Devin’ ONH Blog

We made it! Finally home safe and sound!! It took a few days to get back in the swing of things, but now everything is good. I finally got to eat my cheeseburger, and it was absolutely delicious!! Now it’s diet time!! It was so great seeing everyone again! We had a BBQ the day after I got back, and it was pretty fun. I’ve been having a good ole time like I usually do. Today me and LeAnn went down to the boardwalk then we went shopping!! Shopping in America is one of my most favorite things to do!! Haha I still haven’t put my clothes away yet. I haven’t been home at all really. I think that’s on the agenda for tonight though. Well I guess that about sums everything up. Not too much excitement around here. I’ll be sure to keep you all posted on any changes. Thanks again for everything!!

It’s 5am, and I’ve been up since about 4, got a shower, and now here I am getting ready!! I actually got some sleep last night, which I desperately needed. I’m not a very good traveler when I’m grumpy. I’m in a great mood today so I shouldn’t have any problem! All I have to do is dry my hair and throw it up in some kinda way. Haha I’m sooo gonna miss my Chinese coffee in the morning!! Hopefully I can find some at the airport because I’m sure I’m gonna need it!! Well here we go!!! The end is finally here!!! I’ll be home within hours now!!! I can’t wait to see Bryan and Pop at the Philly airport!!! I can’t wait to give BIG HUGS & KISSES!!! Well I’ll see you guys soon!! <33

Well, tonight was the night for all of our goodbyes. It was pretty sad. I’m going to miss everyone so much!! I spent my last night watching Half Baked with Alice and MaryAnn. We had a great time. Now Doug and his wife are chatting with us before we go to bed. It’s been an amazing journey. Some days it felt like a roller coaster ride of emotions, but it was all worth it. Tomorrow we’re leaving the hospital at 7:30am and heading to the Hang Zhou airport! It’s gonna be a long day, and I’m sure I’m not going to sleep tonight because I’m so excited! Last night I didn’t sleep a wink, and I didn’t get a nap in, but it’ll be alright. I’m ready to go!! Hopefully we’ll have a smooth flight home and can understand the people at the Bei Jing airport!! Haha Last time we were there we sat in the wrong terminal for like a half hour. We finally got some help, and thankfully we didn’t miss our flight. We definitely don’t need to miss any of our flights home. I won’t be a happy camper so we’ll have to pay extra close attention tomorrow!! Thanks again everyone for writing!! You guys have been a big help and have helped me get through some pretty tough days!! =)                                                                                                                                                                                         

Today was my last treatment! The IV was great. No pain at all!! Everything went well except my ipod decided to stop working for the time being. I got to meet Dr. Hakim and his son Jonathan, and I sang for everyone!! It was really cool. Our bags are pretty much packed, and we’re ready to see Philly!! Only one more full day left! We’re really going to miss everyone though. I’ve met the sweetest people I’ll never forget!! I’m just hanging out now getting ready to eat some KFC. Yummy!! I’m so not the fast food eater, but ya gotta do whatcha gotta do. Tonight will probably be another sleepless night since these stem cells make me really hyper. Looks like I’m gonna be running the stairs later. Well I’ll write tomorrow. If anyone has any questions just e-mail me, and I’d be happy to answer them! Thanks to everyone that has been writing!! 2 more days!!! XoXo                                                                                                                                                                                                 

I seriously think I have a sleeping problem. Hehe I don’t sleep and then I don’t feel like doing anything the next day! Today I’m just extra bored! I finally got caught up on all my e-mails since the internet was down, and now I’m just sitting here writing this blog. I’m so tired of looking at this computer screen and running up 20 flights of stairs everyday! I can’t wait to just go outside and run around in the grass and breathe some fresh Jersey air!! Only 3 days left!! Tomorrow’s IV should be a piece of cake!! I’ll be able to walk around and stuff instead of lay in bed for 6 hours! Thank God!! I can’t wait to get my hair done too! I look like a lion right now!!! Haha It’s pretty wild! Maybe I’ll go pull it up and go take a walk. That sounds like a good idea! I’ll write tomorrow! I’m gonna be eatin my big ole cheeseburger REALLY soon!! ByE=)                                                                                                     

