O'Neals visit: Penang, Malaysia beach time!

July 19, 2010

Note: The first picture above is of Dad getting a massage on the beach...his first ever!

We whisked Dad straight from the hospital to the beach, as if he'd broken loose from jail. Dad was thrilled to be free of the hospital, and the hourly poking and prodding. Finally, he could get a good night's sleep. It was hard to restrain the kids from sleeping in his and Nanny's room, though, that first night.

We took him to Penang, Malaysia, known during the British West Indies days as the "Pearl of the Orient," back when it was an international port run by the British colonizers, located at the Strait of Melacca and South China Sea. We stayed at a resort, with no other Americans in sight. But, there sure were loads of families from Australia, Hong Kong, and the Gulf States, in full body burkas. These burka'ed women were riding the atv's avidly across the beach, riding horses, and reading their ipads. They seemed like they did so much we women did, just having to follow their husbands when they did it. And, the mosque was right next to our hotel, waking some of us promptly at 5:45 am in the morning. Tonight, Griffin accidentally climbed over the mosque fence, landing smack dab in the middle of the mosque call to prayer.

Griffin loved the freedom of the resort, after being confined to a glass and marble apartment in KL. He would disappear, taking off to swim, play soccer, or foosball with his many new friends. He's developed "my best friend in Malaysia," an 8 year old from Hong Kong named Thomas. They play every sport, especially soccer, in fact they want to do everything together, even taking a bath together. Griffin yesterday afternoon and all day today with Thomas and his family, often trailed by their Filipino nanny. His Hong Kong family was incredibly generous with Griffin, serving him lots of pizza, ice cream, and soccer play. They may give us a tour of Hong Kong when we visit Hong Kong...we, at least, were originally planning on visiting Hong Kong for the Hong Kong Disney. I didn't tell Thomas' mom that's the only reason we were going to Hong Kong.

Dad's recovering more and more each day. It's a wonder and relief to watch the miracle of medicine and solid sleep helping him back to normal. I'm sure all the love and attention doesn't hurt either. See the picture above of an "ancient Chinese masseuse" who gave Dad his first massage of his life. Patrick treated him to it, and he put a smile on Dad's face. Dad's a massage convert now.

When we walked to our nightly street hawker stalls for dinner tonite (see fave "Singapore" food above), Dad refused to have any of us guide his arm. Boom watched us argue with Papa to let us guide him, then Boom grabbed Dad's hand and guided him himself. It was an offer Papa couldn't refuse.

Papa's Illness and Recovery

July 14, 2010

Papa had to go to the hospital a couple days after we arrived. It was a real scare. He was very confused, disoriented, and distressed. We took him to the hospital, with Patrick doing an amazing job of distracting him from his confused and panicked thoughts by showing him pictures and videos of his grandies on his camera. We went to the ER and they immediately sent us up for a neurological consult with Dr. Julia, as she is called in Malaysia; Dad would be called Dr. Ed here.

She broke to us that she thought it likely Dad had had a mild stroke. We quietly freaked out, waiting the results of his MRI. I sobbed with relief when his MRI showed that he had not had a stroke. Dad was still just as confused and now having trouble walking, though. She continued many tests until the eeg finally showed that he was having mild seizures affecting his frontal and temporal lobes that affect info-processing and emotions, explaining a lot. It was actually a relief to get such a result since it was treatable.

After many days of travel without sleep, he was checked into the hospital and immediately passed out asleep, completely exhausted. And, the anti-seizure medication took effect immediately with Dad's thinking more clear. It was wonderful to watch him recover. He was in the hospital for a few days til he completely stabilized.

The pictures above show how happy the kids were to see him, released from the hospital. Turns out, us adults weren't the only worried ones.

O'Neal Family Visit to Kuala Lumpur! Papa, Nanny, Brendan, and Patrick!

July 9, 2010

Mom, Dad, Patrick and Brendan came to visit us in Malaysia! They were our first visitors. The kids were thrilled. They are staying through July 23. We hit the Kuala Lumpur tower with them, with a zip line reminiscent of Costa Rica. You could zip from the base of the tower to the parking lot! Not quite like zipping through the jungle, but Griffin was very brave anyway. His grandparents' jaws dropped.

We all went to our neighborhood restaurant called "Pelita," famous among the locals, especially the "teksi" drivers who love it. It's Indian food, in all its spicy, yogurt-marinated glory.

We also tried a dim sum place around the corner, loving it. And, we spent an afternoon at Patrick and Brendan's hip hotel, with the longest, windy-est pool in SE Asia! They reminded us how to have a drink by the pool, as only Californians can.