Chemo 11 (Round 8)

Aah, the sweet smell and taste of poison. Or was it……….?

Carpe Diem.

Scan results are in

All stable and no spread. Yee f*cking haa ole. The planing begins…………

Carpe Diem.

The dreaded scan day

Here is the routine for scan(s) day.

Get to the facility 7:45am after an expected lousy nights sleep. Paperwork and more paperwork. Then into a private room where they insert an IV line and check my blood sugar. After that I am injected with a radioactive marker and then asked to completely relax for 45 minutes. Not before I have to drink 2 huge glasses of liquid (usually Barium or something similar).

The PET part of my scans takes about 23 minutes of lying still. Then it’s on to the CT with IV contrast. That only takes about 5 minutes but they inject me with some kind of “contrast” fluid during the scan.

So now I’m hopped up on radioactive injection, Barium liquid and IV contrast. What a high……NOT.

Im out of there by 10am with strict instructions to drink a lot. Hmm, wonder if you could take that literally. I’ll have another Gin & Tonic Mr. Bartender.

Then, it’s hurry up and wait. I have my next treatment this Friday (tomorrow). That is when I will more than likely get the results. I could possibly even hear from my doctor today. The point being is the wait is sheer agony. In essence, waiting for the results one always hopes for the best but always lurking in the back of your mind is…….What if ?

Carpe Diem.

Yea, I know. A bit late !

Sorry if I drift in and out of present and past tense !

Zim trip March 2013

March 18^th:

I had a wonderful but brief visit with most of the Polskin family of NY. Thanks for the great company and the fantastic dinner. Also, thanks for the amazing amount of clothes you donated to Zimkids. I have already started giving some away. So many people will benefit thanks to you all.

The New York to Joburg flight was very long but I was as comfortable as you can be in Business class. The flight was delayed out of New York because of a mechanical problem. I thought that I would miss my connection to Victoria Falls but as it turns out I made it just fine. Robyn was on standby as my booking agent.

I managed to totally bamboozle the customs guy at Vic Falls Airport by giving him a small gift and taking my bags and "fleeing". Tinashe and Philip (from Zimkids) were there to pick me up and drive me to Bulawayo. 5 hours later, 2 tolls and 7 police checks we arrived in Bulawayo. Having received a speeding ticket (66kph in a 60kph zone) and a fine for having no radio license. TIA.

Loveness (the Solomon's housekeeper) made me sadza, nyama and chamoolia for my first night dinner. It was great. Silvi and Lee are well but after about 10 minutes of post dinner conversation we all went to bed. A quick shower and (ultimately) a 10 hour sleep for me. It was so great.

March 20^th :

Got up late after a well deserved long sleep. Thank you jet lag and chemo.

Happy Birthday Howard and thanks for hanging out with Bobba in Boca.

It seemed like the day went really quickly. I had a coffee and juice for breakfast, a guava yogurt for lunch and then Silvi and I went to the Cattleman's for a great filet steak dinner. Sadly we were the only customers that the restaurant had the whole night. Business seems so slow for everyone ! Lee was having a girl's night out and after dinner, Silvi and I crashed the party. We talked about nail files, mani pedis and general yenta stuff.

Things seem status quo in Bulawayo. The weather is sensational. The water situation seems worse. In any given week the water is shut off at least 4 out of 7 days. If you don't have a borehole you are sh*t out of luck. On the positive side, it seems that the electric power cuts are fewer. I don't want to jinx anything but we haven't had one yet.

More later..............

March 21^st :

Back to the old crap sleep routine. The sun is so bright in the morning and the weather is so pleasant how the hell are you supposed to sleep in. Ya, I know......drugs.

I did my Thursday morning visit to Savyon (retirement home) to have tea with the residents. I took the ingredients for Bread and Butter pudding with custard to the cook the day before and she made this especially for me. I had to share it with all the others ! Freeloading old rif-raf. I also met this lady who was 102 years old. Bloody hell. What an honor.

