Diseases and Disabilities Archives | Talking Taiwan Podcast

Living with Tourette Syndrome: Peter Yang Zhao Ep 129

Felicia Lin — Mon, 10 May 2021 14:20:16 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

May 15 to June 15^th is Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month. Tourette Syndrome is usually diagnosed in childhood or adolescence. According to the Tourette Association of America 1 out of every 160 children between the ages of 5-17 in the United States has Tourette Syndrome and 1 out of every 100 children has Tourette Syndrome or another Tic Disorder.

In doing research for this interview, I visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Tourette Association of America websites. On these websites, I noticed that resources for children with Tourette Syndrome and their parents to deal with bullying were prominently displayed. It’s an important reminder that there needs to be more awareness, tolerance and understanding of Tourette Syndrome, but not just in childhood but in society in general, amongst people of all ages.

My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is Tourette Activist, Peter Yang Zhao who we’ve had on previous episodes with Sergeant Steven Lee to talk about the topic of Asian hate. In this in depth interview, Peter explains what living with Tourette Syndrome is, how he got diagnosed, and speaks frankly about the challenges he’s had to overcome as a Touretter, and how he advocates for more awareness of Tourette Syndrome.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Peter’s connection to Taiwan
Georges Gilles de la Tourette
What is Tourette Syndrome
Coprolalia
The Tourette Syndrome iceberg
People with Tourette Syndrome are often affected by another co-occurring condition like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Depression
The connection between OCD and Tourette Syndrome
How Peter’s mother dealt with his Tourette Syndrome
Peter’s evolution of vocal tics and how he changed his vocal tics over years
How Peter was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome
How tics can change over time
Cognitive behavior training
Peter’s first tic which appeared at 8 years old
The stress Peter experienced while being bullied at school
The reflexology treatment that Peter initially received to treat his Tourette Syndrome
How Peter had to fight other students at school to defend himself and stop the bullying
What happened when Peter started taking an antipsychotic drug (pimozide) to control his tics
Coprographia
How Peter’s mother and doctors reacted to his complaints of increased intrusive thoughts
The physical and mental addiction that Peter developed to the drug
How tics are triggered
How Peter’s only escape from his intrusive thoughts was to sleep
How Peter started having suicidal thoughts
How Peter decided to stop taking the antipsychotic drug
What happened when Peter quit taking the drug
How Peter’s tics are seasonal
Tourette Association of America which is located in Bayside, NY
How Peter didn’t want to have kids because he was afraid of passing along the genes for Tourette Syndrome
Tourette’s Facebook support groups
How Peter was interviewed for the Tourette Syndrome podcast
#7DaysOfTourettes movement
The article Peter wrote about Ted Cruz’s tweet about Tourette Syndrome

Dr. Peter Tsai N95 Mask Inventor Helps to Fight Covid-19 Ep 101

Felicia Lin — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 13:28:08 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

In part two of my interview part two with Dr. Peter Tsai, he talks about how he was called out of retirement to help address the shortage and demand for N95 masks with the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Tsai is the Taiwanese American inventor of the N95 mask technology who has come out of retirement to figure out how to sterilize N95s for reuse, and to help scale up production of the masks.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

How Dr. Tsai was contacted and came out of retirement because of the demand and shortage of N95 masks
How he tested whether or not N95 masks could be sterilized
The shelf life of N95 masks
The experiments that Dr. Tsai conducted to determine how to sterilize N95 masks so that they could be reused
COVID-19 can survive for 28 days on smooth surfaces
If N95 masks get wet, submerged in water, or come into high humidity it won’t have charge decay, however if washed with soap and water N-95 masks will lose their effectiveness
The stories of how people found Dr. Tsai
How Dr. Tsai has worked harder than he did before retiring
Dr. Tsai’s relationship with Oak Ridge Labs, and how he was able to help them scale up their production of N95 masks
Why there’s been a shortage of N95 masks
How he’s been nicknamed the “screwdriver professor”
Research-oriented vs. industry-oriented science
Why Dr. Tsai decided to come out of retirement to work on N95 technology and what’s next

A Discussion with Dr. Eunice Yuen About Asian American Mental Health Ep 93

Felicia Lin — Mon, 07 Sep 2020 11:45:40 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Unfortunately, suicide is a very real issue for the Asian American community. According to the Office of Minority Health, in 2017 the leading cause of death in young Asian Americans in the US was suicide. My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan is passionate about promoting emotional wellness and a prevention model for mental health.

