Wuhan/Foshan?

 In my Post-Op/Post-Game world I have had some time to catch up on the news. I started to wonder why the Chinese Government has launched an insane response to the Chikungunya virus outbreak in Guangdong province. This virus pops up in parts of Asia, South and Central America as well as Africa during the mosquito season. The disease is carried by the same mosquito that transmits dengue fever and the Zika virus. I have known people who have had all the above mentioned viruses. 

Mosquitos carry diseases that they are able to transmit when they give people those pesky bites during the summer months and we ought to guard against that and try to prevent that from happening. Part of my summer routines besides wearing flip-flops and linen a plenty is making sure there is no standing water on my property. I have always taken that job very seriously knowing that depriving the mosquitos from water during their breeding season is good science and goes far to prevent disease outbreaks. 

I have been on slo-mo since my gall bladder surgery so, I asked my husband to please walk around the property yesterday and to disperse any standing water that he finds. I know that we have a watering can which catches water under an air conditioning unit and we use that to water nearby summer blooms. We usually empty that frequently. However, since I have been ordered not to lift anything too heavy, I have to ask my husband to do it. Shoveling snow in the winter, and making sure there is no standing water on your property in summer is a responsibility.

I reminded my husband incessantly to inspect our property frequently as I nervously read varying accounts of the Chinese crackdown in Guangdong province concerning the recent virus outbreak. They have warned people that failure to handle standing water on property could result in steep fines or even shut-offs of a homeowner’s electrical power. Wait, that is going way too far.

I imagine that there is a Chinese lady out there who is right now trying to explain to the government official that she is recovering from gallbladder surgery and she is usually un top of that chore but, that she is currently not able to do it. Her husband has been so busy taking care of her that he is a little behind with a double load of responsibilities. Could you please put our electricity back on and rescind this fine? From all accounts the Chinese government are flying drones with A.I. intelligence assisting to find standing water. 

On the one hand, it seems like it should be a good and a quick way of identifying places where there is standing water which might be a breeding ground for mosquitos. Bravo right? On the other hand, now they are using it to spy on citizens in China and using information gathered to penalize people. The accounts from China are again reading like a dystopian novel. Shades of Wuhan/Foshan. 

Pharmacists are told to report people who purchase certain types of medicine. The government then goes on to require blood tests to check for the Chikungunya virus. Individuals who test positive for the virus are then taken to the hospital until their tests come back negative. They are placed under mosquito netting until then. Forced mosquito netting that sounds like my grandmother when I was visiting her in a tropical location. I do understand that if you have the virus and a mosquito bites you that the mosquito can then pass the virus that they got from you to the next person. However, as a moral person I would choose to take all due precautions to keep myself, my family and other people safe. Is it the governments job to hold me prisoner and take away my freedom before I do anything wrong? It’s almost as if they don’t trust their citizens. 

All over social media there is a story of a mother whose children were tested without her permission merely because she bought fever reducing medicine at a pharmacy. Imagine that, a child with a fever, let’s get the men in white coats….. not!

China has had a great deal of flooding and with that as their history shows disease breaks out in that region. Ten thousand people have gotten the virus this time. However, this disease usually does not kill anyone and while it does present a risk to those in certain categories, (we have to watch out for ourselves if we are in those categories), it usually results in an immunity and resistance the next time you get the virus. It’s like the model for today’s government and the medical community is never trust a person’s natural immunity. Why is that?

Since the Chinese introduced the world to the gain of function Wuhan virus, we see a new partnership between science and the government. Let’s be clear, it is never a good thing when medicine and government team up. It is better if medicine remains an independent entity with citizen input. Evidence the former Soviet Union’s weaponization of psychiatric medicine to punish political prisoners. Or, the Nazis sterilizing people who they deemed undesirable. What about the World Health Organization and various countries unwise measures used at combatting the corona virus? Wuhan/Foshan? 

I have read of genetically engineered elephant mosquitos being released to eat the disease carrying smaller mosquitoes. Mutant mosquitos, what could go wrong there? Or, what about obsessively spraying dangerous insecticides everywhere. I am now imagining pollinators dying, asthma increases in already polluted China and other environmentally lasting effects as the poisoned water and air complete their cycles and disperse the poison far and wide in the food chain. Coje la suave with that poison!

