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Jip’s physical abilities had been stable for a long time. Then recently she began having trouble gripping with one of her hands. She could still eat on her own, but she struggled when brushing her hair.

It spurred me to call upon a doctor whose name I had come across while doing some Internet searching a while ago. This woman appears to be the neurologist most interested in studying Jip’s disease as it appears in Asians. She has published several articles suggesting that a uniquely Asian version may exist.

I showed up at her clinic without an appointment and without Jip, but she generously agreed to see me. We talked for half an hour. She was very easy to know, and seemed interested in Jip’s case. I ended up offering to chat with any spouses of her patients who might be confused or angry or wondering about what might come next. A guy from across town has already called me, and we’ve agreed to meet for lunch some day.

As I got ready to go, I asked the doctor if there was anything she would advise us to try that we hadn’t already. I didn’t have any expectations that she would have a miracle cure, but I thought she might suggest a treatment or diet. Instead she said, “in your wife’s case I recommend meditation.”

Which of course Jip already does. But the point is that no doctor has ever mentioned it to us before. Medication, yes. But never Meditation. I appreciated her avoiding what must be a temptation in her profession to tinker with small symptoms, or to talk about experimental therapies that in our case have always turned out be false hopes. It was very refreshing. Yet another reason why I’m glad we came to this country.