In true Mahapatra form, within two hours of mom and baba coming back to Lincoln, we were in line at the movie theater. Shortly after, we were loaded with four popcorns, three slushes, a diet coke, and an order of nachos. Just another Friday family night!
We all tried not to get our hopes up too much that mom and baba would come home this weekend, in case baba wasn't feeling well, but he has returned looking just as well as when he left two weeks ago. There has been occasional nausea and appetite loss, but so far pretty manageable with medication. The way they came home with handfuls of shopping bags, it was easy to see what they have been doing with their time when baba is feeling good. Mom and baba are the only people I know who can fit interior design and fashion into their chemo and radiation treatments!
Their visit will be short, since they have to be back for week three of his treatments on Monday. But it has already been a great time and it felt just like home as soon as they walked in the door. Mom has already made a batch of khichri and everyone has devoured the welcome home chocolate chip cookie we bought for baba. We know the weekend will go by fast, but next Friday Jeff and I & Suraj and Ravi will be in Rochester and will be together again soon.
Thanks again to everyone for their support and prayers, they have been a gift not only to baba but to all of us as well. Keep in touch,
Jyoti, Jeff, Suraj and Ravi
16 comments:
Home is where the Heart dwells….
There, indeed, is no place in the whole world like home. It is much more than a collection of rooms and enclosed spaces. It represents a treasure house of priceless memories….a temple housing your sacred dreams in its bosom….an abode enclosing your weaknesses coupled with your super-ego qualities, your inadequacies with your accomplishments like two sides of a coin, without judgement or denial…a place within the walls of which your inhibitions dissolve and insecurities evaporate….
The stress and sweat of professional life, the struggles of ensuring a peaceful tomorrow and the conflicts and confrontations of daily encounters, melt away as you enter into the gentle interiors of your home and lose yourself in its comforting embrace of security…..
the fragrance of belongingness fills your entire being with a soothing balm of freedom.
You are where you belong, Sanabhai and Nuabou….in the company of your little ones, hugging and emoting, loving and giving, consoling and comforting….This is where you feel full and contented….A time to offer your heartfelt gratitude to Him for having blessed you with such a wonderful family. Your current ailment is only a fleeting experience of discomfort that shall be relegated to the background very soon… but a brush with the “other side” that would always gently remind you to acknowledge and appreciate all the other countless gifts of love showered by Him on you and yours’ – the fabulous Mahapatra family….
Love and God bless you all.
Cheers!
Babi & Vicky
bhaiyajee,
Back in Lincoln...No place is sweeter n better than HOME...seeing ur picture, hugging the children,tears of joy n love ,rolled from my eyes...how wonderful is the sight...all ur faces look so happy, contended n full of joy...your face looks so loving n caring...with what tremendous u r hugging the little ones...as if ,love is oozing from every inch of ur body..i just could not check my tears...i went ooooon watching the picture...if my feeling is so, so intense...what must be the feeling of the kids..i wonder!how very happy they are to see their dad n mom...
So, enjoyed the movie? n now enjoy every minute of ur stay, to ur hearts content...jyoti, suraj n ravi are really lucky to have such a loving DAD...
I feel so happy Sanabhai..because you n children r so happy...O GOD! BLESS THEM ALL...LET REST OF THE DAYS , ALSO PASS IN THIS MANNER...
all my love, best wishes n prayers ,are with u all...sini n sanju
Hello Sati mamu and main,
We are so pleased to know that you're home for this weekend.
I agree with Jyoti : You two are definitely the only people I know who would go shopping right in the middle of serious medical treatment :-)
"Shamelessly optimistic" that's what main once called you but I think you're people whose spirit and zest of life cannot be put down by anything or anyone.
I cannot begin to tell you just how proud I'm of you and how fortunate I feel to be part of your family.
We wish you all a wonderful weekend.
See you on the 14th.
Love,
Seema
Dear Jyoti, Jeff, Suraj & Ravi,
You all look and sound so happy - it is infectious - it was hard not to smile while going through your note. I am so glad you all get to spend this weekend together. I bet the Nebraska food will do wonders for Bada dada's appetite!
