When we first arrived the doctor’s did their usual neurological tests. I knew that he had gotten worse again over the last couple of months but I was surprised at just how difficult simple tasks had gotten for him. In the hustle and bustle of busy life I guess I wasn’t seeing just had bad it had gotten for him. JC is great at pushing on, trying to do everything and never complaining so I didn’t realize just how much he has been struggling. We came back at the right time!

                       For those of you who do not know, JC ’s main problem is his balance. He has trouble walking because of this and needs his cane. He has even had to use his walker out at the malls because of the crowds. He needs something to steady him when walking and uses walls or furniture to keep his balance when not using the cane. If it is dark he can not function at all, he will fall and not be able to get up. He can not bend over to pick up things without holding on to something to keep him steady and has to sit to tie his shoes. His speech is slurred at times and chokes often because of the muscles in his throat and tongue have weakened because of the disease. JC has always been a very active guy and continues to go for walks daily even if that means falling along the way, he gets back up and continues on. This has definately been an asset in his being able to do well in his physio here. His positive attitude has also played an important role in his treatment. He experienced the same symptoms before coming to china the first time last year but after the injections last year all these symptoms improved about 80% for about 8 months.We can only hope and pray that we will see the same if not better results this time and that they will last for a long long time.

Now that you all have a good idea of what his symptoms are I can give you a better idea of how much he has improved.

I have my own set of tests to gage just how much he is improving like last year. The carrying a full glass of water test, the heel toe heel toe test, and bending down to pick up something.  Before the 1st injection he needed to hold  onto something to keep his balance when carrying the water and the water still spilled. He could not get the motion of heel toe, so that was impossible and bending over to pick up a pen, again he had to steady himself with something. Coming back to China this time he felt better because he still has some of his improvements from the last treatments. So even though he has trouble performing these tasks it is still better than where he was before the stem cell injections last year but not to the level he was after the stemcells for the 8 months, if that makes sense. 

After the 1st injection he no longer uses his cane to walk. He finds that his balance has improved. He has done better on my tests and the physio doc is very pleased with the progress just after 1 injection. The doc has set 3 goals for JC after seeing that he is more steady on his feet. He wants him to be able to hold his balance on one leg for a minute, sounds easy, try it, it is hard even for those without balance problems. Before at the initial assessment for physio he held it a few seconds and then had to hold on to the bars. So this is not an easy task. He also wants him to jog. JC did get to do this after his treatments last time which was amazing but will he be able to do it again and keep it up? Lastly he thinks that JC will be able to hop on one foot like hop scotch and jump, he hasn’t done that task in years. He was not made to do this last year but JC believes this will be his greatest challenge.

I am not going to go through how he improved after each injection. The blog wasn’t working, it would be difficult to write it all down now day by day and we are almost ready to go home less than a week left.

Happy to report: (after 4 stem cell injections) 

(these results are not constant, some days are really great, others ok but all are better than when we first arrived)

                           JC can walk now without stumbling . He can hold my hand now when we are walking because he doesn’t need the arm for balance. He has walked in unimaginable crowds here without falling. He has walked on sidewalks that are bumpy and cracked, down curbs without falling. He can walk downstairs without holding the rail. He can carry a full glass of water without the aid of the wall. He can pick up keys on the ground by just bending down normal.

                          Physio exercises have improved.  The physio doc has made us look at things differently. He says to hold your body like people without balance problems. Like he used to carry himself, it is hard to think that way and even harder to hold your body this way now that the balance has been gone, but it is necessary, to get it back. Walk bending knees at a “c” angle instead of straight like a robot and to re-balance yourself using your hips not toes. Doctor’s in Canada say to compensate your loss of balance however you can. The chinese way of thinking is to wake up the part that is sleeping with the new stem cells and train them. Our doctor’s way back home is, it’s gone, never coming back, deal with it. I love the Chinese philosophy.

                             Walking over small obstacles have improved, all balancing exercises are better. The 3 goals have been reached. Quite amazing. What would have been impossible before he has conquered. He can hop on one foot and hop over things. He can do what we call a long jump with great distance. He has done hop scotch. JC has jogged about 100 m outside the hospital a few times but he fell once and cut his leg bad ( don’t worry they poured the rubbing alcohol in it to get it cleaned, can you imagine?). Now when he jogs he has to wear a big belt with a loop for the doctor to hang onto in case he gets off balance. He can hold his balance on one leg for a minute sometimes.