Dr. Eunice Yuen is a child and adult psychiatrist who specializes in Asian American mental health. She sat down to speak to me about the stigma of mental health and the reluctance of Asian Americans to seek help. Dr. Yuen noted that prevention through mindfulness of emotional wellness are especially important for teenagers and young adults, which is the age at which mental illness often first manifests.

Dr. Yuen is working on an innovative tool called CHATogether that helps to resolve conflicts between Asian American parents and children. More than ever, tools like CHATogether are useful to address heightened child-parent conflicts during COVID-19, and discussions about racism. Please note that any of the advice or content shared in the episode is not meant to be taken as medical advice or psychiatric treatment.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

Why Dr. Yuen decided to enter the field of child and adult psychiatry and where her special interest in promoting emotional wellness in the Asian American community comes from
The difference between emotional wellbeing and a mental health issue
How building emotional resilience is important to help deal with everyday stress
How daily routines and structure is important for emotional wellbeing especially during the Coronavirus pandemic
How to identify when someone is dealing with a mental health issue and needs to seek help
Some individuals may display physical symptoms e.g. a stomachache, diarrhea, headache, while being able to function
What should you do if you think that someone you know (e.g. a friend or family member) is in need of help with a mental health issue
What the project Dr. Yuen CHATogether is about
How CHATogether is based on a paper published by Brazilian theater director, Augusto Boal in the 1980s called “Theater of the Oppressed”
What ages CHAT has been developed for
The concept of mentalization
The CHATogether community
What type of feedback CHATogether has gotten from its’ participants
How Chatogether has addressed child-parent conflict during COVID-19, talking about Black Lives Matter and racism
The concept of regulating emotions
The 3 R’s: Recognize your emotions, Realize where the emotions are coming from, Regulate your emotions
The importance of labeling your emotions and talking about your feelings
How to overcome the stigma of mental health within the Asian American community

ChatTogether flashcards (in English and Chinese)

Gary Reloj: Coronavirus Survivor Delivers PPE Ep 79

Felicia Lin — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 11:26:46 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Gary Reloj is Co-founder of the PPE Relief Initiative, an entrepreneur in the tech startup and restaurant industry, a founding board member of The Promise Society, and a COVID-19 survivor.

In late March, Gary shared a public Facebook post, that was a very well-documented account of COVID-19 symptoms he’d experienced, the toll it took on his body, and specific things that he did to cope with the physical discomfort, and anxiety that it brought on. He had come down with symptoms early on, even before New York City went on lockdown and when testing was still not widely available. It was clear that he had written his post as a way to help others who had also contracted COVID-19 or were worried about possibly contracting it. In the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic, every little cough, sniffle or bit of malaise sent a lot of us into a panic.

Around that time, I also learned that Gary was spearheading an effort to get PPE (personal protective equipment) to health care workers. That effort became the PPE Relief Initiative (PRI) with a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe to raise $30,000 to give PPE kits to 400 healthcare workers.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

How Gary dealt with and recovered from having COVID-19
The Facebook post that Gary wrote and publicly shared detailing his COVID-19 symptoms and the regime he followed in dealing with his symptoms
What motivated Gary to start looking for a way to deliver PPE to healthcare workers
Gary’s PPE Relief Initiative Co-founder Dr. Joanne Kwan
How they determined what to include in the PPE Relief Initiative supply kit that they were going to give health care workers
The challenges they encountered in obtaining high quality PPE
The PRI team
Why the PRI supply kits are delivered directly to health care workers rather than to hospitals
The GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign for PRI to raise $30,000 to support 400 healthcare workers
There is still room for around 200 for healthcare workers that live or work in the New Jersey/New York metropolitan area and are dealing with COVID-19 patients to apply for the PRI supply kits
How they prioritize which healthcare workers will receive the PRI supply kits first
The partnership with The Promise Society on the PRI’s GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign
PRI’s support for Black Lives Matter protesters and tips for how protestors should protect themselves and be safe while protesting during this pandemic
Being prepared for a possible second wave of COVID-19 cases
What’s next for PRI after the GoFundMe campaign
How having COVID-19 has affected Gary’s outlook on life

