Next we go downstairs to open presents by the Christmas tree in the lobby. We want to keep some semblance of tradition. Cash opens some presents we got the day before in the street bodegas. He gets a drum, a little tuk-tuk (a yellow and green auto rickshaw prevalent on the streets of Delhi), and a pink elephant from China which promises a 'happy good time'. In actuality, the elephant delivers a noisy, annoying time and will likely be donated to the children of India soon.
Cash looks a little pitiful with one of his hands taped to a paddle for his IV injection. We call it the flipper. As usual, he is more interested in the wrapping paper than the gifts but does play with them for a while.
After this we take a taxi to the City Walk mall. Dr. Schroff insisted that Cash be indoors due to the cold and terrible air quality so the mall seemed the best place to get some exercise. It was just like any Western mall which I found disappointing but Stephanie found somewhat comforting. We did have a great Christmas lunch buffet there that put us in better spirits. However, while we ate the density of the mall increased by a factor of a least 10- there are a LOT of people in Delhi-so we were shoulder-to-shoulder getting out.
On the return trip to the clinic we took a tuk-tuk which was quite an adventure. The driver played chicken with cars and even buses in what is the normal driving procedure here.
We had Christmas dinner with the staff and other patients at the clinic that evening. The staff has been wonderfully attentive to us and tried to make the experience special for us all. The other patients are from around the world and suffer from a variety of different issues. It was a poignant end to our day to see everyone so thankful just to be alive and present regardless of the circumstances.
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