Independence Day 2015

it is 8:30 a.m. in the holy city of zefat.  it is a cold and nasty day.  it keeps on raining a bit.  this is not your typical Independence Day weather.  what gives?  there are fewer flags outside this year, too.  my neighbor, who usually displays 50 or more flags, only put out 5 yesterday.  there are a few neighbors who didn't put out any this year.  what gives?  no flag wars this year.  was there some sort of meeting on the block?

I couldn't find my medium sized flag either.  I looked everywhere.  I remember washing it last year and putting it in the linens drawer or the pillow case drawer.  I searched every closet and tore it apart.  no flag, anywhere.  I was feeling so pressured.  I was imagining a lynch mob coming to the door.  I noticed that no one had put out their flags on Monday.  it was pretty strange.  by Tuesday it wasn't any better.  what was happening in this little village?

I went to the large supermarket and the pharmacy.  they weren't selling flags.  I ran across the street to the charcoal stand, no flags, either.  I was stuck without a flag.  I didn't want to go to town.  I was tired.  the kids came home from gan waving tiny plastic flags.  voila!  I seized the moment.  I taped these tiny flags onto my gate.  pretty sad.

my daughter-in-law was sick on Monday and ended up being hospitalized overnight the next day.  I woke up on Monday having a terrible nightmare about having to care for the little kids and my dead father too.  I didn't know when I woke up that the daughter-un-law was undergoing a head CT at that moment.  she had had a nasty migraine and ended up being dehydrated that evening.  I thought that she might need infusion but she went to bed after throwing up and no one came to tell me that she was still in pain.  she had done a 40 minute work out that very warm afternoon, migraine and all.  I didn't think that she was stroking out at 24 years old but I did think she needed medical assistance.

I've been watching the kids everyday and nearly every night,too.  I've been super tired and not sleeping well.  while I lay sleeping and dreaming, her mom came to take her to the clinic.  they sent her over to the hospital immediately.  apparently, the eye doctor 'saw' something in her eye.  thus, the head CT.  they supposedly did a series of tests.  she was released the next day with only the results of the blood workup, which were totally normal.  what isn't normal, is that they didn't give her a copy of the eye doctor's report.  she has to schlepp around and go back to the hospital to find these papers.

zefat hospital is a zoo.  they systematically lie to the patients to keep them in fear so they will agree to do all kinds of unnecessary tests.  they will dispense the wrong dosage of medicines and even give out medicines that the patients are allergic to.  their insane reasoning is that the patient is already in the hospital.  I kid you not.  you must always have a family member with you to advocate.   they  told me that I had cancer right after undergoing, what I thought, was a routine ultrasound. ultimately, they were correct but I hadn't had a CT or biopsy yet, and was completely alone in the hospital. they lied and said that I refused to do the CT.  they even lied about trying to do a biopsy.  the head of the department told me that I started to hemorrhage during 'said' bogus biopsy.

I was totally disgusted by the useless tests and head CT that the daughter-in-law underwent.  because she didn't respond immediately to the migraine meds she was rushed in for a head CT?  that doesn't make sense.  as a former migraine sufferer, I know that you can be ill for a few days at a time.  this doesn't constitute a brain tumor or brain bleed.  but I am not a doctor.  my neurosurgeon told me that any pain that doesn't respond to meds in a few days could constitute a bleed but they know for sure that I have a brain tumor.  when I think of the blatant misuse of the CT and the enormous amount of radiation, I see red.

the kids went on a day trip to Carmiel.  I didn't want to accompany them.  I have been working hard for the past few days catching up on the kids' laundry.  I wanted to get it all done and put away before the daughter-in-law came home from the hospital.  it was a herculean task.  it was weeks of dirty laundry and clean laundry strewn all over the place.  the daughter-in-law has been working out lately.  I guess after pesach she wanted to shed a few pounds.  I've had to take care of the kids from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. every night.  I've fed and bathed them and gone mad from them, too.

I'm just glad that the daughter-in-law is home.  I've had to take care of the little kids and their father for days.  after pesach I was burnt out and cooked out.  I didn't feel like doing anything.  I start my rounds of doctors visits and tests next month.  I will have a few days off from doing daycare while I go to the hospital in Tel Aviv.   oh well.....  we are having a barbecue later on this afternoon.  I ran out on Tuesday to buy frozen fries, rolls, marshmallows, wings, hamburgers, kabobs, and franks.  the daughter-in-law got steaks and drinks.  I'm not really up for a barbecue.  tomorrow is Shabbat again, and i'll be hard-pressed to make a few meals.  

epilogue:  it is now 9:00 p.m. and all the guests have finally left.  we started the barbecue at 5:00 p.m.  the wind and rain and cold made it very difficult.  almost all of the food was burnt.  the men were freezing downstairs manning the grill.  the clan came in the end.  we all worried that there wouldn't be enough food.  I had two chicken wings that were not done inside.  I ate way too much, as usual.  the men kept on grilling whatever was left downstairs.  what a shame and a waste of food.  it isn't like I can use it for Shabbat.  it's all really burnt. I came downstairs twice to ask them to put the cooked meats on the electric hot plate.  no one was really paying any attention.

everything was served cold.  yes, ice cold from the grill.  what a disaster.  the young mothers were too tired to do anything.  it was left up to me to make the chips and salads and set the table.  I scrambled all around schlepping up chairs and a small table to set the kids up.  everyone is more comfortable upstairs in my home.  I had to lock the dogs upstairs in the roof top apartment for hours.  I just let them downstairs and fed them leftover scraps.  they'll be eating franks and hamburgers for days.  all in all, it was not a fun independence day for me.  and now tomorrow is Shabbat and I begin my cooking again.   and of course, I have to wash the floors again after the barbecue.  oh well........