American Thanksgiving in Korea

We were so fortunate to have my parents here for Thanksgiving.  Now that they are in Seoul we will get to see a whole lot more of them!  Because we live in an area with plenty expats the locals cater to our needs.  B's company put together a huge, nice pot luck dinner.  They provided turkeys and everyone else brought the rest. It was a great dinner with tons of food.  I will say that holidays carry a little different meaning when you are abroad...hard to describe it...maybe they just don't feel as important.  Regardless we had fun and were happy to spend time with my mom and dad.

We didn't do much over the weekend because of E's condition.  One morning we took a walk to the waterfall.  The fall colors in the mountains were beautiful!  The favorite thing was watching grandpa and dad throw sticks in the trees attempting to knock other sticks down.  In E's works "daddy and gampa throw sticks and daddy missed."  In dad's defense he really ended up knocking them down...

We also went to the POW camp on the island.  It was interesting seeing the history of where we live and how different it was only 60 years ago!

We now look forward to Christmas in the U.S. and spending time with both families.  We will then spend Lunar New Year back in Korea with my parents.  We sure love having people to spend the holidays with!

Life in a Spica Cast

I don't know much about Spica casts but what I do know is they are super hard to sit up in, make carrying a child very awkward and heavy, are uncomfortable for a kid to sleep with, and they sure get stinky!  With every new change we've had over the past couple months coming home with a Spica on was super frustrating for all of us. E couldn't do all the things she used to do, she couldn't sit up very well, and she needed mom to do everything for her.  Somehow we managed 6 weeks.

We found ways for her to sit up.  A camping chair without arms worked the best but her tricycle also did the job.

And we found ways for her to lay down.

We found good, safe ways to get around town (yes, riding in the front seat of the car on mom's lap is totally safe).

We came to realize that when you get hurt you get more presents than your birthday and mom gets more meals brought in than when she had the kid...yes, we have some really great friends!

Our evening routine of bathing turned into blow drying the cast because of urine leakage.  Yes, it was as disgusting as it sounds.  They sure don't make those casts very easy for diapers!  Plus the poor girl was just potty trained then had to go back to diapers.  What a mess!  I'm pretty sure when I signed up to be a mom I didn't agree that I would have to potty train the same kid twice.

We got really good at moving around with that thing on!  And most of all...we learned how to adjust, make it fun and be excited about what we COULD do and not what we couldn't do (a valuable lesson for mom).

To get an update on E's progress check out this post.

Sat on the Wall...Had a Great Fall

I can usually look back at most mishaps in my life and laugh...not sure about this one.  As we were descending from the Great Wall the unthinkable happened.  We were on a switch-back ramp in line for the toboggan slide that takes you down to the village.  Being responsible moms we were holding hands the entire way as the guard rails were very minimal.  E let go of my hand for a second to grab something, got bumped by her friend, tripped over the 1-inch concrete ledge and started tumbling down the side of the mountain.  I have a few visual memories of what happened next but not many.  There were several feet of ground that was only slightly sloped until it dropped off.  I jumped after E thinking I would catch her.  Her momentum had her going quicker than I was.  She rolled down the mountain and I was able to slide on my feet and bottom until we landed about 10-15 feet below.  E was immediately crying which was good (because she didn't pass out) and had blood on her head.  I picked her up and took her to get cleaned up.  We were both shaking but got the cut on her head cleaned up a little.  When I tried to pick her up to carry her the most painful screams came.  I noticed she had a huge knot in her leg and I was pretty sure it was broken.

I won't go into much detail about the medical care and support in China...just know it is not what we would expect back in America.  After getting down the mountain we arranged with our 'tour guide' to have a local restaurant owner take us back into town (about and hour drive) and help us catch a cab to the hospital.

