PROTOCOL

THE HOLY CITY
CHRISTMAS EVE saw winds and storms over Israel beginning at 3am. By 9:30am when Ellie, our designated driver and tour guide, picked us up the temperature was in the low teens (decC), extremely stormy and windy. Lek took a respite from the hospital and joined us on the trek.
Ellie was aware that we were here because of Titi and that he was in the Medical Center. Instead of heading straight for Jerusalem, he offered to make a side trip to Old Jaffe – a 2000+ year old town adjoining Tel Aviv. The church that we had gone to previously with Titi, St. Anthony, was in this town. Today he was taking us to St. Peter’s and we soon found out why.
This ten-century plus old Catholic church stood on a bluff overlooking the Mediterranean south of Tel Aviv and therefore the views were quite scenic especially on that day, with the rainy haze and white-capped 3 feet waves.
There is a suspension bridge that spanned across a butte to the Church named the Wishing Bridge with astrological symbols affixed on the railings spaced along the length of the bridge.. The sign says that those who cross it and pray with their hands placed upon their signs would get their prayers answered. I think Ellie had done this before with similar visitors. After prayers were offered and pictures taken from every angle and nook and crevice, we finally set off eastbound for Jerusalem.
The hour+ trip was uneventful but as we approached Jerusalem, on the roadside of Hwy.1 leading into the City, we saw burned-out wrecks of army tanks and jeeps strewn along n long stretch. Remnants of the days, only twenty odd years ago, when the Israeli troops traveled from Tel Aviv to take control of the Holy City.
Jerusalem is a city that evolved and grew around the Old City and the surrounding numerous mosques and churches and sites of historical interest. The roads meander and snuggle, up and down the hilly city with relatively little or no street signs to help the tourist venturing on their own.
We chose the Garden of Gethsemane as our first stop and Ellie had a hard time finding it. But timing is everything…as the gates into the garden and church opened just as we reached.
The eight olive trees in the garden was majestic and certainly held its credibility as to its existence when Jesus once strolled and prayed in it during the Passion and before His crucifixion. We also found the rock where He supposedly knelt and prayed before the soldiers came for Him. This rock was half outside and half inside the Church of the Nations (locally called Church of the Agony).
NOTE: All the pictures will be posted on a website in the very near future.
It was a very emotional and stirring visit only to be shocked back into reality when we stepped outside the gates. There were vendors selling religious trinkets and olive branches (!) outside the gates. We stopped and selected about 7 items which we had bargained down to about 70 shekels. We were unable to come up with the exact change so I pulled out a hundred shekel note and waited for the change. Instead, I was offered some more additional items which I adamantly refused and demanded my change. All of a sudden, I found his whole armful load of chains with crucifixes deposited on mine and my 100 shekel note disappearing with the holder into the side streets.
We then went t the Old City through the Jewish side. Entrance into the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) is separate for men and women and the Wall correspondingly had men and women sections. While we were there, scores of young uniformed Jewish students (high school age) were emptying by the busloads and queuing to gain access to the Wall and almost all of them were carrying semi-automatic weapons. Not a very comforting sight for the average tourist from Bangkok but I am sure a way of life otherwise.
We then meandered along the small side streets that led us into the Armenian and Christian quarters totally lined with trinket shops and eateries. It was getting dusky and really chilly and the ‘shop till you drop’ attitude posted a new low. We headed back to the car and Tel Aviv.
On the way to the car, I received a phone call from the Hospital. Titi’s Protocol had been decided.

THE PROTOCOL
The countdown with the daily treatments leading to the transplant is in black and white.
Today, Christmas eve, was day -11 > mapping day.
25th: Titi to be given the lymphocytes and plasma previously harvested from me. This step is given in order for his body to build up (create) the antibodies that would counter the donor’s good cells. These newly-formed antibodies would then be killed off on subsequent days with chemotherapeutic drugs.
26th: day of rest and antibody formation
27th: Chemo begins
1st: New Year’s day marks the last day of chemo
2nd: DDay minus 2: Titi gets a dose of radiation to complete the preparatory process
3rd: rest day
4th: Titi will receive the transplant of stem cells that will be freshly harvested from me that same day.
5th: Titi will receive bone marrow cells also harvested the same day from me.
6th: and onwards – recuperative process begins and all the prayers previously harvested take effect.

CHRISTMAS DAY
With the protocol set, it is game on! We realize that temporary setbacks, sepsis, fever etc. might still occur in addition to his extremely sore throat and butt.
Titi has a hard time swallowing so his diet has to be altered in order for him to be able to intake his nutrients with more liquids.
After breakfast, Nicky decided to stay with his dad while Mimi, Lek and I set off for Mass at St. Peter’s. Our cab ride got ‘lost’ so he says – a common trick to load up the meter, we understand, - and arrived just right after the sermon.
Unlike St. Anthony’s, where the parish was predominantly Africans, St. Peter’s is almost all Filipinos. The mass we attended was a guitar mass punctuated by Filipino songs and thus lent a distinctly Asian atmosphere.
While we were visiting Titi at the hospital late afternoon, we were invited to join the lighting of the 5th candle celebrating Hanukah. Prof. Naparsteck, the chairlady of the HematoOncology Department, explained to me that this celebration is the only non-religious one in Jewish rites…it is about how in ancient times, a person found a small cruet of oil and managed to light up the temple for eight days with that cruet of oil – ergo the nine branched candlestand –the middle one being the official ‘light’ used to spread the flame. She went on to say that the celebration here was sponsored by a couple whose son was a patient at the transplant center but unfortunately, died.
There was singing and tears of joy and sorrow flowing from the doctors, nurses and patients…each lost in their own emotions but all were assembled at the nurses’ station in the bone marrow transplant department.
Starting tomorrow, when the protocol begins and chemo begins to tackle a new phase of this odyssey, we need your prayers now more that ever. Thank you.