Another exciting day. I awoke this morning and realized that my calf muscles actually look and feel almost normal. The right one more so that the left one. The accupuncture in my right arm seems to be having some effect as I have much less tingling and numbness now. Pain is still with me overall but it seems more managable.
I met Jon an his father at physio and made plans to join them and a few others for dinner. They are both incredibly nice men who seem very dedicated to this project. He also wants to do some filming for the CBC documentary. In my room this afternoon, while showing him my leg movement, my left leg accidentally slipped off the side of the bed. With cameras rolling, I shocked everyone including myself, when i actually lifted my left leg up and over the right leg, clearing it by a good 3-4 inches. I was in such shock that the only thing I could think to do was throw my leg off the bed again and see if I could successfully repeat the movement. Success again. 
At dinner, I discussed with Jon the idea of stepping the treatment program up to include a 6th injection. The next one will be an IV an should help deal with some general issues like pain. We also agreed to do a bone marrow culture of my own stem cells. This will become the 6th injection and will be mixed with the cord blood stem cells. We also discussed the addition of lithium chloride to boost the entire effect.
I am very excited and more than pleased with the results to date.
November 15th, 2006
I was finally able to get my phone cards working today so it was nice to make some calls and get in touch with friends. I am still having a lot of difficulty getting on line most days so everyone was happy to hear from me.
I noticed I am sweating behind my knees now. I am not really sure if this is new or not as I never really thought to check it. I have learned that this is an important sign so though I should document it. I have also noticed that I am hungry all the time now. We went to the local hotel for dinner tonight, had an impressive meal complete with a tea pouring ceremony. After selecting our tea, they set a little wooden box with a baby tea set on it. We had a hostess continually making and pouring the fresh hot tea into tiny thimble size tea cups. It was very interesting to watch and I have decided I want to buy one of these sets to take home. Now the problem will be who will make and pour it for my guests and I at home……..ha ha
I had my second stem cell injection today. I awoke with a very slight headache but nothing compared to what some experience. I also woke up at 10 pm, unlike the first time where I slept for 9 hours.
They are working me pretty hard in physio these days so am very tired at days end. I am on my hands and knees doing push-ups. They want me to try doing it with just one hand. I think they have watched Syvlester Stallone in Rocky do this one too many times and I keep asking my therapist to try doing it himself. They also have me on my knees with one of those large exercise balls in front of me. The idea here is to hold my balance and move the ball slightly. This not only works my lumbar muscles but helps with my overall balance. I have one of these balls at home so will work it into my daily work out when I return.
I also had an MRI this morning and am waiting on the results. Other tests that have been done are an electical stimulation for muscle response as well as euro dynamics. This is designed to see how much the bladder can hold before releasing. Both of these tests will be repeated before I leave to see if there are any changes.
November 15th, 2006
I had my second injection today. I had a slight headache upon waking at 10 pm but nothing major. It went away after a few hours. They have me working pretty hard at physio these days so I am pretty tired by days end. I had an MRI this morning and am waiting on the results to learn whether or not I will have surgery.
November 14th, 2006
I spent the day quietly resting in bed as instructed. I’m feeling fine but no miracles noted.
Sunday I was up early, went out for breakfast then returned to my room to get dressed for my first day of shopping. I was shocked to discover that I had therapy instead. My schedule said it was a free day. I pee’d on the toilet differently that before. I was able to get my bladder to release but not able to completely empty. I also noticed I am sweating behind the knees, don’t know if that is new or not. I am hungry all the time now. We went to the local hotel for dinner and had an impressive meal complete with tea pouring ceremony.
November 11th, 2006
I woke after a restful 8 hours sleep. I feel I should document the fact that the first real change I have noticed so far is that I don’t seem to need my usual 12 hours sleep I have been logging since the accident. I don’t know if this is just a coincidence or if it is a permanent change but I will monitor this. What a blessing it would be to return to the usual 7-8 hours sleep most require as opposed to having to devote half my life to sleeping now.
I was collected early this morning for a euro-dynamics appointment. That basically translates into how much urine can my bladder hold before it lets go with a flood. The appointment went well with the exception of the usual issues of language barriers. I had a difficult time getting them to understand that I do not feel “the urge” to go nor can I control the flow either starting or stopping. The concept of catheterization as required (also known as “in and outs”) seems to be foreign to them.
Today, I will get my first round of stem cells. I was told that was to be at 3 pm so by 4:30, when I was still sitting in my room, I was getting a little anxious. It was not that I was nervous about the whole thing, more so I was a little on edge thinking something had perhaps gone wrong and it would not end up happening after all. They finally collected me at 5 pm, whew. I learned that the “time for treatment” means more that it will occur sometime after that. The patients are sort of lined up and treated one after the other as opposed to having a specific appointment. One more learning curve I have gone down. The trip down the hall to the surgery was an adventure in it’s self. Could they bump and bang into any more walls and doors if they tried? The workers here are all very kind and considerate but I don’t think they have any idea how the jostling to and fro sends waves of pain shooting down my back. I was then left to sit out in the hall with the instructions “Please wait here”. OK, let’s see. I’m paralized from the waist down, laying on a gurney with no wheelchair in sight. Where did they thing I was going to go?
