Sept 2024 Update: It's been one year since Daqing returned to Canada. During this time, he has faced incredible challenges, including surviving another mini stroke. Since then, Daqing has been undergoing intensive physical therapy and other treatments. With great effort, he has regained the ability to walk short distances with a cane. However, he remains unable to move his left arm and continues to battle various mental health issues.

Daqing now resides in a retirement home in Toronto, as it became unsafe for him to live at home. The ongoing cost of his care—physical therapy, medical treatments, and his retirement home—remains overwhelming.

Any support, no matter the amount, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your kindness and generosity.

——————————

Hello friends, my name is Sandi, and I am raising money to help my dad, Daqing, recover from his stroke.

In late September 2022, Daqing suffered a major hemorrhagic stroke while visiting Beijing, China. He successfully underwent major brain surgery, but he still has lung and heart issues. His left side was entirely paralyzed for over 2 months, and only recently has rehab helped him regain limited movement, like being able to swallow soft foods and ride a stationary bike. However, doctors are unsure if he’ll be able to walk again. My dad also struggles with memory and comprehension, a far cry from the sharp-minded and analytical scientist he once was.

Funds from this campaign will go strictly to my dad’s stroke recovery in China with the eventual goal of bringing him home to Canada for further treatment. Due to his current health condition, he is unable to travel so he must recover in a Chinese hospital instead. Recently, my family was told that my dad needs another surgery to replace part of his skull. Unfortunately, he could not get health insurance in China, and his Canadian healthcare coverage and insurance plan through work cannot cover him because he is out of the country. Beyond the upcoming surgery, many more months of intensive rehab in China are needed before doctors will allow him to fly home to Canada. We hope that one day, my dad will have recovered enough physically and mentally to come home to Canada.

My dad was supposed to be on a short-term trip to visit family and to work with the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research at the National Academy of Science. This trip has now become a long and arduous nightmare. Due to China’s strict COVID measures, visitors are not allowed to visit patients in the hospital. The only way anyone can see or communicate with my dad is via video call. He has been completely isolated for months, with only medical professionals for company.

What started as a regular workday took a turn when Daqing felt some discomfort in his arm. He planned to walk, thinking the fresh air might help. Instead, he fainted on some stairs, and his colleagues transferred him to a hospital. The doctors assume my dad may have had an ischemic stroke to begin with, but the fall caused the stroke to evolve into a less common but far deadlier hemorrhagic stroke.

I first thought something might be wrong with my dad when multiple days of texts and calls had gone unanswered. I had just graduated from university and moved from Vancouver to Toronto to start my first real job and was so excited to tell my dad all about my new coworkers and what I was doing at work. Eventually, I reached my aunt living in New Zealand, who informed me of my dad’s stroke and that he was in a coma in the Intensive Care Unit. It was eerily reminiscent of my mom’s final month before her death in 2013.

Daqing was just a few days shy of his 63rd birthday at the time of the stroke. Anyone who has ever met him knows he is a loving father, husband, brother, and friend. He’s also a brilliant, highly accomplished research scientist and professor. He has dedicated much of his adult life to furthering Arctic research and our understanding of cold region hydrology and climate change. Throughout his 30-year career, particularly at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Environment and Climate Change Canada, he has mentored numerous grad students and collaborated with hundreds of other scientists worldwide to publish award-winning papers.

My dad was an active man, always finding an excuse to be outside. Whether in the cold northern Arctic doing fieldwork or firing up the backyard grill for friends and family, he liked to stay busy and get his hands dirty. He also enjoyed running, swimming, and reading political biographies. He also enjoys travelling and dreams of visiting his 7th and final continent of Antarctica one day.

My dad’s recovery has been slow but steady, and doctors are proud of his progress over the last 3 months. Myself, my dad’s wife/my stepmom Wei Hong, my dad’s Beijing friends such as Professor Yao Tandong, Professor Zhang Yinshen, and many others have done what we can to support my dad’s recovery financially thus far, but we could still really use your support as we navigate the coming months.

Thank you all for any help you can offer.