So a friend of mine that is ten years younger than I am started having issues. Was feeling bad constantly and looked pretty bad as well. She also is one of those people that despite drinking like mad and eating garbage food all the time, never gains any weight. While to many out there this might sound like a dream come true there are often pretty terrible reasons why no weight is being gained by living irresponsibly.
Because she doesn't trust the medical systems here in Vietnam, and honestly, you shouldn't. She went back to Korea to, among other things, get checked out by some of the best medical practitioners in the world. This is the same person that is the owner of Nadi's roommates at the moment. She was meant to be in Korea for a week, then return. But now things have taken a turn for the worse as doctors have told her that she has serious issues with her liver.
As I indicated before Nadi doesn't really get along with these visitors, in fact it is quite evident that she really just wants them to leave her alone all the time. She goes to sit at some elevated place and will bark at them if they try to get up there with her. At night all 3 of them sleep on the bed and I frequently have to give them a shoutin' at for mucking about. If I don't let them on the bed they will bark on the floor so i guess it is a good thing they are all quite small and will settle down after being shouted at a time or two.
This guy in particular is a pain the backside. I keep referring to it as "little guy" but she is in fact female. She needs constant attention and if you do so much as even stand up for a stretch or to go to the bathroom she will follow you and nearly trip you up in the process. There is no amount of attention and petting that you can show her that will be "enough." It's cute at first but honestly, it gets to be kind of annoying.
Anyway, this post isn't about the dogs. For the most part they are easy enough to look after. This post is about the owner and how the news that she is getting in Korea is very bad news indeed.
After getting some blood tests the doctors are telling her that she has serious liver issues and at the moment she is in a bit of a scare that a transplant might be necessary. If the doctors are to get a hold of the information about how irresponsibly she lives her life, i can't imagine they they would actually allow her the transplant. I've known this girl off and on for about a decade in various countries and the entire time I have known her she has been a rather heavy smoker, an every single damn day drinker, and she eats whatever food in a diet that consists mostly of late night pizza. I have also never seen nor heard of her exercising in any capacity.
So while I am sympathetic towards her situation just like I would be towards anyone else's, at some point we have to look at a person and say "well, you kind of deserve this."
I'm not captain healthy guy by any means but I do at least make some effort to exercise, eat vegetables and fruits, and keep my drinking limited to 2 specified days of the week unless there is an event such as a birthday or something like that. I drink regularly, but I rarely get drunk. This girl whose dogs I am watching drinks to the brink of blackout basically every single day all the while eating nothing or horrible food like McDonalds or some sort of pizza delivery and of course, NEVER exercises. She has been this way ever since I first met her. She is a lot of fun sure, but I think at some point all of us need to stop behaving as if we are invincible and realize that living this way is going to catch up with us at some point.
I am hoping that the doctors are incorrect and she doesn't need a transplant, because I can't imagine that someone who drinks and smokes would be very high up on the potential organ recipient list. I'm hoping that they tell her that she needs to radically change how she lives and that she actually does so. I've only lived in Vietnam for about 4 years but I already know 2 people that have died from liver-related complications brought on by a lifetime of poor choices and zero maintenance on one's health. These people were not old either. One was 55, the other 52, and the girl whose dogs I am looking after is a mere 38.
I think that if you are going to live a life of frivolity and irresponsibility, that is what your early 20's are meant for. After that, I think that all of us need to at least have some level of a program directed towards health. For starters I think that smoking in this day and age given what we know about it is one of the most retarded things that a person can do.
I hope that she gets some good news and the doctors were incorrect. I also hope that this can be a wake up call for her so that she can make some very necessary changes to her lifestyle. Partying and eating pizza is a lot more fun than exercising and getting some fruit in your diet, but at some point or another, it's going to catch up with you.