Good Result, Unsatisfactory Explanation

Luke has to renew his Chinese visa annually. For reasons unknown to me, he has to have a full medical as part of the visa renewal process which seems extreme, but is maybe not a bad thing. Always a good idea to keep a check on your health. Anyway, I had a message from him on Saturday last week to say that his medical had highlighted two problems.

Firstly his potassium levels were high. I Googled that and got a fright because it talks about it being a medical emergency that can lead to all sorts of heart problems including a heart attack.

As if that isn't bad enough, problem number two is alanine aminotransferase (ALT), the presence of an enzyme usually found in the liver in abnormally high quantities in the blood. According to Google, this is a sign of liver damage resulting from numerous possible causes, none of them nice.

He had further tests planned for this week, so it has been a weekend of waiting. Anyway, quickly to the good news. Tests on Monday and Tuesday both came back normal which is a huge relief, BUT there is no reasonable explanation why the original tests were as they were which leaves me feeling uneasy. If he were here in the UK, I would like to think that he would get regular checks to make sure that he remained stable, but over there in China, I think it's job done, visa stamped, see you again in 12 months time.

Children may grow up, they may leave home, but they are seldom off your mind.