Weekend update

Mike's recovery is still going well. He is managing the pain with some good meds. Yes, legal meds!

Saturday lunch time Ilan and I watched Israel play Greece in the world cup playoffs. It was a 1-1 draw and a fair result. No premiership this weekend while they play these international matches.

Sunday morning I slept in again and almost missed our boat trip. We went with some friends of ours, Wayne and Karen (the boat owners), my mom and Ilan and Robin. We just stayed in the inter coastal waterway here in Boca and then stopped for lunch along the way. It was a really nice way to spend a couple of hours and I can certainly see where people get the sailing and boating bug. The weather cooperated for the most part.

Carpe Diem.

Here in Boca

Mike stayed Thursday night in hospital and was discharged Friday afternoon. He is doing well at home. I guess now he does have a reason for missing some school. Sorry Mike. I should have listened to you trusting (and listening) to your own body.

What's really nice about being here in Boca, other than the obvious good time spent with my mom, is that I have no timetable or agenda. I'm just chilling. Friday afternoon my mom, Ilan and I went for the obligatory Jamba Juice. Friday evening we then went to Ilan and Robyn for Shabbat dinner. We had a really nice time talking and eating. The food was great.

I have been sleeping quite well and doing my morning and evening walks on the beach to the pier. I'm just trying to wash away all the past pains and stresses. I think I'm doing ok.

Carpe Diem.

Mike is home from school

Mike got up this morning and said he had a stomach ache and wanted to go to school late. Diana said sure and I had a slight rant. Diana and I went downtown for her US citizenship interview and before I could park the car and finish breakfast she was done. Passed. They could have sworn her in that afternoon but she couldn't stay. So she should be getting her Naturalization certificate and swearing in sometime in the next 4 weeks. Now back to Mike. We got home and he still wasn't feeling well so we just had him go back to bed. Well there was more to it than just go to bed! We tried to get him in to see a couple of different doctors but no one could see him. Diana drove me to the airport and I headed out to Boca. No sooner had I landed in Boca Diana called and said that she took Mike to the ER room at Sinai and that he had to have his appendix removed. Fast forward a couple of hours and no more appendix. Removed laparoscopically.

Carpe Diem.

What's this all mean

I wish I knew. I spent most of the morning on the phone but still had time for a good rest. The pain meds are really doing the job. Now I have to keep the balance of being somewhat pain free and reducing the pain meds intake. I did not have to go today to the infusion center at Sinai Hospital for my blood work as I was able to explain, to those that needed to know, that they had all the blood work and tests they needed from my Friday night hospital stay. Phew, all that in one sentence!

So the chronology of upcoming events are as follows:
PET/CT scan April 1st.
Consult with Dr. Krasna and his team at St. Joseph's April 2nd.
Meeting with Dr. Noga (sitting in for Dr. Kumar) and his team at Sinai April 8th.
Somewhere amongst all of this we will be in touch with Dr. Erlich.

Carpe Diem.

Weekend update

Boy. Lots going on.

Friday evening I started to feel a bit of chest pain. I attributed this to the Neupogen shot from this past Tuesday. I won't go into the details of what Neupogen does to you, suffice to say, bone and joint ache is common. Well the pain got progressively worse as the evening went on and now I started to think about cardiac problems!!! I had never quite experienced this kind of pain before so we went to the Sinai Emergency room. We really did not have a choice.

I stayed the night and had a whole bunch of tests done. Well, to make a long story short, cardiac problems were ruled out and so were blood clots. Phew! I was discharged early afternoon and went home to the wonderful news that Man U had lost to Fulham 2-0. I wonder if there is any shit news linkage here? We had better start winning again or I could be screwed.

The meds for the pain have really helped but I'm so bloody tired. More later.

Carpe Diem.

Demented bird

We have a demented Cardinal that keeps flying into our living room window. He has been doing this for the past three days now. Now, I understand that it is very early spring and nesting season is about to begin but this is bloody silly. What the hell is it trying to do? Short of opening the door and inviting him in I'm not sure what else to do. What a blithering idiot. Very pretty but really dumb.

