I am home now, suffering from jet lag. Funny thing is it did not affect me while in India. What another trip of a life time..... Now, I really am going to start writing a book.
The trip itself over was very long....9 hours to Frankfurt, lay over for 1-1/2 hours, then another 8 hours to Bombay. I arrived in Bombay at 1:30am where I was greeted by a friend of the family I would be staying with, holding a sign that read REYAH CARLSON, THE BEELADY OF THE MIDWEST. We took a taxi to a hotel, to at least get a couple of hours of sleep before going to the train station to leave at 6am for another 6 hour journey. I was very disturbed during the taxi ride. Bad smelling air, a lot of ground pollution.....then, seeing miles of people, which seemed like thousands of them sleeping on the sidewalks, under overpasses, and several "street" dogs, roaming.
It seemed like I was in a movie, or at least watching one. The feeling was not real, being exhausted did not help.
The train trip was another trip in itself, certainly more graphic than being in a plane.. ....arriving by taxi to the Bombay train station after 2 hours of sleep..again, visions of people sleeping on the floors of the station, many of them venders selling their wares to commuters, and many dogs wandering through the building. There were many trains out on the several rows of tracks....packed full of people.....some even riding on the roofs of the cars. I was a bit worried, wondering if I would be in the midst of one of these ..would I have a seat, have to stand, hang out of the window, or ride on the steps that lead into the train?
I was a fortunate one,(and believe me, very relieved) being treated with what I can only imagine as "celebrity status" a person who was being treated by my hosts, to ride on a train that offers only first class transportation......air conditioned cars, comfortable seats, coffee and delicious meals served during the 6 hour trip. I forced my eyes to stay open during the journey, with my face fixed to the window. Miles of beautiful views interrupted by miles of frightening reality.....poverty. The "houses" made from a combination of boxes, tin, plastic tarp, rocks and bricks to hold down "roofs" were probably held up by the fact they were all side by side. I was sure if one fell down, the domino affect would have followed. I could also see children, some clothed, some half clothed, some no clothes, picking through trash, standing in obviously polluted mud puddles. My heart was instantly flooded by the familiar child hood "tune" of your parents yelling "don't waste your food, there are kids starving and picking through trash cans looking for something to eat" Thank goodness for diverse scenery, as after a mile or so these sites, would be replaced by agriculture..sugar cane fields, rice patties, banana plantations, cotton fields, castor fields..that were well maintained and cultivated, giving me a sense of relief that there are modern technology's in this obviously poverty stricken areas.
I arrived in
VADODARA (BARODA) in the state of Gujarat, which is in the western side of India. It is a beautiful area. Nicely structured homes, buildings and schools.There, we were greeted by 2 family members, for the 15 minute ride to the home of the family I would be staying with, and helping/teaching bee venom therapy to. Any exhaustion I was feeling was quickly remedied when we got onto the road......PURE ADRENALINE! The traffic was as I have never seen....weaving vehicles....cars, bikes, mopeds, motorcycles, rickshaws, pedestrians, cows and an occasional camel pulling a cart, going in all directions, I was certain I would be involved in an accident. If I had been forced to drive in it, I most certain would have been! To me there was no rhyme or reason as to the way the people were driving, traffic lights meant nothing, as did marked lanes. I felt there must have been some sort of psychic connection between all of the many peoples, as I did not witness any accidents. I even counted 5 people on a motorcycle, many times! Truly amazing. I arrived at the lovely home of what is now considered my new family. I was greeted by many family members, some of them having driven 400 miles to meet me. I was first met by "Grand-mama", the matriarch of the family who lives down stairs of the house which is part of what are known as society's, I believe we would refer to as neighborhoods. She "blessed" me with incense, lit candle, and then placed a red spot on my forehead, and said to me.....NAMASTE. I was honored, and the warmth of the family was immediate. After being introduced to each family member, about 15 of them I finally met the reason of my trip. Dipti Waghela, lying on her back in a bed due to the crippling affects of MS, tremors in her head and right arm, her speech very slurred. I leaned down to hug her, to silently let her know I was there to help, but being "slap happy" tired, I could not hold back my emotions, and started crying, because of the all too familiar face of this horrible disease, a flashback to once was myself. For a moment I felt like the priest in the movie EXORCIST, coming face to face with the demon, one whom I know personally. In this case, the demon is very real, going by the alias MS, in my case Lyme..same church, different pew. It didn’t matter to me which face it was showing, I came there to fight it.
I was there to help this woman, bringing her some of the tools she and her family will need to declare war on the hell she has been trapped by. Forceps, a screened box, and knowledge. The only thing needed now, is the ammunition....BEES!
