Ms. Que BanhMar 15

I'm laughing so hard at what my Mom just said to me, while asking her if she's still up for sharing her lived experiences from just after we fled Saigon, to two refugee camps, to being sponsored by a Canadian group of church folks to adjusting to life in Canada, in first few years.

Mom said: I remember that you pooped a lot....a lot more than your little brothers. Your Dad called you a toddler shit factory. We'd be rich, if we could have sold your Saigon baby Buddha poop.
What?!? 🤣😂😅 My parents actually discussed this, in depth, before fleeing Saigon.

#AsianMastodon #SouthEastAsians #Vietnam #BoatPeople #AsianDiaspora #Displacement #WarSurvivorsForPeace

Show threadMs. Que BanhMar 15
I told my Mom that I'm making myself a new tshirt that says: Toddler Poop Factory 1975 & putting my parents names on the back with, born by: their names 😂✌️
Mom's like - I will literally kill you, while you're sleeping, if you do that!
Me: No, you won't because you cry when a single bee is dying! You're not that murderous.
Mom: You little shit!
Me: I am your little shit 😀
Show threadMs. Que BanhMar 15
Hey, parents of young, neurodiverse kids! Your ND kid may grow up like me too. It's both a blessing & a curse, depending on how you nurture your child 💗✌️😊
Show threadMs. Que BanhMar 15
My parents nurtured my natural weirdness. I'd probably not still be here - had they listened to folks who told them that having a disabled child is a lifelong curse & to murder me - if they wanted a more bountiful life. My parents would never have killed me. They both loved me, their 1st born child, immensely. My parents saved me from being sacrificed, despite having been the fatty Saigon Buddha baby - once I was struck with polio - my parents found out, the hard way - most people won't support parents of disabled kids.
Show threadMs. Que BanhMar 15

I was literally my parents' miracle child. Mom was so stressed out that she had a miscarriage before me & 4 doctors told her that she is unable to give birth to any healthy child again. Those doctors were wrong. My brothers were both born with zero delivery issues & both grew up very strong/healthy. Only I was stricken with polio & then paralyzed for life from polio. I currently live with post polio, scoliosis & osteoporosis - still living life as passionately as possible.

I still support mandatory vaccinations, globally.
You can ask me why & I'll tell you, honestly & openly.

#AsianMastodon #PeopleWithDisabilities

Show threadEric LawtonMar 15

@PhoenixSerenity

I was baptized at birth because I was not expected to live more than a few days.

I was in hospital a lot in the 1950s.

I knew several kids with polio, including some in iron lungs. We got to know each other well because of spending weeks in the same ward of 20 kids.

I had some now-preventable illnesses myself: measles, mumps, whooping cough, chickenpox.

I'm with you all the way on vaccinations.

Show threadMs. Que BanhMar 15

@EricLawton I'm sympathetic to what you've endured. That said - I don't want people who have never faced rampant carpet bombs to ever compare their lives to ours. It is not even close to comparable. There's many other ways to express dissent with US, without putting yourself on same levels with people who have been bombed & lost a lot of our family members from #TerroristUSA invaders, bombing us.

Please don't do that kind of comparison on my posts, again. Thanks.

Show threadEric Lawton
@PhoenixSerenity
Okay
Mar 15 at 4:39amWeb
Show threadMs. Que BanhMar 15
@EricLawton We were deprived of necessary public health needs. We were so dehumanized by USA & all their Western bully pals. We were treated like terrorists.
Show threadMs. Que BanhMar 15
@EricLawton Thank you.