So, I finally went to the doctor at Lolly Kemp out in Independence. He confirmed that it was asthma and gave me inhalers with steroids. It is working out great and my health is finally improving. Woohoo! Only after 8 months of suffering! But, now that I know what several other doctors have failed to discover about my winter illness, I can hopefully get this easily licked when it crops up in the future. And it will.
Happy Father’s Day to my old man. I love him, more than I can usually express. I, like many men, have problems expressing my emotions. But, let me say here that many of the things that I love about myself are characteristics reflected from him.
About 4 days or so ago, my illness flared up again. I started coughing with major sinus congestion. I have been laid up at my brother’s house. My new sister-in-law thought I was having an asthma attack, as my wheezing returned to life with a vengeance. I am planning to go to the doctor, although I don’t have insurance. I never fell under the Obamacare mandate because I live abroad so much. No, I will have to pay out of pocket, as I have been too cheap to have gone before.
I learned a few days ago that Pro. John A. Tvedtnes of BYU passed on June 3, 2018. He was 77 years old. He was a prolific writer, publishing many books on the ancient Near East and its relationship with the Book of Mormon. He was until his retirement in 2007, the senior research scholar at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at BYU. His work on the Book of Abraham was especially important to me, as I have long held a deep interest in that work. His biography, written by his friend Daniel Peterson, is here.
My phone’s battery had been on the fritz for over a year. It would last about 3 hours or so and then die at 45-50%. This seems to be something endemic to Huaiwei Nexus 6p phones. Other than this issue, I love the phone and don’t want to buy a new one. I tried to have it fixed in Taiwan, which you would have thought would be easy over there. Unfortunately, they do not care to work on mainland phones. I decided to wait until I got back in the US to fix it myself.
I bought a new battery and tools on Amazon for $14. My sister-in-law, Heather, has some experience working on phones, so I let her give it a try after a review of the procedure on Youtube. Unfortunately, while opening the case, the screen and thingie behind it cracked. No one’s fault, but I bought a new Huawei Nexus 6p off Ebay for $138. I was going to just use the new one, until I remembered that I had an interview with Aunt Jean on it. So, I cracked open both of them and performed major surgery. I got it down to the base innards and combined the features I needed into one phone. Youtube was great for this. That site can teach you how to do almost anything.
Update 6/17: New battery and screen is working like a champ. Love it.
Leaving Taiwan was in some ways a great thing, yet in others terrible. I made many great friends at the Taipei Ward – Bishop Weddle and his family, Bros. Frost, Sevey, Linton, Pendleton & their families. the ladies and gentlemen of the single adults. Jean-Francois & Vivian Morin and the Sheffers in particular. Love those guys. Except when Jamison Sheffer brings up football…dude doesn’t know what he is talking about. I will also miss the senior missionary couples who took me under their wing, in particular the Funks and the Browns. All great people, far too many to name here. <3 I also got to spend more time with my meimei (little sister), Masako, as she arrived in Taiwan in February for work. I loved spending time with her.
I met a lot of wonderful people and yet it feels like a great waste as well. I spent so much time being ill that I was not able to accomplish the purpose of my time in that beautiful country. I was too sick to study or work, so I saw my savings draining away to the point that I knew I had to go back to work. I did not get to spend time visiting the island and getting to know the people as I wanted. I spent most of my time lying in bed, hoping that my illness would pass. I have weak lungs and Taipei’s combination of wet & cold winters conspired to bring me low. I became ill around the beginning of December, with what I thought was the flu, something that should have dissipated after a week or two. Unfortunately, it proved more tenacious and stayed with me for over five months. Like a idiot, I avoided going to the doctor (medical care is cheaper in Asia) because I don’t like going to the doctor. It flared up repeatedly and still to this day lays me low.
Yes, leaving Taiwan has caused me to fill emotionally split. I have not felt such homesickness before, except for my first time abroad. Without my work or studies to occupy my time, I came near to climbing the walls of my tiny bedroom. Yet, I enjoyed the little moments spent with friends or teaching a class at church. I am split, true, but am really happy to go home.