My experience with Retinal Detachment

 My father has invited me to write in his blog about retinal detachment. 

So what were my symptoms of retinal detachment? Initially I had a burst of floater activity in my left eye. But they weren't your everday common floaters, they were like small black specs that reminded me of mosquitos floating freely around my eye. Next I had several flashes of the light in the corner of my left eye, the left corner to be exact. This occurred usually when I would look to the right. These flashes are hard to describe, it was as if my eye were taking in some trauma, you know when you get poked in the eye and you close your eyes and you see some momentary burst of activity? That's what it was like.

There are other kinds of flashes of light I also noticed. Chiefly there would be quick flashes that looked like tiny electric bolts around the left corner of my eye. There was also something else in the corner of the eye. sometimes it appeared to be small black dot, and others it was a flashing dot. After these events I went to an eye doctor to get a diagnosis. Of course  before this I went on youtube and researched if this were indeed the worst case scenario, which is obviously the retinal detachment. In any case the eye doctor who was available could not find any damage to my retina but as a precaution he sent me over to a retinal specialist. This retinal specialist also was unable to find any tear or damage to my left eye's retina so I was relieved at the time.

In the following week it appeared that their initial diagnosis was correct. My symptoms faded away and I was seemingly back to normal. Unfortunately a week later I had yet another burst of floater activity. This time there were even more black specks that entered my purview. And even more frightening the black dot had returned and it appeared to have grown. I also noticed that when I moved my left eye to look at something towards the right, the black dot stretched, like it was some sort of torn muscular tendon, It was all black of course but it is something to note.

The progression this time was much more quicker. What I was looking at was the retinal detaching. This time when I went back to the retinal specialist he was able to see it as well. It is my belief that perhaps my retina appear to be fine in the two weeks prior and it had only begun to detach much later on. There is something else to note. When the detachment was exposed directly to bright light or sunlight for that matter, it appeared like a clear transparent water balloon. This was made much more clearer once my pupils were dilated. My assumption is I was looking directly at the detachment itself. Thankfully I was able to get surgery done on the eye, but I have yet to remove my eye patch so I'm unsure what state of vision my left eye currently has.

元兒眼疾／莊峻華

 元兒眼疾／莊峻華

幾週來，元兒左眼有疾，找不到原眼醫，只好求診其同事，同事看不出毛病，推薦到我的眼醫，卡佩爾醫生，第一次也診斷不出毛病，要三週後再來門診，眼疾惡化，今天急診，卡佩爾醫生，再推薦一位同行同學，準備明晨手術，我了解這是視網膜脫離症，就是眼睛似有黑洞，越擴越大，醫生曰我也有此毛病，上次矯正過，元兒查谷歌曰，是白內障手術之瑕疵處，我們準備手術。

元兒一生身體坎坷，一直到六歲，始能自然呼吸，但已無聲帶，聲音沙啞，算是一殘障人，但他有毅力，完成大學畢業，在超市當店員十五年，我們將他留在家裏，就是増加一雙竹筷而已。他也身體健康，就是有深度近視，後來發現視青年白內障，我是在四十九歲右眼手術白內障，他更早是三十許。

還好他有工作，有健康保險，隨需要可看醫生，手術費用自備款也能負擔，我只期待手術順利，恢復正常生活。

The pandemic in Texas/Carlos Pueblo

 The pandemic in Texas/Carlos Pueblo

The pandemic in Taiwan and the up roaring of the criticism of the Taiwanese government has caught my attention. Yesterday, I posted an article about the pandemic in Texas in compare to the pandemic in Taiwan. Luck me, after that post, I read a piece of information from my College classmates line and another piece of Associate Press news about a Japanese Airline cargo plane landed at Tao-Yuan International airport with 1.25 million doses of Astra Zenica Japan vaccine to help the emergency needs of Taiwan. AP has another piece of news last night about the Chinese effort to vaccinate its own population recently. Suddenly, I understand more about the pandemic picture.

