The trip to Bucharest

This trip was my first trip by myself. I have been married for 21 years and never by myself. Everything that I do involves my husband, any vacation, any going away weekend; practically everything in our life involves both of us.
My husband Ov was not thrilled that I am flying by myself, he was sick with worries. I knew that, although he tried hard to not let me see his worries. He couldn't come with me either due to his work and of course due to money.
I cried all the time, but I did not let him see me. I cried only when I was by myself in the airport and while in the plane. I was for the first time scared of flying. Last thing I needed was a panic attack and I almost had one. Good thing was that I had prescribed some pills for such situations. So I put one under my tongue when the plane's engines started to roar, asked for wine and fall asleep. When I woke up the pilot was announcing the weather in London.
I got off there and after going through a second round of check-in I was able to detect the gate were the second flight was taking off.
I got in Bucharest after a long second flight.
My luggage was the last to show, and on top of that I had to change my clothes and put some make up to look decent. I surprised myself with a strength that I wasn't sure I had. I was all put together when I was walking out of the checkout of the airport.
My sister Magda and her husband were waiting for me there.
I haven't seen them in two years to the date, in other words I did not see them since last time when I visited my family.
We hugged shortly, we made few jokes regarding the flight and we avoided big time to acknowledge the reason of my visit.
My sister said to me that I must not be shocked when I am going to see father. She told me that his health deteriored very fast and that I have to brace myself.
I got at the hospital.

The day we found out

You think your parents will live forever...You think they are strong and healthy and they are here on earth just to annoy you and make you angry..........
You love them, but you do not feel the need to say that because you know they know it....
Of course they do not say it to you either so that makes it ok. You carry on with your little boring life, which in your less-than-wise mind, you think that is the MOST important thing you are doing..
Then one day: bam! your life goes down in flame because your strong annoying father (which you love dearly) gets brain cancer...
So, let me tell you how we the girls (four of us) found out that father has a brain tumor. 
I was going crazy over the way my sisters should pack the gift from me for my mom's birthday. You see, I am living in a different country than they do, my family I mean. I sent back home a  bunch of photos from my recent vacation and some money for my mom. I also sent a gift bag and of course the famous "fluff" paper.  I got so far in being annal about how to bag the gift that I sent them photos of a bag-with-fluff..
My sisters did everything I asked of them regarding the gift.
So there they are, with the gifts and everything, and taking pics and being happy.
My mom, cute and little as she is, asked the two of my sisters present at the event, to look at my father because she was under the impression that his mouth was not right, it looked to her that he had a stroke or something.
Of course my sisters took the suggestion and they looked carefully at my father. Mom was right..something was not quite right with him.
Both of them insisted that father will go to have a check out done on Monday (the day of the party was Saturday).
My father wasn't totally in agreement with that, however in order to make them happy, he promised he will go to have that check out.
You probably wonder why I keep saying "my two sisters", when we are four..well, my baby sister was on bed rest as she was waiting her first baby, and due to possible risks for the baby she could not travel.
Anyway..
Monday the day after my mom's party, I was chatting with my sister and we were just discussing the pics she had sent to me with the "wrapped-by-the-book" gift, when she wrote to me: "just a second, mom is calling" so I waited..and then after few minutes,she wrote back: "dad has a brain tumor...I cannot move I am paralyzed..". I am at the other end of the world, and first thing crossing my mind is "this is a mistake, cannot be.." and then after seconds of silence I said " ok call Magda (my other sister which is living in my home town), I will try to find a flight and come there.."
That was it. Just like that.
I started crying and I called my husband on his cellular.....I was screaming with pain and despair, he couldn't understand a world that I was saying... what can I say?!...I was in shock.. Next thing I remember doing was trying finding a flight that week and making the arrangements at work for taking vacation and going away.