TelAviv1..chronicles of a quest

TODAY IS FRIDAY....which along with Saturday constitutes the weekend here in Israel. Sunday will start the workweek. It is presently 3am and having crashed since 8pm last night and fueled with a hot cup of hotel room coffee already and angling towards the second cup in a minute, I start.

We arrived in Tel Aviv yesterday morning at 6:40 am from Bangkok, a flight of about 11+ hours. The flight was happily uneventful except for the ElAl toilet police – more on that later. Titi had a very restful flight unaided by any drugs and also experienced very little pain. All precautions had been taken – Titi and Lek sat in business class while Mimi, Nicky and I were in economy – separated by only a few rows.
We actually had 4 seats in business class – the last two being a condition from the airline as being mandatory that Titi had to have oxygen throughout the flight and as a consequence of that, we had to have an attending physician that knew how to work the equipment. The oxygen tank had to have a seat all for itself.
The hospital in Bangkok had arranged for all the logistics moving Titi from Samitivej Srinakharin by ambulance directly onto the plane, ElAl…the highest security-oriented airline in the world.
We then arrived at the airport in three cars…one van actually was filled with luggage – Lek, Titi’s wife was very well prepared for an extended stay. all the comforts of home (meaning kitchen to us Thais) including the rice cooker were packed into one dedicated hard-shelled suitcase severely challenging the weight limits that the airline had imposed on well-prepared travellers.
Titi stayed in the ambulance while the rest of us went inside to check in. Lek and the doctor went to the business class check-in while Mimi, Nicky and I lingered at the tail end of a long sssss of a waiting line for eco. BUT ELAl had wanted to get the whole group together so we were happily summoned to the ‘front row’ for check-in.
An ElAl official walked over after we were all assembled and questioned us in detail, all the while looked at us straight in the face to catch any signs or hints of abnormal behaviour. We passed with flying colors and was rewarded with green security clearance stickers on our papers.
It was done with such efficiency and professional courtesy yet with intensity and awareness that I jokingly asked them whether they were trained by the Mossad.
“Good question,” he answered thoughtfully, “but no, we were not trained by them but we have contact with them.” With that, we were quickly whisked inside…the doctor went to rejoin the ambulance and the four of us lingered in the Thai passenger lounge until boarding time where we rejoined Titi and Doctor Achariya on board.
Seated so close to where they sat in the business class seats, we made frequent visits to see how Titi was doing – the hourly visits often saw the three of them fast asleep with a lonely empty seat between Ti and Dr. Achariya. purchased by us to store the oxygen UNDER the seat. I had contemplated requesting the food for that seat be sent to seat 25C in the eco section.
On one of my visits to see them, I ducked into the restroom between the biz and eco sections. It was when I came out that I cam in contact with the ElAl toilet police (TP) who told me in chiding terms that eco bladders cannot be relieved in the biz section. Some time later on, Nicky and I walked up the aisle to visit and we slowed down as we neared where his parents were seating, it happened to be right in front of the biz section toilet with the TP walking by. She stopped in mid-stride, turned to face us and proceeded to point to the eco facilities – hate being caught red-handed!
Ben-Gurion Airport was busy and crowded when we landed.
The precautionary measure of ordering an ambulance and limo to carry us to the hospital turned out to be a good move although the patient was in fine shape. Again, we were whisked through long lines of immigration and avoided the customs area. In no time, we were at the curb waiting for our ride where we were soon slammed into Bangkok-like traffic jams going into Tel Aviv.
Ti, Lek and Nicky went with the ambulance while Mimi and I went to the hotel to check in. The hotel is right across a small street from the Tel Aviv Medical Center where the Center for Transplants and Cancer Research (CTCI) resides on the 9th floor.
On the way to the Center, visitors had to go through a metal detector - the first time I went through it, it beeped so I proceeded to reenter the detector. Just then, another beep showed a man, similar in age to me, passing through the detector. BUT he just kept right on walking with the guards showing no concern over stopping him for a recheck. Upon asking the guards why he sailed right through, 'he is too old (to do anything dangerous)' came the response. I instantly felt a lot younger but decided I should condition myself to look older under such situations..

We all assembled at the hospital around 9am and met Orit, our international coordinator,around 9:30.
Prof. Shimon Slavin, the renowned CML immunologist (if you think I am lavishing praise, google him) eventually joined us and chatted a bit informally, mentioning that he would be going through Ti’s medical history along with a blood test at the CTCI. He would be seeing Ti later on in the afternoon. (that's him in the pix going over Titi's case file)
We then received a tour of the facilities – very warm and friendly atmosphere. We dropped into the donor room where the stem cells would be harvested (my OR in a few days). There were two donors on individual beds in the external harvesting process – warm and friendly atmosphere and not at all tense or scary.
We were then led into room 23 where it will be Ti’s home away from home for at least 2-3 months. There is a small fold-out bed where Lek will be sleeping – everything was there except for COOKING facilities ☹
We then went back to our one hotel room (the second one will be ready whenever it will be ready…no promises) where Lek hastily unpacked the essentials (rice cooker/rice/canned curry) and proceeded to start cooking. She already had their favourite fried pork and Chinese sausages precooked and packaged from Bangkok. I think future occupants of this room will have an unexplainable urge to make Thailand their next destination.
After lunch, Dr. Achariya went touristing in Jerusalem; Lek, Nicky and Mimi went shopping and I stayed with Titi to talk to Prof. Slavin.
He came in after a while and proceeded to explain the theory side of the procedure which was extremely revealing and logical (the details will be blogged on Sunday when there ill be a staff meeting regarding Ti’s case and the road map clarified). He then did a check-up of Titi and said that he is in no need for emergency consideration and even espoused the idea of him going outside the room and hospital for the next couple of days as nothing will happen until after the staff meeting (hopefully on Sunday).
SO, this morning, after I post this blog, I will be making arrangements for a 1-day trip to Jerusalem and as far as the day can take us in this Holy Land – even may try to venture into Bethlehem if the Palestinians will let us in.
Sabai, Sabai