My treatment in India is finished I am happy to announce. Jeff and I are in London for a few days of rest, quiet and eating! Cole is currently in Yakima with his cousins and Angie is at home with the dogs (I think).
I am very sad to say that Baby didn't make it out of India with me. It is difficult to accurately describe the process I went through to try to get her home with me. I really thought I had it when I managed to get the Vet to come to the clinic and give the necessary shots, found the exporter and the price was reasonable. I then had about 24hrs to find a kennel and thought mistakenly how hard can that be? I was unable to find a kennel or a pet store in a city of 7 million people. I know it sounds absurd but I couldn't find one. The places I found on line either no longer exsisted or it wasn't the right number or they hung up on me because I don't speak Telagu and they don't speak English. You would think I could have gotten someone to translate for me wouldn't you? If the street dogs weren't like rats to us I may have been able to. Also, if the Raju family (where I was staying) had condoned my efforts I would have gotten assistance from their "servants" (we call them staff). I was heart broken to leave her there. The night before we left she was more playful than I had ever seen her. She ran to greet me when she saw me and bounced her way back to the clinic. The female doctor, Gonga, at the clinic said she would feed her but I have serious doubts about that. It is common for them to tell you yes about anything and everything with no intention of following through.
I had my scans done in India and like everything else it was an adventure. Angie and I went by ambulance to the imaging facility because it was free that way. It was quite a ride. If you have Facebook I posted a few pictures of the ambulance and a video. They were supposed to pick us up at 6 am. They showed at 8 am. They went to the wrong place and we had to wait for Krishnaji to show up at the clinic to call and find out what happened. We returned to the clinic at 4 pm that day. The tests don't show any reduction in tumor size and there is a now measurable tumor in one of my kidneys. The previous scan showed what they call "nuclear activity", meaning tumors not yet measurable in size, in my kidneys and spleen. I don't know that 40 days of any treatment is really what could be considered a fair shot at a treatment modality. The good doctor has sent me home with some herbs, including the nasty tasting one called smirthi, and a treatment method called Takadara that Angie and or Jeff will have to administer for me. Dr. Krishna wants me to do Takadara for 14 weeks and then have my scans again. We will have to find a way for Jeff and Angie to administer the Takadara, as it is an unusual procedure that Krishna wants me to have on my head and my liver, but we will figure it out!
It is common practice for people to ask Krishnaji when he wants them to return for their next treatment. As I mentioned before people return to the clinic year after year because his results are hard to argue with. I did ask him when he wanted me to come back even though I didn't want to ask or know. He asked me when I wanted to come back? I answered truthfully and said "I don't want to come back Krishnaji. This has been very hard for me. I left my six year old son and husband for 2 months." He said "yes, yes" nodded his head and said "come back in 6 months and bring your family. We find an apartment for them to stay in while you in treatment during the day. At night you can be with them". That is not a common thing to do, in fact they tell you that kids aren't allowed to come. It was an extraordinary offer on Krishna's part. I will tell you I find it impossible to think about right now. It wouldn't be possible for Jeff and Cole to go with me in 6 months as Cole will be in the middle of a school year and hopefully Jeff will be employed by then. The thought of going back to India for another 40 days of treatment is beyond my capacity today. I will think about it LATER. MUCH LATER.
For now it is just nice to be in the company of my loving, faithful husband in a country where I can eat the food (meat), drink the water, speak the language, not have to take malaria pills or worry about mosquito's and to sleep in comfortable bed. Just to name a few things I am grateful for. Oh and my drinks can actually be cold and have ice. I am anxious to see Cole, wrap my arms around him and kiss him until he says "mom STOP", which won't take long I am sure.
On Jeff's journey to India his Cpap (breathing machine) was stolen or scanned in security and not put back into his luggage. When we flew back through Mumbai we went in search for it at the airport. WRONG MOVE! They directed us to another building and we made the BIG mistake of going outside to go to the other building. Once you step outside of building you can't get back in with out a boarding pass and the domestic and international flights are in different buildings. We stepped outside and the WOULD NOT let us back in to take the bus to the international building. We had to take a cab! The first cab we got into (with all our luggage) was VERY strange and when they wanted us to pay before hand I said "NO" and Jeff said "this doesn't feel right, let's get out". We quickly did. It is a good thing there were so many people around. We hauled our luggage back to the front of the building, hailed an employee and said please help us get a cab, which they did. This car was clearly marked like a cab. Forty five minutes and $40 later we were dropped at the international building........ One of the patients I was at the clinic with called things like this "Indian Torture". We left Mumbai 5 hrs ahead of the terrorist attacks!
Have I said yet that I am glad to be out of India? Angie is also glad to be out of India. As for Jeff, he has had to rent a Cpap machine in London, which they would only do for a month, not a week. He to is glad to be out of India!
If the treatment cures my cancer it is certainly is worth every second of seperation, inconvenience, expense and annoyance. If it doesn't, well, we made some new friends, learned a ton of new things and can check one more attempt of the list.
We will be home soon and I look forward to being in touch.
