For The Love of Mary

Greetings from Hyderabad!

Angie arrived safe and sound. It is really wonderful to have her here. The good doctor told me my pulse was strong the last two days. I told him it was because my sister is here now and it makes me happy. He "yes, yes" nodding vigorously. Angie has done pretty well with the jet lag but is getting tired in the late afternoons. Everyone has told me how delightful, wonderful, sweet and beautiful she is. YEP, I know but thanks for saying so.

A few days ago I asked Krishna if he had treated carcinoid cancer before and he said "yes". I then asked if he had cured it and again he said "yes". Naturally I asked how long did it take and he said "it depends". So I tried a few other ways to get my question answered like how many times did they have to come? He said "it depends". Then I tried how long did they stay? He responded "all different times". OK it depends. Later I asked the female doctor, Gonga, if she had seen carcinoid cancer here. She said "yes" and that Krishnaji had in fact cured it! She continued saying Ayurveda cures many things western medicine can not. Now that is what I like to hear.

There are 14 patients here now so the place has gotten busy and more vibrant. Before I started into my next treatment series I asked the good doctor if I/we could go out for a meal. I was dying to eat my heart out! He said yes and recommended where we go. Angie, Ron (an Austrailian patient) and myself went to Film City. A place outside of Hyderabad where they make a lot of films. Did you know that India makes more movies per year than ANY other country? I didn't know that. There are a couple of hotels in Film City and we ate at one of them. It was DELIGHTFUL.... I was a really happy camper all day long. The food was great and we had fun. I managed to take a large bite of what I thought to be a snap pea that turned out to be a chile. The waiter told me what it was after I took the bite. We had cloth napkins and I could not spit it out. Oh man, was that baby HOT. My eyes watered, my nose ran and it would not stop. Of course I thought, great now I won't be able to taste anything. Nothing that disastrous happened. I just had to wait a good bit before I could go on eating but I recovered and went on to enjoy the rest of the meal. We all got a good laugh out of it.

Baby, the one eyed dog, is still with us and thriving. She has created quite a stir as of late. She went into heat and has attracked all of the other stray dogs. Particularly the males but the females have come to. This isn't a good thing. One stray dog was pushing it in this neighborhood. Now there is a pack. There are dog fights in the street and it has made many of the residents unhappy. One of the management called "the dog catcher" because they are getting brave. Baby, now used to being petted, has come looking for Kate and myself which means she is on the Raju Family's property. On the second and third floor. She had one boy dog following her around for several days and he wouldn't let any other dog close. I asked Harish, the family member that called the dog catcher to please not let them take Baby, that she is a good, gentle dog and won't hurt anyone. He said he can't have her laying in the stairwells with patients coming in the middle of the night. I told him I understood but to please not let them take her that I was trying to get her home. My concern was she would be beaten to death. He told me not to worry because whenever someone called it seemed the animals knew and they all disappeared. A funny thing occurred....they all disappeared, including baby. They were gone, gone, gone. You couldn't find any of them in the entire community. I thought they had captured the dogs. Not even close. Baby is back and her buddy comes and goes. I was relieved. Angie brought her a collar so even if they do show up they won't take her. It has been difficult to arrange to get her home. I know what I need to do to have it happen but making it happen in India is a different matter. I did find a pet exporter but he was outrageously expensive. I will keep looking for options and trying to get english speaking people on the phone (a major chore). She is such a sweet girl. I also found dog food for her at the store, which I am sure she has never had. She likes it and now refuses to eat rice. Go Baby!

