If everything goes as planned Paul and Carl will be arriving in Houston, Tx. Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 6:08 a.m.!!! Please pray for their safe return!!! Thanks to all for your prayers, comments and support!!!!
2 comments January 30th, 2008
Carl had his last stem cell injection on Friday and did very well. His light perception is getting better and better. He can tell when there are bright lights turning on and when the light is shined on him. He is very grateful to be able to tell when the sun comes up instead of relying on his talking watch. He has made a lot of progress in just 5 weeks! He will not miss the acupuncture at all and I know Paul and Carl both are ready to get home and eat normal food again! They are busy meeting with Kirshner and the reporters who are in China now doing interviews for a story they are working on…we will hopefully let you know which network and when it will be aired. The local network here in Houston (Fox26) will be coming to Paul’s house in Houston next weekend to do a story on Carl upon their return. I know Carl is excited about getting back in time for him to listen to the Super Bowl! Maybe by next year, he will be able to watch it!!! If Carl continues to improve the way he is now, he may not have to do the hyperbaric chamber when he returns as long as he keeps progressing. We will keep you all updated and thanks for all your comments, prayers, and support!!! KEEP IT COMING AND PRAY FOR THEIR SAFE RETURN TO THE USA FROM CHINA!!!
3 comments January 27th, 2008
They have been asked to extend their stay by 5 days to be able to be interviewed and be a part of a story Kirshner is working on, who just arrived in Hangzhou a couple of days ago. Carl is progressing with his light perception but it will take many months and he knows he will have to be patient. He said he has already received more than he ever thought he would since the first stem cell treatment he had was only 20 days ago. They are getting very bored because the weather has been rainy and very cold. They talk of the fireworks going off all hours of the night and day…it is very loud and sometimes right outside their window. Paul had to go downtown to get their airline tickets changed and he said the traffic there is really scary and we would not ever want to drive there! Carl gets another stem cell treatment on Monday and then again on Friday…they are now returning to Houston on Jan. 31 at 6:00 a.m.
8 comments January 20th, 2008
We had a going away pizza party for one of the families here in the hospital. It was a welcome relief from the usual boredom. We can’t leave the hospital for too long because of the doctor visits in the morning 9:00 to 10:00 and then therapy and acupuncture in the afternoon. The weather has been cold and a little wet the past few days. Highs are around 40 degrees so we don’t want to go out much anyway. Right now it is 36 and starting to snow. We went to a very fancy restaurant close to here (more Chinese food of course – yum). It was very elaborate inside but surprisingly not expensive at all.Carl’s light perception is still improving slowly. It gets a little better every day. Still not seeing any movement, shadows or colors but Carl seems to think it won’t be too much longer if things keep improving. Carl has the bladder of a 6 year old girl. When he gets the stem cell treatment he also gets 2 pints of fluid in an IV. He went to pee twice before the treatment and still had to get up 5 times during the 6 hours he was supposed to be lying flat. That is probably why he got a headache this time. He is doing fine now this morning. (click on the pictures for a larger view)
4 comments January 15th, 2008
Carl just had his 4th stem cell injection and is doing great! He has had 3 spinal and 1 IV stem cell injection. He said he can visualize a bigger area of light now when the sun is coming up…he still cannot see anything but he has light perception which is more than he did have. He is not enjoying the acupuncture (he wants to strangle the tech-see below) but we all think it is helping him. They have been trying to find the McDonald’s but not sure they were ever able to locate it (Paul must really be desperate if he wants to eat there)! They said they did get some sweet and sour pork that was not too bad but it did not have the sweet sauce on it. They are meeting lots of friends there from all over the world that are there with their children mainly. (Click on the picture for a larger image).
4 comments January 14th, 2008
Paul just reported that the doctor had just come in to do the regular eye exam on Carl, where they close the blinds and they shined a flashlight in Carl’s eyes…he could barely see a flicker of the light out of the corner of his right eye (the first flicker of real light in 4 years)! They said his pupils were definitely changing and they were different than before! As you can imagine Carl is very ecstatic after just getting his 2nd stem cell treatment! This is a true miracle…stay tuned for more updates!
3 comments January 8th, 2008
Latest email from Paul: They went shopping on Saturday and Sunday they went on a long hike:
We went to see a monument that looks like the Washington monument on a small mountain top about 2 miles from the hospital. We had to walk around to the back side of the hill to get to the steps so it is probably 6 or 7 miles round trip. There are 728 steps going up the hill. Carl didn’t complain a bit but we had to make several rest stops on the way up. On the way back, we stopped to get some lunch at a place called UBC coffee house. I thought it would be a simple cafe but when we got inside it looked very high class. I ordered a dish called crispy pigeon. It sounded good at the time but what I got was not crispy, not even warm and I don’t think it was pigeon. It was like a half of a small chicken that had been boiled and chopped up (bones included). It was not edible. Carl got the fried cod dinner which consisted of some kind of fish steaks that instead of being filleted it was sliced through the center of the fish and pan fried with the bones in. We got some fried spring rolls that were some kind of sweet purple stuff wrapped around some green paste stuff and dipped in some light crispy batter then fried. Of course it was served with ketchup. Carl said “this sux”. Carl did get what I think was vegetable soup with his meal that was good and a glass of white wine that tasted like a good grade of gasoline. We ended up spending about $30 US. We have decided not to complain anymore about the greasy chinese food that we get delivered to the hospital. It is reasonably good, about $4 and feeds us both for 2 meals with food left over.
2 comments January 7th, 2008
Carl says he is seeing false flashes of lights like never before. He still cannot see light from a flashlight shined in his eye but he says something is very different. He says that everything is now gray instead of black. He is getting excited and hoping he will start seeing any second now but knows it will take awhile before the stem cells can start to grow.
3 comments January 6th, 2008
Carl has had one spinal stem cell injection this week. He said the hard part was that he had to be very still for six hours afterwards. He is receiving the electrotherapy/ acupuncture every day except on the stem cell injection day. He is seeing the firework effect (flashes) so he thinks something is happening. Carl is becoming quite the photographer. Below is a picture of the hospital and pictures of the stem cell staff. It is quite cold there but they are trying to get out and walk every day. This weekend, they plan on walking several miles to some type of monument/temple that has hundreds of stairs to climb. They can be gone for longer periods of time since Carl has no treatments scheduled over the weekend. Stay tuned for further updates on Carl’s miracle waiting to happen!
3 comments January 4th, 2008
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