As always my love and gratitude,
Mary
I am very sad to say that Baby didn't make it out of India with me. It is difficult to accurately describe the process I went through to try to get her home with me. I really thought I had it when I managed to get the Vet to come to the clinic and give the necessary shots, found the exporter and the price was reasonable. I then had about 24hrs to find a kennel and thought mistakenly how hard can that be? I was unable to find a kennel or a pet store in a city of 7 million people. I know it sounds absurd but I couldn't find one. The places I found on line either no longer exsisted or it wasn't the right number or they hung up on me because I don't speak Telagu and they don't speak English. You would think I could have gotten someone to translate for me wouldn't you? If the street dogs weren't like rats to us I may have been able to. Also, if the Raju family (where I was staying) had condoned my efforts I would have gotten assistance from their "servants" (we call them staff). I was heart broken to leave her there. The night before we left she was more playful than I had ever seen her. She ran to greet me when she saw me and bounced her way back to the clinic. The female doctor, Gonga, at the clinic said she would feed her but I have serious doubts about that. It is common for them to tell you yes about anything and everything with no intention of following through.
I had my scans done in India and like everything else it was an adventure. Angie and I went by ambulance to the imaging facility because it was free that way. It was quite a ride. If you have Facebook I posted a few pictures of the ambulance and a video. They were supposed to pick us up at 6 am. They showed at 8 am. They went to the wrong place and we had to wait for Krishnaji to show up at the clinic to call and find out what happened. We returned to the clinic at 4 pm that day. The tests don't show any reduction in tumor size and there is a now measurable tumor in one of my kidneys. The previous scan showed what they call "nuclear activity", meaning tumors not yet measurable in size, in my kidneys and spleen. I don't know that 40 days of any treatment is really what could be considered a fair shot at a treatment modality. The good doctor has sent me home with some herbs, including the nasty tasting one called smirthi, and a treatment method called Takadara that Angie and or Jeff will have to administer for me. Dr. Krishna wants me to do Takadara for 14 weeks and then have my scans again. We will have to find a way for Jeff and Angie to administer the Takadara, as it is an unusual procedure that Krishna wants me to have on my head and my liver, but we will figure it out!
It is common practice for people to ask Krishnaji when he wants them to return for their next treatment. As I mentioned before people return to the clinic year after year because his results are hard to argue with. I did ask him when he wanted me to come back even though I didn't want to ask or know. He asked me when I wanted to come back? I answered truthfully and said "I don't want to come back Krishnaji. This has been very hard for me. I left my six year old son and husband for 2 months." He said "yes, yes" nodded his head and said "come back in 6 months and bring your family. We find an apartment for them to stay in while you in treatment during the day. At night you can be with them". That is not a common thing to do, in fact they tell you that kids aren't allowed to come. It was an extraordinary offer on Krishna's part. I will tell you I find it impossible to think about right now. It wouldn't be possible for Jeff and Cole to go with me in 6 months as Cole will be in the middle of a school year and hopefully Jeff will be employed by then. The thought of going back to India for another 40 days of treatment is beyond my capacity today. I will think about it LATER. MUCH LATER.
For now it is just nice to be in the company of my loving, faithful husband in a country where I can eat the food (meat), drink the water, speak the language, not have to take malaria pills or worry about mosquito's and to sleep in comfortable bed. Just to name a few things I am grateful for. Oh and my drinks can actually be cold and have ice. I am anxious to see Cole, wrap my arms around him and kiss him until he says "mom STOP", which won't take long I am sure.
On Jeff's journey to India his Cpap (breathing machine) was stolen or scanned in security and not put back into his luggage. When we flew back through Mumbai we went in search for it at the airport. WRONG MOVE! They directed us to another building and we made the BIG mistake of going outside to go to the other building. Once you step outside of building you can't get back in with out a boarding pass and the domestic and international flights are in different buildings. We stepped outside and the WOULD NOT let us back in to take the bus to the international building. We had to take a cab! The first cab we got into (with all our luggage) was VERY strange and when they wanted us to pay before hand I said "NO" and Jeff said "this doesn't feel right, let's get out". We quickly did. It is a good thing there were so many people around. We hauled our luggage back to the front of the building, hailed an employee and said please help us get a cab, which they did. This car was clearly marked like a cab. Forty five minutes and $40 later we were dropped at the international building........ One of the patients I was at the clinic with called things like this "Indian Torture". We left Mumbai 5 hrs ahead of the terrorist attacks!
Have I said yet that I am glad to be out of India? Angie is also glad to be out of India. As for Jeff, he has had to rent a Cpap machine in London, which they would only do for a month, not a week. He to is glad to be out of India!
If the treatment cures my cancer it is certainly is worth every second of seperation, inconvenience, expense and annoyance. If it doesn't, well, we made some new friends, learned a ton of new things and can check one more attempt of the list.
We will be home soon and I look forward to being in touch.
As always my love and gratitude,
Mary
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2 comments:
Mary Yerxa said...
What a journey you and your family have experienced. Riley and I are praying it has made the difference you need for total healing...luv you
sarah said...
You continue to amaze me with your courage, humor, determination and commitment to your healing! I love you and Jeff and Cole and can't wait to hug you until you tell me to stop:) See you all soon. With love, Sarah