Finally, the 3rd hospital we tried would take us.  We ended up at the Beijing Children's Hospital in the ER.  We got our x-rays and confirmed that she broke her right femur...clean break, right in half.  The rest of that evening was a nightmare.  After going back and forth from the ER to the doctor they finally decided to treat us.  We tried to get it casted as it was so that we could get back to Korea to take care of things.  The doctors must have not understood us as they only splinted it.  E was in shock and pain and was in no condition to leave the hospital.  We decided to check her in and give her some antibiotics until she was stable.  I stayed the night with her while my friend tried to make arrangements with B who was back in Korea.

The next day was long, hard and scary.  We were trying to coordinate our plans and treatment and there was lots of waiting and confusion.  B's company contracts with an international medical help program (ISOS) in the event of an emergency.  We were able to work with them on the recommended plan of attack.  After a long day in the hospital (we were in a shared room with 7 other sick kids...not ideal at all) we got E in a temporary plastic brace to get her home.  My parent's called a long time family friend living in Beijing to come and help me...LIFESAVER!  We were able to check out of the hospital and figure out how to get back to Korea.

These pictures are pretty sad...but true.  Poor girl was in so much pain and bored and confused.  The hospital conditions were poor.  We were ready to get out!

We were released on Tuesday night.  Our scheduled flight was early Wednesday morning.  It was questionable whether or not the airline would allow us on flight with a brace or cast above the waist.  We thought we would try to make our flight.  At the same time the ISOS was trying to arrange with ExxonMobil to charter a medical flight for us back to Korea.  I got a call in the middle of the night with the good news it had been approved!  In the morning we headed to our friend's house to wait for the flight arrangements.  (We stayed in our hotel this night with our travel buddies thinking we'd go to the airport with them in the morning.  When we got approved for the medical flight our friend left on our normally schedule flight).  Later that Wednesday evening we were picked up via ambulance to take us to the airport for our private flight back to Korea.  We are eternally grateful to whoever approved the flight.  ISOS arranged for an ambulance to take us to the airplane's side, fly us, pick us up in Korea via ambulance and take us to the hospital in Korea with 2 assisting doctors.

The airplane was tiny.  E was on a stretcher and I was in a seat next to her.  The 2 doctors were in reversed seats directly behind the pilot and co-pilot.  We had to be airborne by 7:00 p.m. in order to land before 9:00 p.m. in Korea (as the airport would only accept our plane before then).  The airport in Beijing stopped all flights and opened a runway for us so we could get off.  We landed in Busan at 8:58 p.m.

When we got to the ER in Busan we were so thrilled to see daddy!!  I'm pretty sure the feelings were mutual as dad climbed into the ER crib with E to read to her.  The hospital was such a step I thought I'd never be so happy to be back in Korea!  After a short time in the ER we were checked into a private room.  Emma was scheduled to be placed in a SPICA cast the following day (Thursday).

E was placed in her hot pink SPICA cast on Thursday evening.  We were told to stay in the hospital through the weekend as they monitored the swelling and the placement of  the bone.  My mom was previously scheduled to fly in that Sunday.  (They are moving to Seoul and were coming to start getting their new life situated here).  It was so nice to have her here the first week.  E was equally as grateful to her gaga with her.  Everything looked great with E's leg and we were released on Monday.  The next set challenges then arose as we had to learn how to live our life with a busy girl in a body cast!

The Happy Parts of China: Part 2

Day 4 in Beijing was another fun one.  We decided to walk to Jingshan Park which is directly north of the Forbidden City.  Our plan was to walk around the park, go through the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square then hit up the Silk Market.  We spent more time at the park as we found it very entertaining.  Again there were groups of dancers and singers all around the park.  The girls even got some ribbon dancing lessons.  In the center of the park is a large hill with a temple on top.  At the top someone set up a photo opportunity for tourists just like us!  They dressed up in traditional clothes and took our picture on some golden throne.  A memory worth having!  From the top we also had a good look at the Forbidden City.  When we saw the crowds out front we decided to skip that!  Again, another fun, cultural day.