Well, the internet has been down for a day in a half or so. Ahhh!!! It was so frustrating!! It’s back in action now thankfully. The 4th treatment went very well. The next day doctor Mike came in and put the light in the eye with only light perception and I immediately closed my eye. It was bright! I could see when they shined it in my right eye before, but not this strongly. Dr. Mike said it had a very quick reaction to the light which is another small but good improvement. They say it will take several months to see actual vision changes. Today the three of us went to a pagoda in West Lake. It was gorgeous! There was a lot to see there. Then we ate some Chinese and went to a few stores. We just got back to the hospital, and now we’re just going to relax. It was extremely hot today!! Four more days to go!!! I’m sooooo excited!!! I’ll see everyone really really soon!! Thanks for all the prayers, love, thoughts, & support!!                                                                             

7 more days left!! I can hardly believe it! It feels like yesterday when we arrived here in China, and now we’re down to a week!! It’s gonna be hard saying goodbye to everyone here. I’ve made some awesome friends! Maybe I’ll come back sometime. I’d really like to. It’s so interesting, and I’m thinking I might like to do something with stem cells or ONH and still sing too! Who knows. I’ve got all kinds of ideas in my head!! I think the hardest thing with being away was missing my family, my boyfriend, & my close friends. Other than that I’ve had a great time here! I feel like I’ve learned a lot, and I’m planning on learning some more Chinese over the internet. I want to start writing an autobiography too!! It looks like I’m going to be busy with everything I want to accomplish!! Haha I’m not really doing much of anything today. I ran up 20 flights of stairs to get some exercise, which was exhausting, and now I’m just hanging out. Tomorrow is my 4th spinal. This will be the last one. On Friday I’ll have the IV, and that will complete my stem cell treatments!! Then it’s home sweet home I go!! I’ll let everyone know how tomorrow goes. See you all real soon!! PRAY!!<33                                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                               Last night me, Hannah, Alf, & Johnny went to Hang Zhou to check out the night life. We had a blast!! First we ate some Chinese and I got the opportunity to use some chopsticks!! Interesting…let me just tell you it’s hard!! I did really good though. We were sitting outside eating and I heard some music and I said oooh is that the ice cream man? Well I was totally wrong. Here in China they have trucks that sweep the streets, and they play little tunes like the ice cream man. I learn something new everyday!! My Chinese is really getting good too! So anyway we checked out the Cocoa club. That was really cool. We did a whole lot of dancing, and it was hot! I even got to experience a “Squatty Potty”! Yup, no regular toilets at Cocoa!! Boy if that wasn’t something else!! After all of that Hannah and I got a cab to her college. I’ve never stayed in a dorm room before so it was neat. We came back to the hospital today, and I spent the rest of the day relaxing. I’ve met so many different people from so many different parts of the world!! I’m going to miss everyone so much!! 8 more days until I come home!!! It’s going by so fast!! I’m probably going to watch some TV so I’ll write tomorrow! =)                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Yup, that’s me goin to town on the treadmill!! Haha I found it at the hotel we eat breakfast at. They have a whole gym, which I was totally excited about! I was surprised I could work out after yesterday, but it was great. I’m planning on getting there everyday now!! I’m gonna need it after eatin all this darn pizza!! Our package finally came today after they told us it was going to be here everyday and it never came. Here’s a funny story… So my mom ordered some Chinese last night… an eggroll… they brought her a fried egg on a plate!! We laughed until we cried! It was hilarious! So today she tried again… this time they brought her a shell with vegetables in it!! Ohh we just can’t win!! Well we’re ordering more pizza now!! Yay! I’ll write tomorrow! Bye <3