Carpe Diem.

So I lied !!!

I did just say that I wouldn't solicit donations for our Zimbabwe project but I guess I lied. I have heard from so many of you who - like me - have been incredibly moved reading Dennis' letters. It really makes me frustrated and sad that treatments for simple diseases like scabies - which cause so much suffering - are so out of reach for most people there. I am so grateful to all of you who keep sending contributions to help feed and assist these kids and families. The need is so overwhelming and I know we can't help everyone, but I am filled with hope about what we are able to achieve with Dennis' help. We are feeding people who would otherwise be starving and we ARE making a difference.

Any size donation would make a difference. If you need my mailing address or any information on how to donate please email me privately at:

asuskin@hotmail.com

I am also trying to look into the possibility of obtaining medicines from different companies or corporations. If you have any ideas please let me know. The most basic of medicines saves lives over there.

I understand fully that right now globally, there is a huge demand for philanthropic causes. Right here in the USA people go to bed hungry or sleep in their cars. While I have seen the generosity of the American people here at home there is no one to help the people we are trying to help.

A heartfelt thank you.

Carpe Diem.

Where we (I) stand

In case anyone was wondering about my attire in the past few current pictures, It's quite simple. No I haven't joined a cult or commune. Just one word - pajamas.

We have our medical game plan for the next few weeks. This past Wednesday I did not need my second Neupogen shot. Next Monday March 23rd I will have my blood work and then on April 1st I will have my PET/CT scan. That's it for now. Almost a reprieve of sorts.

So in light of this I am going to spend a few days with my Mom in Boca towards the end of March. I look forward to seeing and spending time with her, the change of scenery and maybe some nice weather! I may even toss in some fishing for good measure.
Now with regards to Dennis,his fine work in Zimbabwe and his amazing letter updates. We are still continuing to work with and assist Dennis with donations. As you can see from the above currency from Zim it is completely ridiculous. Pretty but worthless. Foreign currency is the only currency used for daily trade. I am not going to keep appealing for help as I think the letters are self explanatory and self appealing. Whatever donations we get are going straight to him and are being used 100% for food medicine and whatever else is needed. The difficult thing is when word gets out of the assistance he is providing he is sometimes overwhelmed and has to make some really tough decisions. For me personally, it seems so easy to make the decision to send a donation and not have to decide who gets what over there!!!

Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.
- Jerusalem Talmud, Sanhedrin 4:8 (37a)

Carpe Diem.

Letters from Zimbabwe

From Dennis:

Since Brian’s funeral the days and weeks have flown by. Tinashe Basa, the young man who works with me, (and who dug Brian’s grave) and I visited Brian’s family to film the local inyanga (traditional healer) for the documentary Elli is working on. When we arrived Mr. Sibanda, Brian’s grandfather, was on the other side of the ridge attending the funeral of a 25-year-old woman who died of HIV related causes. Children were sent to get him. In the meantime I saw Brian’s grandmother (gogo) who complained of soaking night sweats. The local clinic gave her aspirin. (I’m thinking HIV) I told her to wait to see if they passed in a couple of days and if they didn’t to come back to Bulawayo and I’d take her to the doctor.

She returned a couple days later. In the meantime I visited Brian’s aunt, Florence, who is HIV positive and lives next door to Brian’s home to inquire about Director, her 14-year-old boy who is involved in my doll project. She greeted me at the door with immensely swollen neck glands and a half dollar sized oozing cyst in the middle of her forehead. On Monday I took them both to Sashka, the Serbian doctor. The gogo had blood pressure of 185 over 120 and anemia. Florence got antibiotics and anti nausea prescriptions. She is fighting HIV with the local ARV regimen has been loosing weight consistently over the last few months. There are no second tier ARV drugs here. Her prognosis is grim. Gogo got blood pressure meds and anti anemia meds. Sashka also prescribed her one egg a day for anemia so I bought a tray (2 ½ dozen) for her. Got Florence a tray as well.

