2-17-09
Today about 2:00 p.m. they wheeled Joey into the operating room for his first stem cell treatment. He was very nervous and afraid it was going to be painful. He was gone about 15 minutes then they brought him back to our room. He was smiling and said it didn’t hurt at all. Two hours later he started feeling pain in his legs, then in his feet, head and eyes. The pain got worse and worse as time went by until he was in tears. The doctors came in and gave him a pain pill and after four hours, he started feeling better. I was up all night watching him but he did manage to get some sleep. Joey opened his eyes after several hours of keeping them closed and he said he could see much clearer than before, this thrilled us. There was no OT or massage today but he did have PT with Mark this morning at 9:00.
More later.
February 18th, 2009
It is Monday night and Joey has his first stem cell treatment tomorrow. He is pretty nervous. The doctor came in to give him something to relax him and help him sleep because his blood pressure is a little higher than normal. The doctors and therapists are so nice here. We just love everyone we’ve met.
I will write more tomorrow
February 16th, 2009
Joey and I arrived in Beijing China on Feb.10, 2009. We were greeted at the airport by Greta from the Tiantan Puhua Hospital. Shortly after we checked in to our room, Joey’s doctors came in to meet him and assess his condition. They would do bloodwork and more evalutions early the next morning.
For the entire duration of our visit, the doctors have customized a schedule for Joey:
At 8:00 a.m., Dr. Amy comes in to check Joey’s senses before he gets out of bed. At 9:00 a.m. Joey has Physical Therapy with Mark where they work on the muscles, strength and coordination in Joey’s legs and feet. At 10:00 a.m., we go back to our room where Joey has two IV’s and lunch. At 1:00 p.m., Joey has a massage to loosen up his joints and muscles. At 2:00 p.m., it is Ocupational Therapy with Cindy, where they work on the muscles, strength and coordination in Joey’s upper body. The rest of the day is free. Today is “Day 4″. Our first weekend here and all the doctors and therapists are off until Monday. Joey has already gained some strength and hasn’t even had the first stem cell treatment yet. Tuesday the 17th will be Joey’s first stem cell treatment.
February 16th, 2009