I had lunch with a friend who used to run the Hide in Hwange. Anyone wanna buy his share in the lodge ? And you think I'm kidding.

http://www.thehide.com

I dropped off the stuff I had for Dennis and Eli and it was good to see them again. Chickens wandering the garden, puppies running around. What a tough life ! They both are well.

Shnitzel dinner at the Sollies and then had to help Lee with her new iPhone. F*****ck. iPhone rookies - I hate them. Just kidding.

March 22^nd :

Something happened to "my" car (Silvi's Jeep). All of a sudden shit stopped working so I took it to the local mechanic. The guy can fix anything and he did. Some switches shorted out.

I did my donut purchase for the staff at Solomons. Got a few extra just in case. Had to try the cream filled one. Very nice. I'm still on a sugar high.

Lunch with Silvi at a little French bistro. Yes, A French Bistro and no, I'm not gay........not that there's anything wrong with that !

The back to the Batcave (Solomon's house) on Hall road to relax at the pool. It was short lived because Lee came home with a friend and well, there we go !. But how is this for something very weird. The friend's mother was diagnosed at the exact same time as me with the exact same cancer and died 4 months later. What the .........?

Went to Shul and as usual it was wonderful to be able to make up the Minyan. For all you heathens the service took about 20 minutes.

Then off to one of the biggest birthday bashes in Bulawayo. An ex school mates 60th. Booze, dames, food and more dames. It was actually fun. Shit, can Zimbos drink. Did I mention there were dames ?

Tomorrow is the Center bash. I'm pretty darn excited. I'm just a bit verklempt that non of my family are here with me.

I hope Bobba is mending well. Thanks for all doing your part to help her while I kuk around in Africa.

March 23^rd :

I had breakfast at Deja Vu and then did a couple of things. Then it was back to the Solomons to chill by the pool before heading out to the Zimkids Center.

Today was definitely one of the best days of my life. The naming of the Zimkids Center. I felt so proud, honored and emotional. The kids arranged such an amazing program. Pictures have been posted.

As a famous English lady once said: "I'm gobsmacked".

Sorry I couldn't talk longer to Bobba as I was driving to the Center. The police really freak out if they catch you driving and on the phone. But at least you can drive drunk ! Not really.

When I arrived at the Center Dennis was waiting at the gate. He had me wait just about a minute and then beckoned me in. As I turned in the gate all I saw were the kids lined up along all the pathways holding little hand made signs. I parked, got out and the whole scene was quite overwhelming. I was desperately trying to keep my emotions in check while I walked along the path to the courtyard. It was really difficult (gulp) as I read the signs and looked at the kids holding them.

I was led to the performance gazebo where there were lots of other kids waiting and was seated in a chair of honor. All the while, I was escorted by a "Zulu Warrior" who was chanting, dancing and singing in Ndebele. I finally realized that the Zulu Warrior was Shaka our Art and Garden teacher. I was joined by a number of my Bulawayo friends who were in the audience.

Different age groups of kids all did various dances and performances. One of the most touching was when a really young group spelled my name and announced what each letter stood for. I was presented with a couple of gifts from the kids. One was a doll of me - probably a little too life like. The other was a book with an art cover front and back and multiple pages of comments from all the kids. Also a large poster sized hand painted picture of an African scene. I then spoke a bit  and thanked so many different people for a wonderful event. Not least of which was Dennis.

We then all moved to the courtyard where we unveiled the carved stone (boulder) where the inscription reads "Zimkids - In Honor of Adrian Suskin - Simunye". The meaning of simunye is Ndebele for together. Pictures posted.

Then it was party time. Everyone lined up washed their hands and got a piece of carrot cake and some mazoe orange juice. Chef Gaboury was responsible for some of the most awesome carrot cake I have tasted. Not easy to bake for about a 100 people ! No sooner had the cake gone down, the dancing started. This is where I discovered a few things. Firstly, I need to raise funds for a defibrillator. Just in case and yes, for me. Secondly, don't try and keep up with the kids. I'm not the prime physical specimen I used to be. I can hear Rob and Mike chuckling already.

