8 March 2012, Thursday

It’s been a pretty quiet day. It’s the Holi Festival here in India. It’s also called the color festival and they throw bright colored powder and water balloons and just have a great time. The powder is hard to remove and we thought it best to just stay in the hotel. I haven’t felt much like running a race anyway.

We did talk to some of the kids this morning. We are blessed with a good family and appreciate their care and concern at this time. I must admit it’s a little difficult being so far away at a time like this. Clay did tell us we should take advantage of our ‘extended stay’ and see some of the sights. I know we should. Today, I don’t feel up to it. Sounds like we will be here until mid week next week. We will see what happens. 

They really got Gene good

A Tika from the hotel staff

When they came to do up the room, we told them no need to do it today. They wanted to give us a tika before they left. How do we look?

7 March 2012

There’s no way to describe this day…..I can’t think of a word. Let me tell a little about it. First off, it’s Alison’s 38^th birthday. I remember so well the day she was born. It was before ultra sounds and all we knew was we were going to have a baby. After having four sons, perhaps you can imagine the thrill when the doctor said “it’s a girl!” She has been a delight and a huge blessing in our lives.  Especially now as we are so far from home. She takes care of a lot of things for us and we really appreciate it. It makes being gone, so much easier. Happy Birthday, Ali!

We had to be over to the doctor’s office at 6:45 am. They were waiting for us. They took me back in a room and had me put on a gown. Then the anesthesiologist came in and gave me something to relax me. He said I would just have a local. The procedure is called a Mastoidectomy. It was much more involved than we thought it would be. They had said the surgery should last about an hour and it ended up being about 2 – 2 ½ hours. They made an incision in the bone behind my ear. It sounded like they used a big grinder, a chisel and a drill. It was very loud and sometimes a little painful. I winced a couple of times and they gave me a little more sedative. The room spun a bit and I saw bright colors and fancy patterns. It certainly was a different experience. After, they wrapped my head almost turban style (after all, we are in India) and said I would need to keep that on for five days. As Gene and I talked about it later and even watched a You Tube video of those types of procedures, my description fit pretty well.

I was taken to another room for recovery. I was glad to see Gene and just hold his hand. I was a little teary. I guess missing family and being so far from home. Gene said he had talked to the doctor and he showed him a little of what they took out of my ear. There was chunks of stuff. They were going to send it for a pathology report. They kept me for quite a while. Sister Jackson then sent her driver over and they said I could go if I felt up to it. They said I would need to return to their office about 6:30 pm for another dose of antibiotics. I had an IV port inserted in my hand. We said we could come back.  I sat up on the bed and was a little unsteady, but thought I wanted to get back to the hotel. We did come back. I’ve spent the afternoon lying around.

I liked this sign in the doctor's office

 Gene did talk to Preveen Beesa. He’s a church member here and a travel agent the church uses. He changed our airplane tickets for a week from tomorrow and extended our days here at the hotel. He said when we were ready he could arrange some sight seeing for us.

Sister Jackson had given permission for Anil to come back and run us back over to the doctor’s for the other dose of antibiotics. They took us right in. The doctor said since tomorrow is Holi Festival, it would be too dangerous to return for the IV infusions tomorrow and gave us a prescription for antibiotics in a pill form. I’m glad about that. He told us he wanted us to come back to his office Friday evening about 5:30. We can do that.

6 March 2012, Tuesday

Sign in hospital where we got the CT scan.

I woke up about 6:40 and we got up and got ready. We had a quick bit to eat at the hotel. Pres. Jackson called and said Anil would pick us up and take us back to the doctor at 8:00 am. He did pick us up and we went to the clinic and then to the hospital where they were going to do the CT scan. We were way early as the hours are 9:30 – 4:00 to run those tests. So we had to wait quite a while but what else did we have to do? Finally we were able to get the scan done. It was a very modern machine.  The doctor did come to the hospital and he said that it looks like I still have a lot of fluid in my ear. He will talk to Pres. Jackson and still might have to do a procedure that would really clean my ear out. I should continue taking the medication he gave me yesterday.

These little auto rickshaws are all over the place

With the help of a guy standing on the street we caught an auto rickshaw and returned to the hotel. That was kind of fun. They are a little motorized vehicle, kind of like a two seater scooter. When we got back, we walked a block or so and arrived at the Mission Office. Sister Jackson was there as was Elder and Sister Capener from Perry, Utah. They have only been here for three weeks so they are still trying to get adjusted to everything. We had a nice visit with them. Sister Jackson looked to see if she had information of the Rempp’s. She didn’t have an arrival date for them in Kathmandu time. I told her I would send it to her.

Newly arrived from Perry, UT - Elder / Sister Capener

Sister Jackson did call Pres. Jackson and told him to call the doctor about the CT scan of my ear. He did and then we called the doctor. The doctor told us to come in this evening and we would discuss what to do next. We will talk to him and make a decision. We have one more day here and fly back to Nepal on Thursday.