Related Links:

PPE Relief Initiative’s GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign: http://pperelief.org/donate

or https://bit.ly/2Y7JguX

Eligible healthcare workers can apply for the PRI supply kits here: www.pperelief.org/apply

PPE Relief Initiative’s website: https://pperelief.org/

PRI’s social media accounts:

PRI on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ppe.relief/

PRI’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ppe.relief.initiative/

Gary’s Facebook post detailing how he dealt with COVID-19:

Cuomo’s words really resonated with me and I used the phrase “New York Tough” to help get my mind right and out of the negative mental trench I was in. If you have Covid-19 or someone you know has it, and you’re looking for someone to talk to about the experience, please don’t hesitate to reach out. When I was at my worst, I was partly in a bad place mentally because I felt so helpless and clueless as to how long my symptoms were going to last. I seriously wish I had someone I could talk to at a human level that could relate to what I was experiencing so if I could do that for you, please let me know.

That said, here is the full list of symptoms I experienced…
-Fever (ranged between 100 and 102). My fever lasted for four days.
-Chronic dry coughing. It came from deep within my chest and at times, would have bad coughing fits. One coughing session was so bad, my core stomach muscles cramped up and I started to gag because I just couldn’t breathe…. That really sucked!
-Difficulty breathing. This was the big one. Any form of simple physical activity would make it hard to breathe; you almost feel like you’re drowning it’s like an asthma attack. If I got out of bed to go to the bathroom, or if I would try to eat food, I would be gasping for air with short, shallow, quick breaths. It was extremely difficult to take deep breaths (still is to an extent). The only way I’d be able to breath normally would be to lay down in bed on my side.
-Dehydration. This was especially bad when I was on my 2nd day of my fever and was coughing up a storm.
-Chills. This also occurred on the 2nd and 3rd day of my fever.
-Loss of appetite. Not only was I not hungry, but when I did eat, it was actually hard to breathe while eating, so that contributed to my loss of appetite.
-Confusion. This again was on the 2nd day, early in the morning. I just woke up and I felt like I was still in dream mode, and I kept trying to tell my body move, but it felt like I was stuck and was confused to where I was.
-Diarrhea.
-Fatigue
-Loss of smell. My taste was also a bit dulled, especially with sweets.
-Body aches. This was actually my first symptom. It first started with body aches like sciatica. I then had back pains, lower and upper back.
-Anxiety. There were moments where my mind was in a very bad place, especially when it was very hard to breathe. I started to get anxiety thinking about every breathe and as a result, it would disrupt my breathing cycle. When I would have major anxiety, I would try to calm myself by playing meditation music and do my best to have my mind escape reality for a minute to help regulate my breathing again. Eventually, as a way to combat future anxiety, I would create structure around me to keep me busy and help me cope. For example, I documented all my symptoms under a certain timeline, I documented my medication and tried to create a set schedule, and I made sure to reach out to friends for support.

Here’s the lineup of meds I took and how often:
-Tylenol Extra Strength, 3000mg daily, or 2 pills 3x a day. This was probably the most important thing I was taking.
-Mucinex DM, 1 tablet every 12 hours. This helped act as a cough suppressant.
-Cepacol Extra Strength. Take as needed. This helped numb my throat. While I know my coughing originated more from my chest and not my throat, it gave me peace of mind to take Cepacol before I slept.
-Pedialyte. Unfortunately I didn’t have any, but my friend who also had Covid-19 was using it to help with dehydration and if I could do it all over again, I would have included it in my rotation.
-Ton of water. I can’t stress how important it is to have available water by your side. I would have a big pitcher of water by my bed at all times and when I could manage to get out of bed, I always made sure to re-fill my pitcher even if it’s 70% full.