I am doing well. I would still rather be home but I am feeling good. My energy has really improved and I am walking some, most days. I climb stairs many times a day and can tell it is making a difference. It is great to be feeling stronger. It has been a LONG time since I have felt this way. In theory I have 13 days of treatment left. Theory because the good doctor often changes his mind. I don't expect to be an exception to this. When I am done with treatment I will have the scans done and we will see what, if anything, has changed. One thing I forgot to mention before is Krishna is also an Allopathic doctor. He can call up a pharmaceutical company and get the peptides for me. He also is going to send me to the top Oncologist in Hyderabad and see what he recommends. I have been looking at the nueroendrocrine peptide in greater depth and have found literature that describes the side effects. They aren't good and I can't find out if they are temporary or not. I am hoping the Oncologist can answer that question. I don't know why I didn't think to look at the side effects before, but I didn't. They are significant effects including kidney damage. I won't be doing that if they are permanent.

Not surprisingly, I miss my boys. It is easily the hardest part of all of this. It hurts my heart.

They celebrated my birthday with me here by buying me a cake (thank you Kate) and singing to me. It was very sweet. The cake was one of the best cakes I have ever had and it had no eggs! They put an interesting "candle" on it. It was on a stand and looked a bit like a funnel. You light a red spot in the center of it (with incense of course) and it blooms (or bursts) open lighting six candles surrounding it. It then starts playing 'Happy Birthday'. A musical candle. They told me it would play all night. They had one patient put it in water to shut it up and it kept playing. I left it in the room we had cake in! I went back the next morning and it was indeed still playing. Made in China.

Jeff and Cole celebrated my birthday by having a surprise party for me and Skyping so I could see the party. It was VERY VERY sweet. It did make me a bit homesick but it was wonderful to see everyone there and I know they had a good time. There are pictures of it on Facebook.

I wish you were ALL here with me. It would make it so much easier. And just think of the memories we would have!!!

I am sending my love across the wi-fi and the ocean,
Mary

And I want a big fat juicy STEAK with potatoes and gravy (beef). I would make a horrid vegetarian. I know you are pleased to hear this Jeff. He made me promise I wouldn't come back vegetarian. The food is good here but I often feel hungry. I really don't like feeling hungry. So American, I know. For all our countries faults I am happy to be from the USA.

I would like to dispel the notion in some people's minds that I am at a spa. I know the treatments sound WONDERFUL and many of them are. I assure you however, this is far from being a spa. I have taken pictures, but of course can't figure out how to download them here. Where are you when I need you Tyler? I am still computer illiterate. I have managed to figure out how to post them to Facebook so if you would like to see pictures of the treatment rooms and how I am fed look on Facebook. For those of you that don't have Facebook I'm sorry. Maybe some day I won't be illiterate. I eat from tins and the treatment beds are wooden slabs with holes in the ends of them for the liquids to drain out of. The drains are large plastic tubes. I have bruises on my bum, elbows and hips from laying on the beds. Some of the treatments you get to lay on plastic cushions that have foam in them. The plastic is hard and ALWAYS slippery cuz all the oil they use doesn't ever come up. Probably because they don't use soap when they wash them! The shower (they call it that, I would not) is a pipe coming out of the wall that sprays all over the room when you stand under it. They do have regular toilets, not holes in the floor like many places here, and for that I am grateful. Enough said.

Baby, the one eyed, no longer limping dog is doing quite well. She has a spring in her step and is wagging her tail when she sees me or Kate. People stare and make comments at us (which of course I don't understand) when they see us petting her but I don't much care. She is a sweet girl. I posted pictures of her on Facebook a few days ago. I have stopped a maid from pouring water on her, just to be funny, a street worker from hitting her with a hoe and one of the drivers from just maliciously scaring her. They are terrible to dogs here and it is making me crazy. I know, I know Jeff but I can NOT stand by and watch it happen. I CAN'T. Sorry. I am trying to find out what it will take to get her back to the States because when Kate and I leave her future looks grim. I promise to find her a home honey!!!

A very little gecko has taken up residence with me and I am enjoying watching him skitter around the room. Think I can make friends with him before I leave? No, Jeff I will not bring him home to. Promise.

