David's procedure at Rambam (in Haifa)

Everything went beautifully today. They sent David to Haifa by taxi (a drive of about an hour and a half). He said that the taxi driver (who didn't speak English) made sure that he got to his appointment and waited for him (a total of about 2 hours) to bring him back. All of this was paid for by the hospital (which is owned by the Ministry of Health). David described the people who did the procedure as "angels". When I first got over to see him (just before 3:30 this afternoon), he had a sore throat and a headache and was quite tired, but soon thereafter they hooked him up to an IV and said that he could eat and drink. After a short time on the IV and after drinking a Pepsi MAX, he felt a lot better. By the time I left (around 7:00 p.m.) he was quite chipper, having had a nice supper, and he was starting another book that I had brought him (he finished the previous one last night).

David's Monday in the hospital

David skipped both breakfast and lunch today (Monday) because he thought that they were going to do the procedure to get rid of the stone in his bile duct. At lunch time, we even asked the doctor, and he said that David shouldn't eat. However, they were unable to schedule it for today.

We also found out that the procedure will actually be done at Rambam Medical Center, the teaching hospital in Haifa. David will be driven there (a ride of about an hour and a half), then he will undergo the procedure (via the mouth and esophagus, so there will be no incision!), and after that he will be driven back here to the Tsfat hospital. The uncertainty was finally removed this evening, and it is now scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday). Of course, nothing is written in stone (so to speak!) here in Israel (except ancient inscriptions, of course! LOL).