Day 5 was rainy and cold.  We attempted to go to church but it didn't last long.  We stayed inside most of the day.

Day 6 was the perfect day turned bad.  The rain cleared the skies and we actually had a clear and sunny day.  It was the perfect day to visit the Great Wall.  We decided to go to then Mutianyu section as they had a toboggan slide down.  E slept in the backpack most of the walk so I was able to walk quite a bit of it.  It was very steep in some section with lots of stairs.  The mountains were very rugged.  You were able to see cities in both China and Mongolia.  We rode the ski lift from the village to the wall.  Unfortunately we had a little accident coming down from the wall that made our perfect day a nightmare (more info later).  The fall colors were beautiful...great time to visit.

The Happy Parts of China: Part 1

I am finally getting around to posting about China (aka picture overload).  It started out as your ideal trip but sure didn't end that way. For now I'll focus on the good...because it was a great trip.  A friend and I decided to jump over to Beijing with our kids and leave the dad back in Korea to work for a week!

Day 1 was mostly spent flying and figuring out how to get from the airport to our hotel.  The flight was only 2 hours and the girls thought it was so fun to be on an airplane together.  When we arrived in Beijing we fought for a taxi van to get us to our hotel.  Of course negotiating the price for 2 adults, 3 kids and a bunch of luggage was less than fun.  Our hotel was....well....quaint.  We tried to stay on the cheap and found an old huntong-turned-hostel place to stay.  The staff was very nice and helpful and because we spent minimal time there it was fine.

Day 2 was spend at the Temple of Heaven (and surrounding park) and the Pearl Market.  We braved the subway system and found it was no where near disable friendly so trying to get strollers up and down stairs was quite a task at some stops.  Plus it was super packed most of the time.  The girls did think it was cool to ride the train.

Temple of Heaven park was great.  We went early to catch all the Tai Chi dancers and found there was so much more than just Tai Chi.  It was quite hilarious!  It seemed as if someone would stop at a random place in the park, turn on some music and start line dancing or swing dancing and eventually more and more people would join in.  There were several people playing hacky with a stack of metal rings with feathers on top.  There were also people dancing with a paddle and ball or with a ribbon.  We saw people doing crazy gymnastics, playing dominos, giving massages, etc.  It was quite the show.  The girls loved wandering through the park and joining in on all the dance.

There were three main structures or temples with the Temple of Heaven being the most famous.  This day was forecasted as clear...goes to show how much smog there is and how dirty the air is.  The history is so old which amazing considering how young America is.

 
The Pearl Market was a great experience.  Seriously, I loved bartering.  I would hate to do it all the time because of all the work it takes but I sure got some great deals.  I wish our last day planned for shopping would have worked out because there were a few more things on my list.  The aisles of the markets were packed with booth after booth of junk.  Every both sold the same bags, scarves, electronics, watches, shoes, clothes, etc.  We went a couple days in the afternoon and let the kids sleep in the stroller while we shopped.  Great time.

Day 3 was packed with a visit to the Summer Palace and the Beijing Zoo.  The Summer Palace was huge with tons of people.  It was quite overwhelming.  The worst part was ALL the people who wanted to take pictures with the girls.  We were all frustrated that every time we stopped to look at something we were bombarded with people and cameras.  It made for a not as pleasant trip to the Summer Palace (although the things we saw were quite amazing).  The zoo was a great break for the girls to run around and see the animals.  The cages and living conditions of the animals were quite depressing but the girls didn't know...they were just excited to see pandas and lions and elephants.  The best part of the zoo was feeding the zebras leaves.  E still talks about the zebra that kissed (licked) her hand when she was feeding it leaves.

To be continued...

Smoke Signal

Korea is lined with old smoke signals near the coasts and on top of the mountains to warn the villages of Japanese attacks.  We recently hiked up to one on a beautiful evening.

The view of the shipyard and surrounding mountains.  Beautiful.

E inside the tower.