TWO CAR WRECKS IN ONE DAY.......OH PLEASE!

RICHSHAW PARKING LOT ON THE ROAD WAY TO CHEMBUR, MUMBAI

OPEN MARKET COCONUT SALESMAN
BACK OF A TRUCK HAULING FUEL IN DOWNTOWN CHEMBUR
MAN IN THE BACK OF TRUCK HAULING A LOAD OF BANANAS TO MARKET

MY VIEW OF TRAFFIC IN CHEMBUR, MUMBAI

Today I found out what I was made out of. This has to have been the hardest of all our days here. It was Laser surgery day for Debra’s eyes. We have packed a lot into this trip! Everyday is a adventure into the unknown. To get our day started I got up to talk to Rollie Bear on Skype. We had a nice visit with him it’s good to hear his voice from home. Then we had to get up and get moving. The appointment was for 10:45 but traffic was dragging and we didn’t get there on time. There was heavy rain and high winds. We had two wrecks on the way. Not one but two. One was a light tap on the fender of the guy in front of us which lead to him jumping out of his car and yelling at our driver. He took a good look and decided he would let it pass but not without a few harsh words and hand gestures. Our driver was all of 20 maybe. He was sent by the eye hospital and not our regular escort. Then as we come into the Chembur area it was like playing bumper cars at an amusement park but trust me we were not amused. Huge trucks along with tiny cars, rickshaws, bicycles, vans, delivery trucks all fighting for a small space on the road way. It was rainy, windy and wet making slick streets and honking like I have never heard in my life. Debra said she now knows why all the taxi drivers in New York are from India. Our young driver rear-ended a jeep for our second wreck of the day but he had a big tire tied on the back so all of the damage was to our car. That one was a pretty hard hit and shook us up pretty good. Same results after a viewing of the car and jeep they had some words and both decided it was okay. Our car took most to the damage during that one. His front end was pretty crunched. After what seemed like eternity in traffic we arrived at the eye hospital. Our 25 minute ride lasted more like 2 hours. Like so many of the things in India the hospital looks awful on the outside but on the inside it’s acceptable and clean. It is hidden behind a dark dim hall way with a lift that is like those you see in a old warehouse. It was like a floor with a metal cage type door. At this point my nerves are really working overtime. Debra, thanks to the miracles of medications was calm enough but she didn’t like being bumped around in 2 car wrecks so even she was a bit tense by the time we arrived. (She will never admit to that.) After a little paper work a few test and the payment she is on the table and having it done. We are all geared up and they tell me the credit card wont go through, but after a few times it did. The weather has signals messed up and it’s hard to depend on a credit card if you don’t have electric/satellite feeds or a machine that works where you need one. It worked out. Debra was done in a very short time and we were getting instructions for her after care. She had a lady doctor by the name of Dr. Tripit Mongia and a man was also there name Dr. Jayant Shah. They were very nice and when we arrived they offered me water, coffee, tea ect. On a nice little tray with coasters. I really didn’t want to drink it due to problems I have already had but they would not let me get out of there without having a cup of something. It was only polite to take it and they watched with great interest while I drank it. I think it was mandatory for guest while waiting to have a little something. You don’t deal with nurses you deal directly with your doctors here. So I got to meet them all. They used the same machine on Debra’s eyes as they used on mine in Houston. Dr. Wade would die to know this. He says you can’t get it any where but at the Eye Center of Texas. Not so. It’s state of the art here as well. While Debra was being worked on I sat in a very comfortable office over looking a lovely garden full of coconut trees and palms. Landscaping was beautifully done and it’s the first I had seen in all my travels here. Everything is crowded, small and repetitive. What we call a small storage unit they call home. Proverty is ramped. It is hard to believe you get the compassionate medical care you need here. On the other hand we are cash paying people in a country that is starving to death. I thought on our trip through this new district I would see some nice sights but no it’s pretty much the same all over. Not matter how far you travel it’s just repeats of what you have already seen. I think the pictures say it all about what you see. We were returned to the hotel with our same 20 year old driver named Amul in the same car he had wrecked earlier. He spoke no English at all. Worried oh yes I was one sick puppy over this one. Due to his wrecking the car earlier it busted the radiator and he had to stop and put water in it. It was over heating and smoking. The air also stopped working on the car so needless to say we were thanking Jesus when we saw the Tip Top Hotel. I had Debra in tow and she wasn’t doing so well after the surgery and getting so hot in the car. I could not wait to get her back to the room and get her laid down. Whatever they deaden the eyes with she couldn’t open her lids they were numb so all this time riding back she has to pretty much keep her eyes closed. Thank you Jesus!!! I really wished mine could have been closed. I will send a little video clip of our wild ride. I tell you it was just like being in a bumper car ride! For a while I was sure we were in the Twilight Zone. In fact I know we were. It’s the first time I have been scared here and I have to say I was scared. Around Wockhardt I know my way pretty well now but we were no where near Wockhardt and it got wilder and wilder the more we got into the new district. Guess what ??????? We get to do it again in the morning. Yap that’s the deal she will have to go back for more eye drops and a follow up visit to check the surgery site. I will spend tonight in prayer! All night. I have to wake Debra every hour to do drops so I will be awake I don’t think it will be a problem to pray all night for a safe day in the morning. I have asked for another driver and car. If they don’t send someone else I think I will call Bharat and get him to send a car even if I have to pay extra for it. The car is a service from the RUSHABH EYE Hospital but I just don’t think I can stand it again. It’s not safe!! I think Amul must be his nephew.