                     All these accomplishments are fantastic.  We are truly excited that the stem cells did their magic, we saw what they did last time and we are in awe again.

               Stem cells are miracles.  JC has given all of himself and has worked so hard. I am very proud of him. I am so happy that he feels healthier and has a better quality of living again. He deserves it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

         There is not much to do around Qing Dao unless you go into town by taxi 1 hour away, so we walk 1/2 hour to the little shopping mall everyday to get out. When we first went to the store we were on the hunt for some food. There is a grocery section and for those of you who know me this task is stressful for me even in Canada.  I don’t like to cook and can’t cook, so I walk into any grocery store confused but here it is a nightmare. My head is spinning,  finding it hard to breath, turtles over there (not the kind I love that come in a box with chocolate and pecans), pieces of chicken hanging without bags waiting for people to touch them, spreading salmonella EVERYWHERE, I have to get out of here but wait I see a sign that says “imported food”. I rush over hoping that there will be something that looks familiar and eatable when there it is, things go a little dark around me and what appears to be a guiding light shines down on a large can of hunts tomato sauce, we are saved and I think to myself we will make it here in China after all.

We bring our finds back to the kitchen of the hospital a place that I generally try to stay out of at home. I am excited I start to boil some water for the noodles and look for a can opener for my sauce. I can’t find anything so I go to ask the hospital staff, a man who can’t speak english comes with me and I demonstrate opening the can. He understands, he reaches around looking, then pulls out this huge meat cleaver and hands it to me. I look at him and figure he doesn’t understand then he takes the knife back  lifting it high over his head then slices into the can, his fingers just next to the blade, I can’t believe he is opening it like this. The whole time I just keep thinking his fingers are going to be chopped off right in front of me. I am so desperate for that spagetti so all I’m worried about is that his fingers don’t fall into the can. It all works out, no blood, he rolls the metal back with a chop stick and JC and I have a wonderful spaghetti dinner. Tomorrow we will buy a can opener. He starts physio tomorrow.

We watched the improvements and progress over the 35 days we were in China and it is miracle to us. JC’s goal when we first got to the hospital was to be able to not use his cane as much. After the first injection that goal was reached so he aimed for the stars (I thought that he should not aim this high but I was wrong). His new goal was to be able to run on the treadmill. His physio doctor knew that this is what he wanted and worked him up to it over the month of physio. JC could not coordinate his body even enough to make the motion of jogging before China, even though he once was a great runner and top of his physical training classes in the military for many years before this disease. After the 3rd injection he could get the rhythum of a jog going and would jog through the halls of the stem cell ward. The last week of physio he ran on the treadmill and everyone was clapping and it was like I was dreaming.

JC made this all possible with his positive attitude and lots and lots of hard workouts in physio and those wonderful little miracle stem cells. It has been almost 2 weeks since we arrived home and he has even improved over the last couple of weeks. He has sooooooooooo much energy and feels wonderful. He looks healthier and has gained weight. People are shocked when they see him now.

Everyone has been so wonderful with our family, from the start of all this. We thank you all for getting JC better. I am going to keep monthly updates.

For all of you planning on going to China, our prayers are with you.

It was an adventure of a lifetime and a gift that gave JC his life back.

The bathrooms ( I use this word loosely) here do not provide toilet paper so we have to bring our own whenever we go out. I remembered to put some in my money pouch before we went to the mall. When we got there I had to pee so I found a bathroom with actual toilets in it. I was so happy until I realized that there were no walls or doors separating each toilet. I was going to leave but figured they would all be like this so –when in Rome—-. I tried to pee as quick as possible, everyone staring at me anyway because I stood out to begin with. I did it, but I was in such a frazzled state that when I reached into my pouch for my kleenex, in such a hurry to get out of there, I may have used a chinese $100 bill instead. Get me out of here!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jc had his 5th injection on Monday in the spine. He asked for the seditive again and had no problem sleeping. He had the beginnings of a headache but it didn’t turn into the full blown crazy headache which is very good. He is still sore in his back and leg muscles from the injection but he doesn’t complain. He is not pushing as hard as usual with the exercises because we are afraid of the headache. He is doing good still with his walking and balance, we are very excited. The stem cells still are multipying for months after the treatments so it will just keep getting better and better. Those little cells are quite the little miracles.

