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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2020)
OPINION Page 6 n THE ASIAN REPORTER January 6, 2020 Volume 30 Number 1 January 6, 2020 ISSN: 1094-9453 The Asian Reporter is published on the first Monday each month. Please send all correspondence to: The Asian Reporter 922 N Killingsworth Street, Suite 2D, Portland, OR 97217 Phone: (503) 283-4440, Fax: (503) 283-4445 News Department e-mail: news@asianreporter.com Advertising Department e-mail: ads@asianreporter.com Website: www.asianreporter.com Please send reader feedback, Asian-related press releases, and community interest ideas/stories to the addresses listed above. Please include a contact phone number. Advertising information available upon request. Publisher Jaime Lim Contributing Editors Ronault L.S. Catalani (Polo), Jeff Wenger Correspondents Ian Blazina, Josephine Bridges, Pamela Ellgen, Maileen Hamto, Edward J. Han, A.P. Kryza, Marie Lo, Simeon Mamaril, Julie Stegeman, Toni Tabora-Roberts, Allison Voigts Illustrator Jonathan Hill News Service Associated Press/Newsfinder Copyright 2020. Opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of this publication. Member Associated Press/Newsfinder Asian American Journalists Association Better Business Bureau Pacific Northwest Minority Publishers (PNMP) Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon MY TURN n Wayne Chan A clear enough mind to know I was insulted Correspondence: The Asian Reporter welcomes reader response and participation. 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Back issues of The Asian Reporter may be ordered by mail at the following rates: First copy: $1.50 Additional copies ordered at the same time: $1.00 each Send orders to: Asian Reporter Back Issues, 922 N. Killingsworth St., Portland, OR 97217-2220 The Asian Reporter welcomes reader response and participation. If you have a comment on a story we have printed, or have an Asian-related personal or community focus idea, please contact us. Please include a contact name, address, and phone number on all correspondence. Thank you. pparently, vanity has no limits. Unfortunately, this is what I’ve discovered about myself. Let me explain. And I have to start off with some bad news first. This past October, while I was asleep, I suffered a seizure. I know this, because in the middle of the night, I woke up in bed with two paramedics standing over me telling me they were going to take me to the hospital. I believe my first reactions were: “Why do I have to go to the hospital? Where is my wife? And why are you two guys in my bedroom in the middle of the night?” After they explained I’d had a seizure, and particularly because I felt awful because of it, I thought it best to let them take me to the hospital. It’s good that I felt that way because at the time, I didn’t seem to have much say in the matter. My wife Maya kept me company in the ambu- lance. For the next few hours at the hospital, I was poked and prodded any number of ways by nurses trying to figure out what had happened. In the end, I was told it was likely a singular event, but I would have to get an MRI to inspect my brain to be sure there wasn’t anything they needed to worry about. The only problem with this was the doctor told me that, according to policy, anyone who suffers a seizure must have it reported to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). And apparently, one automatically loses driving privileges until an MRI, your doctor, and the DMV approve you to drive again. So, for the first time since I was 15 years old, I was grounded. I couldn’t go anywhere unless my wife could take me or if I could bum a ride from one of my friends or neighbors. Now, with plenty of time on my hands, I started doing some research to better understand some of the potential reasons why people have seizures in the first place. As I soon discovered, a number of things seemed to make sense. What are the most common causes for seizures? Stress and lack of sleep. Stress? The day I had my seizure, I was planning and hosting my uncle’s memorial service. I gave the eulogy, drove out-of-town guests to the venue, and attended to the meal after the service. Check. Lack of sleep? For the last four months, as my uncle’s health was deteriorating, my brother and I A spent many days figuring out ways to keep him comfortable. Check. In any case, if I was going to earn my driving privileges back, I had to get an MRI. For those of you who have never had an MRI, here is my best effort at describing it. It’s as if you are beans and rice being rolled up in a flour tortilla and put inside a wrapper. Then for about a half-hour, you lie on a gurney wrapped in blankets and pillows with a mask on your face and placed snugly into a tunnel contraption that seems best suited for, well, a human burrito. Fortunately, no one was going to douse me in salsa and guacamole after the procedure. So a week passes after the burrito-like MRI experience. Having not yet heard back from the doctor, I give him a call. The bottom line was that it was good news. My brain function is fine. But here’s where the vanity part comes into play. After caring for a sick family member, after mourning his passing, after organizing his memorial service and respecting his memory with close friends and family, and after suffering a seizure and losing my driving rights, upon hearing the good news that I was OK, one would think I’d be elated, jumping for joy, and thankful the future looked bright, right? Not exactly. It wasn’t that he told me I was going to be all right. It was how he told me. I believe the exact words were, “It’s good news, Wayne. You’re brain function is fine … for someone of your age.” WHAT THE @#!%* IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN? I didn’t actually say that, but I was sure thinking it. What he was trying to say was that while there were some changes he could see in my brain, it was something everyone my age would have, so I was perfectly fine. My question is, if I’m perfectly fine, why couldn’t he just say it without adding the “for someone of your age” baloney? Because in my mind, I translated his words as, “You’ve got some level of brain function right now, but at your age, who knows how much time you have left before your mind goes kablouey.” I probably shouldn’t share that with him, though, or he might want to put me back into the burrito chamber. Opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of this publication. Wondering when our next issue is published? Sign up for e-alerts at <news@asianreporter.com>!