Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Dear Children and Grand Children,

Is it not amazing how God in His infinite Wisdom, plans our well being and thus takes good care of us! From one generation to the next, He does so consistently year after year over an indefinite period whether we always realize it or not! Be it, fifty, one hundred, one thousand years and even infinity time is all meaningless to God!

Yet this certitude can be most meaningful to us! Only thus, we can stand in awe at God's omniscience and omnipresence fully trusting in His plans. To do so we need to take time to analyze how with no cognizant planning on our side, God shapes events throughout our lives!

Indeed, in 1956 a young boy went into Clinique Darne (built in 1953 with Gdpa playing a role in its financing) for an acute appendicitis surgery. All went well and the little boy was soon once again riding his bicycle all over Moka and snorkeling in the lagoons of Trou d'Eau Douce. In 1965 that same boy, now become an adult teenager left Mauritius thinking that there would be no return!

In 2005 a young girl, about the same age as her Bopa was in 1956, had come to Mauritius with her family to join her Bopa, Eve and Godda and to discover their native land. The exclusive family goal was to visit and have fun, lots of fun in the sun! But God had a different plan. The young/mature girl had also come to set a tremendous example of fortitude, courage and trust in God's will for her and for all those dear to her.

Because Eve had undergone a most complicated but successful spinal surgery at Clinique Darne in March 2005, Eve knew exactly where to rush our dear Kourtney to, after seeing Kourtney agonize with pain for a few days. Within minutes of arriving at the Clinique, our always smiling young girl underwent surgery very courageously. She knew that there is no gain without pain and she was resigned to her fate. She accepted valiantly the need to undergo surgery even at the exorbitant cost of fun in the sun! Only a few days later - What a relief! What a joy - a picture is worth a thousand words - to see the bright and the broad shining smile on our darling girl's face as we entered her room at Clinique Darne! The just in time surgery by the highly respected Dr. Guy Adam (a cousin) had proven to be a total success!

Soon our young/mature girl returned to complete health and to being her cheerful self enjoying life and her loved ones and friends to the full.

More importantly she had opened up a trail for her Bopa by leaving behind an incredible example of faith, hope, love, resignation and confidence in God's will. If Kourtney can do it- Bopa must be able to do it too!

In 2006, some 50 years after my first surgery at Clinique Darne, God would see to it that history would repeat itself to some extent. After being away from Mauritius and Clinique Darne for forty years I had now been led by Kourtney and Eve (through God's will) to visit it again and to reestablish links with family and old friends now become doctors.

Therefore you will be delighted to know that finally heeding your advice and the counsel of Eve who also loves me very much, I will be visiting the Clinique again soon to undergo what Dr. Guy Adam considers a very routine surgery!

After some seven months by my side, Eve got tired of witnessing me silently and as secretly as possible endure pain and plan my days, my food intake and our outings around my bathroom needs. So in typical persistent Leclezio fashion, Eve decided to add her harassing but loving voice to yours and to join forces with all of you children. Dear Lilly, you will remember that at the airport on the day we left Seattle, you asked Eve to take good care of me and she promised that she would do so. She took it upon herself to find and to call the best gastroenterologist on the island. To avoid any interference on my part, one day, soon after Wendy's departure, Eve called Dr. Li Kam Wa while I was not there and set an appointment for me for Thursday Feb. 16th. Then putting me in front of a 'fait accompli', she told me that the time had come to help God cure me! Eve was determined that I would go to the rendezvous like it or not. I was still thinking that somehow I would cancel or just pretend to go.

But in many ways God saw to it that the timing was perfect. We had just returned from vacations in TDD with Lynda's family and Wendy's family. While there I had pointed out the original Li Kam Wa store from where we used to get everything in TDD. Titch you will remember the store where we bought the wine before going to mass and to dinner at Sangheeta. The example set by Kourtney was still fresh in my mind. During our stay in Curepipe and TDD, I had revisited on land and under the sea all the familiar sceneries of my youth. At times I snorkeled for hours on end remembering this coral or that current! I was thrilled when on our last dive, the current pulled me through 'Panama Canal' in front of our old bungalow. The last time I went through that canal carried by the fast current of a surging tide, I was a lot thinner and a lot younger - more like 13 to 18! This time, once the current started pulling me, I quickly realized there was no stopping or going back! I had to be like a nimble fish. I tucked my hands parallel to my body and used them as fins/rudders to navigate through the canal narrowly missing a 'sea' of obstacles. There were sharp rocks within inches on either side while underneath, I saw the menacing sea urchins pointing their needles up. The closer they were, the more I tucked my belly in terrified there might not be enough water depth for me to make it through and I would be 'body wrecked' on rocks with sea urchin needles planted deep into my belly and thighs. Woooo! I just made it. Do not ask me how? I could not even breathe an immediate sigh of relief! But, as soon as I saw a clearing in the sandy lagoon to put my feet down and take that deep welcomed breath of fresh air without the tuba, I gleefully did so!!! To my utter amazement, I looked behind to see if Eve had watched me go through? To my utter amazement I saw Eve also coming through with inches only to spare on either side of the canal!!! When she came through and up - I said Wow! I did not think that you would dare do that! She said: "Well you did - So, I had to!

However, let's get back to my health. Finally, the clincher was that on the 15th of February, I was in such pain all day that - Yes! Believe it or not - I actually told Eve that I was glad that she had taken it upon herself to make that appointment and that now I actually looked forward to go!

On the 16th when we walked into Dr. Li Kam Wa's office, my first question was: Are you related to the Li Kam Was who had the store in TDD? He was the son! We exchanged some stories of the olden days. Once we had established who we were, Dr. Li Kam Wa proudly announced to Eve that her dad, uncle Francois was his Godfather!!!