I finally left the Center exhausted and emotionally drained. I will remember this day well beyond my "Best Before" date runs out.

That evening the Solomons, the Sommers and I went for an Italian dinner at the restaurant that was formerly Maxi's. It wasn't too bad but was missing the personality and company of Maxi.

March 24^th :

After a bit of a Sunday morning sleep in, I went on my own to Chipingali Wildlife Sanctuary. After the previous day's event, I needed some alone time and could not think of a better place to hang out. Viv Wilson passed away a while ago and the animal orphanage is now run by his son Kevin and Kevin's wife Vicki. It's not in pristine shape but they still do wonderful work with injured and orphaned animals.

On the way home I was dying for a meat pie so I texted Silvi to meet me for a pie or two. Next thing I get a text back saying come home the meat pies are waiting. Yummy. In the afternoon Silvi and I took the Rabbi and Cantor on a Jewish tour of Bulawayo. No, it wasn't visiting every deli in Bulawayo ! We showed them the cemetery, the old burned down shul, Carmel school etc. The reason the Rabbi/Moyel was in town was to perform a Bris on Monday morning. The Cantor was in town to help with Pesach.

That evening the Solomons and I ordered take out Shnitzel rolls and chips from Bon Journee

March 25^th :

Monday morning was the first bris in Bulawayo for over 15 years. This community is so used to funeral after funeral that it was fantastic to finally have a joyous celebration. Afterwards I went out to the Center to give them the donated clothing and to hang out for a while. I also had gifts for a few of the people there. There was a representative from The Discovery Channel that was also at the Center. We may become part of their teaching program. I spent a bit of time with the "new" young kids. So sweet. Among them were a Mike and a Michael. Such a common name :-)

That evening we had first night Pesach (Passover) at the Sommers with about 25 people in total. What chaos, but it was really nice.It was so difficult to do the service as we were using about seven different Hagadah's. The dinner and company were great.

March 26^th :

Tuesday was Shul, shul and a bit more shul. Over these past few days I have been to so many shul services. But you know what ? It's always my pleasure to help them out with a minyan. Lots of running around doing all sorts of things.I took Opah and her 2 grandkids for ice-cream at Eskimo Hut. Yes, it's still going. Second night Pesach was at the Feldmans but with a much smaller crowd.

March 27^th :

Wednesday was also spent running around looking busy. The weather has been amazing. 80 (25) during the day and 60 (15) at night. The mosquitos haven't been too bad. I don't think they like chemo blood too much.

March 28^th :

Thursday I..................never mind. I just woke up. Hasn't happened yet !

I went to see the new Spar supermarket in Kumalo (Kumalo North). For those in the know it's near the church close to 10 Burnham Road. It was very clean and bright but seemed quite pricey. They were even selling live lobster ! For who ???

I picked up a whole bunch of books from the Shul to take to Zimkids. I'm not quite sure why these books were at the Shul but they should be very useful for the Center library. It included a lot of different grade teaching books. I decided to get some "Shul credits" so I invited the visiting Cantor to come out to the Center with me and deliver the books. For those that don't know about "Shul credits", they allow you to skip services at your time and leisure :-) The Cantor was very impressed with the Center.

In the evening I treated Dennis, Eli and Philip to dinner at 26 Park. They gave me a CD of the pictures that our photographer took at the Center dedication. There are some amazing wonderful pictures that have already been shared with you.

March 29^th :

Yes, it's true. On Friday I did simply nothing. Spent lunchtime at the Laskers in Burnside. Friday evening shul and then a bunch of us went out for Shabbat dinner.

March 30^th :

I have also spent so much time on trying to restore Lee Solomon's new iPhone 4S that I brought her from the USA. It is impossible to download the needed updates (restoration) files here. So the message to you all is enjoy your FAST internet and quit whining !

