Waiting

Dear Ones:

It's now confirmed that Titi's particular leukemia is what we feared; that untreatable mutation his doctor warned us about. His only recourse is a stem cell transplant. Though no one in Thailand has ever done a stem cell transplant of this type, Titi is willing to try it. He has refused to go to the States where he says, he will only be a number to the doctors there. So he has asked his cousin, a doctor at Ramathibodhi Hospital, and his classmate, the head of the hospital, to help put together a team of specialists. His hematologist found a donor in Taiwan so we are waiting for everything to be assembled. Meanwhile, Titi is getting weaker and he is fighting an infection.

Since I last wrote, there have been many thoughtful messages from family and friends who offered their support. Some of that support has even come from strangers and we are immensely grateful for their kindnesses. One such kindness was from a woman who is undergoing CML treatment herself. She offered to send Titi a supply of Gleevec (imatinib), because it worked so well for her. I was very touched by her offer of help but unfortunately, Titi's CML is Gleevec resistant.

It is peculiar how I feel; both abandoned and excluded. Abandoned, because medicine can do nothing more than offer a distant hope. The doctors leave us alone for other patients they can help. Excluded, because Titi is not a member of that select group of lucky survivors who can put cancer behind them. Curing cancer is such an uncertain business, and there are no guarantees.

Meanwhile, the political circus has reached new heights of brazen behavior. As you've no doubt heard on the news, the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has occupied Suvarnabhumi Airport, halting all flights in and out of the country. Our school principal went to the Philippines for a conference on Monday. She cannot get back in the country. Two Canadian friends who are visiting Thailand are in a similar predicament; they cannot leave. The Malaysians from Proton who came to Bangkok for the Motor Show are also stranded.

I can't say when the situation will be resolved. Everyone is waiting. On Wednesday November 26 the army chief publicly advised the Prime Minister to dissolve parliament and to call for new elections. He insisted that there won't be a coup. He even suggested the PAD remove themselves from the buildings they have occupied. Since August they have staged a sit-in at Government House and they have also taken over Don Muang, the domestic airport. However, the PM says he is staying put, and the PAD says they're not moving, no how, no way. In the face of such pigheadedness, I am trying to decide which is the larger principle at work here; trying to best serve the country or their own interests.

Walk good,

Jo Anne