The nurse in surgery inserted an IV of a valium type substance. I was told to expect a “prick” like sensation. It was more like a searing hot poker being driven up my arm. After that, I was out cold until 3 am. I woke up feeling great, no sign of the headache some patients have spoken of. My hand, where the IV was inserted, is horribly swollen and bruised. I do plan on mentioning this to someone as I feel that this could easily have been managed by just injecting slower. Just my humble opinion though.
November 10th, 2006
Another great day in China. Began the morning with an examination by Dr Zhang. She confirmed that my sphincter muscle is working, what great news. Does that make me a genuine A-hole? This means that I should be able to get my bowl control back, Yahoo. Not sure if this is the kind of news I want to share with the world but what the heck. Morning physio consisted of the same routine as yesterday and repeated it all in the afternoon. Tomorrow I am set to get my first round of stem cells so am pretty excited about that. Although I am not exactly sure what to expect, I have been told by the others that it is nothing to be worried about. I am much more comfortable with the entire proceedure now that I have learned that the first one, at least, will be done by injection. Many others have had it and the word is that as long as you remain still afterwards, there should be little or no pain. I will have to wait until I have an MRI done to learn if I will be having surgery or not.
November 9th, 2006
I slep well, a solid 24 hours to my room-mates surprise. He had a little trouble with jet lag. I seem to have adjusted well and feel I am on track time wise. I would really love a shower but am having a little difficulty with the bathroom as I cannot seem to figure out how to get the wheelchair in there. Ours is not set us as well for a wheelchair as some others are. Oh well, our room is bigger so we will just have to make do. I have met several of the other patients and everyone seems to be very friendly. I guess all being here with a common purpose helps to forge bonds quickly. I had my first session of physio today. Accupuncture followed by electrical stimulation, the standing frame and balance exercises. We finished off with a little chinese massage. It was not nearly as long as others I noticed and I had to sit up for it as opposed to laying down. Now what gives with that Back to the room for a few hours then downstairs for dinner. That was about all the engery I had before calling it a day. The room is set up with a TV and a DVD player so that was nice.
November 8th, 2006
I have met many of the program support staff as well as other patients here for treatment. The only problem I have encountered so far is trying to remember all the names. Perhaps little nametags would be good idea :-0 I have started some of the initial tests required, blood etc and have found the staff excellent at not only keeping you aware of when and where you are suppose to be but they actually accompany you to the exact place you are suppose to be. Everything seems to be working out smoothly so far.
We went for authentic dim sum today and I must say it was delicious. I can hardly wait to go back and do it again. Problem is, it ends at 11:30 and I am scheduled for therapy every day intil then so I might have to play hookey one day in order to fit it in.
November 7th, 2006
Thank goodness we were all able to keep our heads about us as we realized we had somehow lost an entire day. We finally met up with our driver who delivered us safe and sound to Nanshen Hospital. I have always suffered with a little motion sickness so I was a little green around the gills by the time we made it here. Too bad as I was not able to take in our surroundings at all but was kindly informed by Jens what the lay of the land looked like. It was hard to see it myself as I had my head hanging in a plastic bag fighting the urge to upchuck. Thank goodness it was just a feeling and not a reality as I was forced to resort to dumping out the drivers bag of photos he had in the back seat. He was unaware of this I discovered by the look on his face when I handed him his still clean bag back after we arrived at the hospital. Hey, a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do.
We were met at the doors by Sunny and Grace and shown to our rooms. I was immediately impressed by the newness and cleanliness of everything around us. The general ambiance on the 14th floor is great, upbeat and friendly. I am meeting other patients and beginning conversations and I haven’t even gotten into our room yet. My overall impression is very positive.
November 7th, 2006
What a busy morning, up at 4:30 a.m. Randall arrived before 6 with coffee in hand. The news cameras and limo were all timely, here well before 7. I slept lightly but well, everything considered. Somehow managed to leave the house with my carry on/computer bag still sitting on the kitchen table. Luckily, I was able to get ahold of Randall who gallantly came to my rescue. I am again reminded of what great friends I have.
A few photos and last minute words with the press and it is suddenly time to kiss the girls good bye, pass through the doors and head to our departure gate. We arrive with no time to spare as they are already starting to seat the passengers.
We are now nicely settled into our business class seats on Air Canada Flight #15, thanks to Jens, and are good to go. It was a wonderful flight, good food, yummy dim sum (I had two). We touch down one hour early and I feel surprisingly refreshed. We receive excellent help on the Hong Kong side but soon run into a bit of an issue trying to find our pre-arranged pick-up. Due to a date line change during the flight, they were here one day early to pick us up, something none of us clued into for some reason. I called my eldest daughter, Meaghan, at 2 a.m. her time. She was aware of the issue and thankfully was able to reassure us that our pick-up was on the way. Although we thought we were an hour early, they saw us as a day late. Thank goodness it all worked out.
November 6th, 2006
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