OK, so Saturday morning I went to shul and got a double aliyah. It's quite a mitzvah so I was truly honored. They always do a blessing for me and my health so I asked them to do one for the Boblitz for a speedy recovery.

Silvi, Lee, a friend of Lee's and I went to Matopos. It's still a really peaceful and magical place. We hiked up to Cecil's grave and I was able to not have a coronary on the way up. I wish I had taken my inhaler. I always laugh when I look out to the east and picture my nephews (on a past trip) with their pants down facing the beautiful panorama. Ahh the memories. Do you remember the resurrection weed ? It grew all over Matopos. I have no idea what the real name is but it looks like bone dry sticks until they get a bit of water. Then they bloom green. I brought some back to Bulawayo and put it in water over night.

We came back into town and went for Indian food. Almost burnt my sphincter off ! But we did have nan (Indian matzo) bread.

March 31^st :

Well it's Sunday morning and the resurrection weed is in full green bloom. Simply amazing. Today was also my last full day in Bulawayo.

April 1^st :

I took the Pathfinder bus service to Vic Falls. Not too bad. Reasonably comfortable, fairly priced but a bit longer than a normal car drive.

It's always so nice checking in to The Victoria Falls Hotel. They treat me so well and I'm usually given very comfortable suites to stay in.

April 2^nd :

A day in Botswana cruising the Chobe river and driving through a part of the Chobe game reserve. Fantastic.

Dinner at Mama Africa with a few friends that were also at the Falls. Nice dinner and good company. On the way back to the hotel I had to dodge a 10 ft African Rock Python crossing the road and could not pass up the lure of the casino at the Kingdom Hotel. In a space of 4 minutes I made US$110, cashed out and continued on to my Hotel. Keep in mind, things at this part of the town of Vic Falls are very close together.

April 3^rd :

USA bound. Til next time..............chemo awaits !

Carpe Diem.

That was a first

On my passport application:

Hair color - Grey

Carpe Diem.

Chemo 10 (Round 8)

Three weeks already ?

Links to my pictures

Zimkids Center dedication March 2013

Zimkids Center young ones March 2013

Matopos, Zimbabwe March 2013

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe April 2013

Chobe, Botswana April 2013 

Carpe Diem.

I dunno what it was

Well, this week has been pretty tough. A week ago Friday I had my chemo poisoning. I was also given a vitamin B12 shot. Incase you were wondering, B12 is supposed to give you energy. The next day I went for my second Hepatitis B shot (for travel).

For the past week I have been completely buggered. Sleeping more than usual and just being very tired with a bit of nausea thrown in for good measure. I guess mix that with a bit of jet lag and a mental deflation after leaving Zimbabwe and bingo………this is what you get.

My next chemo is April 26th and I will discuss it with my Doc. My next scan is also due at the end of April. Oh joy !

Carpe Diem.

Thanks Al “Fishticles” Goldstein

IPA Foundation: ‘Adrian Suskin

Center for Zimkids’ Dedicated

Built by Orphans, Run by Orphans & Benefiting

Orphans in Zimbabwe

BY ALLAN GOLDSTEIN

ANC 747-400 CAPT.

“Flying with Adrian Suskin, was something I looked forward

to. He was a great stick and a cool, competent, aircraft commander with

a great sense of offbeat, Monty Python-style humor. I think everyone he flew with

got a nickname and felt good. Now he has managed to overcome adversity in his

own life by blessing others. You are an inspiration to many, Ade. I am proud and

honored to have you as a friend.” Liam Lang 757/767 F/O SDF

It was with a profound sense of horror and loss that Adrian was forced to give up

flying when he was diagnosed with Stage Four Lung Cancer in March 2008. After radical,

aggressive radiation and chemotherapy, the spread of the cancer was halted and

contained with a steady regimen of chemotherapy.

