Hello everyone:
I am writing for Alice this time as she is has had a rough week which seems to be getting better slowly. I am taking her instructions from her on what to say here but I am sure that I am going to write things she does not want me to.
First about her week. Alice had the second of her RA infusion on Monday (Jan 3) but the flare up of symptoms continued. Apparently this drug takes about 4 to 6 weeks to become effective. It is a good thing that she does not have to have the infusion every 6 weeks. She then had some tummy problems and had to go to the hospital to get a thorough checkout. I wanted to get this done as I was worried that going on a long trip without knowing something about her overall general health would be too stressful for her and more so for me as a consequence. As it turns out, there is nothing life threatening about any of her vital organs based on CT scans but they still could not determine what was causing the tummy problems. So, we are going with the assumption that all the medication she has been on for RA flare up and the infusion are wreaking havoc with her digestive processes and the problem has to work itself out in due time. Alice has to have another lab work done tomorrow per her oncologist, but we hope that she would not throw a wrench in our travel plans.
Before all this happened, Alice was going to write another post on our India trip from 1980, but her fingers and wrists are in bad shape due to RA and she will not be posting any items until she is a lot better. That is why I got the job.
So we are getting ready for our trip and we are busy crossing out the items on MY checklist (Alice hates checklists). We have arranged for a house sitter to mind things while we are gone. The paper delivery has been stopped and I will get the post office to hold our mail. I will let the local police know about our trip so that they can keep an eye on our house (one of the benefits of being on the community council?).
In spite of these last minute wrinkles, we are looking forward to leaving next week. We will spend a couple of days in New York with our daughter No 2 before heading off to Delhi. If either one of us can write one or two short posts during our trip, we will certainly do so. We will still be able to access our e-mail and stuff but not on a daily basis.
I am sure that Alice will be thinking about all of you.
Hubby
My Wintersong 
How is Alice now? We are worried. You should not compel her to take risk.Of course, this is not to discourage you in any way. Wish you the best of journey if both of you feel that a change would do her health and spirits good. We would be very happy to receive you at Nagpur. Nagarajan and Sarathi
We got the results of her blood work this morning and everything looked good and the oncologist has given her blessing for us to go on our trip. We are still getting advice from Alice’s rheumatologist to deal with her RA symptoms.
Alice and I are greatly looking forward to our trip to visit you in Nagpur and to other places in India. I hope we get to go to Sangam Chawl area (what is left of it) for her to see where my childhood was spent. There was never a question of Alice taking risks. Canceling our trip last year was hard on her and she does not want to cancel out again. if everything goes right we should see you both on feb 3.
p
I’ll be thinking about you both and hoping for good health while traveling so that there will be a lot to write about when you return. Safe and fun travels.
Thanks.
H
Dear Alice and Hubby: We are pleased that you are about to be on your way. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. We hope and wish that the trip exceeds all of your expectations. It will! We do have a notion of how great an attraction this trip might be. We served long ago in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). We were there assisting with the establishment of a graduate school at the University of Dacca. While there we traveled to India on one brief occasion. Best wishes, Love, Larry and Corinne.
Dear Hubby…..thanks so much for taking the time to let us know how you both are. I’ve been worried about her knowing she wanted to post about her last trip before leaving on this one. I’m so sorry her RA flared up and the treatments affected her tummy. Please tell her we will be with her in spirit, and are looking forward to her travel-log on your return.
Hugs from here……
Thanks Mage.
H
I am so sorry to hear about the RA setback with Alice! Fingers are crossed that by the time you guys leave next week she’ll be much better!
I was wondering what your flight route was….how nice you’ll be in NY for a few days to visit with your daughter. And then I take it it’ll be a non-stop flight to Delhi? Having never been to India (and having recently read a few books with that as a locale) it’s sounds so exotic and exciting!
So a huge Bon Voyage to both of you! Will look forward to photos and any info while you’re gone. Most of all…..just have fun and enjoy the moments and memories you’re building. Love and hugs to Alice!
Thanks Terri. Yes, we have a direct non-stop flight to Delhi. It takes about 15 hours. I plan on eating a lot and drinking a lot on flight. I think that the drinks are free and having a foggy head helps me deal with the crying children that are the Ubiquitous part of flights to India.
H
Feel better!!!
Hope the trip is wonderful.
Thanks. we hope to have an exciting trip. H
Have a wonderful time. Would a small recorder be helpful for note taking? Thinking of you & ‘H’ and be well.
love sue
I hope you have a lovely and stress-free trip and many, many stories upon your return!
Prayers for you both. If nausea is part of the stomach upset, a friend on a chemo cocktail of four powerful drugs discovered Queasy Pops, ordered online at http://www.threelollies.com/. Not sure if the RA infusion would react the same way, but these really helped with nausea and the burning taste she experienced in chemo and in radiation. May your trip be wonderful!