Nanjing, Interrupted

Upon arriving in Nanjing, we were met by a few of my uncle's relatives.  They too had rented a van and volunteered copious amounts of their time and energy to show us around the city.  Our first mission was simple: find our hotel.  Actually accomplishing that mission, however, was anything but simple.  Another hotel down the street had the same name, and even after asking for directions several times, ours was very difficult to track down (in no small part because there was neither a sign nor a lobby -- checkin took place in a room on the fourteenth floor).  Still, we found the place eventually and the rooms were very nice.

We met two more of my mom's cousins for dinner; these cousins are the two sons of my grandpa's immediately younger brother.  After dinner, we took a quick walk around what used to be JingLing University, where my grandparents attended school (it's now one of the Nanjing University campuses), and enjoyed a delicious mango dessert.

Unfortunately, what had begun as a small problem blossomed into a big issue during dinner that night.  For a couple of days, beginning in Chongqing, my mom had seen a small black spot in her field of vision and had some difficulty seeing, explaining that it was like she was "looking through a bubble."  During dinner, the black spot had expanded to fill almost her full range of vision, leaving only a slight light halo.  (Finding it easier to see with that eye closed, she appeared to be winking at everyone we passed.)  We hoped it was a cyst that would go away on its own, but my dad (over email) worried that it may be a detached retina.

We spent the next morning at the gorgeous and newly renovated Nanjing Museum, where one of my uncle's relatives works.  (Check out our van's primo parking spot in the picture on the left.)  They have a very interesting collection of artifacts from before Nanjing was part of China.  Another highlight (for me) was their recreation of how Nanjing looked during the Republican period, when my grandparents were living there.

Leveraging our connections, we ate in one of the museum's special banquet rooms for employees, and the meal was phenomenal.  In the afternoon, we visited the tomb of the founder of the Ming dynasty.  I particularly liked the path leading toward the tomb: it was lined with stone statues of various animals (see below).  There were four statues of each animal: one pair standing and one pair sitting.  

Having been convinced by other members of her family to visit a doctor, that afternoon my mom skipped the tomb and instead went with some of my uncle's relatives to get her eye checked out.  The doctor diagnosed her with a torn retina, and recommended immediate surgery.  Not wanting to have the operation in China, we began making arrangements to get her back to Seattle.

She initially categorically refused my company on the flight home, but accepted an escort on the bullet train from Nanjing to Shanghai.  Accordingly, after making a brief appearance at the big family banquet planned for that night, we packed up our stuff and headed to the train station.  (My uncle's relative -- the one who worked at the museum -- provided invaluable help, looking up the train schedules and even arranging for one of his friends to drive us to the train station and help us buy our tickets.)  Throughout the train ride, I grew increasingly uncomfortable with the prospect of putting her on the plane, unable to see, despite her assurances that she would ask for wheelchair service.  After we arrived at our Shanghai airport hotel, and without asking for permission, I booked my own ticket home on her flight.  We flew back to Seattle the following morning.

So, for the past week, instead of seeing more of Nanjing, visiting Shanghai, and going on a $49 "shopping" tour between the two cities, I've been enjoying the creature comforts of home: watching football, sleeping in, and catching up with friends.  Meanwhile, Mom had a doctor's appointment the day we arrived in Seattle.  The US doctor seemed significantly less alarmed about the situation than the Chinese doctor, which is good, but could only schedule the surgery a week later, which is less good.  The surgery took place yesterday and seems to have gone well -- she can already see *something* in the affected eye, which is a marked improvement from before the surgery.  We won't really have an idea how much of her vision she'll be likely to regain for a couple of weeks.  Please keep your fingers crossed.