After his initial battle with the disease, Adrian took a few weeks off to visit Bulawayo,

Zimbabwe, the city and country of his birth. With the loss of his career and

the near loss of his life, he was confused, depressed and in search of his fundamental

roots. The continent of Africa still holds a part of his heart and soul. During one of the

most trying moments of his treatment, Adrian realized, “I grew up in Zimbabwe. I was

educated and had a great life there. What can I do for Zimbabwe?”

While visiting Zimbabwe, he met Dennis Gaboury, an American, who has been saving,

living and working with orphans in Bulawayo since 2005. A sculptor, Dennis, has

a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education and a Masters degree in Business Administration.

Dennis talked to Adrian about the orphan project.

Zimbabwe has been reduced to one of the poorest countries on earth. Compounding

their desperate circumstances, today, 25 percent of the 12-million people living

in Zimbabwe have AIDS. Thousands of innocent children in Zimbabwe have been

made orphans by the ravages of poverty and disease.

When Dennis first began working with AIDS orphans, he operated out of a single

classroom in a school located in one of the poorest areas of Bulawayo. This meager

setting was all they had for the first three years of operation. Dennis tried working with

different NGOs and aid groups, but a lot of the money they donated was being siphoned

off by administrative fees or government corruption.

As Dennis recalls, “By 2009, we were serving 65 children and their caretakers with

an annual budget of $12,000, which we raised from the toys and dolls that the children made and sold. We met on weekends and engaged the kids in activities such as

chess, soccer, performing and singing. Our activities

were run by our newly formed, Council of Elders

(our 15-18 year olds). We also tried to

distribute monthly food baskets to the children and

their caregivers. Then Adrian Suskin swooped in

from America and became our tailwind.”

“From the first minute, Adrian seemed like a lifelong

friend,” Tinashe Basa, remembers.

Basa began as a 17-year-old volunteer and is

now the Director of Zimkids.

“He took our Elders to the local Chinese restaurant

as thanks for their work, joined in with the dancing,

and made friends with the younger children. We

knew he cared about us.”

Instead of wallowing in self-pity, Adrian decided

to help people far worse off than he. He learned what

was needed at Zimkids, joined the Board of Trustees,

and got to work raising money for the hungry and in

some cases, sick young children. Adrian returned to

Baltimore, with a new sense of purpose and mission.

He started by donating his own money and time to

Zimkids and then took his plea to his friends and

caretakers. Every three weeks, when Adrian got

“poisoned” (as he refers to chemotherapy), he approached

doctors, nurses and hospital administrators

asking them for unwanted medical supplies and

drugs so desperately needed in Zimbabwe.

He devised ingenious ways to get these supplies

directly into Bulawayo clinics while avoiding corrupt

officials. He called UPS, FedEx and any freight

forwarder who could help him get this valuable

cargo to the dedicated doctors still working in underfunded

and overwhelmed hospitals. He worked tirelessly,

despite the nauseous exhaustion induced by

his chemotherapy regimen.

Then he approached the IPA Foundation and requested

that the IPA Foundation Trustees consider

Zimkids as a grant recipient. One of the four

trustees, Captain Gary Eady, wrote quoting the IPA

Foundation Mission Statement: “The IPA Foundation

is dedicated to providing for the well-being of

children and their basic needs, with a focus on making

life changing differences for children with exceptional

medical requirements. Grant requests that

match the mission statement and are 5013C non

profit organizations are well received by the Foundation

in awarding grants. In addition, if the request

is submitted by an IPA Foundation Member who is

actively involved in the organization that will benefit

from the grant, by investing their time, talent and

money; further consideration will be considered for

that request.”

“Adrian has been a longtime supporter of the IPA

Foundation. Even though he is battling a life threatening

illness, he finds the time and energy to serve as

a Trustee with Zimkids and travels to Africa as often

as he can to oversee projects at the facility. Adrian

exemplifies charity, caring and giving. The situation

in Zimbabwe is dire. The IPA Foundation is glad to

be able to make a positive impact where

it is so very much needed. Thank you

Adrian, for doing all that you do. We at

the Foundation are pleased and proud to

help Zimkids.”

