Tests showed that Andy's DNA is in Titi's bone marrow. The engraftment is a success but not stable, according to the doctors. So Andy flew out to Tel Aviv on Thursday night to donate a booster dose of stem cells and bone marrow. Titi has started to lose his hair and has begun to look very much like his old man, a resemblance none of us had noticed before!
Before going to the airport, we stopped at Mama's house to pick up a care package for Titi and Lek. A 35 kg care package, in fact. When I saw it I knew we had to do some serious sorting and packing. Mimi and Nu, Lek's sister helped. Luckily I have had 15 years' experience in Canada packing life's essentials for Thailand, including a bicycle for AJ, complete with training wheels. So I could understand the thought behind the care package; these are essentials from home without which life would be so unlivable. But even I was taken aback at the size of this thing; this was a severe case of homesickness combined with Asian pack-rat mentality. Starting with goose from Andy's favorite chicken rice shop, there was an electric hot water kettle (no Chinese-Thai home could manage without one), Essence liquid laundry soap, Darlie toothpaste, Sara Lee frozen pound cake, Oishi gyoza dumplings, chrysanthemum tea crystals, powdered Ovaltine and Milo, Coffee Mate packets, fried pork, white pepper powder, assorted condiments, assorted snacks, and dried noodles. Rounding off the contents were four fresh limes and honey--for Titi's sore throat. I guess you can't get limes and honey in Israel either.
I managed to whittle down the contents of the Care Package to just over 20 kg. In Andy's own bag were silk purses for the nurses and ear-loop surgical masks for Lek (she hated the tie-behind type in Israel). Altogether, Andy's total check-in luggage weight was 30 kg. Flying El Al coach he could not exceed 20 kg, said YJ, who had checked the internet. Andy took pity on Titi and Lek, who he was beginning to imagine, were starving and under siege in the Promised Land, and decided, I'll pay the overweight. Whereupon, Nu promptly stuffed three more tubes of Darlie toothpaste into Andy's bag. In for a penny, in for a pound. I like her thinking.
I said goodbye to Andy at the curb at Suvarnabhumi airport and left him to do battle with the dragons at El Al ticket counter. It's better if I don't watch. I can't stand to see grown men succumb to the discreet charm of Andy Wang. El Al as you know, is the most security conscious airline in the world. What is equally well known, is its maddening propensity to stick to the rules; that is, ignore wheedling, pleading Thai with overweight bags. As he had arrived early, Andy was first at the check-in. He met a balding Israeli ticket agent who observed, you've got a brother in hospital in Israel, don't you? He did it to throw Andy off, I think, but Andy is reckless. In other words, he has chutzpah. He shot back, how did you know? Are you Mossad? The man laughed, but he didn't confirm or deny it. Andy suggested, give me a break, okay? Except for being forced to check-in the infamous electric kettle, he didn't have to pay a single baht on three pieces of checked luggage.
I was nearly home from the airport when Mimi called me on my cell. She said Lek called from Tel Aviv to say that P'Andy doesn't have to bring the surgical masks. I laughed. The combined weight of three packets of paper masks is negligible. Forget it, I said, he's gone. It's typical of Lek, though. She will sacrifice her own comfort instead of Titi's. It's not mere heroism because this is something women do routinely.
There's more good news. Titi might not need Andy after all. Since the doctors stopped Titi's meds, his blood counts have shot up. It's infuriating but they might have waited before sending for Andy. On his doctor's advice, Titi called Andy at one a.m. on Tuesday and his immunologist followed up with an e-mail filled with so much gravitas and concern, Andy changed his reservation at once. His original plan was to fly out on the 11th. Of course, he's filled with hope for Titi, but it's not fair to make him drop everything to fly out there. That's power. No wonder doctors think they are God.
With Andy out of the way, I am enjoying wearing my grass widow's weeds. Up to a point. I usually enjoy my solitude and privacy (the bed all to myself, no golf on tv) for about 4 days before I start to miss him. Meanwhile, I am driving to school Andy's big silver gas-guzzling CR-V (he got a new Proton to drive) because my little Jazz is in the shop. I was rammed last week Wednesday afternoon by a pick-up truck that then took off without stopping. Andy and I spent three hours in two police stations because Phra Khanong said that though we live in their district the accident happened in Prawet. The desk sergeant obligingly filled out a police report, fussily putting two sheets of carbon paper between the pages of a ledger and recording the details of the accident. I did have the presence of mind to write down the license number. Then we took a copy of the report and went to the other police district where the same thing happened. It finally dawned on me that with a manual system to record accidents, the chances of them finding the guy who hit me are nil. The whole thing is Thai psychology at work. It's to make me feel I did something right and to make the policeman feel he's doing his job helping me.
Well, that's all, folks.
Walk good,
Jo Anne
