Long John Silver in the Orient - Dr Xia

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Welcome to China!

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Good luck ! 

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Hey man . Good luck!! . Try to go to 175cm man. I think is a good height! How tall are you with a 2cm lift in the shorter leg? 168?

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Good luck man. Looking forward to read you diary. Stay strong!

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Well folks,

I had my first operation yesterday and although I don't feel up to writing a lot right now I promise I will be more descriptive  of my experience just before, during and after the operation when I feel better.

The operation went well and although I did not sleep at all last night the pain is not extreme. No need for pain killers right now as I feel similar to what it is like after a tough soccer match.

It is still a bit unreal for me but meeting patients here who have lengthened 8 and 9 and are very happy is inspiring and exciting.

Feel free to ask questions as my mind should be clearer in the next few days.

 

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congrats, so you are doing LATN?  how much are you paying?

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Glad to hear from you again

1/ Are they still doing the surgeries at the same hospital or where is it now?
2/ How many foreign patients are there atm?
3/ Who does the surgeries now?

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Is Wang Bei as beautiful as I remember her?

Seriously, I hope you're doing well but I know you're in good hands.  I'll give you the same advice I gave to Canton when he first got to Beijing:

1. Wake up in the morning.  Don't get into the habit of oversleeping and getting yourself into a situation where you'll be keeping weird hours.  Staying up all night and sleeping all day will make you more socially isolated than you already will be as an LL patient.

2. Eat 3 meals a day, even if you're not hungry.  At least try to eat something, even if you have to force feed yourself.  You need to eat during this stressful time for your body.

Remember those two things and I think you'll be all right.  You're in good hands.

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Hey Liam, good to read that your surgery went well. It must help having other patients there with you going through the same thing. How's the food there?

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How long will I shoot for ?

I flew to guangzhou on the 1st sep to spend two weeks in china with Lisa , my online gf before traveling on alone to Beijing.  Meeting her face to face at the airport was exciting and good to have a friend in such a foreign land. We had met online and used Skype so we 'knew' each other and could already converse between basic mandarin and English. She was taller than I expected but I knew quickly by her she didn't find me height an issue and was physically comfortable with me.

For two weeks I emersed myself into Chinese culture speaking little English and ordering meals etc on my own. Lisa and I made a nice couple and we were noticed every where we went and folks approached us at restaurants asking how we knew each other and asking about me in particular. Chinese men constantly offer me cigarettes and ask where I am from and I am friendly in return but politely refuse their offer.

On Monday 15 sep I said goodbye to Lisa at the airport and flew to Beijing. She was crying and I was excited and prepared.

I arrived at Beijing at 5pm and within 15 minutes had collected my bags , found the driver with my name board and we were on our way through Beijings smogey streets to the new Yanda Hospital on the outskirts of the city.

We arrived at the impressive building , entered the below ground car park and took the lift to level 9 of the second wing. Two nurses sat at the ward counter and one was especially pretty. I was taken directly to my room and met my roommate, an international ll patient from Switzerland.

After taking a shower , getting into my hospital pyjamas and drinking a protein drink I had brought I had brought with me I was taken to the height measuring machine and I was 168.5 with my left heel slightly raised. I returned to my room ready to fast for my blood test and medicals the next day.

I spoke briefly with my roommate and he told me he was the only international patient until my arrival.  There had been an American and a japanise who returned to have their rods removed but they both left weeks before.


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