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On this rainy FriYAY Xmas eve, I was privileged and blessed to make a late afternoon housecall on this revered elder.

Meet Mr. PL, a former soldier who served in the South VietNamese Army during several wars in the last 20th Century. He suffers from very severe low back pain due to degenerative discs and arthritic vertebral spine.

When I first started coming to see him in 2019 at his home, he had all kinds symptoms arising from his chronic back pain, made worse by his labile blood pressure. At times, his blood pressure would be too high, and other times, too low. These extremes caused him to have near fainting spells, frequent falls and injuries.

But by Christmas Eve 2021 (in this second winter of COVID pandemic), he is doing better all around. His vitals were perfect. His heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, bowel, bladder functions and his mood are all stable.

He’s walking steadily without a walker or quad cane and taking minimal pain meds.

We reviewed his immunizations and he’s up to date with all 3 COVID vaccine shots, flu and shingles vaccines.

And so, today, my housecall was more of a social visit.

I brought him a healthy lunch, a tiramisu from Urth Caffe–plus a birthday candle. For a brief moment in these treacherous times, we were able to celebrate his upcoming milestone birthday.

As he does every time I come visit him on a housecall, he brewed me a cup of hot tea. Not just any tea, but a precious tea he buys in bulk, shipped from his home village called “Chè Câu Móc.”

Mr. PL strongly believes that this tea, is the key to his longevity and wellbeing. And as per usual, he insisted to give me (and my octogenarian parents), a large bag of this invaluable tea for Christmas.

Next week, on January 1st, 2022, he turns 90 years old. Chúc mừng sinh nhật, Bác PL! #MerryXMas ❤️🙏🏼🎄🌟🎂🕯#VivaLaVida #KarunaHealthCare 🕉✝️💟