This proved to be one of our most interesting days here so far. After Dave’s regular acupuncture and electric wave therapy, he asked Martin if he could do anything about the pain in his neck. No, he wasn’t referring to me, but to a very bad pain he got about 3 years ago while he was golfing. It has never gone away. After analyzing him, Martin put some needles into specific spots on his hands and legs. Then he drew two circles on his lower neck. Next he lit something about five inches long that looked like some type of firecracker. This is called moxie and puts off a great amount of smoke and really smells. Martin told me that I should hold the lit end about half an inch from the circles he had drawn and continue holding it until it completely burned out. It took about an hour and 10 minutes so I was glad when our friend, Linda, from Tennessee offered to take over for me. After this was completed Martin put a needle in at the base of Dave’s neck and put a cup over the entire needle in order to do cupping back there. After that, Dave said his neck felt so much better. This morning he said his neck feels really good and he is so glad that he asked Martin about it! We are really liking some of the traditional Chinese medicines and will look for someone in the Chicago area who has this type of knowledge. Too bad we couldn’t just bring Martin back with us, but he has a brand new girlfriend here so I don’t think he wants to leave.
Mrs. Martin did Dave’s entire physical therapy program with him today without any help from Martin. (She even wore his long white lab coat to help give her credibility with Dave). Dave’s balance has improved so much as he does his exercises – we (he) will definitely continue doing them at home! This is so important in helping train the stem cells in what they are to be doing.
We had a bit of a celebration in the evening as Martin planned a night of singing at a nearby Karaoke Club. These clubs are very popular over here and are like beautiful palaces inside, with many separate rooms to be reserved for groups. It was like a going away party because next week, there are at least 12 of us who will be leaving to go back home. There were 25 of us who went
August 31st, 2007
Today was Dave’s last stem cell injection, which was given through an IV. This injection is the easy one because there is no preparation before the injection and no down time afterwards. Dave was so relaxed during it that he fell asleep. Of course, the fact that Nurse Catherine put some lovely music on for him and and he was in a comfy recliner helped the sleep factor!
It was a very light day for us today, with no physical therapy, because Dave got the stem cells during his regular therapy time. Afterwards, we decided to take a little nap which was quite refreshing. We decided not to go outside of the hospital today because our friend, Ryan, from Colorado got a spinal injection today and since his parents left on Monday for a quick tour of the Great Wall, I assured them we would check up on Ryan during the six hour flat period.
Many of the patients here have had stem cell treatments at other hospitals in China. These hospitals are all run by the Beike Biotech Company. Presently there are three hospitals doing stem cells and they are planning to open two more shortly. It is very interesting to hear their stories and stories of people they saw who had great results. Today I spent some time holding baby, Liam, who is now five weeks old. He arrived when he was three weeks old and was deprived of oxygen for 13 minutes when he was born. Knowing that there was some brain damage and signs of CP, his parents were able to quickly get everything approved for a fast trip to China. He has had two injections so far and we all see such improvement in him. His legs are no longer rigid and his hands are no longer clenched tight. He is very observant and is able to track movement with his eyes. His mom is so very happy and we feel that his dad, who was only here for the first week, will not recognize him when they return home.
Pictures today are of Dave getting his injection, as well as some of the actual stem cells. That little pouch of stem cells provides such hope for us. Maybe someday, Dave will not only be able to walk out to our mailbox, but maybe he will be able to tackle the Great Wall of China! (Ryan’s parents e-mailed this picture to us so we would be able to say we saw the Great Wall while on our trip to China)!
August 30th, 2007
Dave is on the final count down for his remaining acupuncture treatments. After today’s session, only three more to go! Many of the spinal cord injury patients do get acupuncture on a regular basis in the United States. They say they really miss it when they don’t have it. They also claim that it totally relaxes them, which could be another reason Dave is sleeping so well and so often over here. We think that we will look for a good acupuncturist when we return home.
Today was a great day of physical therapy. I actually did all of the exercises along with Dave. Let me just say that it was quite the workout! The pictures that I have been posting certainly don’t tell the whole story – they make it look pretty easy. It was not until I felt the pain after the workout (and I consider myself to be pretty strong & in pretty good shape), that I could really appreciate all of the effort that Dave is putting into this program! We keep praying that positive results will come from all of this. We do know that the greatest improvements will not be seen for several months yet.
Our number one reason for being over here is to help Dave get better by gaining back his balance and the ability to walk without his leg brace and cane. An added benefit for us is that we are able to see some miraculous healing that is the result of stem cell treatments. Nori, a 10 year old little girl with CP couldn’t walk last year when she came here from Hungary for 8 weeks of treatments. She is back now for more treatments and we were out in the hall as she was walking and running while pushing a big rubber ball. How thrilled her parents are! What we are hearing is that the sooner stem cells are given after a diagnosis of an illness or a bad accident, the better and perhaps quicker the results. We really need to get it approved in the United States. It could help so many people who right now feel hopeless. Our neighbor here was in Beijing with her daughter several years ago and saw terrific stem cell results in patients having ALS. I’m starting to feel that it is our duty to lobby in Washington for umbilical stem cell use once we get back home. It is not fair that only a select number of people can get this kind of help only by traveling half way around the world!
