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Our day began at 10 AM with a taxi bringing us to Artemis Hospital. We wrapped up some pre-testing by having Mom do an MRI, a CT scan, and a full neurology exam.
I should mention that all of the tests are done very promptly with care taken to ensure we are comfortable at all times.
Ms. Meena and her assistant helps guide us and the assistant pushing Mom around the hospital. It's a huge facility. There are probably more doctors in this one hospital than there are in the entire province of Ontario!
After all of the testing was done we headed to the cafeteria. I had some vegetarian biryani and some type of tofu gravy thing (I told the young man working to give me whatever he recommended). I love trying the food here and trying to take in as much of the culture as I can.
Mom is having a hard time adjusting to the fact that there is no such thing as coffee here - not the type of coffee she drinks anyway. When anyone from outside North America visits Canada, they quickly learn that 'regular coffee' does not indicate espresso, cappucino, or latte. Vice versa, Canadians quickly learn that 'regular coffee' does not mean a large cup of weak coffee, it means espresso.
Having been a barista myself I figured the best I could find for Mom was an Americano, a cup of watered down espresso. It wasn't her favourite, but it will do.
After lunch with some of the fellow HSCT patients, we all headed upstairs to meet with Dr. Gaurav Kharya, the head of oncology and the Doctor who will oversee the HSCT patients and the protocol we will follow.
Dr. Kharya is a very approachable Doctor who appears quite confident in his work. He explained the exact protocol of treatment we will follow, and whilst doing so he explained other facilities' protocol and why he advises the one that we will use, citing various medical literature that he's researched.
He answered all of our questions regarding Rituximab (another immune suppressing agent used in other facilities), and explained why previous patients encountered certain problems in their treatment. Nothing was left off limits and we were able to ask anything and everything we were concerned about. When everyone felt satisfied in his answers, we went back to the hotel.
After meeting Dr. Kharya and getting the chance to hear his medical knowledge in first-person, Mom and I both finally felt 100% confident in our choice to go to Artemis. We had chosen the right place. There are so many people that doubt India and the protocol they follow, and up until that moment Mom and I still felt 10% unsure of how to feel. We are confident in Artemis Hospital's protocol and trust Dr. Kharya and his staff.
I inquired about follow-up check ins with Dr. Kharya, and he said he will be in touch with us every two weeks after treatment when we send him the blood work diagnostics from Canada.
All of the fellow patients are lovely people. I had the opportunity to take a picture of most of them, all but the one gentleman from Scotland, John. We will have to take a new one when we're all together again.
Tomorrow we are heading to the hospital in the morning to meet with a dietitian who will discuss what Mom should eat during treatment, and then we will have our final consultation with Dr. Gaurav Kharya and Dr. Sumit Singh to go over all of the test results. We are slowly starting to relax and take in our experience in India. Mom is starting to miss Tim Horton's coffee, though LOL.
From left to right, there is Peter from the Netherlands, Linda from the US, Pam from the US, then Rod from Australia, and my Mom, Janet from Canada. We were missing James from Scotland at the moment.
Below is a panorama of the view we had from the 6th floor board room we met Dr. Kharya in.
Mum and I out front of our hotel.
Mum waiting for her MRI at Artemis Hospital. I convinced her to wear her hair down today in case she happens to go bald from the chemo during therapy! Enjoy it while she has it.
I should mention that all of the tests are done very promptly with care taken to ensure we are comfortable at all times.
Ms. Meena and her assistant helps guide us and the assistant pushing Mom around the hospital. It's a huge facility. There are probably more doctors in this one hospital than there are in the entire province of Ontario!
After all of the testing was done we headed to the cafeteria. I had some vegetarian biryani and some type of tofu gravy thing (I told the young man working to give me whatever he recommended). I love trying the food here and trying to take in as much of the culture as I can.
Mom is having a hard time adjusting to the fact that there is no such thing as coffee here - not the type of coffee she drinks anyway. When anyone from outside North America visits Canada, they quickly learn that 'regular coffee' does not indicate espresso, cappucino, or latte. Vice versa, Canadians quickly learn that 'regular coffee' does not mean a large cup of weak coffee, it means espresso.
Having been a barista myself I figured the best I could find for Mom was an Americano, a cup of watered down espresso. It wasn't her favourite, but it will do.
After lunch with some of the fellow HSCT patients, we all headed upstairs to meet with Dr. Gaurav Kharya, the head of oncology and the Doctor who will oversee the HSCT patients and the protocol we will follow.
Dr. Kharya is a very approachable Doctor who appears quite confident in his work. He explained the exact protocol of treatment we will follow, and whilst doing so he explained other facilities' protocol and why he advises the one that we will use, citing various medical literature that he's researched.
He answered all of our questions regarding Rituximab (another immune suppressing agent used in other facilities), and explained why previous patients encountered certain problems in their treatment. Nothing was left off limits and we were able to ask anything and everything we were concerned about. When everyone felt satisfied in his answers, we went back to the hotel.
After meeting Dr. Kharya and getting the chance to hear his medical knowledge in first-person, Mom and I both finally felt 100% confident in our choice to go to Artemis. We had chosen the right place. There are so many people that doubt India and the protocol they follow, and up until that moment Mom and I still felt 10% unsure of how to feel. We are confident in Artemis Hospital's protocol and trust Dr. Kharya and his staff.
I inquired about follow-up check ins with Dr. Kharya, and he said he will be in touch with us every two weeks after treatment when we send him the blood work diagnostics from Canada.
All of the fellow patients are lovely people. I had the opportunity to take a picture of most of them, all but the one gentleman from Scotland, John. We will have to take a new one when we're all together again.
Tomorrow we are heading to the hospital in the morning to meet with a dietitian who will discuss what Mom should eat during treatment, and then we will have our final consultation with Dr. Gaurav Kharya and Dr. Sumit Singh to go over all of the test results. We are slowly starting to relax and take in our experience in India. Mom is starting to miss Tim Horton's coffee, though LOL.
From left to right, there is Peter from the Netherlands, Linda from the US, Pam from the US, then Rod from Australia, and my Mom, Janet from Canada. We were missing James from Scotland at the moment.
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