Thursday Update

Hi all:

Charlie, Ashley and I have all been at the Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong since 11:30 last night.  It has been a long few days to say the least.  Ashley was admitted quickly last night and reviewed by an intern or resident shortly afterward, but then we were told to wait for the Doctor that would arrive between 7:30-8 this morning.  Around 5:30 am, we were awakened (if you could call it that, since we only have two very hard chairs to sit on next to the bed, and the ward is very noisy with sick children) by a Dr. who turned on the overhead light to look at Ashley.  He then told me that he "couldn't answer any questions and that he would be back around later in the morning to speak to us!"  Not very comforting and by this time, I am at about zero on the patience meter.

As the morning wore on, no one showed up until 9 am and then we had a team of residents and another surgeon.  We have communicated to them repeatedly that we need to stabilize her and to get out of here - we have spent way too many days in hospitals with no answers, repeated tests with no results, and great language barriers.  The surgeon again released Ashley's initial blockage but still has concerns over her megacolon.  Once again, for no less than the 8th or 9th time, we have been told that she has no surgical scars, so her issues were probably never repaired.  It's very frustrating when they cannot understand why we don't have "full" and detailed records of her medical history.

Poor Ashley is not getting any food at this point, constant IVs and sticks and probes with needles. Her arms are in tie-downs so she doesn't remove her nose and catheter tubes, so she can really just lie on her bed.  The doctor thought she looked pale today and I wonder why?! She's been hospitalized for 3+ days now. 

This hospital is a tad better than the last - no bugs, cleaner, but no one really speaks to us (we are the only Americans), there are no TVs, no community areas, and a lack of food (we are not in a direct area of HK right now), and I feel that we have to always push and pull to get help, get answers, get actions.  Then we still have no tangible results.

As our trip has progressed so well in the last few days, we now also have Typhoon Megi to worry about. The Typhoon is set (as of today) to direct hit Hong Kong by Saturday.  Headline from today's South China Post Newspaper: "Powerful Megi to Unleash its Fury."  Lead: "Guangdong and Hong Kong prepared to face the fury of of killer typhoon, with Megi expected to smash into the coast by Saturday."  It is not where we want to be stuck with a sick child for another several days. 

The boys are currently staying with Aunt Rita in the hotel, while Charlie and I "live" in the hospital. They all were hoping to make a quick trip to Disneyland today, as that was one of their treats for this trip.

Right now, there is massive construction going on in the hospital, so loud drills and jack hammers are dulling any normalcy and driving the babies nuts. It sounds like it is right in our ears.  They started at 9AM sharp and have continued unabated since then.

To top it all off, everyone in the hospitals calls Ashley a "he" as I think that Jian can be a male's name in Chinese, too, so they just look at her paperwork (and not at her) and say "he does, he doesn't"!

*I had written this post this a.m., but just have a quick minute to post it tonight (as I am back at the hotel, while Charlie and Rita are with Ashley at the hospital), and it's been a very, very long few days. Ashley has to stay at the hospital until close to when we leave tomorrow, so that her body is properly prepared for the long flights.  As she still is very sickly, we are canceling our CA leg of the trip and will be attempting to fly directly back from HK to Los Angeles and then will try and catch another quick flight later that day/early next day to Philadelphia as quickly as we can.  I am changing some of the flight arrangements tonight. Once home, Ashley will need to be immediately re-hospitalized but at least we'll be under CHOP's care vs. some of the local hospitals that we have experienced.

Sorry the font is a bit off. The computer is acting a little strangely tonight at the hotel.

See everyone soon.

Love,

Lisa, Charlie, Kyle, Dylan, Ashley & Rita