Zimkids Founder, Dennis Gaboury, continues:

“As Zimkids grew to 160 orphans, the

primary school could no longer contain

it. We applied for land from the

City Council and were awarded 2.5

acres. A wonderful, young, architect drew

up plans for a campus with a

computer center, office space, clinic,

kitchen, resource center and market garden.

We had no money to build, but we had a

dream,” says Gaboury.

“Then Adrian landed with a group of friends and

relatives and a grant from the IPA Foundation. The

next thing we knew, our building fund was brimming.”

This can be seen on the mural on the wall constructed

around the campus. It boasts a jet proudly

decorated in an IPA paint scheme.

“The building project was a great opportunity to

train older orphans who’d just finished school and were

willing to learn about construction. Thus began a Vocational

Training Program. We dug trenches, mixed concrete,

laid block, plastered, sawed, roofed, electrified,

welded, painted and planted. The electrical grid in Zimbabwe

is unreliable, and antiquated, but thanks to the

IPA, we are completely solar powered. Two of our

students were trained and then installed all the solar

panels, equipment and electrical wiring throughout

the center. IPA grants also enabled the purchase of

laptop computers for use by all our orphans.”

By opening day, the Adrian Suskin Center

for Zimkids, built by orphans, run by orphans, benefiting

orphans - offered a range of vocational and

educational programs that, according to U.S. Ambassador

Wharton, “should be a model for real orphan

empowerment throughout Africa.”

Every skill learned offers these students a critical

advantage in a country suffering 90% unemployment.

On March 23, 2013 the Center was officially dedicated

in honor of Adrian with a full afternoon of

dancing, singing and skits organized entirely by the

orphans.

“It was wonderful to watch the emotion in Adrian’s

face,” says Tinashe Basa.

“He’s done so much for us, and everyone was so

glad to have a chance to thank him.” The Carved

Rock honoring the naming of the Campus after

Adrian says “Simunye,” in Ndebele, that means “Together.”

Today, according to Dennis, Zimkids serves

nearly 200 children, ages 3 to 17.

“We no longer give monthly food distributions.

Instead we raise our own food in the greenhouse provided

by a grant from the U.S. Embassy. We now

have dreams of a chicken and egg project. Donated

sewing machines form the basis of a sewing program

that hopefully will become a business in which we

make school uniforms. Our ‘Girl Welding’ project is

manufacturing burglar bars and provides creative

outlets for aspiring artists. 70% of Zimkids recently

passed their ‘High School Leavers’ exam when the

national average was 18%. We want to raise those results

to 90% in the future.”

Dennis adds, “We want to train our kids in all

areas of business operation, management, budgeting

and planning so they can build their lives. We are

replacing sad memories with happy ones—memories

of making that first cut with a circular saw, that first

A on a test, that first payment for work well

done. Our kids now have memories of a childhood

full of smiles, hugs and peer encouragement. They

also know that getting is not as important as giving;

that freedom lies in ability and applied skill, and that

love is best expressed by teaching others the tools

that lead to a life of worth.”

Many pilots at UPS have wondered what kept

Adrian busy these past five years. Many pilots have

wondered about the impact the IPA Foundation has

on children in need in the U.S. and around the world.

Ours is a global company, our philanthropy has

global consequences. For those interested in learning

more about the Zimkids story, please access

their site at www.Zimkids.com, or check out their

Facebook page at www.facebook.com/zimkids.

For those of you who are not yet a part of the IPA

Foundation, but want a convenient and effective way

to express your sense of altruism, please contact the

Foundation through their link on the IPA website:

http://inside.ipapilot.org/committee/foundation/default.asp.

Carpe Diem.

Pictures galore

Lots of pictures posted on my Facebook.

Carpe Diem.