Now that I have shared with you how computer illiterate I am (many of you know this to be true) I have to share a funny story. The house I am staying in has Wi-fi, mostly, but no one could remember the password so I could get on. When I wanted to use the computer I had to go across the street and hook up to Wi-fi there. At night when I could talk with Jeff and Cole on Skype I had to go sit in the Lobby of the Clinic. Not only was there no privacy but the mosquito's seem to love me here, even with repellent on. I kept asking Krishnaji, the good doctor, for the password. He would give me one, it wouldn't work and he would give me another. They never worked. I stopped asking but I kept trying to figure it out so I didn't have to go out at night. I went to have my pulse checked one morning, as I do every day, and said to Krishnaji "I am very proud of myself today". He naturally asked me why, to which I told him I had figured out the password at the house. He clapped his hands, laughed and said "you a good hacker". I then laughed and said "that is the funny part, I am virtually illiterate when it comes to computers". He threw his hands to the sky belly laughed and said "how you do it then"? To which I said "sheer determination". He got very serious and said "what the password? I have to writed down" and again he smiled.

It is with that sheer determination that I plan to find a cure for the cancer. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to be here. Good people are taking wonderful care of me and the good doctor is a marvel.

My love,
Mary

Needless to say it has been an interesting experience. I have had eight days of treatments. They will change as I go along. This last week was oil messages, water treatment with boiled herbs poured over my body for 45 min, doughnut shaped dough over my lungs and small back filled with hot oil and pearls (yes pearls) and a cold treatment drizzled over my head. Their treatment beds are not like ours and I have had a hard time getting comfortable. The treatment that apparently puts everyone else asleep creates awful pain in my back. They are doing everything they can to make me comfortable but my scoliosis throws a wrench in things. Today was the most comfortable I have been.

I have felt good at times during the day and a few hours later can be feeling sick. It has happened repeatedly and am told it is normal. I was better today. I am grateful I haven't been prone to mood swings in my life cuz I will tell you they are no fun.

The herb I told you Krishnaji wants me to take 6 times a day called Smirthi is NASTY stuff. Most folks take it once a day. I have only managed to get to 4 times a day. It is actually a paste and most people just swallow it. I can't do it as it burns my throat terribly that way. I have to mix it with water and drink it. You won't find Smirthi if you google it as a few have already tried. The RAju Family are supposedly the only people on the planet that have this formula. It is supposed to trigger cellular memory. It triggers my gag reflex right now.

It remains hot and I think sometimes I may spontaneously combust.... It rained this afternoon which was pure joy for me. I went out and stood in it.

I have had my first true "Indian" experience. I was riding to treatment in one of their cars (I use that word car loosely) and was turned around talking to the women in the back seat and the door I was leaning against flew open. Out I started to go head first! The technician by the name of Vasomatti grabbed my arm and I grabbed the dash. PHEW. I didn't get hurt and we all got a good laugh out of it. Kate the other female patient here with me said when we were getting into the car "this car is TERRIBLE". She was right. She told the Doc the next morning what she thought of the car. She reminds me of Laurel and I am glad to have her here. She has been here 7 times and knows the ropes which has been helpful.

Their are wild dogs through out India and the people think of them the way we think of rats. It is quite sad to me. They are obviously starving and they run in packs like in Mexico just to survive. There is a female that has taken to sleeping in front of the clinic. She has only one eye, she limps and has clearly just had puppies that are no where to be found. She is sad beyond belief. Kate and I have taken to feeding her and petting her which brings all kinds of strange reactions from the people here. We are calling her baby. She saw me get out of the car today and came running toward me wagging her tail. We hadn't seen that before. It made both Kate and I happy. We recognize it may be awful for her again when we leave but for a time she will have some love. I wish I could bring her home with me! What do you think Jeff????? Don't answer that I already know.

I have to go my technician has shown up to give me my evening foot message and head treatment.

Aside from missing my boys terribly I am doing just fine. Counting down the days until Aunt G gets here.

I hope you all are well and that the sun has started to shine in Seattle.

Love to all,
Mary