Survive

Hi,

Coming to you from high above the Ping River in Chiang Mai.  We had occasional ‘small rain’ on the trip down and sprinkles for about a minute here in town.  It was storming in Chiang Rai today.

A few readers got the ‘Easy Monday’ song.  Here’s the lyrics to the second verse.  Good luck.  “Hello, lamppost, what’cha knowin’?  I’ve come to watch your flowers growin’.  Ain’t’cha got no rhymes for me?  Doot-in doo-doo, __ __.  Ba da da da da da da, __ __."  Clue:  They went to the fair, sang to the darkness, and observed the zoo.  The title uses a word that was very popular, meaning enjoyable or excellent.

Today has been a day.  We got up and did our usual morning routine.  Daku seemed OK with the small suitcase on the floor.  On his second trip upstairs he was hanging out on his mat.  He went to get up and had difficulty, and just stayed on the mat.  When Lisa went to him he just stayed like he was.  He didn’t try to get up.  He also didn’t respond to the usual bribes, like Natcha’s coconut bread.  By now we had become concerned.  She finally got him to go downstairs.  Thinking that maybe he had eaten something in the yard, Lisa gave him some charcoal, which is good for absorbing toxins in the stomach.  Eventually, we took him to Dr. Arnon’s office.  The doctor on call knows Daku and gave him an exam.  He told us the only way to determine what was happening was to first do a blood test and possibly a heart exam.  We waited for the blood test results and found out that Daku was hypoglycemic.  His blood sugar was very low.  They wanted to keep him, treat him for that and see if it helped.  We left him at the vet’s, understanding that he would get an IV of glucose and some oxygen therapy.  Later in the day the doctor called to say that Daku did not want to eat and was not much better.  Tomorrow they will do an EKG and x-ray his heart from 2 angles.  We’ll meet with the doctor tomorrow afternoon.

All of this left us very distracted.  About an hour down the road to Chiang Mai we got a call from Natcha, telling us we forgot our clothes.  The garment bag was left in the kitchen.  So, here we are in Chiang Mai with the clothes on our backs, but with no particular place to go.  I had packed 2 t-shirts in our little bag so we have wardrobe (555).  

We are staying with a friend of ours who lives in a condo on the Ping River.  The view from the 19th floor is amazing.  As the clouds cleared in the afternoon, it became even more beautiful.  

In the evening, our host, Peter, drove us to Shababa Restaurant, where we met our friend Marty.  Imagine, dining at an Israeli eatery in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  Yum.

When we returned to the condo it was dark.  The view of the city at night was stunning.  The tiny lights in the middle/right are at Doi Sutep, a beautiful temple on a mountain top.

We’ll distract ourselves for the rest of the evening and try not to worry about Daku until tomorrow.  

Have a Happy Tuesday.

                         Peace,

                                   Danny

“Love and compassion are

necessities, not luxuries.

Without them humanity 

cannot survive.”

~Dalai Lama