We did make it back safe and sound and Debra peeking says she can see and she is excited as it gets over that. Between being grumpy because of all the discomforts of the surgery and the trip we are still getting alone like mother and daughters do. We are doing okay really for all the stress and pressure we are under and the lack of any food that we can readily eat. I thought I would call the dentist and cancel for today because I had just had it but to my surprise when I got in the room the desk rang up. Ms. Sims call your dentist please he has announcements for you. Okay. I call and they want to make sure we are coming today because there is a festival and the lab will be closed for a few days in honor of it so it’s going to throw us off on our schedules. They even wanted us to come for dental work earlier than planned today. Nope it’s not going to happen there is no way Debra could do it. She needs at least a day. Well then it was very important that if Debra didn’t come that I did. I just wanted to cry. They wanted me there with in the next hour. I gave Debra her medications which knock her out. Refreshed her eye drops and got her in bed. Grabbed my umbrella, went down found some strange looking rickshaw drive and said “take me to Wockhardt Hospital” He said rupee? I said yes and away we went. I thought you turned right he turned left and my heart went into instant panic. Not to worry he just took some back roads off the main road I was accustom to taking. I really didn’t want a tour of the neighborhood but he thought I did so he took me that way. We still ended up at the hospital in plenty of time. The cost was the same. Breathing easy when I saw the hospital signs. Paid the driver and ran in to find I had to wait for a while due to a broken tooth on a little boy. Oh well, Debra would be out like a light for a while so I just calmed myself and sat down to wait my turn. I wont even go into my dental but let just say it was more than I was expecting. Even got to get a little taste of that drilling with only the numbing spray….that’s for the birds! I want shots!!! God got me through it. I think I must have called on the name of Jesus at least 20 times. Upon leaving with a totally numbed mouth I got tickled with myself and my state of mind. Every try to talk to a rickshaw driver with a totally numb mouth and make him understand where you want to go? I am sure they thought I was crazy but I waved some rupees in front of them and they say jump in. I would just point and they would just drive. Made it to the “R” mall because we needed some juice and some food only to find it’s cleaning day. The food market is torn apart cleaned and restocked. Only they don’t put things back where they were before. They move everything in the store to a new location. I had wanted some more mashed potatoes my main stay here in India but they had moved them. I ended up with oatmeal, several juices and boxed milk that they don’t have to refrigerate until opened. Hummmmm well it works and it’s good. Also, got some more Korr’s tomato soup mix that you add boiling water with. It’s enough to get us fed for a few days. I know it sounds crazy but I would never go to any place to eat here. Bharat had wanted me to attend that Tibetan Prayer Service with him and do some other fun things but as of now I am thinking just make it from point A to point B. I wouldn’t want to go anywhere here to eat a meal. Just not going to happen the food is to hot. Cheetah’s or no cheetah’s I don’t want to even try my luck. The hospital food was doable but out in the real world. Watch out! It’s all fire and smoke.
We will take our lives in our hands again in the morning to have the eye surgery checked. I would not go if we didn’t have to get a refill on the eye drops. I just wouldn’t do it again. Jesus better take the wheel on this next ride. I think I have that song with me here I will play it for the driver. Wont work he doesn’t speak English.
I just tried to get Debra up to do her drops. She didn’t handle that very well and she is so medicated I can’t hardly handle her. It’s 11:45 p.m. and we have to do this hourly for tonight. They gave her two blue pills in a bubble pack but man she is talking out of her head. Something about getting her motorcycle out of the shop and tall people with dark hair. I have no clue what she is talking about but we did drops and she is back asleep already. This is going to be a long long night for me. I gave her some pudding and a few sips of juice before sending her back to bed. I don’t think sleep is going to happen for me tonight. I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like in the morning!
For everything that goes wrong there are things that go right. Today was just a little overwhelming. I am looking at the long term investment here. That’s what every one of us has to do. You can’t just worry about the moments at hand. There are long term affects going to happen because of these hard days. I have to be looking in that direction and not at all the crazy stuff going on right now. Sometimes I look at life and just wonder but then I can see it so plainly that all of this is preperation for facing what is going to be really hard for us parting from this life to go into eternal life with the Father. Every part of this life is setting that stage, getting us prepared and always reassuring us that there is something better to come if we just hang on. Never give in and never give up. God has the plans we just have to trust and believe that is the Good News. I want to spend some time in prayer then I am going to try to cat nap my way through the rest of this night. August 22 will be here before I know it and I will be back on the patio reading my bible, petting my dog and listening to my bible CD‘s. Life will be back to normal soon enough……..I love you Rollie Bear…..