Thank you everyone for all the beautiful messages and for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers it means so very much to us.

I told him before he asked for it that it might act like a truth serum and all would be revealed, like you see in the movies. I expected him to tell me that I was the best wife and mother, that he couldn’t live without me, how lucky he was to have me, how I was his everything, the air he breathed, I wanted a Tim McGraw/ Faith Hill video. So when he started to mumble something, I bent down beside him and said softly ” don’t worry I’m right here”. Here it comes, I am ready for all of his confessions of total and complete utter devotion, Harlinquin romance novel material. He whispered “pizza, Papa John’s pizza”. I calmly told him that I ordered it special for him so that he would have it ready for him when he woke up.

He mumbled again, now this is it, probably going to tell me how really sweet I am and thanking me so much for ordering it for him and that I always take such great care of him. He said “cheese sticks, Papa John’s pizza”. I heard about Papa John’s pizza five more times throughout the 6 hours until finally I knew that the only way I was getting a Faith Hill/ Tim McGraw video is if I watched it on the internet so that’s what I did.

JC felt good the next day except his back and leg muscles were very sore. So he did all the usual routine except for the swallowing collar because he was afraid of the headache. He should have taken it easy but for everyone who knows him, you know that “take it easy” is not in his vocabulary. He did something from morning until late at night, exercised and walked everywhere.

We have less than 2 weeks left and 2 free days. So we planned on maybe going to the zoo here because all the staff rave about it saying that it has some very rare animals. So we imagine white gorillas or 2 headed snakes but we found out that they meant racoons and deer, so we decided to skip this attraction.

They also have a beach here that I want to go to. For everyone who knows me, you know that I have never uttered the phrase ” let’s go to the beach” in my life. But here they figured out the secret to making going to the beach fun. People here are very modest about their bodies so they cover up on the beach. ALL the women wear one piece bathing suits with skirts or wraps and bikinis are nowhere to be found. When I invent a perfect world in my head this is exactly one of the things on my list, I can’t believe it really exists, I am moving here.

Next stem cell injection is on Monday.

He is sleeping now.

I wanted to give a progress report, because we have reached our halfway point.

When we arrived I wanted to record certain tasks on video to watch the before and after stem cells, but JC did not want me to do this. I think he was nervous that everything would stay the same and to see that would be very depressing. Stupid me I listened to him. There has been changes that I would have loved for everyone to have seen the before.

We do have his physio progress documented on video.

— he has to go up about 5 steps and down 3 and repeat arms in front and arms out to the side. When he first did this it was very awkward and he had to use the rail. It gradually got better and today he walked the stairs, no problem.

—he has to walk on the treadmill, no holding onto the bars. This was totally impossible before the first stem cell injection but after the injection he could walk without holding on but he still stumbled once in a while. The doctor has increased the speed everyday and today he was walking very fast, still no bars without one stumble.

—he has to stand on one foot and balance. This is very difficult but has improved and he now can balance but only with eyes open never closed or he will fall still.

— There are so many exercises to help with balance and coordination and each has gotten better. He works very hard at everything he does and should be very proud of himself, I definately am.

My little tests are my scale of his improvement:

walking while holding on to a full glass of water

walking one foot in front of the other( like sobriety test)

trying to run

getting around in the dark

When we first tried each of these he was totally unable to do the run and one foot infront. The glass of water he could do but he had to really concentrate and it still was off balance. These have all improved. JC finds that even when he walks now his legs don’t drag as they used to and his hands have stopped that Parkinson’s like shake.

He can not run but he does have the gallop starting.

The water test was done with little concentration and with great balance.

He was never able to move around in the dark without falling and having to be picked up but since the 1st injection has had very little problem.

Today he did the toe heel toe heel, sobriety test perfect. Before I would have never thought this possible. Before he would not even attempt this because he knew that he would fall. This is proof to me and to him that these stem cell treatments are working.

