A beautiful sunny morning. No headache. Feeling stronger. Back nearly better – can bend down. Fully dressed myself. Tottered across room without holding on to anything – good.
PT has improved my broken arm/shoulder a lot – pain free and movement pretty good. Thanks Andy. Better than physiotherapy back home.
Did well all day. Feeling that I am getting back to level before I came – walking and balance better. Not sure whether to do with stem cells or not.
2 comments April 24th, 2008
Computer working at last. Got crossword off and emails. Lovely to get your messages. Thanks.
Legs still worse than UK but back getting better
Are now regulars at the SM down the road – dicing the wheelchair with the scooters and cyclists. Girls in the soft toy shop in the SM smile at me and now I wave to them. Locals love to see what we have put in our basket. Bought a bottle of Chinese white wine – a lot cheaper than Lindemans – but taste???
Had LP today at 2pm – went well. Slept for 2 hours and the 6 hours lying down to prevent getting headaches passed OK with Richard and crossword and TV. But saline drip too slow and nurse made me lie in bed for a further 2 hours – very grumpy – no glass of wine.
Sent out for Indian style chinese meal – looking forward to a nice chicken curry!!! Got some chicken bones with a skim of meat on them plus some lettuce like veg, plus a not ordered soup with 2 small meat balls in it. The rice was OK!!! Not Chinese cheap either . Richard very grumpy.
Add comment April 24th, 2008
1 week gone. Chloe and Gordon’s birthdays. Gordon on hols.
Engine with 54 coal wagons on it – amazing
Went to Supermarket(SM). Forced Richard to replace his 10 year old T shirts by buying 5 new ones at 6GBP each. Going to look for better stuff for me.
Staff again doing singing practice for concert on 2nd anniversary of hospital being built – not too out of tune. They were singing the ‘Long March’ song. They were very surprised that Richard knew about it and Mao and Chang Kai Chek and the Kuo Min Tang(spellings??) and going to Taiwan. They are a little insular. They have all given themselves English names so that we can remember them. Helen says that she used her name because there was a lady on TV that she liked, called Helen. She gave us her real chinese name and we decided that Helen was a bit easier for us.
Add comment April 24th, 2008
Peaceful day today. Normal weekday programme of PT, EWT, Acu, But had EWT on my sore back as well as legs. Legs still not good.
Sid(translator) managed to get us Telegraph crossword at last and completed it(just little cheats with solver). Computing not good , can’t get Xword or emails, told to try late night, Richard to do.
DIY food organised now. For lunch, brown bread toasted, camembert, tomatoes, cucumber, ham, tinned mackeral, followed by marmalade and tea/coffee. Great!! Just like home, but only get 6 rounds of bread in a pack
For dinner, veges here are better than home. Real orange carrots, super onions, spring like greens. All go into WOK with green pepper, ginger, chicken breast pieces and curry paste, plus 2 potatoes microwaved. Then washed down with Nescafe icecream. Making 2 days dinner at 1 go. Need to further view veg and fruit at supermarket and experiment a bit.
Richard had go on exercise bike. Needs to keep fit as carer.
Rained today so did not venture out. Clothes section of supermarket tomorrow – Ho, ho, ho!!!
1 comment April 21st, 2008
Went to loo in middle of night with help and felt much better whether due to getting over the LP, the paracetamol tablets, or a glass of white wine I had late on in the evening. I noticed that my urine flow was greatly improved – first big plus for the stem cells, though legs still worse than back home.
Not bad this morning, but taken paracetamol tablets. Asked nurse about special chinese pain killers. She offered BRUFEN!!!
Nice breakfast again. Counted 18 carriages on passenger train, more than 20 on coal trains. Can get a bit boring here. Annoyed that computer system can write my blogs OK but have not been able to print Telegraph crossword for 2 days.
Went to supermarket. Needed bread. Sunday is really busy, there are a lot of chinese. But we fought our way through. The wheelchair could do with a horn.
1 comment April 20th, 2008
Had Lumbar Puncture at 9pm last night. I had a saline drip going before and after the LP. Had an analgesic before the LP. I told Richard that the doctor liked me – I didn’t complain about the pain. Richard said ‘But you said there wasn’t any pain’!!!
Had to lie on bed for 6 hours without moving head up and down to avoid headache. Can lie on back or side. Back painful. Hard going. Good job got softer mattress. Richard sat guard with bedpan, drinking his beer and reading his book.
Not too happy this morning. Back hurts. Legs bad. Can hardly move at all, but no headache. Manage ablutions and cheer up with home breakfast of rice crispies and marvel milk and nescafe decaff.
Nurse phoned for laundry lady who picked up clothes in 30 mins. Great service around here.
Chatted to Canadians Ron and Elaine. Ron has MS with bad legs like me. They had not heard of LDN for MS treatment. After 2 stem cell injections, they are being sent to Haikou for bone marrow transplant stem cells as they are not ready to do this here yet. We need to check this out for our BMT treatment.
First effect of stem cells – I feel my cheeks have gone a bit rosy. Not feeling good all day with nasty back pain. Should have taken pain killer. Just sat and read book. Went bad in evening and could hardly stand or raise my right leg. Had to get wheelchair to get to toilet – horrible.
Add comment April 20th, 2008
Knock on door 10 times this morning. Not left to be lonely. Always with a sunny smile.
6 doctors visited and was prodded and poked. They said that the MRI head scan was not much different to the one we brought from 2003, although my right leg is so much worse.
I’ve got worse since leaving home, but Canadian Ron, another MSer with bad legs, said this was the same for him, so hope that it is just the stress of the journey. Was told by Canadian Joe that the stem cells become most effective between 2 and 4 months after taking them, so will have to be patient and not expect to be running at the end of the month. He also said that oxygen after 3 months helped the stem cells to work better – to ask Kirschner at Beike.