They are going to go back all rejuvenated for the rest of the fight ahead. You all look so good and 'together' - the pictures are very touching - I think more so because we know how precious these little moments are for all of you during this time. Bada dada & khudi must be so proud of all of you for the way you are not only holding up and taking care of each other, but doing so, so perfectly.
All the very best to all of you.
Love,
Pinky apa
yao! glad to see/hear that things are goin well in the mahapatra abode in nebraska! not to worry - this week shall have similar/extended celebrations and movies involved :) hope you guys are enjoying and i can't wait to see everyone soon!
love and pranams,
vivek
dear bhaiya n bhabi,
having a wonderful weekend...wow!children are overwhelmed with ur presence..nuabou ,u must be cooking n feeding them delicious dishes...children always enjoy mom's hand made food..why u know..because food is cooked with so much love n care..it tastes all the more yummy...
bhaiyaji, loved to hear ur voice , this morning...u sound so happy n enerjetic...very nice..keep it up ...ur spirituality will take u successfully on any difficult path ,u tread ...lovely feeling...
my love ,best wishes n prayers with u ...sini n sanju
Hi, normally Seema writes this blog for the Pusalkar family, but after speaking with Sati mamu and Ambi main yesterday night I decided to write something myself. I normally don’t share my thoughts (driving Seema nuts), but had been debating for some time on what to write. Before I go forward, I would like to apologize to others about the long, rambling blog.
Anyway, initially I thought may be I should quote Eleanor Roosevelt “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience by which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along’”. But thinking about it, even though it is a very apt quote, I felt like I really wanted to share something of myself and not quote someone else. As all the family members know, for both Seema and me, this is our second marriage. When I was going through the difficult period in my first marriage and all the talk about divorce was happening, I found myself praying to God that “Oh God, please not let this divorce thing happen, please let us make this marriage work” and while I was thinking that, I suddenly realized, if there is truly just one God in the whole universe, then what is God supposed to do? You see, I was sure that my wife at the time wanted the divorce so must also be praying to God to let the divorce go through quickly. So obviously God cannot make both of us happy at the same time. So may be there was an alternate scenario and there were truly two Gods, one of her faith (Jew) and one of my faith (Hindu). Now in this scenario, the two Gods can now strike a deal and decide on who should be granted his/her wish. So not liking either scenario, and truly believing that there is only one God, I thought, why put God in this situation? May be I am praying for the wrong thing. So I came to the conclusion that what I should really pray to God for is to give me strength and wisdom to deal with whatever comes ahead in my life.
So I do pray, that God continues to give us all strength and courage to deal through the hardships in life.
Love you all.
Sandeep
(SASS: Salas, Anamika, Seema, Sandeep; The SASSy family)
And once you have dealt with the hardships, God rewards you for enduring through them and coming out a better person....Hey, I did meet Seema and in the process acquired the extended Mahapatra family.
Here's wishing that I can alleviate some of the pain. My work on oncology targets seems to have taken an added significance.
Love,
Sandeep
Dearest Sati Mamu and Ambi Main,
We are so glad to know that you are home with the kids for this weekend..Hope your week two of the treatment went well and you are feeling better this weekend..you do look pretty fresh and happy in the home coming picture with the kids..the picture is so beautiful n touching that couldn't stop my tears from rolling down my eyes.
We both hope n pray that the balance 4weeks of your treatment also go by smoothly without much of side effects so that you can get back to Lincoln to be with the kids for good fully recovered to enjoy the "good life".
Hope you enjoy every second of your weekend with the kids..Wish you all have a great weekend!
Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you.
Love always,
Leema and Achintya.
Man! I missed out TWICE on the Mahapatra weekend at the movies. Not fair! As soon as I return from Norwalk, I will be driving right down to Lincoln to take what you owe me - A MAHAPATRA WEEKEND AT THE MOVIES ;)
Life's good here in Connecticut. I examined a mentally-retarded patient today with pneumonia and an elderly lady with stomach flu. Once again, I was awed by the process of medicine as it unraveled the complexity of each of their medical and social issues. He was non-verbal and non-compliant; she was hyper-verbal and opinionated. He moaned in protest as we examined him; she made quips about my inexperience as I examined her. He was in restraints due to his aggression, while she sat comfortably in her bed.
