A day in the life…..
April 26th, 2007
We wake up at about 6:00( we go to bed at 8 every night because we are so exhausted)
We go on the web cam and talk to kids and family( the only way we make it through the day)
Get showered, dressed and search for something to eat ( today we bought eggs which are not refrigerated but sit out in the heat, but we are so hungry we take our chances)
The patients in these hospitals have family members bring their food, the hospital does not provide it.
At 9:30 we make our way to the dreaded elevators and I am serious when I say dreaded. It is quite the production. 1st we wait for about 7 min. till it reaches our floor and then we squeeze in amoungst the crowd. There is no such thing as personnal space here, you are literally on top of the next persons toes. At each floor it usually stops, we are on the 14th we need to get to the 4th. As one person gets off, 3 get on until the buzzer rings, meaning if one more pound gets on, the cable is snapping and we are plumeting to our dealth (no exageration). I tell JC that I must never get on last because if the buzzer rings when I step on I WILL NOT BE HAPPY….. We make it down just in time 9:59 for physio the doctor takes us in right away.
1st JC must do arm exercises, balance exercises ( great and simple but never mentioned to him in Canada), walking up and down stairs which is a challenge usually but with the stem cell injection he can do it without holding on. Lastly he goes on the treadmill like I previously mentioned he does not hold on now.
Now it is off to acupuncture or as we call it the “torture chamber”. He lies down on this hard as a rock bed and waits for these long 1.5 inch needles to pierce through his skin, hitting nerves and then have elecrtic shocks sent through them, sounds very relaxing to me. This lasts for about 20 minutes. We absolutely believe that this helps as we have seen physical results happen for our friends here.
This all takes about 1.5 hours.
Time for lunch, this just seems like a cruel joke now.
Then he gets an IV with the ” chinese medicine ” in it. It is supposed to help with stimulating the stem cells.
Back at it again at 3:30. This time JC does all the exercises again and then over to occupational therapy.
This is where JC has a swallowing collar put on his throat for 30 min. It looks like a neck brace with electrodes sending shocks to his throat muscles. It makes bubbles in his throat. ( hopefully we will be able to show pictures on this blog sometime ).
Now it is 5:00 and he is free to do what ever he wants. What we want to do is have a huge turkey dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy but we go to the grocery store instead.
It is very shocking to me that with so many rows of food the only thing that looks farmiliar is bread and noodles. We did see something really cute lots of huge pretty turtles in a tank, only thing was that this was a grocery store not a pet shop. I tell JC lets make spagetti tonight very excited but can not find any sauce, so toast it is for supper along with our staple food that we have in our room: chips, choclate and pop. Help!!! our bodies can not take any more junk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We put a movie in and fall asleep it is 8:00. I dream about the kids, family and home every night.
Some strange things that we have found about life in china is that we haven’t seen a bird, saw 1 cat that was being swished into a plastic bag, hopefully a child was getting a nice new pet, 3 dogs which do not look like our dogs(hard to describe), absolutely no stars and a couple of times a day the outside gets bright but I can not find the sun. People spit everywhere, I mean we have to dodge it all day. Even inside it is everywhere, and for those of you who know my germ phobia, it is just about sending me over the edge. I hope that I am not affending anyone because I do not mean any disrespect, I am just saying that our cultures are very different but each is special. Talk to you tomorrow.
Entry Filed under: mjd
10 Comments Add your own
1. Mom | April 26th, 2007 at 10:19 am
Don’t you worry hon I will have a big turkey dinner waiting for you when you get home. It does seem quite strange that the pet cats are carried in plastic bags.
Good to hear JC is doing great. ( I’ll have spider cookies waiting for you).Keep up the hard work and we’ll keep praying.
I love you lots
2. Kolin & Amanda | April 26th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
Hi Cherie & JC…Kolin, Hannah and I are keeping up to date with your blog! Your writing is so descriptive I can feel your hunger!!!! JC…we can\’t imagine what you\’re going through right now, but we believe that the end will justify the means! We wish we could send you both some food in the mail! We\’re thinking about you….
3. Kris & Erin | April 26th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Hey JC & Cherie
Great to see that the injections are doing wonders! Hang in there keep working hard! It’s such different world that you are living in now, it seems like you are trying to adapt in the best ways that you can keep your heads high. Again it’s great to see the progress that’s being made! Thoughts are with you both.
Kris & Erin
4. Jonathan, Michele & Addisen | April 26th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Hey Guys,
I guess we are going to have to warn the fast food joints before you come home, looks like you will be doing alot of eating. I feel your pain, so I won’t tell you about the nice big juicy wopper, or the fries smothered in gravy and cheese, and Paul said that the donairs and ceasar salad at lunas is to die for. Just don’t think about all of that, just hurry home.
Talk to you later
5. Wallace Carr | April 26th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
Sounds like things are pretty harse there. Keep your spirits up, even though it must be tough. I am sure the community will have something special for you both when you get back. Tell JC to keep up the good work, sounds like he is doing really well. Have been and will continue to track your daily reports. Looking forward to you guys getting home. Our thoughts are with you both
Will talk soon
6. Marlyn Penney | April 27th, 2007 at 12:13 am
Just want you to know that the staff are eagerly tracking JC’s success. We are estatic to learn that he is improving so readily. Each of us can’t wait to read your blog daily. It has become a routine for me every morning before leaving for school. I truely love to hear about your experiences which you encounter daily.
Take Care and remeber we are all keeping you and JC in our thoughts.
Marlyn
7. Mike,Stacey,Michaela and Colin | April 27th, 2007 at 2:10 am
Hey JC and Cherie,
I ran into your sister and mother at the superstore today and they gave me this web site adress and im so glad they did. We have been thinking about you guys everyday since you left and it was great to read about you experiences so far. I am so glad to hear about JC’s improvements its sounds like he is making some real progress. I will be on everyday now to check on how you guys are doing. Take care, we are praying for you everyday. See you soon.
Stacey
8. Julie and Leah | April 27th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Hey guys, Julie just told me about the blog this evening. I am so happy everything is going well, except for the food. Hopefully the Canadian Teachers can give you some tips on where to shop for food, freaky about the cat in the bag, don’t even want to know. Just wanted to let you guys know we are thinking of you. Take care talk to you soon :0)
9. Darlene & Tommy | April 27th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
Cherie & JC
Have been keeping in touch with Mom and sounds like her and the kids are doing great. Hope you find something that is edible and enjoyable too. It’s great to hear JC’s progress so quickly.
You are in our thoughts and prayers every day. Our prayers now are also aimed at culture adaptation. Puts a whole new spin on different strokes for different folks. Take care.
Love & Hugs.
10. Melissa Arruda | April 28th, 2007 at 9:20 am
Hey guys
They sell groceries at the walmart too- and i know for a fact you can get spaghetti sauce there. It tastes just like normal sauce you would buy at home.
Good luck
Melissa
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