Capener’s mentioned that there was a Subway not too far and when we said that sounded so good, they asked if we would like to go with them to lunch. We did! It was a few blocks away, but within walking distance. Just walking in the door was a treat. It smelled soooo good. And it tasted good! We had a nice visit with them. We found out that Jay Sorenson is her cousin. Small world. They are here doing member support here.

We back to see the doctor in the evening. There were two young men in white shirts and ties come in. One had on a missionary name tag. He’s on splits with a ward member. It was fun to chat with him a few minutes. He knows Elder Adhikari and Elder Pokrel both from the Kathmandu branch. I wish we had young Elders in Nepal. We pray for that day to come.

We finally got in to see the doctor. He had looked at the CT scan and said I needed surgery and that my condition was more serious that we had thought and he could do it in the morning. I asked if waiting till we got home in June was an option and he said he wouldn’t do that, he couldn’t say what the condition of my ear would be then or if there would be hearing damage. We told him we were fine to do the surgery. Gene asked him how much it would be and he said 1/10 of what it would be in the United States. We found that to be true.

He wanted us to go back to the hospital we were at this morning for a chest ex-ray and an ECG. We drove over there and they only do those between 9:30 and 4:30 – so it was back to the doctor’s office. We asked if we could just do the surgery without those two tests and of course, they say it’s for my protection. We hated the thoughts of delaying this any longer. I had said something to the doctor about our returning to Kathmandu on Thursday and he said ‘that’s not possible – you will have to stay at least 7 – 10 days.’ My gosh, I can’t believe it…We really didn’t come prepared to stay for an extended period.  We didn’t ask a lot of questions…knowing Pres. Jackson had talked with him about what to do. Knowing Pres. Jackson is a doctor/surgeon, we just put our faith and trust in him. Pres. Jackson said we had tried conservative measures long enough. Let’s get to the root of the problem. The surgery is called ‘ cortical mastoidectomy w/ myringotomy. We had never heard of this.

We did go to the other hospital where we had to wait quite a while but finally they did run the chest ex-ray and the ECG tests. For the most part, medicine in India seems okay. The doctor’s office was closed by the time we finished. We had kept the taxi driver waiting for us for 4 hours. His wait time and driving us over and back was total, about $22. Well worth it. Now, it’s time to get some sleep. We are supposed to be at the doctor’s office/clinic at 6:45 am.

 5 March 2012

We had a complimentary breakfast at the hotel. It was okay but I sure wouldn’t say it was great. We met Anil, the mission driver about 9:00 am and he took us all around to see the sights here in New Delhi. During the day he told us a bit about his life. He said his mom died when he was very small. Then his dad died when he was three or four months old. His grandparents were unable to take him. His father’s friends said they would take and raise him. He grew up in a family of five other brothers and a sister. When he was about 20 years old, his ‘father’ got very sick and was dying. At that time, he told Anil that he had been adopted. After that, Anil was very angry for awhile. He wanted to be a priest at one time. He went to the wedding of a good friend. The bride was there and the groom came in very drunk. Needless to say, there was no wedding. At that point, Anil, not really knowing the girl,  told her father he would marry his daughter, but he didn’t have a dowry. He said he worked hard to get a dowry and in about three months, was able to meet the father again and was married to his daughter. There was no courtship. Years later when his ‘adopted mom’ got sick and needed to stay with one of her children, she chose to move in with Anil. They now have one son and one daughter. He said he wondered for a long time which parents he would spend eternity with and asked President Jackson that question. Pres. Jackson told him, the parents who raised and loved him as their own would be his eternal parents.

A friend of his was introduced to the missionaries, but he wasn’t really interested. He introduced Anil to the missionaries and things clicked with him. He had been Hindu but was converted and baptized and the gospel answered so many of his questions. He wasn’t married at the time, and his wife wasn’t interested but after seeing the change in him, decided she wanted to know more. One day she told him, she wanted to be baptized. Their children had to reach the age of 8. They are so happy to have the gospel in their lives and he says ‘I Just Love It!’  What a wonderful guy!

Anil  drove us around Delhi. We saw lots of neat things and it was a fun interesting day. India is a lot different than Nepal. The places we were at were clean and manicured. It was nice.

At the India Gate

India Gate honors those who died in WWI

With Anil, our driver for the day

Lakshmi Narayan hindu temple

 

Many people selling things on the street

And they carry everything....

Some of the colored powder - lots of colors. . .

At the Spice Market

 

 

Early evening, we did go to the doctor. He said I still have some infection and fluid in my ear. He suctioned it out and gave me four different kinds of pills, some nasal spray and some ear drops. He asked if we would be in Delhi for 10 days and we told him no, we were scheduled to return to Nepal on Thursday. He said he would do his best to help me. He did say the dirty air in Nepal could be contributing to the problem, but he felt confident that my hearing could be restored. I hope so. We had gone to bed and at 10:30 Pres. Jackson called and said he had talked with the doctor. He told us to return to the doctor’s office at 8:00 in the morning for an exray…they might have to do a procedure.

