Healing and Shopping

I finished the thyroid treatment and resumed the regular meals, thank goodness! Turns out there are 18 meals, in groups of three with each group given flavor by adding different herbs.  The tastes are sweet, bitter, sour, salt, pungent and astringent.  I asked if I could have some light green tea and was told no, it would interfere with the cleansing and taste progression.  I could only drink warm water.

By the 7^th day, I asked to move from two meals to three.  My sleeplessness had returned and being hungry and not sleeping was not a good combo.  The third meal a day helped tremendously. I would wake very tired and was amazed at the significant improvement in my well-being and mood after a few hours with the techs with lots of oil and massaging!  Also if I don’t feel great, I have taken a lesson from Alan and I am repeating positive mantras as I rest on the table, like “I am healthy”. Today I added a list of what I am thankful for as they worked on me.

During the last few days of the thyroid treatment, I became very emotional for no apparent reason.  Dr. Raju says this is part of the healing process.  He tells me I am releasing old sorrow from my system and I will have a lighter heart, which will help me heal.  I like that thought!

To pass the time in the late afternoons, I have been shopping with my Aussie pals next door to the clinic.  There is a “housewife”, Tripty who has a little shop in her house.  Tripty’s kids are watching Nick cartoons in Hindi on a flat screen TV in the little living room and the “shop” is in a back room.  There is a covered mattress on the floor and many clothes in piles and bags around the room.    I brought a few dresses and fabrics to make outfits.  The fabric is really neat; it comes with a scarf and one or two different fabrics.   You pay $8-$10 for the fabrics and then you take it over the business center to a tailor who will sew it in any style to your perfect fit.  On the wall, the tailor has many photos of different Indian styles called Punjabs (Indian pant suits).  Here is a picture of the wall of photos.  He charges $3 to make sew the outfit!  I am having two made and can pick up in a few days.  I am hoping this won’t be like a home ec project I made in High School, when I realized I have no ability to visualize fabrics and styles and ended up hating what I made.  I figure I have not spent that much money and it has been a fun distraction!

Tripty is really nice, speaks English well and knows she has some good shoppers in her midst.  Yesterday she went to the wholesale market to restock for us.  I had asked if she had any men’s pajamas, thinking that would be good for Alan and Jacob.  When we went to have a look at what she had purchased for us, turns out she had traditional Indian Punjabs, that men wear to temples.  Alan liked them and actually bought this one he is modeling!  Will have to find Jacob something else!

We just passed the two week mark at the clinic.  Alan has one more week of treatments and I have two.  Here are some recent photos of us.  The white one is before dinner one night in front of the dining hall and the other one is of both of us just after having finished our morning treatments, relaxing in front of the main building.

The internet connection was down at the building for two days. There is a small internet café over at the business center we can use.  It does not look like a hip internet café you might imagine in the US with cool coffees and space to hang out.  It is kind of creepy, so glad we don’t have to use much.

It is said to be the monsoon season here.  It really has not rained here much, something about Hyderabad being on a plateau keeps it mostly dry.  However today it has rained all day and is a huge drag.  Praying it won’t last long.