Al’s Ataxia Blog

December 1, 2008

December 1st, 2008

And now a reality check.  We are in the middle of our stemcell treatments.  Three down and three to go.  From what i know about stemcells, it will take weeks to months for them to go to the site that needs repair, to engraft themselves and to become trained to do repetetive activities.  Joanne says she sees improvement in my speech and hovers over me each morning waiting for me to say something.  To me it still sounds like Donald Duck with a headcold.  Just baby steps.

I don’t expect to throw my crutches away, take off my braces and get out of the wheelchair and go running down the aisle of the airport yelling “I’m cured, I’m cured”.  PT seems to be going OK and Andy, my P.T. instructor is upping the difficulty each day.  We armwrestled today and we tied.  Although I’m sure he was holding back.  There’s a big difference between a 25yr. old and a 67 yr. old.

This afternoon I am going to my fourth spinal and am not looking forward to six hours lying on my back.  Al

We had the pleasure of an overnight getaway at the nearby Holiday Inn (5star hotel).  It was akin to stepping into Shangrila.  The people are so gracious and anxious to make everyone comfortable.  Oddly, with all this luxury, Al and the other two patients (not the caregivers) couldn’t wait to get back to the hospital.  It is their comfort zone.  -Joanne

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