Three flight to get from Torremolinos, Spain to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Stops in Madrid and Dubai.

We spent a few days in Saigon before heading to visit friends along the Mekong River. This is the plaza in a shopping center near our hotel.

Here we are in My Tau along the Mekong River where Tu (on the left) grew up. Her sister and her sisters daughter are with her.

HEALTH UPDATES

Charlotte. In Spain, Charlotte developed a pain in her right knee that prevented her from enjoying walking. We took her to a specialty clinic there where they determined her meniscus – that cartilage device that keeps the two major bones in the leg from scraping against each other – was worn and torn. Rather than a metal knee replacement, we opted for the placement of a synthetic gel to support the meniscus. It was injected into her knee and has allowed her to walk normally. It will need to be replaced about once a year.

Luke. After arriving in Vietnam, Luke developed a severe case of bronchitis. It involved difficulty breathing, an almost constant hacking cough, inability to lie down or sleep and it lasted 4 days. In My Tau Luke was taken to the regional hospital and there, in treating the bronchitis, heart egurgitation was discovered. Luke had been getting unusually tired after exercise for a few months. The bronchitis gradually got better and Luke was able to get some sleep. After another four or five days, Luke was taken to a specialty heart hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. There, a full checkup including at CT scan, found that the heart egurgitation was not the most serious issue. There was myocardial arrythmia. Eight drugs were assigned and now nearly two weeks later, Luke has regained much of his former strength for exercise and is going for a follow up checkup in two days.