We had an excellent dinner at Pizza Hut last night. By the way, fresh fish in the Chinese restaurant here means live fish that are swimming around…no thank you! We have had some great Chinese food, though, but with pizza we always know what we are eating! Another plus of us being some of the only foreigners over here, is that when we do go to Pizza Hut, the waitress remembers us and in her limited English, says “I know , you don’t like beef”.
I am so very proud of Dave. Not only does Johnny call Dave “the best English teacher” but also last night he proved to be excellent at Chinese. He so confidently asked the cab driver to take us to Xiao Shan Hospital in his fluent Chinese…guess what? That is exactly where the cabbie took us – home, sweet, home! This was the first time that we did not have to point at the hospital name on a business card!
Pictures today include physical therapy, and the mountain we see from our window. In that picture the building with the big red letters is the RT Supermarket in which we do most of our shopping. It is about a $1.00 (U.S. money) cab ride to go through the tunnel to the other side of the mountain. I might go there one day just to see what I can see. The last picture shows the box of individual, one use, sterilized needles used for acupuncture. I know some of you might have wondered about the sterilization over here – this hospital follows the same sterility protocol as U.S. hospitals.
(Sorry this is a bit late but the internet was down for a little while today)
August 29th, 2007
This was a very good day for Dave! After talking with Dr. Mike, it was decided that Dave’s last injection of stem cells would be through an IV instead of the previously planned spinal. This is because Dr. Mike feels that it will be good for Dave’s legs to have the immediate effect of the peripheral stem cells throughout his body. The spinal stem cells have a much harder job to do in helping to fix the lesions on his brain. The added benefit in having the IV injection is that Dave won’t have to lay flat for six hours anymore!
The least favorite part of Dave’s day is still the acupuncture. One of today’s pictures is of Martin sticking the needles into Dave’s body. Dave insists that now the needles are being hooked up to two car batteries to provide the voltage throughout his body.I think it is more like a nine volt battery, but I give him sympathy and console him anyway! I assure him that I am feeling his pain!
For those of you who are concerned about Mrs. Martin venturing out into the city by herself…fear not! One of the other caregivers here is an ex-Marine from Los Angeles. We call him our bodyguard. The picture below is self explanatory!
Physical therapy went very well today! Dave was able to do all that he was doing when we first arrived, plus a few more things. He has accumulated quite the cheering section so when he was at the end of his therapy session – he decided to try running…not a pretty sight! He still continues to give those new stem cells proper napping time and we both slept in today until 6:00 AM. That should definitely help with the fatigue level!
Today’s scenery pictures include one of the Traditional Market and one of a typical apartment building, complete with clothes drying outside. There doesn’t seem to be many clothes dryers over here so the balmy breezes work just fine after washing the clothes. In our room, after I wash our clothes in the bathroom sink, visitors can find clothes hanging from light fixtures, door knobs, etc. I haven’t ventured to hang our wet clothes outside our window yet because I don’t want to find that our underwear has come loose and is now free to blow across China!
August 28th, 2007
We foreigners in the hospital always consider Sunday to be a special day of rest because it is the one day of the week that we are all free at the same time. To celebrate, about 23 of us met at the hotel for the brunch. They were very kind at the hotel (or just plain smart) and gave us our own, private room. After stuffing ourselves, and we thought we would lose weight while over here, everyone ventured off to do their own thing. We went to Time Square (not quite like NYC) and browsed through the store. It is really just like a three story Target and is a littler cooler temperature wise than it is outside.
After returning to our “home”, Dave walked three laps and then was ready for a nap. Dave seems to be extremely tired lately and we have now decided that it is a combination of the stem cells, the sizzling heat and the time zone issue. He was then energized and wanted to walk to Macy’s. This is a four story store that is called the Huidelong Shopping Mall. We can never remember this name so we just call it Macy’s. The nurses now know it as Macy’s. We went there with our friends, Jack & Sue and to return to the hospital we were able to catch a ride in a rickshaw built for four. What a wild ride that was! I would have taken a picture from the rickshaw but I was too busy trying to keep Dave and myself from falling out! Jack and Sue had to fend for themselves!
Dave’s progress is at a stand still…we of course were hoping to be able to report positive changes everyday. Realistically, we can’t expect dramatic results for at least 75 days. At least we feel we are doing the right thing by being here and we are trying to have patience for what is to come.
