Tuesday, September 15th

Last night after leaving the hospital Afran, Philippe and I drove to a cafe near the Seine, "Le Petit Bofinger". (Afram is shown standing by the entrance). After looking at the menu I was grateful to have them order for me - the detailed descriptions contained words that were mostly unfamiliar to me. We ordered two three course dinners and one additional entree - then we shared salads and desserts. We enjoyed a delicious Bordeaux and meal and it was nice to relax and enjoy the evening after an extremely tiring day.

Today we spent the day at the hospital, meeting with the Chief of Staff and several others. So far, all the physicians that we have met in this part of the hospital are women. Most appear to be in their 30s and they all have supervisory positions. Iraj and his family are friends with many Paris physicians so, in addition to his assigned doctors, he has been visited by those that are friends. We all feel that he is receiving superior care in Paris.

There were no tests scheduled today so we're hoping they will be completed tomorrow. Otherwise, the hospital stay may be longer than we hoped.

Sal Petriere is the largest hospital in Europe and it is known as being the best. When we were in the emergency room we were given a map of the buildings. I didn't count them but there has to be at least 50 or more. I'm told there are 25,000 employees in the complex so it's like visiting a small city.

Roger had an excellent night of sleep and he no longer has an IV so he's free to use the bathroom for a shower but otherwise, he's still kept to his bed. He's definitely doing better and we've provided him with snacks, a DVD player with English movies, bottled water and juices and an English language newspaper so he's making the best of a difficult situation. We're very hopeful that the worst is over.....................