Texas is about 19 times of the size of Taiwan, with a population of a near of 30 million while Taiwan is about 24 million. Texas has a near of 3 million patients infected by this Wuhan Corona Virus disease so far, yet Taiwan has less than 10,000 infected. Texas has 51,515 casualties while Taiwan has less than 500 death so far. In the case of Taiwan, the nation is not severe as Taiwanese media think in compare with our governor Abbot as well as most of the Texan think. There are several reasons why for the difference. Taiwanese government and citizen are more alert with the experience of the SARS in 2003 while Texans have no such experience other than the hurricane and floods even with the advantage of the space. If you understand, there is no need to criticize that much with the Lady President Tsai of Taiwan.

Japan used to be the ruler of Taiwan, 1895-1945 and Taiwan used to be a part of Japanese Empire. Japanese government use a very skillful political maneuver to ship the AZ vaccine to Taiwan. The vaccine is manufactured in Japan under a contract with the British developer. Japan has no current plan to use the vaccine according to the AP. Japan has procured the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccines to use for the time being and also has its own development like Taiwan. It is exactly like the AZ US 4 million doses loaned to Mexico and Canada earlier this year. The U.S. has no current use of such vaccine; therefore, they are loans and both nations must pay back in order to satisfy the US budget requirement. I believe that the Japanese AZ is a donation like Taiwanese donate funds to help Japanese earthquake and sunami.

I also read another AP piece news about Chinese roll out of vaccination plan in China. As a matter of the fact, I have watched an You Tube vlog about the final day of 3,000 shots at a town in the Inner Mongolia. The AP report has a much large number of shots, 300 millions for the present. You can't imagine the Chinese regime's number as a matter of the fact. I always wonder how the Chinese propaganda works for the brag about their mission of vaccine distribution around the world. Some White House reporters did ask Biden's opinion about it via Jen Psaki.

 

德州疫情／莊峻華

 德州疫情／莊峻華

德州感然武漢肺炎者近三百萬人，因該感染而死亡者五萬一千五百七十五人，每天我都有艾美之報告，每天她都看紐約州長柯莫之武肺新聞報告，然後我交換台萬武肺竄起之資料給她參考，德州人口約三千萬，幅員將今台灣之十九倍大，因此，我只能安慰自己，在休市較易防守隔離，因為我可以長時躲在家裏，運氣好者，美國政府緊逼藥廠，做出三種疫苗，全力提供全民注射，有十二州人口達到拜登七月四日之目標，我們德州尚在努力，就是在七月四日可以在後院烤肉，邀請家人共餐，我們仍舊是相當可憐，我出門仍戴口罩，以防萬一，也抗議忽略公共衛生，堅拒疫苗注射者。

拜登已經開始釋放多餘庫存三種疫苗給外國，並且鼓勵三藥廠，全力以赴，全力生產，六月底前將贈送八千萬劑，給最需要之國，經國聯合國和美國，不求恩惠回報，台灣國民黨中國人，不要苛責蔡英文，有人性者均知台灣疫情，比起世界各國，不算嚴重。

我是自私自利者也，先保護自己，改變日常生活，不再世界旅行，早上運動鍛鍊身體，蒔花植果，欣賞園藝，早睡早起，觀賞烹飪，捕魚，豬肉販等網路影片，我相信科學家，很快就可以控制局面。

In memory of Dr. Dong-Shang Wu, Ph.D. Lu Kong, Taiwan 1940-2021

 In memory of Dr. Dong-Shang Wu, Ph.D. Lu Kong, Taiwan 1940-2021

The death of Dr. Dong-Shang Wu was announced by his brother Lien-Shang on the monthly magazine of Taiwanese Heritage Foundation of Houston. I got to know him when I moved to Houston, Texas in 1977. He was an editor and  publisher of a community magazine, the Mayflower of Taiwan. I wrote my pieces every month during that period of time. I have admired his effort very much for my life. He is also a good friend of my elder brother Yancy. The magazine was a publication of Taiwanese dissidents in the U.S. against the dictatorial rule in Taiwan. 

His name as a victim of the oppressed Nationalist Chinese regime in Taiwan was missed by me due to his absence of the community activities at that time. I had gathered about 47 of such victim in Houston area who were suffering of the visa denial by that regime. According to the announcement article, he did get the returning visa yet his family at Lu-Kong was harassed often while he was back that visit in 1982.