Several people have asked how I (Mrs. Martin) am doing. It is quite an esteem builder for me over here because suddenly I am so much taller and have such very long legs. For fun, the nurses and I like to compare our heights. They don’t believe that I am considered to be very short in the United States! (See the picture below of Sophie and me to see what I mean). I love the nurses uniforms – they all dress in the same blue uniforms and hats and have their hair up in buns in matching bun holders. They are really quite cute! (For those interested in fashion, check out the picture showing the cute bun holders).
It is almost time for Dave’s physical therapy and I am very curious to see what Martin will have Dave do today, since it has been four days since his last therapy session! Since Dave is so rested now, I think it will be a great therapy session.
Here is another picture of Dave in therapy – I’m taking pictures of each exercise so we will remember what to do when we go back to St. Charles.
The last picture is of the authentic Chinese restauant that we did not eat in because none of us could read the menu or figure out what the pictures were of.
August 27th, 2007
Martin’s day off means Dave’s day off. We love when that day happens to be the day after a spinal. It becomes a very relaxed day for us and Dave is able to concentrate on allowing those baby stem cells to do what they should be doing. We are happy to report that Dave’s feet have stayed normal in color and he was able to start doing his laps again. There is no more pain in Dave’s legs and only a bit of a headache left, which is great! He is spending some quality time napping (more so than when we first arrived). The nurses say that sleep is very good to help the stem cells grow strong. When he naps, I do my posting on this blog or go out visiting with other patients on the floor. It really makes us count our blessings after talking with many of the other patients here for the same stem cell treatments.
Because Dave was feeling quite well, we decided to check out the Traditional Market, also known as WuShan Square. Unfortunately, it was so extremely hot outside that we couldn’t stay there for very long. The market consists of many tiny shops and the shopkeepers are very much into bargaining with you. As a matter of fact, after they tell you the price of something, they hand you a calculator so you can show them what you will pay for the item. Sometimes they will accept your price and other times not. We absolutely had to get out of the heat so what did we find…but a friendly McDonalds! Dave and Jack spent the rest of the time sitting with Ronald McDonald while Jack’s wife, Sue, and I did a little power browsing!
Unfortunately, after eating at the golden arches, Dave got a bad case of hiccups (he never gets hiccups)! After we returned to the hospital, he continued hiccuping for about three hours. At that point I told him I was going to talk to the nurse and see if there was any ancient Chinese medicine to get rid of hiccups. I went to the nurses station where the nurse and one of the doctors were standing and asked their advice. The doctor explained how I should hold the pressure points between Dave’s thumbs and index fingers. Next, I was to push on the pressure points above his eyes. Then he was to take seven large gulps of water. This was all to be followed with a large cleansing breath in, then a slow exhale. Of course when I went back to our room and told Dave I could help him, he was like “ya,ya,ya…whatever”. After going through my whole ritual, believe it or not, Dave stopped hiccuping! I guess my new title can be Dr. of Ancient Chinese Medicine!
Pictures for today include Dave & Jack with Ronald, (they could be quite wealthy if they had charged for every picture that was taken of them by Chinese people. This city is definitely not a tourist area so the only non-Chinese people on the streets are those of us from the hospital).
We are amazed at how clean the roads are kept. The next picture shows one of the many street cleaners who are continually sweeping.
The last picture shows some of the farms that we see from our window. The farmers are out there from early morning until late at night. Everything is done by hand – no machines or farm equipment is used. The farmers carry two buckets of water on their shoulders from the green canal seen at the back of the picture. Then they spend hours sprinkling water over the crops with a long handled shovel. Very hot, tedious work. Each day we see a rickshaw pull up to the field and take some green crops to the market.
August 26th, 2007
This morning we woke up at 3:00 am filled with much apprehension regarding Dave’s second spinal injection. After his morning therapies, we decided to go to the only bank in the city of Hangzhou that will cash travelers cheques. Johnny went with us which was a good thing because nobody in the bank could speak very much English. It took us an hour to get the cheques cashed. By the time we got back to the hospital it was past the time that Dave could eat or drink anything before the spinal…poor guy! The nurses knew how stressed Dave was so when they put the IV in they gave him “something to make him relax”. Boy, did that work – one minute he was talking to me and our friend, Jack, and in the middle of his sentence, he was sound asleep with his eyes half open. I must have had a very frightened look on my face because Sunny, the nurse, kept telling me “it is okay, don’t worry, he is only sleeping”. He was out so suddenly that I must admit that Jack & I were studying Dave’s chest to make sure he was indeed still breathing.
While in the transplant room, Dr. Mike asked Dave how he was doing. After answering him, Dave asked Dr. Mike how he was doing. He replied, “It is my duty, Dave, to make you well”. We really like his philosophy!