Oh! God! How well do You plan it all! I told Dr. Li Kam Wa about my aversion for Drs. I then added that the only reason I trusted him was because we had heard how well recognized and respected he is, but above all because his parents had been so kind and dependable towards all while we were growing up in TDD!

On February 20th Dr. Li Kam Wa did a sigmoidoscopy and found a growth. (See attached). Apparently, if for medical reasons - one needs to have a growth removed - The growth could not be in a better place in an easily disponible part of the body!

Guess what? I am delighted that Dr. Li Kam Wa subsequent to his findings, decided to pick Dr. Guy Adam as being the best to perform the surgery to remove that growth. So an old school friend and our cousin who operated on Kourtney will operate on me too! What do you think of that Korks? Please let all your uncles, aunts and cousins know how good that doctor is!!!

Oh! God! How well do You plan it all! Why did He reintroduce us to our long lost cousin, Eve after so long? Although Eve had visited the parents who loved her a lot in Geneva in April 1988 I had not seen Eve since 1965 when she was only four years old!

After we met in March 2005, we recognized that we could bring some much needed and welcomed love, joy, understanding, compassion and help in each other's life. When I survey a portion of all that Eve has been through from the time before she was even born and I consider who Eve is today with her inner beauty and tremendous generosity in spite of it all, I recognize that she has been especially blessed with lots of graces from God!

However Eve has not stopped helping Godda and I since she arrived in the US in June!
Now back in Mauritius, she has reintroduced us to old recipes of the past and driven us to spots not seen for forty years. For all she has given up and done for me and therefore for our family, I admire and love her a lot as some of you already know!

But for having the patience to put up with me and possibly adding years to my life I think that we should ALL be very grateful, kind and most loving towards her. I thank you for already considering her as such a dear friend!

One thing is most clear to me and I thank God for interfering and planning it ALL the way He did! Had Kourtney not had surgery in Mauritius and had I not met Eve and through it all, discovered how GOOD and AFFORDABLE health care is in Mauritius, I would NOT have had the knowledge or courage to come to Mauritius to seek affordable help and discover the source of my problem! Since I did, it is as if a big load has been taken off my shoulders.

You remember that to please you children, I did see Dr. Jack. After analyzing my stools and listening to my symptoms, he told me that I had nothing wrong! Yet, both Dr. Adam and Dr. Li Kam Wa concur with what we ALL suspected - There was something wrong and it took between four to five years to develop to the stage it is at today! Therefore just like Mommy thought that her health problems were caused by the stress resulting from our action against First American, so do I believe that my bowel problems were triggered by that same action against those crooks and our loss in 2001!

However, onward and forward! I am delighted that the Lynda's and Wendy's families came to Mauritius when they did, that Godda will soon be independent in his house with Eve and his maid helping him.

I will probably have the surgery on March 15th. The Drs wanted me to go through a series of tests first. You will be delighted to know that on Feb 24th I went through X rays, ultrasound of the liver, scanner of the pelvis and blood test. All results are great and we are removing the growth in good time! Thanks be to God!

I am expected to stay at Clinique Darne for a week to 10 days and afterwards my convalescence should take a month. I realize that you will all be very close to the old boy in thoughts and prayers and we will let you know my room phone number as soon as we have it. Kevin and Lynda, just like you did for Kourtney, Eve asked Dr. Adam if she would be able to stay in the room with me overnight and he said that she would not be very comfortable but that it would be good if she could do so! Hence you do not have to worry about a thing! Furthermore, the apartment is only 10 minutes from the Clinique and Eve can bring me anything I want within minutes.

I look forward to live without pain and all kinds of fears and restraints associated therewith! I look even more forward to take those of you whose turn it is to visit here, diving, touring etc. without having to worry if I am going to need to take an urgent crap in the sea at any given time! God alone knows how many times I have been to the bathroom for no.1 & 2 in the sea and on my walks between aunt Laurence bungalow and the tip of Ile aux Vacoas at 5:00 AM in the morning. In fact one day I will show you all (if sufficiently interested) how comfortable and private my regular open air latrine was on Ile aux Vacoas! How nice it will be no longer to need to run to the bathroom to defecate at least 12 times between 4:00 AM and 10:30 AM! Excuse all the explicit details but I once again very much look forward to post op life to the full. However, before we plan for all the future trips, we will wait that I sell Snoqualmie and that Chikungunya is gone! It is a Swahili word for the virus carried by a certain mosquito. The disease started in Africa and the word means: 'Bent over' - Because the disease causes temporary swelling of the joints making it difficult to move your articulations. Various people react differently to the disease.

With that threat in the air and your responsibility towards your spouses and children, I think that it would be sheer madness to come anywhere near the Indian Ocean as long as this virus is present. Dear Titch, I am sure glad that Chikungunya was not active when we went to Chamarel!!!

As far as Snoqualmie and Michael are concerned, I will be copying you with some of our self explaining correspondence! You will see that I have been busy. It will be interesting to see how it all ends? Indeed, greed is at the root of all evil! However for now I do not want Michael to have any specific details regarding my health or pending surgery. Hence you will appreciate the language in my correspondence to him!

I look forward to continuing our phone conversations until I see you all again. Until then, I look at your pictures often and I am very proud of you ALL.

I pray for you, I kiss and hug you all very tight,

Your Bopbops who loves you all very, very much.

God bless you ALL always!

Bopbops.

P.S. I will follow Kourtney's example to the end and I will send you a smiling picture of me from my hospital room like the one I attach of Korks!

We went to Clinique Darne to meet with Dr. Adam this afternoon. All Test results are in and all is fine and set for March 15th! After the visit at the Clinique, we went to Ash Wednesday mass where we thanked God for all His goodness towards us all! Have a good lent, Bopbops.