Rain or Shine, Sri Lanka will always be our Home!

It’s been a loooooooong time since I sat to write, and a lot has happened since my last post. Way too much has happened that made me more lazy to write or was there too much to write about that it made me lazy and may be scared to write. It all started on a crazy day in October when my better-half and me had to pack our bags and get on jet plane to head to our wonderful North looking Southward island that we call home. On the way we had to do the stop over thing in that desert wonderland called Dubai where we usually stop for a bite (hot chips, the potato kind, never tasted better than when you have just got off a plane), a stretch of the legs and to checkout what others are buying at the duty-free shops that are never boring or lack of new trends that could make you or even break you (financially).  

It was great and we were happy to be home once again. Rain always has that magical touch, it bring things to life ( yes, I do agree that too much of it is a pain and a mess), but still when you are seeing it after a while it has a magical feeling and gives you goose bumps in the wrong places (like under your fingernails)! I opened my mouth a little too soon and spilled my thoughts out and “Su” our man Friday, almost had a heart attack trying think why on earth I was so happy that it was raining when all of Sri Lanka was almost under water as it had been raining for almost the whole of 2006. He was good enough to keep his thoughts on the subject to himself and only say that “you would not be so happy with this weather after a few days in Colombo”, how right he was, but still I must admit I enjoyed the cool weather although it was a bit of a hassle when I had to drag myself out of the house to go some place or when there was too much thunder & lightening and the electricity would fuse and we had to sit in the dark without the electric gab (TV) working. But Home is Home and rain or sun it’s good to be back in our little corner on this planet .  

But the main reason of our trip was still to be attended too. In the last couple of years I have been coming home more often since I need to visit my doctor more regularly. This time the visit was over due and  I  was  late by a couple of months for my usual biannual medical check-up. We were a bit worried about the out come of my preliminary test as all was not too well the last time I was here. {have you ever noticed that when you feel like something might go wrong it just does happen! Ya, ya, I know about Murphy’s law, but who expects that to happen? believe me, it just does happen and I am feeling guilty that we always expect the bad in every situ. Now (even at this greying age)  I am trying to instil the opposite, thinking only of the positive and making it happen}. I feel like I should congratulate myself and then hoot at some “Gamme Chandiya (village tug)” and get myself thrashed to bits as my preliminary test turned out all screwed up and as bad as could be. My Oncologist (May God Bless him and his team a Zillion times each day!) was very, very concerned and as usual (Point to remember : never expect to hear the worse in medical conditions) requested that I do a bone marrow test.{ Now, for those of you who do not know what a bone marrow test is, I would say that it’s a very, very, VERY PAINFUL procedure where a sample of  marrow is taken from within the bone. As far as I know it is done from the back of your hip and the chest.} I have done two previously at a gov. hospital and it was hell, I just screamed from start to finish as the procedure is done (behind a steel cabinet) with little (felt like it had even been diluted with tap water) local anaesthesia and was like being stabbed with a hand drill from the back. 

Thank GOD! I was relieved to hear that it could be done at a private hospital where they give you a strong anaesthetic that reduces the pain. However, once bitten twice scared, so I was ready to get it done but terrified to bits (this point will be certified by my better-half, God Bless her for all she goes through with me. My mother even would not tolerate this much). I am NOW (as it is over), happy to proclaim that the procedure at the private hospital was very, very, very less painful and more reassuring to me as a patient . The technician who carried out the test was a jewel of a man, he was so reassuring, calm and confident that it made me less tense although past experiences were still hitting me hard at the back of my mind. The procedure was long and lasted for about 45 minutes where he extracted 03 samples to be sure that we could get a good look at what exactly my marrow was doing to me (believe me, I like most people did not give a thought about any marrow in my bones until I was diagnosed with cancer. It’s like you do not think about the hose in your car engine until in breaks down or starts to leak, you just keep going on day after day, mile after mile). 

However, thank GOD the bone marrow samples show minimum disease activity, but as my blood reports do show some activity my Oncologist suggest that  we wait another six months and repeat the same test to see if there are any changes. But until then I am off the HOOK (or needle which is more like it) and have time to live life to the fullest as always.  

Regarding the Rain, oh, it was a pain finally, so many people were effected by it that the saying “too much of anything is good for nothing” came true. Su, won the day as he was so right to tell me that I would not like it after a few days experiencing this wet & messy weather. Now he reminds me that the mosquitoes are attacking and that I should came for a short stay to experience the soothing pain, the piercing hum and the involuntary blood donation while keeping a look out for the chicken called guniya and the rouge called dengue!