True Blood

When you then slaughter the ram, take its blood and place some of it on the right ear lobe of Aaron and his sons, as well as on their right thumbs and their right big toes. (Shemot 29:20)

It is interesting that this week's parsha has a reference to blood. It is describing the ceremony for consecrating the priests, Aaron, the high priest, and his sons. The ritual can be understood that a person should be a good listener, responsible for what they do, and thoughtful as they go about life's journey.

On Wednesday, Faina got a blood transfusion. She had been anemic for several weeks and the time came for a significant response to the low RBC (red blood cell) count. Even though her blood type is well documented, we had to go in the day before for a blood test. This is SOP as a mismatch is deadly.

The phlebotomist who did the test was, thankfully, patient and skillful. A vein did not appear with the first standard measures, but Agnes, obviously was not new to this line of work. A few taps at various points on the arm, a hot pack, cycles of squeezing the sponge ball, relaxing, another hot pack and, like a balloon being inflated, a healthy vein bulged to the surface. Even with the needle skillfully placed, the vial did not fill very quickly, but Agnes encouraged a recalcitrant circulatory system and finally an adequate sample was drawn.

The next day was the transfusion. We got to the hospital at 7:30 a.m. and everything proceeded smoothly. Two out of the three nurses working the ward were cheerful and friendly. Faina was being taken care of by the third. The hours passed fairly quickly, Faina burning through a double issue of the New Yorker and catching a few winks. I got started on Cleopatra. We had seen the author interviewed when we went to the Daily Show back in December. That feels like a lifetime ago. We also had a visitor. Larisa, a gastric cancer survivor who Faina has been in touch with for over a year, took time away from her lab work in the hospital to see how we were doing. It was a pleasant distraction.

Faina has now had two significantly better days. Better energy and even a semblance of an appetite. She had some mashed potatoes and a spoonful of caviar.

Shabbat Shalom