Nate and his support dog Booster

Hello all, it’s been a while since we have posted..sorry about that, life has been busy!

Nathan is attending community college.  He has received a support dog which has really helped with his mobility.  The condition has continued to progress slowly and we continue to fight it by trying to maintain and active healthy life.  The visual loss has seemed to level off, there has been no noticable decline although he is legally blind at this point.  We continue to hold hope for the future and new treatments that are out there on the horizon.  We are thankful for all of the support, advice, friendship and encouragement we receive

Update on Nate 8 months after stem cell therapy…  Nate continues to work hard on his strength, health and balance.  He has a trainer in the gym who puts him through the paces with the weights and cardio also he is also being trained at the Moy Yat Ving Tsun Kung Fu school on balancing mind, body and spirit.  He has made a commitment to his diet and has cut out junk food opting for fresh fruits, veggies, meats and drinking lots of water.  He has really made his health his number one priority!  Nate will be turning 18 soon and will be heading off to college this summer.  Nate has given up his drivers license, actually he hasn’t been driving for about a year now so we will have to figure out transportation in college, luckily we have great support of family and friends.  Thanks for checking in on us!  Nan

climbing in Winter Park, Colorado

Nate and his dad

Nate and Aaron - great job!

Continental Divide in the background

http://new.khastv.com/videoplaylist.php?playid=17814

http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=10709963&nav=menu605_1

Love, Nan

Our trip home went very smooth and we have enjoyed getting back into life in Grand Isand.  Nate has been feeling good, I honestly haven’t seen much of him because he has been with his friends 24/7 but that’s good.  Both friends and family have noticed improvements in his speech and balance, we are going to wait a month for an eye exam to see if there are any changes either way there.  Overall, the experience has improved his health and given him more self confidence.  We began our routine of PT and OT on Monday and have substituted cold laser therapy for the accupuncture to stimulate the brain.  Nate continues to be brave and have a good attitude as he plans his senior year of high school, senior pictures are in 2 weeks! I miss hearing from everyone and greatly appreciated the messages and support.  Thanks…Love, Nan & Nate

We will update this post weekly or monthly depending on progress for those of you following for health reasons of your own.  I will speak for both of us when I say this trip was definately worth the time and money for the treatment.  While it  is great to be a pioneer in stem cell research we have both recieved personal growth from this experience too.  Thanks for the support, prayers and good wishes – it has meant A LOT to us.  Love, Nan and Nate

A Subway!!

Hello, we made it fine to Bejing and have been enjoying the hotel this evening.  The first thing we wanted to do was go swimming, that was great!  The hotel package included 2 massages so we also did that and had dinner.  We can add rabbit and shark fin to the list of new things we have tried.  We haven’t decided what will be our first American food, there are so many things we have missed.

Nate is feeling good today, I believe his balance is truly better.  It’s the small things we are noticing, the tremors in his hands have stopped and also he walks faster and with his feet closer together.  It was sad to say goodbye to all the good people we met but it also felt good to have finished.  The end picture is our friends from Alabama, Lana (the mom) is being treated for stargardts disease. Last night Dr. Hung and her husband surprised us and took us out for dinner, it was so good..we had dumplings,  rabbit and pork.  The pork looked like a pyramid, it is filled with some kind of vegetable but it is one long continuous piece of meat (reminded me of bacon) shaped & served with steamed bread.  We were stuffed!  One thing we noticed already is that things in Bejing are 3 times more expensive, I think we spent more today than we did all month.  Tomorrow will be site seeing..Yeah!

Yesterday and today have been full of visits in the hallway and exchanging of addresses.  Each patient here is addressing their own issues yet we have found strength in sharing this part of our journey together – a side benefit from stem cell therapy in China you could say.  The people from Alabama along with the mother and son from Egypt will share our van tomorrow, though they are each leaving to go directly to the airport.  Also, our guide Frank is leaving China to move to Australia to begin his own massage business, how exciting for he and his wife.  Today we went to the ‘curiosity shop’ which was really just a market of all things Chinese.  We didn’t get to stay too long because it was so hot but we were treated to the preparation and service of Chinese tea.  The owners wanted me to pay them with American dollars so through our guide we came up with a fair price, unfortunately that leaves me with $3 to come home with.  I am sure I can exchange Yuan for Dollars at the airport.

Nathan is feeling good today, only a slight headache when we were on our way home from shopping., probably the crazy taxi ride.  I would never try to drive in China.  After he laid flat for a while, it went away..we will have to be careful while we are sight seeing. Well, take care and I will write more from Bejing!  Love, Nan & Nate

When we get home, you may be wondering what to do or say.   We have had quite a blow so we understand that it is difficult to know how to react.  Just remember, we are the same friends you had before and we plan to always be.  We are approaching this with a positive attitude and we will always appreciate your concern, comments,support or advise.  Never hesitate to say hi or just talk,  be at ease.  Thanks again for everything and especially for caring about Nate & helping him feel supported and strong through this.  Love, Nan & Nate