Friday, September 25, 2009

Food Poisoning at Fiesta DC



Reflection:

I have never been to Fiesta DC. Never had a chance to personally enjoy the family-focused festivities of this homegrown Latino festival in the charming and historic neighborhood where Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant merge.

Columbia Heights, used to be the place to live. It was in the early part of the 20th century, when this area was one of the most fashionable and desirable places to live in the city. The opulent and world-renowned Tivoli Theater was built in 1924 there and this vibrant community was adjacent to the thriving black communities of Shaw and U Street. But as fate would have it, like the majority of the city along 14th Street and U, the neighborhood and storefronts were ravaged during the 1968 riots after the assassination of Martin Luther King. Many of the stores stayed vacant for decades and Columbia Heights lost its twinkle and luster. Now we fast forward to today..

Mount Pleasant is an idyllic cultural center located in the heart of the Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights historic triangle. It has quaint residential streets filled mostly with the middle class and many immigrant families from El Salvador.

In 1991, this Hispanic community experienced the worst riot since 1968 when a Salvadorean man was shot and killed by a police officer who allegedly came at her with a knife.

The aftermath of this event was massive rioting for three nights leading to hundreds of injuries and arrests.


Understanding:

Every time I walk by the historic sign at Mount Pleasant that locates the center of the riot, I think about how the massive violence had erupted due mostly to misunderstanding, miscommunication and mistakes. In life, it is critical that we try to understand other people, realize the cause of their anger and the need to vent that anger, someway, somehow -- hopefully without causing too much harm and damage.

Negotiating:

Well I had a great time watching the Flamenco dancing and feeling the hot rhythm of salsa roll right through me. People seemed to be enjoying themselves and enjoying the great vibe and festive atmosphere that has become the trademark of this popular Latino community.


I was feeling great, too until I got something to eat...

It was around 4:30 PM, when the vendors were starting to wrap things up. I saw a sign for chicken sandwich, chips and a drink for $4.00 -- this particular vendor was motivated to sell out and close shop for the day.

Normally, I am more selective and usually go for something that I can see cooked in front of me. But filming and interviewing, I was in a bit of rush.  I would grab something and go.

I agreed to buy the sandwich and was surprised when they handed me a chicken salad sandwich instead of a chicken breast patty sandwich.

Still, I was busy taking pictures and enjoying the festival, so I scoffed down the sandwich, not even thinking twice -- the grim truth is that I wished I had thought long and hard about it and the risk of eating anything made with mayonnaise sold by a vendor that was not a licensed restaurant, perhaps not even a licensed vendor.

It hit me almost right away -- feeling queasy from the chicken and mayo. A headache ensued..something just wasn't right.  Still I pushed on and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon.

But by 7:00 PM, I was home and downtrodden.  The discomfort, the pain exacerbated.

It started with stomach cramps, then nausea, then vomiting and it continued through the night until the cramps picked up a notch and I started feeling cold spells.

I've had food poisoning before -- the last time earlier this summer when I ate undercooked salmon.

But never in my life had I suffered from food poisoning this severe with symptoms so painful and unbearable, I felt like I had been run over by a truck.   This was the worst abdominal pain I've received since my appendicitis ruptured in 1994.  This happened when I was home, alone, asleep, dangerously close to dying.  Because the appendix had perforated, open surgery had to be performed -- the Lord wanted me to live.

Innovation:

Not knowing what to do and not able to sleep through the pain, I immediately googled my symptoms and also searched some of the treatment on Web MD.

Initial search concluded that I needed to contact the nearest hospital. So I called the VA Medical Center who told me to come in immediately.

So unbearable that at 2:30 AM, I had enough and drove myself slowly and methodically to the Washington Hospital Center.

On the way there, I threw up again -- my 10th time since getting sick. I had become dangerously dehydrated, not keeping anything in, not even plain water.

I parked at the garage just minutes away, but the walk to the ER seemed long and excruciating.  This was more painful than running my half Ironman.

After waiting for nearly two painful hours in the lobby, I was admitted into a room with a voiceforus patient who was rude and obnoxious.

I never got to see his face -- he was behind a green curtain, and he was yelling and screaming about his body parts almost the entire time we shared a room together.

But I could feel his pain. It was disheartening and my first exposure to a civilian ER (Had always visited a military hospital).

When I met the doctor, she ordered a small morphine drip which along with my IV took away the pain and I started feeling dramatically better almost immediately.

Navigation:

Within two hours by 0700, they discharged me. I wanted to stay away a bit longer and get some rest, but they clearly wanted me to go before the next shift.

