
only make things worse but not better. We have to be careful not drowning
ourselves in our own hope. Not to lose our original aim that life is not just
longer the better, the quality is also important.
Ref
1:
http://www.healthline.com/health/electrolyte-disorders
http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/2013/ucm378237.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/15/stanislaw-burzynski-cancer-controversy/2994561/
