The first couple of days

My first experience in the CTCI Clinic was interesting and good. I met the staff and

then had my first appointment with Professor Slavin. The staff is great! Very friendly

and welcoming. Prof. Slavin is very warm and a kind man.

The clinic is small. From what I can tell, Prof. Slavin's office, three treatment rooms,

one being the head nurse's office also, Ruth's office and waiting/reception room. I am

sure that I will learn much more about the clinic as the next few weeks go by and I will

add to the blog.

Prof. Slavin asked me lots of questions about the history of my MS. Such as exacerbation's

and the dates. It would be a good idea to have had these all written out to bring to the

appointment. These facts are in in my head though!

He did a through examination, checked all my lymph nodes and neurological functions. 

The tests were very similar to what a neurologist does in the US. Prof. Slavin then got

out his camera and took a video of me doing some of the tests again and had me walk down

the hall and back to him. 

I was given two choices in treatment. MSC and HSCT. I, of coarse chose HSCT! That is why

we are here! He would like me to have MSC after the HSCT, but it is much more expensive. 

Today is Wednesday and I saw Dr. Nadir today, before I went with the nurse to a hospital

to have my Picc Line put in. He was all business and no smile. He examined me and listened

to my heart and lungs. I could tell by a couple of the questions he asked that he had gone

over my records very thoroughly. I am happy that I brought hard copies of my scans, 

both MRI's and CT scans, so Dr. Nadir could look at the real scans for himself and not just

read the report from the radiologist that read them back home.

The Picc line is put in to your arm here. SEE PICC LINE PICTURE 

I believe it is the only picc line that I will get.

It was placed by making a small incision in my arm above the bend in my elbow. Then the line

is inserted using live video/x-ray on a very high tech piece of machinery. This is a huge, 

very modern x-ray machine that I am sure is used in the US for many procedures. One thing

that I did notice is that the Israeli hospitals don't have as much waste as in the US. They

used sterile drapes, but they were cloth that could be washed, they don't use alcohol wipes,

just alcohol in a bottle with cotton balls. All of the dressings for my pic line were the

same as the US though. In sterile wraps. The doctor and his assistants were very careful

about infection control, which I was very happy with. I don't feel that there is anything

to worry about here!