So tonight was interesting -- Glad it's behind me and glad I learned a good lesson that I swear to make the same mistake again -- just the pain alone is motivation enough.
  1. Be careful about what you eat at festivals especially anything prepared with mayonnaise.
  2. Be careful if the vendor is trying desperately to get rid of their goods.
  3. Be careful if the vendor is not a licensed restaurant or from some trusted organization you are familiar with.
  4. Make sure the food has been refrigerated and your chances of getting food poison may be greater later during the day.


    Thursday, September 17, 2009

    Tuesday, September 15, 2009

    Julia's Race





    Triathlons are full of inspiring stories.

    Wendy and Steve Spohn's story is a perfect example of one.

    Steve and Wendy’s daughter, Julia, was born on June 9, 2006 in a small hospital in Bamberg, Germany.

    One day after Julia was born, Wendy and Steve discovered that Julia had a severe birth defect--she had been born with three heart chambers instead of four.


    Both Wendy and Steve were Soldiers in the Army and the entire family was relocated to Washington DC. There, Julia was treated at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center where doctors diagnosed her with Heterotaxy Syndrome.



    Since the Spohn's and their one-year-old son, Lukas, had left all their belongings in Germany and had no duty station to call home, they were homeless, until the Ronald McDonald House of Washington DC provided them shelter and food.

    “It was a blessing to have a place for our son to take a break from the hospital and just enjoy being a toddler,” Wendy said.

    Julia had undergone two major surgeries and was waiting for a liver transplant when sadly, she acquired a hospital-borne infection and passed away at 4 months old.

    After Julia’s tragic passing, Wendy and Steve tried several times to have another baby, but each time they miscarried, four times in two years.


    During this time of grief and suffering, Wendy was determined to do something challenging and different to pay tribute to the pain her own daughter Julia had endured in her short life.


    Wendy decided to embark on an intense physical training program to bring her body fat back under the Army’s requirements and finish a triathlon in honor of her daughter Julia.


    Wendy did some research online and discovered that the Nation's Triathlon would be held in DC, on her birthday.




    So with only three months till the triathlon, Wendy and her husband Steve embarked in an intensive training program that culminated with their first sprint triathlon last month.


    "All the pain that we went through was in honor of her," Wendy declared. “I can gain closure from this experience and be able to move on as we move on to our next duty station."

    "We completed this journey together as a family; it means a lot to both of us," Steve Spohn stated with pride.



    Tuesday, September 1, 2009

    Shen Yun, So Heavenly, So Divine


    Reflecting

    The history of China, like it's people, is vast and colorful. So many Dynasties and Emperors were born into this eclectic world. It is no wonder a production such as Shen Yun has come into out lives. It is amazing how no matter what country you go to, religion will always play a major role in its' current affairs.
    In 1992 Li Hongzhi founded the Falun Gong system of beliefs. The practice emerged at the end of China's "qigong boom" in the early 1990s as a form of qigong. Falun Gong differs from competing qigong schools through its absence of daily rituals of worship, its greater emphasis on morality, and the purported theological nature of its teachings.

    Understanding

    This evening I had the tremendous pleasure to watch one of the greatest shows of this century. Yes, indeed the brilliant and inspiring Shen Yun with the silky, flowing costumes and the incredible classical music -- the amazing tunes and tones coming from the xylophone, the trumpet, the tympanis, the pianist -- all blending together like one smooth piece of cloth, held tightly together by an amazing conductor.



    Negotiating

    Shen Yun is a magnificent and majestic experience, something that can be shared with one and all. The performance explains the principles of truth, compassion and forebearance. I truly believe that when people are in the midst of such a melodic masterpiece, coupled with a meaningful message, the human body body can become healed, in some cases, from our inflictions and diseases. This is what I'm suggesting. This is an option in attaining not only a peace of mind but a healthy state of life.


    Inspiring

    It was not the music or the costumes that I came to see. I came to hear the message and to learn the themes that so struck me and left a deep impression on my mind and soul that it took my breath away.

    I was deeply moved and inspired by the life story of an innocent family that suffers from persecution, but eventually finds peace in heaven.

    Each scene had a different message with a broader implications.


    Negotiating

    Scenes like this was so emotional, touching and uplifting. I left with a better understanding that life is indeed special and that good is definitely rewarded and evil is punished. One day, I hope Shun Yun performs in mainland China -- the people in this great country need to see this -- their lives will be forever changed.

    You will be at peace feeling very spirited watching this, trust me.






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