News from Costa Rica

Sunday, September 27th 

Hello Friends and Family,

Sorry for the lag time between postings.  Fred is very gracious to let me use his computer so I don't have a great excuse except that I have been allowing myself to sit, read and sleep a lot! For those of you who don't know my traveling companion, Fred Johnson, he is my friend and neighbor.  He and Marge live across the street from LeRoy and I and we have become good friends through our mutual interest in music.  Every Friday or Saturday evening the four of us would come together to make music and sing.  We often invited other musicians to join us and over time the group grew large enough that we created a monthly "sing along" which was hosted by different people each time.  These gatherings are still happening.  If you are interested contact LeRoy at leroy@leroyharvey.net and he'll put you on the email list.  Last Friday both Fred and I were feeling pretty melancholy about missing our singing date with Marge and LeRoy.  I fear that, after only one week, I am developing the symptoms of "Hootenanny Withdrawal" a condition originally discovered by Marge Johnson when she missed three weeks while visiting a friend in Florida.

We have had an unusual schedule due to the climate here and the timing of my stem cell injections.  The sun rises at 5:00 am and it is a beautiful, sunny day until the clouds roll in about midday.  Once the clouds arrive, it usually rains really hard for the rest of the day which makes it A perfect time to lay around and read or to catch a nap.  It has been both refreshing and a little weird to not have to be aware of the time except the two days that the treatments were scheduled.  The injections went fine. Since Fred has experience working in hospitals I didn't have to worry about him passing out or anything.  He also suggested a better way to position myself which made the second injection less stressful. 

On the treatment days I was required to lie flat on my back for four hours after the injection.  No propping of the head was allowed so I was virtually expected to spend four hours not moving while staring at the ceiling.  The first injection was at about 5:00 p.m. so I just came back to the hotel and went to bed for the night.  On Friday, my injection was at 1:30 p.m. and so it felt really challenging to lie flat all afternoon.  Fred was very helpful and listened to me ramble on about my fears and hopes surrounding stem cell treatments for a long while.  However, when I had nothing left to say, I still had 3 hours to lie flat and stare at the ceiling.  Using meditation and deep breathing, I spent the next three hours in a state of deep gratitude and profound joy.  When the time came for me to be allowed to sit up I was feeling so overwhelmed by my experience I felt awkward trying to explain it in words so I just decided to enjoy the peacefulness that  was present in that moment.  After a short celebratory dance in the rain, I chose to lie down again (this time with my head on a pillow!) and was out for the night by 7:00 p.m. or so. 

From Sunday night through Wednesday night we stayed at the Apartotel Cristina in the city of San Jose.  This a very nice place, with a very friendly and helpful staff and a nice breakfast buffet. However, I was feeling overwhelmed by the noises (generators, traffic, and loud TV all day and night) so suggested that we move out of the city for the second half of the week. Fred is very easy going and was game for whatever I thought was best. I called Villa Las Mas (this is where Molly, Nina, and I stayed last year) and they offered us the nicest villa (with a magnificent view of the mountains, the jungle, and the lights of the city at night) for $10 less than we were paying in town.  Of course it was raining torrentially when the driver came to pick us  up.  Luckily, Apartotel Cristina has an underground loading area.

I was feeling pretty good about the decision to relocate until we turned on to the steep, narrow, winding road that leads to Villa Las Mas and discovered that it was practically impassable. With gigantic pot holes and several mini mudslides, it was made more exciting by the deep open gutters that lined both sides of the road through which rivers of brown water surged.  When we encountered a large pickup truck coming down the mountain it seemed nothing less than miraculous that one (or both) of us didn't slide sideways into the treacherous trench.

The Institute was very nice to send a driver to pick us up for the 2nd stem cell treatment and when the busy schedule of the afternoon made it impossible for our driver to take us back right when I was finished, Luis Diego Araya, the owner of company (www.ticorides.com) came with his personal car (luckily it was a jeep) and took us back up the mountain.  I am really impressed with the professionalism and friendly, helpful manner of all of the drivers we worked with through Luis' company.  We chose Gusavo, a very upbeat person who is anxious to practice speaking English, and has a cool stereo system (complete with a video screen) to be our driver when we travel to Cahuita tomorrow.  We decided that hiring a personal driver was money well spent as it allows us to personalize our trip according to our needs.  The van has air conditioning and has a seat in the far back that one could lie down on.  This feels good as I often need to lie down to recoup from  eating and unfortunately, Fred has been down for a couple of days with an intestinal ailment known simply as "Tourista" (indicating that it is a common ailment brought on when visitors eat or drink substances that their body has not been exposed to before). We are lucky to have medical people on staff at Villa Las Mas.  The attending doctor in training assured us that, while very unpleasant, "Tourista" is not serious.  Apparently, the victim feels sick until the pancreas can successfully create the enzyme needed to properly digest the offending substance.  Aren't our bodies fascinating? 

After the stem cell injection on Friday I went for the whole day Saturday without a major energy crash. I ate light and drank cafe con leche in the afternoon.  I was less energetic today but remain happy and hopeful. 

Next time it will be News from Cahuita!

Take care.  Much love to you all, Nancy