Here’s the timeline of everything (this was the diary I kept).

03/11: Suspected date of exposure
03/14: Noticed body aches, like sciatica.
03/15: Back aches, lower and upper back. Mild diarrhea.
03/16: Experience slight fatigue. Back pain and sciatica pain increases. Start to have mild cough.
03/18: Lose sense of smell. Fatigue increases big time. Cough starts to become more frequent. Start to feel warm under eyelids at night. Mild diarrhea continues. Appetite still normal.
03/19: Cough and fatigue becomes worse. Headaches occur.
03/20: Chronic coughing begins. Fever occurs 101 degrees. Loss of appetite begins.
03/21: Very bad coughing fits, difficulty breathing. Fever still at 101 degrees. Extremely fatigued. Experienced cold chills as well. Further loss of appetite. Difficulty sleeping.
03/22: Coughing is still terrible, at times difficult to breathe. Energy and appetite was okay in the morning, decreased as day progressed. Difficulty sleeping. Breathing is still bad.
03/23: Becoming more thirsty. Woke up and fever wasn’t so bad. Early evening suffered worst coughing fit. Night fever is back, 101. Worst night of sleep. Breathing is still bad.
03/24: Lower back really hurts, but could be due to uncomfortable bed. Felt better for most of the day, around 3:30pm start to feel worse. Managed to get myself under control after taking Tylenol and shower around 3:40pm. Improved appetite and energy. No fever. Breathing ability hasn’t improved.
03/25: Breathing is still effected. The simplest form of physical activity creates shallow breathing, elevated breathing rates.
03/26: Energy and appetite continues to improve. Coughing slightly improved; starting to produce some phlegm. Breathing is still the same. 3rd day of no fever. Spoke with Doctor, said plateau of symptoms is a good sign, as Covid-19 is progressive in nature. Still have diarrhea.
03/27: Feel exponentially better. Breathing is much improved, although still can’t take deep breaths without coughing. Coughing overall is down. Again, no fever. Energy is up, able to sit up without trouble, was able to walk and spend time outside.
03/28: Diarrhea seems improved. Still coughing a little. Breathing still improved. Still no fever.

Anyway, I hope all this helps! AND STAY THE FUCK HOME!!

Gary Reloj’s social media accounts:

Gary on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garyreloj

Gary on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garyreloj/

Gary on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GaryReloj

The Promise Society’s website: http://www.thepromisesociety.org/

The post Gary Reloj: Coronavirus Survivor Delivers PPE Ep 79 appeared first on Talking Taiwan Podcast.

Taiwan’s Response to the Coronavirus: An Interview with Dr. Brian Chang Ep 70

Felicia Lin — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 08:38:24 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

Since Taiwan has received a great deal of recognition globally for its successful containment of COVID-19, I’ve been looking to interview a medical professional about Taiwan’s response and handling of the Coronavirus. Special thanks to Dr. Han Mingrong (韓明榮) for his help in connecting me with Dr. Brian Chang who is located in Taipei, Taiwan.

I spoke with Dr. Chang about the early steps that Taiwan took to contain the Coronavirus outbreak, and how having dealt with SARS in 2003, the government and the general public in particular was prepared to deal with COVID-19. Note to listeners: my interview with Dr. Chang was pre-recorded. I spoke to him on April 2nd, 2020, which was around the time of the ching ming jie or tomb sweeping weekend in Taiwan. I really appreciate the fact that Dr. Chang took the time out of his busy schedule to speak with me. Right after we spoke, he had planned to travel down to southern Taiwan to observe the tomb sweeping weekend.