Been having a sore back due to mattress being too hard. Worried about having to lie on back for 6 hours after lumbar puncture. Thought what to do for ourselves? Finally, just asked the nurse and lo! was given a softer one. We are too used to looking after ourselves.
Richard took me out to the supermarket in a wheelchair. He needed it to carry more beer back to save his arms. Tyre a bit flat so nurse came to use pump at entrance to hospital, used by all the bicycle /scooter taxis. She flattened the tyre in her attempt and the brave guard on duty rushed to show his manliness. He pumped up the tyre good, too good. There was a loud explosion as the innertube burst and I was nearly thrown out of the chair. Off we went deciding to avoid the foot drop off the kerbs and mixed it with the cyclists and scooters on the road.
At the supermarket we had to negotiate 4 moving ramps, 2 up and 2 down with me in the chair with Richard calling ‘brakes on’ and ’brakes off’ – exciting stuff – I did a good job. Supermarket huge with a clothes floor and a food floor. Looking forward to next visit to the clothes floor. Safely home with more beer, corkscrew, veges and icecream.
Stem cells arriving late so lumbar puncture now put off until 8PM
1 comment April 18th, 2008
Got first week schedule today – Physical Therapy, Electric Wave Therapy and acupuncture. First stem cell lumbar puncture tomorrow. Had to sign document absolving hospital of several things that might go wrong. Not confidence promoting. Had to ask for a MRI scan, but had one done today(in the UK have to wait months for one unless go private at 1000 GB pounds). A bit dubious about the EWT and acupuncture as had done often previously. But you never know.
Sent Richard off to Supermarket, 5 mins down the road to get food etc, and suss out for a visit. He reports it is a huge place and brings back UK staples of bread, butter, cheese, marmalade, beer and a bottle of Australian Lindemans Chardonney. At 6 GBP, it was more expensive than everything else. But it is beer tonight as there is no corkscrew in the place to open the bottle – tough – Richard keeps failing in his duties as Carer. He also brought back a peppers/carrot/tofu mix which he fried in oil/butter/water. It was great except for the extra pepper I added, when it did not need any.
Chatted to Lucie – Chinese/English translator. The chinese eat rice and stirfry for lunch and dinner and rice soup for breakfast. She had never tasted cheese, so gave her a bit of Camembert and she ate it with a smile.
The Chinese staff are surprisingly good at English, as well as being super nice and happy.
Richard says that he has booked a wheelchair for tomorrow morning to take me to the supermarket – a whole floor of clothes, as well as food. We will see.
Hope you are all doing great and Rosie is fine, Davin. Still to sort out emails and phone.
Add comment April 17th, 2008
Beds hardish – chinese style, but slept ok. Great view from 20th floor of hospital, but misty outside. Large allotment, with poly tunnels, visible – in the middle of Hangzhou!!!
Room like hotel. Has TV(1 English channel), DVD, Big water container – includes hot water for tea/coffee, fridge, nice shower. 2 kitchens for cooking down the hall- includes microwave and toaster. There are 13 rooms on the floor. Computing facilities excellent.
Busy morning – like Piccadilly Circus. Body samples provided(well done by me) and taken away by nurse 1 – blood pressure taken. Nurse 2 for blood samples. Dr Tong(lady) with Luca(Italian but English translator) and Sid for my case history. Sid was ex Shenyang and looked after our Italian friend Glauco in Shenyang(sends his greetings to you Glauco). Dr Tong says that MS patients improve with stem cells – so hopeful. Then Alf the food ordering man arrives(not Chinese). Order chicken with cashews, broccoli stir fry and rice. Laundry lady drops by – not enough dirty stuff yet. Then D Tong returns for reflex testing. Nurse 3 drops in to say to go to rehab room for 3 pm exercises with Andy. Eat own UK breakfast brought from UK with marvel milk – Good. Food lady arrives. 26 Yuan – less than 2 UK pounds. Not hungry so will save for dinner. Nurse 4 takes temperature.
Peace at last – sit down to coffee and read book
Richard managed to get the telegraph crossword printed. Great. So spent some time doing it successfully even without our thesaurus(back home), just interrupted by the staff performing a sing song concert – something to do with a graduation ceremony – fairly tuneful.
Had a physical assessment – walked up and down steps etc.
Chinese food eaten but not to my taste as too salty and greasy. Don’t fancy MacDs or KFC so looks like DIY cooking
1 comment April 16th, 2008
Taxi to Heathrow. Dashed into loo. Richard outside with trolley. People left a bag outside the loo. Security man said could be a bomb, so Richard moved away. I came out of loo and husband bravely came to get me past the bag. Raced away pushing trolley at at least 1 mph. It didn’t explode.
Air China guy very friendly. Got given prime front row seats, with great leg room, next to first class loo.
10 hour journey to Beijing over Russia went quickly, slept OK. Wheelchair waiting and took to Hangzhou check in OK. Chatted to Iraqi businessman(29 years in Manchester). Lots of previous businesses but currently getting chairs to be made in China for Iraqi government. No taxes in Iraq. Interesting conversion. He was Shia.
Raining in Hangzhou. And had to get on bus. Right leg not working going down steps to the bus. Chinese guy presented his back to me and said to hold him around his neck. No way! Struggled down. Surprising how many Chinese speak some English and are very friendly.
Met by Sid, speaks perfect English after spending 6 years in Cyprus near Paphos. Taken to hospital, room great. Sandwich, shower and reading book in bed. Life could be worse. Until tomorrow.
Add comment April 16th, 2008