He has a distinguish and complete academic education, a B.S. in civil engineering from Cheng-Kung University, a M.S. from the Duke University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He used to work with the Brown and Root for years.

All his younger brothers and sister are very kind to me as a matter of the fact. Yet I still remember one time we are invited to a family dinner with his sister Grace. We had had a vivid conversation with him and I knew that he was also very found of the local Taiwanese music for the local religious ceremony in addition to his favorite European classical music. I believe that he loves Taiwan very much.

We did see that he was with a beautiful date at a Taiwanese restaurant in the 80's. I thought that was a very good match couple, yet he was still not married. I did call him to solicit the property insurance business for his rental houses back to the early 90's when I was terminated by first  insurance company. He was very nice to return my phone call and I appreciated very much.

I respect people like him with the justice in his mind all his life. You know that his effort to be the editor of the Mayflower magazine in the 70's gains my life time respect.

悼念鹿港吳公諱東山兄／莊峻華

 悼念鹿港吳公諱東山兄／莊峻華

今晨開信電郵，聞鹿港吳公東山兄仙逝，享年八十一，心中感慨，我與公相識於休市，時年1977，公業餘主編邊望春風雜誌，我曾在此雜誌投稿，固心儀公之為人正義正直，後公淡出台灣同鄉會活動，常不知其所蹤，漏列於我之八十年代，休市出土黑名單，為國民黨中國人，迫害台灣同鄉返鄉簽證之實例史也。

我與公家人甚善，論其弟妹，若美惠姊，連山文山兩兄，均熱衷鄉社業務，盡心盡力，令人欽佩，有次應昆聯兄嫂邀，家庭飯局，至今尚能回憶，不僅欣賞歐美古點音樂，亦好台灣本土鼓鑼銅板聲，蓋公喜愛台灣也。

公家人均男才女貌，人長英俊，相貌非凡，有顯嚇學資歷，是一極佳之配偶人才，一日在梁世昌師台灣飯館巧遇，公攜一美女為伴，我道是男才女貌，天作之合，然多年後，仍聞單身。

公善投資租屋，為我房險對象，一年我為公司開除契約，轉任他職，繼續營業，尋找業務對象，每思起公之租屋保險，電話留言，公甚善回話，雖未事成，然我心甚為感激也。

嗟乎，君子交若萍水相逢，雖近亦遠，雖疏且密，斯年代也，我觀乎公之自反而縮，為正義奔走，讀書人之氣節也，子曰君子嫉末世而名不稱焉，因為公悼。

The squirrel farmer/Carlos Pueblo

 The squirrel farmer/Carlos Pueblo

There are plants coming out on our yards front and back such as the peanut and the corn. I try very hard to avoid mowing them down. I was from the village when I was a boy. I can identify them as the crop for food. It is because my neighbor feeds the birds and squirrels on his back yard constantly. Birds with different colors have appeared regularly after their meals and fly away. The squirrel is very busy to hide its catch everywhere. Amy reminds me after seeing the squirrel's digging on my small pots for my seeds growing of the amaryllis. I wonder why the squirrel can get from my flake like seeds. After the rain, there are two peanut sprouts coming out of pots. The squirrel knows how to hide its food yet there are too many and it can't figure out exactly where they all are. Mike will feed them regularly anyway.

Once they come out to get my fruits, they are nomadic.. They like my fragrant melons and the luffa. Some time they will also bother my tangerine as well. It won't bother me any loner because they are fighting for their survival like me when I became an adult and married. I have my interest of growing something limited to enjoy looking to plants and flowers like the St. Augustine lawn like the young rice field. I wait patiently for my growing the amaryllis from seeds to plants.

This is the theory of the co-existence of the nature. I understand the nature. The squirrel is like a farmer in my view. I can't say that I like them yet I must acknowledge their existence and their right to dig my pots and harvest my produce. One time I hired some one cut down a huge fallen tree and found out they lived inside the decayed hole at the bottom. I would rather to watch them than read or watch those miserable news in the politic.