Dr. Chang is the acting Secretary General of the Taiwan Medical Association and the Honorary Secretary of the World Organization of Family Doctors of the Asia Pacific Region. He is a specialist in family medicine and community medicine. Dr. Chang has been a Director in a public health center for 11 years.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this episode:

How Taiwan is currently dealing with the Coronavirus
How Taiwan’s experience with SARS prepared it and its people to deal with COVID-19
What were the earliest steps that Taiwan took to contain the spread of COVID-19
How the government of Taiwan clearly communicated and educated its public about that precautions they needed to take regarding COVID-19
How the public in Taiwan initially reacted when the Coronavirus hit
How Taiwan’s government instilled confidence in the people of Taiwan
How Taiwan’s government handled the spread of false news and rumors
Dr. Chang’s recommendations of when to wear kn95 mask
How the government created educational videos (public service announcements) to inform the public
The biggest challenges for Taiwan currently in containing the spread of COVID-19
Fines enacted by the government of Taiwan for the violation of self-isolation rules
What the U.S. can learn from Taiwan’s handling of COVID-19
What kind of aid Taiwan is currently offering to help other nations dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic
What is our best hope to develop a vaccine or to find a cure?
What medical advice Dr. Chang has for people who are currently under lockdown and trying to stay healthy

Coronavirus Pandemic in New York: An Interview with Dr. Wilson Wang Ep 69

Felicia Lin — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 07:31:11 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

I’m pleased to welcome Dr. Wilson Wang back on to Talking Taiwan after five years for what turned out to be a very in-depth conversation, about the Coronavirus crisis in New York. Dr. Wang spoke with me about the COVID-19 pandemic from both a science-based and human perspective. This interview with Dr. Wang was recorded last week on March 30^th, 2020.

Dr. Wilson Wang is the Founder and CEO of a health software company called Walking Doctors, a pediatric emergency room physician and hospitalist at NYU and NYC Public Hospital system, and adjunct faculty of Global Public Health at NYU.

UPDATE: On April 3, 2020, the CDC published new recommendations to use cloth face coverings, especially in areas of significant community-based transmission https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover.html

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this episode:

How Dr. Wang and his family are dealing with COVID-19
How Dr. Wang’s experience with Ebola led to establishing Walking Doctors
The importance of standardizing diagnosis and treatment of disease
Comparing the Ebola outbreak with COVID-19
Epidemics vs. pandemics
The SARS 2003 epidemic
The strategies that Taiwan used to contain the spread of COVID-19
Development of a test for COVID-19
Is the Coronavirus airborne and how long does it survive in the air?
How long does the Coronavirus survive on surfaces?
Comparing measles with the Coronavirus
Dr. Wang’s recommendations on whether or not to wear a mask
Why it’s important to adhere to social distancing and self-isolation
Possible treatments for COVID-19
The ventilator shortage
Which is our best hope a vaccine or cure?
General advice to people trying to stay healthy and deal with social distancing and self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic

Ebola Outbreak: An Interview with Dr. Wilson Wang Ep 68

Felicia Lin — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 16:25:55 +0000

A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

What does a robot, Jedi and Wi-Fi have to do with the Ebola crisis? In 2015 I spoke with Wilson Wang a medical doctor by training, who was a Senior Clinical director at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) at the time. We spoke about his work with IRC on the 2014 Ebola outbreak and his career in medicine and public health.

As we deal with the coronavirus here in New York City, I thought this would be a good time to share this episode. Stay tuned for the next episode of Talking Taiwan. I’ll be bringing back Dr. Wang to speak about how his Ebola work led him to establish Waking Doctors and his current work on COVID-19, the coronavirus in New York City.

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

The origin, mission and work of International Rescue Committee
Wilson’s career in medicine and public health leading up to his work with the International Rescue Committee (IRC)
How Wilson balances the practice of medicine with health management
How IRC was asked to create an Ebola treatment unit (i.e. a hospital) for Ebola patients
How more people died in the 2014 Ebola epidemic than in all of the Ebola epidemics of the past 35 years
How for nearly 40 years there hadn’t been reliable medical record keeping about the treatment of Ebola patients
What the JEDI app acronym stands for
The robot created by Vecna to be used in Liberia
U.S. reaction to the Ebola outbreak
What’s guided Dr. Wang in his particular career path