Resolution?

Dear Ones:

An immunologist in Israel has agreed to perform the stem cell transplant for Titi. How do you fancy Christmas in the Holy Land?

However, Titi has developed a hemorrhoid and the doctor here is concerned it may become a source of infection as his immune system becomes compromised. Titi's white blood cells, which deal with infection, have been crowded out by the cancer cells. It's important for him to be in a healthy condition for the transplant, so he has had a procedure to take care of the hemorrhoid. Now he's a real pain in the butt!

All he wants is his life back, he says. Lek says she wants him back the way he was. Nicky needs his father. Cancer has taken over their every conscious moment. Sleep is blessed oblivion. I don't tell them that things will never be the same again. If the transplant is successful, survival will be on a day-to-day basis. In effect, cancer becomes a time-marker. There is life Before Cancer, and then, life After Diagnosis. You wonder how much you can take without breaking, and it surprises you that you can still bend, even with all this weight.

On the continuing political crisis: the courts decided that the ruling People Power Party is guilty of electoral fraud and must be dissolved. That means Somchai Wongsawat is out of a job after 77 days as Prime Minister. His deputy is Acting PM. Still the country faces a leadership crisis. The next-in-line for the Prime Minister's post is not well-known for having iron-clad moral leadership skills. So far this year the country has gone through two prime ministers, is currently on its third, and about to get its fourth. I wonder if that qualifies as a Guinness world record?

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has announced it will now graciously depart from Government House and the two airports they have occupied. They have reached their objective, they say, even though it was a judicial "coup" of the pen that removed Somchai from office. It was an opportunity to save face, I suspect. A recent public opinion poll says most respondents think the PAD have "embarrassed the country." To understand this comment you have to realize that in Thailand a collective consciousness is valued. The actions of a few can have repercussions on social harmony. So it is important to balance how much boat-rocking you can do without actually inconveniencing the other people sitting in the same boat. It's not easy.

A lot of people were inconvenienced. They say 100 flights are leaving Suvarnabhumi each day to move 350,000 tourists stranded in Thailand. Taranee's flight home was cancelled just 3 days before the PAD announced they would withdraw from Suvarnabhumi. She immediately started looking at flights again. Incredibly, a seat that cost US$1,500 two weeks ago is now $4,300. Go figure. It looks doubtful Taranee will come home for the holidays.

At home, the nay chang is proceeding with the home improvements at a brisk pace. The repaved front yard looks pretty good. Today he installed a big new window to enclose the laundry area. I will still get plenty of sun out back but without having to contend with anything that flies, climbs, slithers, and crawls. I won't miss the tokays too much.

Walk good,

Jo Anne