Category: Health

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Please pray for Soojin… and us…

Well, as some of you may know (those who were at Wednesday joint Bible study), past few weeks have been just very discouraging to say the least… way too many things, both big and small, have been happening in my life…

Biggest is my father’s tumor in his prostate… not sure still as he still hasn’t gotten around to the biopsy… and Soojin’s mom’s health deteriorating due to liver functioning worse and worse…  Kids broke the mirror sliding door to the closet that cost $150 to replace… Soojin’s car needed brakes done … over $400… my car’s flooding did another $400 damage…

Tomorrow, we were going to attend a wedding of a very precious dongseng, Deborah Ahn, in Dallas… but near lunch time, I learned that Soojin sprained her ankle… if not worse.  She can’t move at all… Had to get her pair of crutches but no one carries the right size!!    When it rains, it pours…

I was still planning to go to the wedding with the kids maybe… but now Anna has fever.    So I have to stay and help out… shucks…  I guess God is trying to get my attention… I’m ready God…

My sinus pain behind my eyes are killing me… allergy season’s back.  Spent way too many hours fixing my computer after my video card died on me… There are whole lot more that are too many to list and some are too personal to share… but I strive on… as we had learned in Ethiopia… of positive living… and as Christine Ha had reminded me of it again today…   Life is hard… but God is stronger…

Need rest… I just hope and pray that Soojin’s ankle is not fractured. 

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ER x 5

I’ve never been to ER in my life… until I lost my eye sight temporarily!
It happened when I was a Research Assistant at UT and worked with lasers. This one particular UV lamp bounced around a chamber (as a wave) and “fried” my eyes temporarily. My eyes hurt whether I close them or not! It was my very first time at ER…

Then, I got married. Soojin cut her left index fingertip off one day cutting odang (fishcake) and went to ER only to wait several hours. She got it back together thanks to her never-giving up attitude.

Then we went again when Anna was about a year old and her fever was over 104F!! Only to wait like 6 hours and get stupid Infant Motrin! We were back earlier again this year when Anna had some kinda stomach virus and kept throwing up even liquids! But we were there for 8 hours!

Then this past Sunday, Soojin and Sanghee went to Texas Children’s Hospital for JJ’s nasty gash! Out of our 5 experiences, we have learned to avoid Clear Lake Regional Medical Center with 100-yard stick and if it’s our kids and not life-threatening, we are better off driving up to Texas Children’s!!

I avoided hospitals and ERs for so long… but having a family definitely makes that ER avoidance impossible! Oh well… at least we are all better and we have all been to ER at least once!

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JJ & ER

Yikes!  What a day!

So we are at church.  I’m setting up the computer and others for service, and Soojin’s doing her usual greeting preparations… suddenly JJ comes running crying!  And what do I see?!!  A huuuuge gash on his right rear forehead!!   😮

The gash was about 1/4″ deep and half inch or so long!  I’m not that worried ’cause it looked like a bad scar but nothing serious.  Soojin takes a look and she is freaking out to the nth degree!!

Eventually, we decide to wait for Sanghee Samonim to get here (she’s a RN) and get her opinion who says at her arrival that JJ needs to get to ER.  So Soojin and Sanghee leave for Texas Children’s Hospital.

Eventually, the doctors decide to pull the skins together to apply… some kind of crazy glue!  😮  Yikes… I never knew that there’s an alternative to the old fashioned stitches!  Anyhow, Soojin later told me how well JJ was at the ER.  He didn’t cry one bit!  Even the nurses and the doctor were surprised!  He made me so proud.

Kids play and get hurt.  I’m just glad and thankful that it wasn’t worse.  Boys though do play rougher and are more prone to such larger damage.  Oh well.  C’est la vie!

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My friend, James’ Kidney Transplant Surgery

Ok… the date and times are set! Shocked

His sister’s surgery is 7/11/07 @ 7 am
James’ surgery is 7/11/07 @ 9 am

He said that his immune system will deteriorate after the surgery and will be homebound for 3 months w/o any personal visits. So please pray for successful surgeries and recoveries. Thanks.

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A boy and a girl: The difference

So the two of us, Soojin and I, are not too favorable on “conditional raising” of our kids.  That is, I don’t believe in giving the boys just “boy toys” and “girl toys” for girls.  Well, much to my surprise, as I try to play with my kids that are fighting some kind of fever, I find JJ playing with cars on a rug that has roads drawn on, and Anna playing with dolls and stuffed toys putting hair clips and and hair bands on them!  😀

All this without us giving either of them any special treatment or conditioning!  It’s just another proof that God has made us unique and special.  On top of that, our kids have been fairly superb being sick and all.  Even amidst sickness, they were so playful and affectionate… especially towards their mom.  🙂  Mommies are the best when you are sick.  Hands down.  I don’t blame them at all for going to their mom so affectionately when they are sick.

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Please pray for a friend of mine…

His name is James and is the choir director at Hanbit Presbyterian Church.

He has a weak kidney that has taken a toll out of him over the years.
He found a donor/match for a new one (his sister in Korea) who will be flying in next week for the liver transplant.

The tentative schedule for his surgery is end of June or early July. He is going to have to go through some preliminary testing and such so please pray for:

1. Doctors and nurses to handle his surgery and prep carefully and well
2. For the sister’s kidney to be a good match (and not be rejected by his body)
3. For great recovery.
4. For his family (wife and 2 kids but the younger baby is in Korea so wife can take care of him)

Thanks everyone and will keep you updated…

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Touch: Five Love Languages

Christine brought this up… Dr. Gary Chapman wrote a book called Five Love Languages that Soojin and I read together before we were married.  Soojin’s primary one was “Affirmative words” which meant that she loved to hear words of encouragement, words of affirmation, that she is doing an excellent job.  Mine, being more of a typical guy, is “Physical Touch”.

So the number one thing Soojin hates hearing is “Honey, could you rub my back?”    I just looooove a back rub/massages.  Shoot, she could just massage it forever!!  Well, my kids inherited this from me as well.  Soojin used to say “Wait till you get a taste of your own medicine!”    So both Anna and JJ just loooove a back rub.  Just prior to sleeping tonight, both of them asked me to rub/scratch their backs!!  Man… I felt Soojin’s pain… but also how much I loved those rubs!!  It’s like they were in heaven!!  Soojin tells me all the time that it’s the little boys that need more physical touch when growing up so I try not to tell them “No more!” and make the extra effort … but boy is it tiring!!