4 March 2012

Boy, I’m glad this day is about over. It’s really been quite stressful for me. We woke up about 6:00 am and of course, there is no power. I decided I’d better get up and get my hair washed so it could dry. Rakesh picked up and we were off without incident arriving at the airport in good time.

The Airport in Kathmandu is another story. We checked in and went through security several times. Of course, security is mostly just a pat down. We never did take our shoes off – that’s okay. We followed people and went into a waiting area. There weren’t any signs saying which flights left from there or anything. We waited quite a while and finally Gene went to see if he could find out if we were in the right place. When he came back, he just shrugged his shoulders and said he thought so. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 10:40 am. We are getting close to departure and Gene again tries to find out if we are in the right place. By this time, I’m really getting nervous.

We finally hear the flight has been delayed and so we wait. About 12:00 we finally board. It seems like quite a while and then we back out on the tarmac. We sit there for a bit and then the captain comes on and says we have to return to the gate as there is a technical problem. So back we go. We wait and wait and they don’t tell us much. Finally, they tell us they are going to serve a meal. That told us we were still going to be awhile.

Finally about 2:00 pm, they back out again and this time, we are off. Thank goodness, we had an uneventful flight and arrived in New Delhi about 4:15. We were relieved to see Sister Jackson – and Pres. Jackson was outside. They were with the mission driver and they drove us to our hotel. It is located just about a block from the Mission Office. Pres. Jackson said tomorrow if we would like, the mission driver could drive us around to a few place and show us some of the sites. That was very nice of him. Jackson’s made sure we got checked.

We will see the doctor tomorrow afternoon about 5:00 pm. Then we will know what else we can do while we are here. It will depend on the course of action the doctor takes with my ear.

3 March 2012

I woke up and read my scriptures. I am reading  3 Nephi. I love reading about Christ’s appearance to the people of Nephi and his ministering to them.

After reading I turned on my IPod and there was a message from Nancy Meyer Griffin. She was writing to let us know her mom, Eloise, and that she had passed away. Eloise is a good friend and a few weeks ago she had a stroke and had been in the hospital in SLC since. A few days ago she had another stroke or a seizure and was put back in ICU. I’m feeling a bit sad. She along with friends Veda, Janel and Charlene and I were going to lunch every last Friday of the month. I had no idea that she wouldn’t be here when we go home. I love her and she was a great example to me.

We went to church and the meeting were great. Testimony meeting here in Nepal is always wonderful. The testimonies are great. Brother Guberton bore his testimony and it was all in Nepali but Pres. Bishnu told us a bit of what he shared: He drives a taxi and before he joined the church, he, like a lot of taxi drivers, manipulate the meter a bit so it charges more than it should. After he joined the church, he felt like that wasn’t an honest thing to do, so he turned his meter back – wanting to be honest in his dealings with his fellow men. Pres. Bishnu said that is what the gospel does….it changes us from the inside and helps us be better people.

After we had dinner, we checked the computer. There was an email from Hong Kong, with a security alert for Nepal – saying there were rallies to be held in various parts of Nepal beginning March 4. It didn’t say bandh’s or strike’s. I am a bit nervous and hope we can make it to the airport without incident. I will be glad to get back from India. Then we find out there is a big holiday in India on March 7^th. I asked Brother Patch about it and he said that day we would want to just hang out at our hotel. I’m wondering what our week is going to be like…

Gene also talked to Rakesh and he hadn’t heard about any strikes or bandh either so I guess we  are good to go tomorrow. Rakesh did call later in the evening and said he would be here to pick us up and take us to the airport about 7:45. I told him we could catch a taxi, but he said he would be happy to take us. What a great guy.

2 March 2012

This morning Deppongs with us and we went to visit Kalpana’s school. She is the woman who did the translation for us when Brown’s were here for wheelchair training. Her school  is the SERC School and is a Special School for Special Needs Children. There were children there with autism, ADD, ADDHD, physical, mental and all kinds of handicaps. Kalpana and her husband started the school a couple of years ago and now have about 25 students. They do have a good teacher / student ratio and they are doing a marvelous work with those children. We were impressed. They didn’t really ask us for any help. The help they are looking for is people to sponsor children – and that’s not what we do. We did enjoy the visit and it was good to see Kalpana again.

Kalpana and her husband

A little boy at the school greets us

Walking to another part of their school

Sajana and Maya came again this afternoon, hoping we could go to the cosmetology school and talk to the director there about them getting a refund. Of course, when they got here and called the school, the person we need to see wasn’t there. We told Sajana and Maya we were going to Delhi and ask if we could meet with them and Deppong’s tomorrow, perhaps Pres. Bishnu as well. I’m sure Deppong’s would go with them if they can arrange it – while we are in New Delhi.

Gene said Pres. Bishnu told him they were ready to hold the closing ceremony on the water project at Krishnapur on March 28. There are 1700 hygiene kits to distribute over there, so we will be busy getting them put together. That last week of March and the first couple of weeks in April will be very busy. I do like busy.