The tools of the modern computer era far surpass any past tyrannical model for control that has ever existed. The ability to completely and totally control every citizen’s life is now something that any government can easily implement. The information superhighway that we thought so much of is now tainted with the smear of deep fakes, algorithmic manipulation, hackers and artificial intelligence lies. The Chinese pandemic model is the new model of how world domination will occur. There is nothing good about their war on this virus. Don’t buy the hysteria or methods. Our rights come from God not from our government or the health care profession and we ought to have a say! 

P.S. pray, read your Bible, eat healthy, and exercise. In this summer of floods check for standing water and disperse it. Take precautions to avert mosquito bites at dawn and dusk. I use herbal sprays and homemade citronella candles. If need be and you live in an at risk location please use mosquito netting. Also, with vacation season still in progress it is important to check if your vacation destination has reported any recent cases. If so, it might be worth it to reschedule. God bless you all. 

Post-Op/Post-Game

 Hi Y’All. I am back. You didn’t get rid of me that easily. I made it through my gall bladder surgery. One of my centering scriptures was, Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth -Psalm.46:10. In the not so distant past, I went to a German Fraktur lecture and bought several lovely examples of that calligraphy. I quickly framed them in neon green picture frames that I had bought at an Anthropologie store. One was the Psalm that I just referenced. It helped me to quiet my mind and nerves from time to time before the surgery. That verse is a life raft that we can all grab a hold of and contemplate. And as we contemplate its’ meaning, somehow everything falls right into place! God is in control folks.

After the surgery, another Fraktur calligraphy of the word “gratitude” was reflective for me. So many people reference the word “gratitude” in art work at their home or in their office. But, just who or what are we gratitude to and for? It matters. In life, there is so much gratitude that we should have of course. We should be grateful to our parents, our friends, mentors and others. However, first and foremost when I look at this lovely framed example of Fraktur I immediately know that I am thinking of God and all that he has done for me in the weeks and months before my surgery. I am grateful for the Holy Spirits’ presence now in my Post-Op/ Post-Game world too. In fact, when my surgery was over and the nurse informed me that it was all over. I remember feeling wide-awake and breaking out in a big smile. How happy I was as I exclaimed, “thank you Lord!”

It has now been one full week of recuperation and I had my Post-Op/Post-Game doctor’s appointment. They pronounced me on the mend and doing well. However, I love the way they give you the big sell on getting a surgery and then afterwards, they spring a whole bunch of life-long digestive problems that may ensue. Is it any wonder that people decry the medical profession or seek alternative medicine? While they are not a perfect institution, they are THE INSTITUTION to be beat and no one has yet. So, we have to deal with the system. On the day of the surgery, the team assembled to do my surgery treated me with dignity and respect. 

I thought that one of the downsides of moving out of Westchester County New York might be that I get worse medical care. After all, New York City area hospitals consistently rank high in industry wide comparisons. Having experienced treatment in those major facilities and coming along side others also getting treatment at these hospitals did not convince me of their often reported superiority. In fact the opposite. I felt that patients are often treated insensitively. There are language barriers when dealing with medical staff who did not score as high on language arts as they seemingly did in the medical sciences. At times it feels like calling a customer service line for some computer help and not understanding what the person on the other lines was saying. My parents were both born in other countries so English was their second language. However, communicating with excellence in whatever language we spoke was considered important. The care is spotty at best and depends on who is on duty that day. Wait times are horrific too. 

So, when I looked at the pros and cons of leaving my native state of New York, I did so with my eyes wide open. There always seems to be the sense that big city care is state of the art. But, what about quality of life and care? I began by praying to God to move to the place that he wanted me to be. I asked that he would guide and direct me to a place where I wasn’t the only Christian or conservative on my block. But, now that I had to get my first surgery I had to accept the choice that I made to move to a more remote location. What ended up happening on the day of my surgery was what I was hoping for i.e. a small town experience, my own personal Hallmark movie. Everyone looked me in the eye that day and communicated effectively about the procedure that I was about to undergo and my aftercare. I was educated and prepared for my surgery and recuperation. People treated me kindly and gently. Their techniques that morning seemed well-orchestrated. Most important to me, there were Christian scriptures on people’s desk, and on the walls. A conservative channel was playing on the television screen. Maybe I will live a couple years less here but, it is not how long we live, it is the quality of our life. I can breath here. I can be myself here. Thank you God for bringing me here, getting me through difficult things and please bless the people who cared for me that day.