CHAPTER 101

2025-11-01

On Wednesday, October 7, after dinner, I let Lun have three large portions of snacks and two big cups of water. That night, he had stomach pain. A week later, the staff warned me about it — I immediately admitted my mistake and cut down on his snacks. Looking back now, perhaps it was my soft heart that caused this “good deed.”

Yesterday, Lun was in the emergency room from 12:30 p.m. until after 11 p.m. — nearly eleven hours in total before he could return to his group home.

In June this year, Lun was hospitalized for almost a week due to inflammation caused by a stent inside his kidney. After discharge, he had several episodes of lower abdominal pain, which he managed with painkillers. During that time, he underwent a minor procedure to break up the remaining stones. Yesterday at noon, I received a call from the group home manager: Lun was in severe abdominal pain, unrelieved by medication, and needed to be sent to the emergency department for a doctor’s diagnosis.

In my heart, I wondered anxiously — could this kidney stone pain finally be “cut off” for good?

When I arrived, I stayed by Lun’s side. He sat in a chair, sometimes bending forward, curling up to press his lower abdomen to ease the pain; sometimes lifting his legs off the floor, curling into a ball, and holding my hand to press against his aching belly, constantly shifting position.

A male staff member from the group home stayed with us. He told me Lun hadn’t been very focused during swimming that morning, returned to the group home early, and soon after began clutching his stomach and crying out in pain. After taking painkillers, the pain eased briefly, but after a quick lunch, it came back worse — so they had no choice but to send him to the hospital.

The emergency room was packed. It took more than an hour just to register Lun and check his vital signs. Twenty minutes later, a nurse gave him some pain medication mixed with applesauce. The pain subsided slightly — he even smiled, leaned on my shoulder, and rested quietly, calm and well-behaved the whole time.

When a nurse down the hall called Lun’s name for a blood test, he rolled up his left sleeve on his own and waited. I was amazed — he now fully understood the process and cooperated quietly, watching the syringe draw blood from his arm without resistance. My heart ached more than his arm did.

After a staff shift change, another female staff member arrived about half an hour later — thankfully, she brought some desserts for Lun to nibble on to ease his hunger. She tried to ask how much longer the wait would be, but no one could say. By six o’clock, Lun had grown restless and started saying, “Go!” We kept soothing him patiently.

That female staff member had nursing experience in her home country and came up with a clever idea: she took Lun straight into the ER area. The three of us sat in a “visible spot,” hoping his groans might draw attention from the medical staff and speed up treatment. Unexpectedly, Lun thought the process was moving forward — and calmed down, waiting quietly.

After being “good” for half an hour, he began pacing again, protesting and feeling nauseous with hunger. A kind-hearted nurse tried to comfort him by giving him two small toys, easing his stress — a sight that warmed my fatherly heart.

Finally, a bed became available. After examination, the doctor ordered a CT scan and urinalysis. Four hours later, the doctor confirmed that the only kidney stone, measuring 5mm by 8mm, had already entered the bladder and would likely pass naturally in the coming days. The hardest part was over. Follow-up care would be handled by a urologist — my heart felt lighter.

Last night, thinking back to October 7, when Lun had stomach pain after that hearty dinner, I realized the cause was likely the kidney stone passing through the urinary tract. That night, I had asked him to drink a cup of water between each snack — he drank two large cups, plus two bowls of soup at dinner, totaling four drinks altogether. That might have helped flush out the kidney stone.

As a father, I couldn’t help but claim a bit of credit — not only did my “bribe” of snacks succeed to regain his trust for me, but it also helped get rid of the kidney stone. Two birds with one stone — quite the deal!