Third Chemo was successfully done and we were all exhausted

Third Chemo was done on Sat. I am behind on my blog, will catch up today. Bina took it bravely and with her sweet smile as always.  It took all day to administer, one hour of Chemo. The bureaucracy of the hospital is unparalleled.  We were there at 8am. Kukki and I got in the room with Bina and Sonu and Dipu went to do the admission formalities. It took running up and down for two people to get the paper work done in two hours. ( One wonders if there is only one support person, how can this be done?) Then they had to verify the Chemo medicine ( ten times) , give pre chemo IV, check lungs , find the Oncologist and get the approval for hundredth time and finally start Chemo at 1 pm. Chemo suspension is thick fluid and we had to constantly either bug the nurse or shake the bottle to keep it moving. We were all there to cheer Bina up, played cards and all was well till...the cardiologist ( with his  five minions showed up). He looked at ECG and basically said that next time, "you will not start Chemo without my approval"...so now we will have to deal with other layer of bureaucracy.  But, seriously, the poison in Chemo is toxic to everything and all the organs ( specially heart, lung and other key organs) need to be checked before they put poison in your body. But, the bottom line is , Bina is feeling and looking better after each Chemo. It took an extra blood test and two more ECG's before he signed her discharge papers ;( Then four hours later , we were allowed to go home. Basically, it took from 7:30 am to 9:30 pm to get an hour of Chemo done ;( We came home exhausted but grateful that all went well. After an hour of vegetating at home , we received a small whats app message from Bina saying, "good night" and we knew can can relax...:).

Kukki gave me Restyl ( a sleeping pill...we are all half doctors or real doctors) . First time, in a long time, I slept till 8 am, woke up ate breakfast and slept again. Got a whats App message and a picture from Bina, thanked our fortune, the universe and everything else that she was healthy, happy and had no reaction to Chemo. All day, we slept, ate and watched movie and slept some more...I did not realize how much we all needed this, much needed break and rest.
As you can see, Juhu  beach in the evening is a destination for all. It is a great equalizer. People and dogs of all ages, all religions, all socio economic status  come here to eat, to enjoy the ocean, to walk the dogs,  to have family picnic, to people watch and to exercise. It is packed with people, but as you walk, you find a way through the ocean of humanity. It is like the black sea, as you walk daringly into it, it gives you the way, almost guides you. There is some unspoken law that no one touches you, no one stares at you and no one cares about what are you doing at that moment.



     

People spread out the blankets to enjoy the picnic,

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  Interesting thing about Juhu Beach is that most people come to the beach in their best clothing and are dressed up like going to a fancy party. It is a party, picnic and as we call it, " A family outing". A great deal of activities go on from 6pm to 8pm.

Food vendors are scattered all over the beach but there are permanent shops for special food like , "Pani Poori"  and other street food that Mumbai is famous for.

 You see many women in full Burkas and realize  how many muslims are in India. 

  In fact India has third largest Muslim population in the world and PEW research estimates that by 2050 India will have largest Muslim population in the world. 

Like a wave of the magic wand,  at 8 pm most of the population disappears and the beach is left  for few to enjoy the sound of the waves and warm water.