More Things To Do

it's 9:30 p.m. in the holy city of zefat. i just got back from visiting a neighbor.  i had borrowed a bottle of canola oil and a cup of salt recently, and i wanted to return them before i go to tel aviv.  she made a point of telling me that salt must be returned. i think it's a sephardi thing.  i remember that another sephardi neighbor told me once, the same thing about eggs.  i do try to return everything that i borrow, when i remember.  before rosh hashana,. i remembered that i still owed another sephardi neighbor 20 shekels for a cab . i went running over to repay her.  she didn't want to take the money.  i had to beg her to take the money so i could go into rosh hashana without debts.  i  guess that is another sephardi thing not taking money..

the weather was nice today so i ventured out to do some of my errands.  as soon as i got to the bus stop, i realized that i had left my cell phone at home.  buying a card for the phone was on the top of my list.  i also  forgot to take my denim skirt that needs a new zipper.  i debated whether i should return home or not, but i simply, didn't have the energy to run back home.

i had to concentrate and remember which bus stop to get off at.  my body still thinks it's going to the yeshiva to cook.  i walked up to the main post office to get the $ that my sister sent  me through western union.  i waited a very long time.  there weren't that many people there but each person was taking a long time.  i got the money and thought about going to the old age center to say hi but i still had so many things to do.  i went straight to the bank in town to get my new bank card.  i had chosen my parent's old address in brooklyn as my secret code.  they had already selected a code for me.  bummer!

i took the stairs and went down to the doctor's office.  there was no one there.  i thought i had a good chance of getting the prescriptions for the anti nausea meds in record time.  the doctor was on a break.  suddenly, a lady sat across from me and started coughing up a storm in my direction.  she didn't make an effort to cover her mouth either.  she told me how sick she was and i immediately,  jumped up from my chair and ran into the nurses' station in sheer panic.

i requested that the nurse bring the forms into the doctor while i wait in the nurses' room.  i figured that the really sick patients wouldn't come to see the  nurses.  i think i sat there for nearly 2 hours.  i could hear the woman coughing out in the corridor for a long time.  the nurse offered me a tea and i started crying.  i told her that i couldn't seem to get a handle on my feelings.  she suggested that i see the social worker.  that was actually, on my list of things to do.  i was going to 'crash' the social workers' office without an appointment.  the nurse went in ahead of me and the social worker refused to see one more patient.  i got an appointment for next week.

i then got 4 out of  5 prescriptions and went over to the pharmacy to buy them.  i have to wait until tomorrow to get the consent form for the 5th medicine.  that's the one that 'tricks ' your brain into not knowing that you're nauseous.  i hope i won't be forced to take this medicine before my chemo.  i don't want any part of it.  the pharmacy didn't have the 4th medicine.  he had to order it.  i thought about going to visit the yeshiva but i felt too weepy.  it was now 1:00 p.m. and i knew the stores would be closing until 4:00 p.m.

i decided to go home.  i felt i had done enough for today.  i was tired and feeling crampy.  i was also starving.       i had skipped breakfast.  i decided to go to my good pal's house for lunch.  sure enough, they were just sitting down to eat.  she quickly made up a plate for me.  she suddenly got up and went over to her state of the art keyboard and started giving me a concert.  she played and sang for 4 hours.  i ended up joining her for some oldies.  i felt like i was on a cruise ship.  i actually got up to dance for her disco finale.  i was so relaxed.  i didn't get to do laundry but i didn't care, either.   it never made it on to the 'list', anyway.

so tomorow, if the weather is nice, and i have some energy,  i will go to town again to complete more items on my list.  by the way, my granddaughter's virus hit everyone except for me.  thank goodness my immune system is still working.  i explained to my son, that during treatment, i will not be visiting the kids.  it breaks my heart but my immune system will be very compromised and i can't risk getting viruses.

i called the hostel yesterday and they can supply kosher mehaderan food for me.  i don't have to schlepp a pot and burner and worry about cooking warm food.  i tried to speak to the social worker from the hospital but she blew me off.  sound familiar??  not only didn't she return my phone message, she had a student call me.  it took me a while to realize that i wasn't talking to a professional.  i told the student that i wasn't her homework and that i did not appreciate being passed off to a student.  i asked her to pass on the message to the social worker.  the social worker did call me back but gave me a second of her time.  she was ever so soft spoken on the phone, and told me to feel free to call again.  i give up!

my homeopath feels certain that she can help me through the side effects.  i have been so utterly brainwashed by the doctors and nurses against alternative meds for the side effects, that i nearly refused her help.  hopefully, i 'll get to see her before i start the treatment.  i was an advocate for my parents for years.  we managed to bring homeopathic medicine into the ICU for dad.  we told the sephardi nurses it was blessed water from a sephardi tsadick.  they gave him the pneumonia medicine every day,  he actually, survived 2 bouts of a hospital bug before he died.  i have to stand up for zelda now.