Day 18: Medical Check-ups in Guangzhou
Photo Album
This morning went very well! Despite our late night last night, we got pretty good rest before getting up to prepare for the boys' medical check-ups.
We were happy for some new choices at the breakfast buffet. We ate tons of fresh lychee fruit and even stashed a few for our morning at the doctor.
Jason, our guide came to get us (the only family in our group staying at the Victory Hotel) to take us across the way to the White Swan. We then walked with 10 other families to get the kids' visa photos done. Another short walk and we were at the clinic. The boys did SO well and, as usual, the older Brownies were a big help. Both boys cried just a little during the exam when their clothes were taken off, then again the moment they got their TB test shot. Excellent, considering the stress they could have been feeling.
Ken and I must share about their "hearing test." It's a joke! It should be called an "eye tracking test." The doctor shines a flashlight in his eyes with one hand and then, right in front of their face, moves a colorful squeaky toy over to their ear and squeaks it to see if they "hear" it. When Travis' eyes tracked the squeaker toy, the doctor exclaimed that he heard it. Ken, in his usual bold fashion, held out his hand for the doctor to hand over the toy. He then squeaked the toy behind Travis and out of his field of vision. He didn't flinch. When she "tested" Tian, I just smiled and let her do her thing. We can tell Travis is as deaf as Ken and Tian seems to hear a lot, if not everything, from his left ear. We can wait until we get settled back home to have them "officially" tested. I know the doctors are smart, so it totally stumps me why they do the test this way. I think the atmosphere doesn't lend itself to a reliable hearing test anyway, but that's just me.
Back at the hotel at noon, Tian fell fast asleep. After some Subway for lunch (we ate the fresh veggies...we'll see how that turns out) I, too, got in a nap. By the time I woke up, Travis and Ken were ready for a nap, so I took all the other kids up to the roof swimming pool. Grandmas, don't look at the pictures unless you want to have nightmares, okay.
We did some walking around our hotel. It's such a beautiful setting with many statues, banyan (and other) trees, colorful flowers, and water fountains.
At 5:30, it was time to meet up with some other CCAI families for dinner at the Thai place next to our hotel. Yummy! And we finally got our family picture! All seven of us!
We finished off the evening with a swim and even more gorgeous view than during the day time. Travis even sat on the edge of the pool (it's an "endless" vanishing edge pool, so he could sit on the edge and be in the water from his bottom down) and played and giggled. Much better than the screaming he does when he gets all the way in.
Back in our room to wind down for bed, the 5 Brownies played on the floor, being so sweet with each other. TJ started to cut up some of the fresh fruit our housekeepers brought and his two brothers enjoyed taking turns eating fruit. You'll have to see the photos to see the playtime brought on by the cut-up apple. We love our family!
This morning went very well! Despite our late night last night, we got pretty good rest before getting up to prepare for the boys' medical check-ups.
We were happy for some new choices at the breakfast buffet. We ate tons of fresh lychee fruit and even stashed a few for our morning at the doctor.
Jason, our guide came to get us (the only family in our group staying at the Victory Hotel) to take us across the way to the White Swan. We then walked with 10 other families to get the kids' visa photos done. Another short walk and we were at the clinic. The boys did SO well and, as usual, the older Brownies were a big help. Both boys cried just a little during the exam when their clothes were taken off, then again the moment they got their TB test shot. Excellent, considering the stress they could have been feeling.
Ken and I must share about their "hearing test." It's a joke! It should be called an "eye tracking test." The doctor shines a flashlight in his eyes with one hand and then, right in front of their face, moves a colorful squeaky toy over to their ear and squeaks it to see if they "hear" it. When Travis' eyes tracked the squeaker toy, the doctor exclaimed that he heard it. Ken, in his usual bold fashion, held out his hand for the doctor to hand over the toy. He then squeaked the toy behind Travis and out of his field of vision. He didn't flinch. When she "tested" Tian, I just smiled and let her do her thing. We can tell Travis is as deaf as Ken and Tian seems to hear a lot, if not everything, from his left ear. We can wait until we get settled back home to have them "officially" tested. I know the doctors are smart, so it totally stumps me why they do the test this way. I think the atmosphere doesn't lend itself to a reliable hearing test anyway, but that's just me.
Back at the hotel at noon, Tian fell fast asleep. After some Subway for lunch (we ate the fresh veggies...we'll see how that turns out) I, too, got in a nap. By the time I woke up, Travis and Ken were ready for a nap, so I took all the other kids up to the roof swimming pool. Grandmas, don't look at the pictures unless you want to have nightmares, okay.
We did some walking around our hotel. It's such a beautiful setting with many statues, banyan (and other) trees, colorful flowers, and water fountains.
At 5:30, it was time to meet up with some other CCAI families for dinner at the Thai place next to our hotel. Yummy! And we finally got our family picture! All seven of us!
We finished off the evening with a swim and even more gorgeous view than during the day time. Travis even sat on the edge of the pool (it's an "endless" vanishing edge pool, so he could sit on the edge and be in the water from his bottom down) and played and giggled. Much better than the screaming he does when he gets all the way in.
Back in our room to wind down for bed, the 5 Brownies played on the floor, being so sweet with each other. TJ started to cut up some of the fresh fruit our housekeepers brought and his two brothers enjoyed taking turns eating fruit. You'll have to see the photos to see the playtime brought on by the cut-up apple. We love our family!
We love your family, too! God bless.
ReplyDeleteGotta love the "squeaky toy" hearing exam!
ReplyDeleteAh! Nana took the words right off my keyboard. :-) I was also going to write, "We love your family, too!" Yeah...the "hearing" exam was, um, interesting!
ReplyDelete