When they brought Dave back to his room after the spinal, Sunny was very concerned about the ‘problem’ with Dave’s leg. She told me to massage his right thigh very rapidly for 30 minutes to get the feeling back. Evidently, the position he was in during the injection caused the leg to go numb. Initially, Dave thought he was paralyzed, but his feeling did return nicely.
Sunny came in to change the IV bag and Dave was very groggy. He looked at her and asked if he was in heaven. She said “No, you are in the people’s world and you must stay there while I am working! You cannot go to heaven on my shift!”.
The good news is that after the six hours of laying flat, Dave got up feeling the best that he has felt since his days of pain. That intense pain in his legs is now gone. He does have a very small headache and a bit of a sore back, but these are minor side effects that he can live with (easy for me to say).
Todays pictures include a typical morning Doctor’s visit (in addition to the four doctors there are usually four nurses who attend also), our normal evening chat session at the nurses station, our favorite form of transportation…the rickshaw, and another picture of our day at the foot bath.
August 25th, 2007
Well, we have gone from a bad day to a very bad day. Not only was the fatigue worse for Dave today, but he has had intense pain in his legs, also. Other than having the acupuncture and several sessions of the electric wave therapy (this is supposed to help relax the muscles in his legs) Dave spent most of the day in bed. He walked two laps but was not able to do his physical therapy. Dr. Mike explained that the pain is due to the stem cells, not the physical therapy. The neurons from the brain are going down to his legs to stimulate nerves that have not been working for a long time. If the pain doesn’t subside soon, they will give him a special medicine to help take the pain away.
Instead of the physical therapy, Martin performed the ancient Chinese medicine called ‘cupping’ on Dave’s shoulder. This shoulder has been very painful for a long time due to all the times Dave uses the cane to catch himself as he starts to fall. The cupping procedure is used to draw out toxins and ‘cold’ from an area, thus drawing out the pain. Dave said his shoulder hasn’t felt this good in many, many months. In case you are wondering, Martin gained his knowledge in ancient Chinese medicine from his grandfather, as well as five years of school.
We went for another foot bath today to hopefully help the pain in Dave’s legs. Wonderful experience…one hour and fifty minutes for $12.00 per person. That included a full body massage!
Tomorrow Dave will be getting his second spinal injection. It should be easier on him than the first one. Dr. Mike says “don’t worry”.
As we know from our journey in life, sometimes we have to take a few steps backward in order to move forward. That is what Dave is doing now and we look forward to his positive progress in the next couple of days! Pictures are: Cupping, different view, and foot bath.
August 24th, 2007
This was the second day after Dave’s spinal injection and it proved to be a day of extreme fatigue for him. He may have also overdone it on the physical therapy as his legs are giving him quite a bit of pain. We have learned that Dave must pay more attention to what his body is telling him and adjust his day accordingly. It is good to push himself, but not to push too hard. Much of today was spent resting in bed (after all of his therapies were done), which was a good thing because the temperature outside was so blazing hot that he wouldn’t have done well out there! I ran to the supermarket for more provisions (I love to shop in the import isle because I can read what I am buying). By the time I got back to the hospital, it looked like I had gone swimming in my clothes.
Today Martin is planning to do ‘cupping’ on Dave to release some toxins and pain from his body. This is such an interesting procedure to watch. Hopefully, I will get some good pictures of it to post tomorrow.
Today’s pictures are of our hospital, the pretty park across the street from us and the view from our window, up on the 20th (top) floor. I think I finally figured out how to post the pictures and keep them there!
August 23rd, 2007
Today we were hopeful that Dave would awake without any side effects from yesterday’s spinal injection. He did have a small headache, but he wasn’t sure if it was the direct result of the spinal or if it was just from laying flat for so long on the hard, hard mattress. It also hurts his head/neck if he sneezes or coughs. This is all short term and should be gone within the next couple of days. Advil seems to keep the pain under control and Dave doesn’t have a fever so that is very good news.
Again, today, the acupuncture was painful to Dave’s legs. He likes to listen to music during this time to help him relax and it was quite funny watching his legs because his feet were tapping away in perfect time to the music. Without the needles stuck in him and the electricity hooked up to them, Dave wouldn’t have been able to tap his feet like that even if he tried to!
Physical therapy was a little tougher for Dave today, maybe because yesterday was more tiring due to stress, etc. Martin changed some of the exercises because he could tell that Dave was more physically exhausted. When his body responds in a stronger way, the therapy will be changed accordingly. Martin also thought we should go back to the Foot Bath for more foot and body massage, which is fine with me!
We enjoyed our delivered Chinese food so much last night that we ordered from the same place tonight. After eating Dave felt energized enough to do eight laps in the hallway, including the backwards walking. Here are a couple of pictures taken in physical therapy with Mr. Martin and Mrs. Martin.
Very Good! Great Job!
August 21st, 2007
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