A few days later I checked on gogo and Florence. Both are doing better. Then I stopped by Prosper’s house. He’s a terrific 16-year-old boy who helps a great deal with the younger kids and keeps records for Sipho and, since Sipho has no phone, is my conduit to the group. He said his 38-year-old mother was sick. Said the blood vessels in her eyes were pulling them shut. I went into his house, greeted his grandparents and into the back bedroom. His mom was sitting there with a hat covering her eyes. They were swollen shut. She had just been tested for HIV and came out positive and began ARV’s a month ago. Her left leg was swollen and around her ankle was a deep wound of the sort Brian had on his head. The area around the wound was charcoal black. Several circular scars the size of quarters were on her calf. She was frightened to death. I checked out her meds and told her I’d take her to the doctor’s Friday along with Florence.
On the way home I saw Gogo Dlamini, who cares for 7 orphans - all grandchildren - walking toward the police station. The youngest boy, Mthobisi, (10 year’s old) was arrested for stealing a remote clicker. He’s floundering since his three cousins aged 14, 15, and 16 who gogo also cared for decided to steal a computer and hitch a ride to South Africa illegally. They took along Director, whose caregiver is Florence with the swollen glands. Director managed to find his sister in South Africa. It’ll cost 300 Rands to get him back. He’s a good kid, the type that will learn a lesson and he has the money from his doll sales. He should return next week. The other three disappeared to god knows where in South Africa. Their 70-year-old grandmother is worn out, spent but there are the three girls age 8 to 16 to care for. So she trudges on.

I have a mini epidemic of scabies going on which I am trying to get under control. When the kids together they all sit shoulder-to-shoulder making their dolls and transmitting scabies. Charles Zulu and his sister came two weeks ago covered with crusty itchy bumps and said their mother had it also. Got them the treatment and a week later their mother complained it hadn’t gone away so bought some more medicine. When I went to their home I discovered that nine people lived in their 2-room house and 8 had scabies. So I got enough medicine for everyone.

Last week three more kids/ three different families showed up with it. Expect it to be an ongoing problem for the next months or so as it takes 6 weeks from contact to show up. Each small jar of medicine – enough for one person is about $5 US. Feel like I have to buy it by the gallon!

One of the dangers in this work is that whatever I do word gets around. So when I provide treatment for scabies people tend to come out of the woodwork hoping for help with myriad medical problems because they cannot afford treatment. Then it’s a Solomon’s choice. Some you assist some you can’t. Some live some die. One falls asleep wondering if you could have done more.
The kids are now in school, though it’s unlikely to continue for long. Teachers are likely to strike soon. The annual inflation rate had passed, a conservative, five sextillion, or 5,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 percent. They gave the teachers $100 US last month but nothing more since. There are billion and trillion dollar notes on the ground in trash heaps as they are worthless. All goods are now sold in US or Rand.

Saturday is food delivery day. After they bring home the food they return and we play games, talk and laugh. Kids have a wonderful in the moment existence that is a cherished relief. This week they’ll each get:
10 exercise books, 2 pens, and 4 pencils
10 kg maize meal
2 litres cooking oil
Vegetables including butternut, tomatoes and cabbage (prices have tripled so sticking with the favorites)
2 kg sugar
2 kg of Beef
They continue to make dolls and are getting more and more innovative and creative. They really enjoy it. Collen, 16 years old, has become a real artist with his dolls. They are incredible.

I am due back to the states around the 12 May. So I am working hard to make sure the work continues while I’m away and putting things and people in place to that end.
My best to you all.
Dennis.

Carpe Diem.

Making a difference

There is a wonderful news segment that NBC nightly news with Brian Williams has been airing for the past week or so. The basic gist of the segments are what amazingly generous deeds many individuals and businesses are doing during these tough times. It is incredibly moving and inspiring.

If my blog, in any way, inspires or encourages anyone to trust and listen to their bodies and get the medical help they need then I am truly happy. If my trials, travails and tribulations inspire any of you to do whatever good you can do in this short life time, then again, I and the beneficiaries are eternally grateful.

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give".
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965).

Carpe Diem.