Jc had always hoped that this treatment would work, but was skeptical. Since day one after 1st injection he has felt improvements and I have seen it with my own eyes, he is getting better. We are half way through this wonderful journey and can’t wait to see the progress from the next injections. JC is very pleased with everything up to this point and says that he feels like he did a couple of years ago, which is a miracle in itself.

I had to go out last night by myself because he wasn’t feeling 100%.

I got downstairs and realized that it was raining and I didn’t have my umbrella. Everyone has an umbrella here rain or shine. That is why their skin is so nice.

I decided to venture out anyway, how bad could it be. Well I looked like a drowned rat in about two minutes, speaking of rats I nearly stepped on a big dead rat on the sidewalk, I am lucky that it wasn’t alive or I would have had a heart attack.

The reason I HAD to go out was because I needed some underwear, the laundry guy hadn’t brought our clothes back yet. I was warned about shopping here as there aren’t any sizes bigger than a 2. JC bought 2 shirts both were XXL at home M would be what he wears. Sizes are very small here because the people are very tiny. I felt that I could probably find something to get me by until the laundry came in the next day or so.

The first store I went in was just an underwear store, so there were loads of colors, styles and I figured sizes too. The girl came over as I was digging through the piles and looked at me. I tried to explain what I needed and she pointed to me and made hand gestures meaning Very large. She went and got some other girls and they all stood around digging in the piles, pointing and laughing.

I am totally serious when I tell you that I heard circus music in my head that “dut dut du dittle dut du du”, and I saw the girls now in slow motion all around me pointing and laughing, and some one saying “step right up and see the girl with the enormous underwear” in chinese of course. I decided that I would go someplace else before they started passing peanuts and popcorn around.

I went to another underwear store about 5 stores down. This store seemed a little less carnival like and I began looking. The store attendant came over and looked at me , saying “you need, you need” and pointing to me. I shook my head yes and she gave a thumbs up and I thought great I’ll show those circus girls at the other store. The sales lady came out with another worker and they each grabbed a side of the pair of underwear and began pulling trying to stretch it, tugging on it, pulling with all their strength, grunting, threads ripping, I turned and got out of there fast. I hope it wasn’t a ” we stretch it, you bought it” store.

I walked very quickly back to the hospital, trying to process what had just happened. When I got back to the room, our laundry bag was in front of the door waiting, thank goodness, I couldn’t stop laughing. PS I will never be able to play tug of war again……………..

we went to do some shopping this morning at the zebra shop nice store but if you have a balance probleme like i do you bettre sit down at the entrance because if you break you bought it and we are not rich .

We have made so many new friends her 3 family from canada ,2 from us ,1 scotland, 1 from australia and so on and so on.

let me tell you about the driving since i was raise in Montreal i tought i was a very agresif driver noooooooooop.not here imagine 3 lane whit cars coming frome every direction and adding people on bickes and eletric bickes and pedestrian all at once .i cant belive there is not the many accident .

anyways i have to go get my stemcells iv i hope it is not (bone scraper)lol i don’t think Cherie put here back on the list.i hope not

JC had a good sleep and feels a little better and does physio and accupuncture, but no swallowing collar he doesn’t want to take a chance.

We make plans to go out with a bunch of our friends from the hospital to a Japanese restaurant. We take a taxi with some new friends from Scotland it’s their 1st ride. We tell them to fasten their seatbelts and hang on. We dodge buses, people, squeeze in between other cars scraping the sides I am sure, we have no idea how we have made it in one piece with no accidents and no people on the hood of our taxi. We get out and are very relieved, the new people can’t believe what just happened and that they have to do it again in about another hour to go back.

We get to the restaurant and there is about 17 of us all around a big grill with our own chefs cooking in front of us like in the movies. It is very nice but when we look at the menu we know it’s going to be another hungry night. Well we order but I guess the way it works is everyone gets a little of everything. We aren’t going to get to eat anyway because JC is feeling very sick to his stomach and has a cold sweat. I ask for our bill and say goodbye to the gang and head back. The nurse takes his temperature, it’s normal which is good news because fever kills stem cells. He is sleeping now and I hope and pray he feels better tomorrow. It is alot of weight on my shoulders because if anythings happens it was all my idea, but I know in my heart that this is where we are supposed to be and his body is getting better.