Back at Fuda

We arrived at Fuda last night. We were with another lung cancer patient who was also fetched by the hospital’s ambulance from the airport. We had a little chit chat and learned that their room was on the 3rd floor. By the way, we’re still on the 6th.

Dad with Mr. Tom

This morning Dad and I finally met our roommates, Mr. Benito Lim and his wife Mary Lim. They’re nice people. They were already sleeping when we came in last night. Like Dad, he also has lung cancer, but his condition has improved a lot since they were here six months ago. They’ll be leaving tomorrow and we’ll have the room all to ourselves. Woohoo!

Dad with Mr. Benito Lim

Anyway, Dad and I were so happy to see our old friends here. Glecie is back for another nano chemo session, and we were able to see Aunt Jo and her husband Wilson before they leave tomorrow. Glecie’s tumor in her colon is completely gone! God is good!

L-R: Josephine So, Wilson So, Dad, Benito Lim and Mary Lim

Later in the afternoon, Dad and Uncle Benito had an acupuncture session together. It was recommended by our friend, Glecie. Surprisingly, Dad was able to walk better after the treatment. It just took 45 minutes.

Dr. Yu inserting needles in Dad's arm

Uncle Benito with needles in his face

I, on the other hand, had a traditional Chinese therapeutic dry massage that put emphasis on pressure points, done by no less than the best, Dr. Yu. My back was aching the night we arrived at Fuda.

Me!

Then, Dr. Yu performed Ventosa on my back to ease my back ache. Ventosa is a massage cupping therapy which uses glasses placed on specific accupoints on your back. This is a technique used to create a vacuum inside the glass which lifts the skin, sucking the air away. By the way, Dr. Yu used bamboo instead of the usual glass.

Let me tell you how I ended up getting a Ventosa. To begin with, I’m scared of getting one, so I never had it back in the Philippines. After Dr. Yu gave me the massage, she said something which I didn’t understand. I knew she said she’ll do something on my back, and I was pretty sure it wasn’t acupuncture because had she said that, I'd say no. So, I was just lying there feeling so comfortable when she came back in and started putting the bamboo cups on my back. I was shocked, but she was so fast that before my senses could tell me it was Ventosa, she’s done putting all those bamboo cups on my back. My mind was telling me, “Tell her to remove them now! It’s painful!”, but really, it wasn’t. It wasn’t painful at all. In fact, I felt great after. Never mind the marks it left. Dr. Yu said they will disappear in a week's time.

Now, this isn't going to be pretty, but here's my back after my Ventosa treatment.

My back

It was a pretty good day today. Thank you, Lord.

Our bill yesterday and today: ¥3,410.31 and ¥353.12, respectively. ($582.13 total)
Total bill as of today: ¥161,521.94 ($24,983.87)