Yet, in medicine, we remain unprejudiced and unbiased. We offer the best we have regardless of a person's mental, physical, or financial capabilities. I know the next few days will hold enormous lessons in humanity as I try to nurse my two patients back to health. I can only hope these lessons make me a better healer in the years to follow...
For the first time in several weeks I cried today. Fresh from a short chat with you all, hurt by the knowledge of your pain in the throat that prevented you from eating, I sat down to lunch and was unable to eat with ease.....Thinking about my own flesh and blood sitting just a phone call away not able to eat, for whom every morsel of food burnt its way down his throat causing acute pain....the delicacies that sat in front of me turned into a sight with hardly any appeal or attraction. In suffering alone, one realizes how time drags....The happy times are so fleeting and transient....Sometimes I feel like giving way to my fragile emotions like Siniapa....simple, highly charged with feeling, intensely expressive and straight from the heart.... Her “spontaneous overflow of powerful emotions” (like Swarup Bhai puts it) is far superior to my controlled expression through carefully chosen words...
With folded hands and bowed head I prostrate in front of Him and cry out : Look down O' Gods, and on this dear brother of mine, shower your crown of comfort and relief....
Sanabhai, why are so strong and disciplined? Why can't you descend to our level once in a while and be more human and weak, and express your feelings without holding back, coming within reach of ordinary mortals like us? Though each one of us has to carry our own Cross through Life, I would still appeal to Him to allow us to share your pain a little bit, so that going through at least a mundane act like eating could become slightly easier...
Hang in there, dear ones....two weeks have dropped by and just a few more to go before you step back into the security of your home and embrace of your family....
May God be with you, Sanabhai and Nuabou....
Pranams and Prayers
Babi & Vicky
sanabhai,we talked twice or thrice..but never said , what babi has written?why always u have to hide ur feelings n pains???pls do allow us to share some of ur pain, my darling brother...why u r so controlled in ur speech???nothing can b known from ur talk...why so always????pls don't b so cruel..let us also sometimes share a little bit of ur physical n mental pain...dear brother..so casually u took the address of few persons..and all the while ur throat was paining...bcause u told us not to ask much abt ur health..we r not doing so..that does not mean ..u will not tell us anything, right???
today third week of treatment started...badabhai n vivek r there..i feel nice...O GOD! PLS BE WITH MY DEAR ONE ALWAYS..SO THAT he gets less pain...
LORD IS VERY KIND ...i know HE WILL TAKE CARE OF U..
all my love n prayers r with u ...sini n sanju
Dr Mahapatra
What a treat to see your photograph. Know that I send you a big hug also!
I think of you so very often.
My thoughts and prayers are with you.
I will be happiest when I see you again at NHH. Miss you.
~Janet Ratzlaff~
"Kites rise highest against the wind"-Winston Churchill
Sorry for the impulsive outburst. I just couldn’t contain my emotions any longer….had to find a vent. Sometimes, one has to let go of one’s feelings, allow them to stream out in a flow of spontaneity… Specially when you know that the readers are a part of one extended family and that you don’t run the risk of being misunderstood. I hope my words didn’t disturb your equilibrium. But on second thoughts, who am I posing this question to?......a man who is a superman? Or a brother who is a protective father too?
How I yearn to be with you now….to hug you like a child and be encircled by the arms of a Savior….
But Siniapa, we should also understand that Sanabhai shall continue to be who he has always been….the strong, controlled and composed Man with a heart of gold….the same way as we shall continue to be what we have always been….the weak, emotional and impulsive sentimentalists….But whatever we are, our bond of fraternity shall survive the worldly distractions and reinforce our undying love for one another, like the inseparable branches of a tree….like the soft petals of a beautiful rose….
Our Mahapatra family does not consist of just six brothers and sisters, it extends far beyond its genetic limits to embrace all the other billions spread across the globe….for, where there is love there is no division, where there is concern there is no conflict, where there is sacrifice there is no self……
Love you all….
Babi & Vicky
How wonderful. It would have been great being a mouse in the corner listening to the whole family. We are so glad to hear things are progressing as well as they seem to be at this time. Your blog is so informative and filled with love. You have our best regards.
George & Todd Peterson
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