The Fourth Son Hospitalised in Junior High

Shimen Township in Taipei County is Taiwan’s northernmost township; in the 1960s and 1970s transport was very inconvenient. If you fell ill, there was only one doctor at the health station; serious cases had to go to Tamsui or Taipei.

The fourth child Guang-de, in his first year of junior high, developed a skin condition—many pus-filled blisters on his calves, with red swelling around them. I took him to a Chinese medicine shop on Laomei Street. The proprietor was an elderly gentleman; he looked at the blisters on the boy’s legs, gave a small packet of powder, and told me to get a piece of leaf lard from the butcher and mix it with the powder and apply it to the sores—the illness would heal.

I followed his instructions; after the child bathed in the evening I applied the medicine carefully to the sores and the swollen areas.

The next afternoon the swelling had gone down—it really did heal quickly. While I was quietly pleased, something terrible happened. On the fourth afternoon after applying the medicine Guang-de came home from school and said: “Mum, why is my urine red?”

I was terrified and asked him to urinate in a basin so I could see—it really was red. I was frantic. It was past four in the afternoon. I told the eldest daughter: “Watch your younger brother and sister, and tell Father when he comes off work.”

I hurried with the fourth child to pharmacist Mr Pan’s home on the street to consult him.

Mr Pan had served at the health station for many years and was very experienced; villagers went to him for minor ailments. I described in detail how the leg blisters had been treated and how the urine had turned red. Mr Pan said: “Take the child to Tamsui to see a doctor at once—the blister bacteria may have reached the kidneys. You should not have applied medicine to the child carelessly.”

I felt awful. After thanking Mr Pan I rushed home and told my husband everything.

It was too late that day; we could only wait until the next day to ask the school for sick leave and have Father take him to Tamsui First Surgical Hospital for outpatient care. After careful examination the doctor said acute nephritis and that hospitalisation was needed. My husband said: “I will go home to discuss with my wife and then bring him back to be admitted.”

At home my husband told me how serious it was. After we talked we decided to send the fourth child to Taipei Air Force General Hospital at once. But how to get there?

We asked Village Head Mr Yang to telephone the unit for a vehicle. The unit, knowing our dependants’ village was on a remote shore, would send a car for serious illness to Air Force General Hospital. Mr Yang was also very kind, so the unit’s car came quickly—a medium jeep seating eight.

The driver was “Uncle Xiao Chen”—a good man and a fellow Sichuan native of my husband’s, my own age, only a teenager when he came to Taiwan. Uncle Xiao Chen liked our children and often took them out when he was off duty.

Hearing Guang-de was ill, he was worried too; after the order, within fifteen minutes the vehicle was at the village gate. I hurriedly packed what was needed for hospitalisation; Father and our son got in.

After I saw them off I went home. It was past three in the afternoon. I sat in the living room, thinking how my ignorance and lack of medical knowledge had made the fourth child suffer so—I regretted it deeply.

My husband took Guang-de to Air Force General Hospital; after thorough examination they arranged admission and treatment at once.

The doctor said: “Fortunately the illness is still acute—control the bacteria immediately and health can slowly return, but he may need a month’s sick leave and proper treatment in hospital.”

My husband completed admission formalities. At thirteen the child was a little old for the children’s ward and a little young for the adult ward—placing him was awkward.

Later they found a five-bed room where a colleague of my husband’s, Mr Wang, was staying; a colleague sent by the unit to care for him was Mr Chen, also a good friend of my husband’s. Father asked the hospital to put the fourth child in Mr Wang’s room and asked this older Uncle Chen to help look after him.

Once arrangements were made the child stayed in hospital; my husband shuttled between home and hospital for several days before it was settled that a month in hospital was needed.

Neither Father nor Mother could stay with the fourth child in hospital; fortunately Uncle Chen agreed to help us care for him—we were all grateful.

The child was also obedient and sensible, bravely accepting treatment in hospital.

We took turns visiting the fourth child; the eldest daughter was in nursing school in Taipei and also stayed with her brother on leave.

During hospitalisation we must also thank two student nurses on placement—one surnamed Lin, one Li. Both were caring; knowing Guang-de was in his first year of junior high and on leave during term, and seeing him often studying, they offered on their own to tutor him in mathematics and English.

Under the doctors’ and nurses’ careful care, after a month the fourth child was discharged safely.

Three days after he came home he returned to school to clear his leave and sat the monthly exams—English scored a full hundred and other subjects were good; hospitalisation had not hurt his grades. My husband and I were very glad and thanked the two nurses.

Guang-de soon regained his health and passed junior high peacefully.

He remained first in his class at school, yet in the senior high joint entrance exam, like his brother, he only gained admission to Chenggong Senior High night division.

His temperament was quiet; he attended classes at night and studied hard by day at a Taipei study hall. Three years later he was admitted to National Tsing Hua University, Department of Power Mechanical Engineering.

When the good news came, his junior high homeroom teacher Mr Wang Guozhi and former Taipei County Councillor Mr Lin (later the grandfather of our second son-in-law Yao-qin) came specially from Shimen to our home to congratulate.

Thanks to everyone’s care, the fourth child too had entered a national university.