Since I was going to be there for just under two weeks, I wanted to start stings immediately. That evening after a couple hours of rest, I was presented with a vial of VeneX 10, injectable bee venom, and insulin syringes as I had requested, as they had not yet obtained live bees. All of the family and friends, even the house servents had been there to witness Dipti receiving her first "sting". I am not sure what was going through their minds as to what was going to happen, but the drama of the whole thing almost seemed like a let down when nothing happened. But when I explained that the first 20 minutes after injection were very crucial, I sensed they were all standing on pins and needles. I then injected her with another "sting" waited a few minutes, then one more. Of course, epi pen and antihistamine was within my reach.
The next day we were able to locate a beekeeper about 100 miles away in the country. We initially went to a center that takes the illiterate natives from nearby villages, and educates them, and also teaches them organic farming. I was very impressed. There I was carefully watched and examined by a group of young children, having never seen a white person, fair skin and blonde hair. They would hide behind trees, hold each other as if scared. I finally broke the ice...smiled and waved, they returned the gesture and quickly warmed up to me.....approaching me, touching the skin on my arms, my hair, and smiles that let me know they approved. They even allowed themselves to be photographed with me. The beekeeper put about 200 bees in the cage I had brought from home to sustain them. These bees were actually apis melifera, european honey bees but were smaller than the ones here in the US. I assumed they were smaller because they had not been un naturally trained to foundation that is larger than what they were used to in the wild. The next day, and every day while I was there, Dipti received stings.. Grandmama, and her sister who was visiting also received stings for knee problems, and carpal tunnel. I also let Pradip (Dipti’s husband) "practice" on me, as I can tolerate many stings with no problem. I wanted him to be comfortable with what he was doing. Dipti’s progress was heart warming...being able to sit up without being braced, the tremor noticeable less, speech 90% improved,and with assistance, able to walk out into the living room....finally breaking out of the hell she had been trapped in for the last 4 months. I am sure her saving grace was the frequent therapeutic manipulations from family and caregivers to her arms and legs, and several times a day encouraging her to try and move them. The muscles were not atrophied as I have seen so many times in people that just give up. The relief from the tremor would last only a few hours, but was quickly remedied with more stings.
The attention I was given was non stop, the food was wonderful, the longest time in my entire life that I did not eat meat, and did not miss it! Diptis mom, Krishna who I referred to as mommy, per her request was so warm, frequently bringing me coffee. Anybody who knows me, knows I never say no to coffee! We were able to locate a person in a village much closer, about 25 miles driving distance, who doesn't mind robbing the wild bees. These particular bees (apis cerana Indica) are miniature versions of our honeybees, that cast a white glow when the light hits them from certain angles. I presented the man with the bee cage, and a modern bee veil, which he was very happy with, and scooped up about 800 of these "girls" into the cage which maintains them quite well. Dipti’s family now has the means for continuing her journey to well being, and feel comfortable in the assurance that I will always be here for them. Many newspapers, television reporters came to interview us, and the public response was overwhelming......so many people in need of apitherapy, my senses tell me that Pradip is going to be a very busy man. Initially, it was a friend of the family, a retired cardiologist in India that suggested they get in touch with me, even though apitherapy is unheard of in this part of India, which really surprised me.
There is so much more to this story, which will someday be a chapter in a book I am planning to write. amazing how much you can gather in such a short period of time.
The day came for me to begin my journey back home...Many were there to say goodbye. I made my way around the living room for hugs and well wishes from each person, and as one can imagine, there were some tears. The last person I was to hug, was Dipti, her gift to me was to stand up, with assistance from her husband to hug me. I had not even realized what she had just done until after I had left the house. I will never forget my new family, the generosity, the warmth, and the memories which will stay with me forever.
The ride on the train was very different heading back, even though the scenery was the same. I guess it was me, my outlook that made it different. The makeshift houses, poverty stricken people..I came to realize that this was not something that had just recently happened, or for my eyes, it is just the way it is. I am sure the people living in these conditions are content. The sun was gone for the time being, darkness consumed my views except for the occasional small fire burning that was hopefully cooking somebody’s dinner. Somehow, it was all okay, I was at peace, and decided I would love to come back to this place. Life continues, the trains will run, new days start, the sun will set, and the pattern resumes. I was no longer afraid, or felt that I need to do something about this, but what I did feel was to be grateful for what I have, any complaints I have, or had seem so trivial now. Am I religious? No, but defiantly enlightened.
The reality of disease is cruel, we can be overwhelmed by it, or find the good positive experiences that can come from it. I give thanks to the bees that have given their lives, so I may have mine, and for the experiences I have encountered because of them. The road to wellness has been long, at times excruciatingly difficult, did not come fast, and like the train,continues on. The ability to help others, gives me the strength to help myself, in turn to help others.
