Maria continues not to sleep and is becoming more exhausted. I had a quiet morning tidying up the house.
We confirmed with Isaac mid-morning that we were able to meet with one of the oncology nurses @ 1:30pm. After the meeting the aim was to squeeze Maria for her radiotherapy so we didn’t have to return later in the evening.
While in the waiting area, our radio-oncologist walked past and asked Maria about her sleep and head pain. After a short chat she wandered off. It appears this generated conversation between her, the neurosurgeon and neuro-oncologist as we understand there may be some further medication alteration to address the issue.
While sitting there, Maria and I were pondering how many people are treated with radiotherapy on a daily basis at this hospital alone. There are six rooms here in the Cancer Centre (that we are aware of). Given the average turnaround is 10-15mins, you are looking at 24-36 patients per hour. That is a lot of cancer patients treated when you appreciate the amount of hours they operate each day!
We eventually got in to see the nurse (Mira), who was very nice. After speaking with us for some time, Mira spoke with staff to fit us in between other clients. Fortunately there is a room where Maria was able to lay down as the wait was much longer than expected.
After the treatment we went to our usual hangout, Aroma Café, as we hadn’t eaten since breakfast. For you Aussies out there, I’m sure you’d be interested to learn that two sandwiches, a coffee and a hot chocolate costs about AUD 30.00! I do all of my ordering and conversation in my very average Hebrew. I am well known now (frequent flyer), especially by one of the ladies because ‘Troy’ is a very unusual name in Israel. Even though we weren’t in the café long and had light traffic, we didn’t get home until after 6:00pm. The kids are coping okay with the multiple playdates, but are understandably a bit ratty from time-to-time.
As Pesach (Passover) is approaching, Maria will receive a radiotherapy treatment on Friday in lieu of a day next week.
Maria will have her first regular blood test on Thursday to check what effect the chemotherapy is having on her. We have Emla (Lidocaine and Prilocaine) cream to prepare her, given the bad experience on her last visit to the hospital. I’d be grateful if you could please pray that Maria is enveloped with a sense of peace and that whoever takes the blood is gentle on her.
