Hey guys! this is a very super-special post for all my loved ones who posted comments while I was- well- still am In China, (1 more day!@#) I recieved my last STC today ( thats right all 9!) so from now until 75 days forward they will continue to work on my body, I must get physical therapy back home to amplify the results but enough about me, you heard all about me for a month+ don’t you guys ever get sick of it !? what is wrong with you people!? lol j/k Much love goes out to each and everyone of you! ok! Shout-out time!
Mom: Oh, Mum what would I ever do without you? …wait… I did for a month! kidding… kidding! I know you were with me in Spirit,Prayers, and in my Heart. You offered me many supporting words of advice and took care of the home I am missing so much right now, you even painted my room! with the help of Clara and Aunt Penni of course 
I miss you so much and can’t wait to see you!
Grammie: Hi Grammie! I just wanted to thank you for e-mailing or commenting on my blog almost everyday.. literally! you give me something forward to read and smile about everyday I am so glad you are in my life and I can’t wait to see you soon!
Aunt Penni: I have so much I want to say to you but most will have to wait till I get home seeing as I would be writing in this blog for at least another 3ish hours on just you! You have been a inspiration and a beacon of light to me in one of my darkest hours, and offered me wonderful words of wisdom during my trials here I am very grateful to you and thankful that you were able to come up and help my Mother with the house and your right you made me realize that sometimes questioning myself is acctually a good thing not just a moment of weakness but it shows that I don’t get overconfident and foolish. I love you and can’t wait to see you soon!
Charea-Pet: Hola! Ni Hao! Konichiwa! etc! I have to say you really surprised me with your words of encouragement and wisdom you are very smart for your age and your doing so much more than I ever thought I could do at that age ( god I sound so old T_T ) I’m Jealous! but thats ok because your my Cousin and I love you ^_~v See you at the welcome home bash! *hugs* and tell Ben if he dosent look after you I will bap him one Cha!
Kenna : Ooooo Kenna you as well surprise me with such wisdom and kindness at your age! ( My God what are they feeding these kids these days Miracle Grow for the brain!? Growth Hormones!? Is nothing sacred!? ) all kidding aside I am very grateful you have responded to most of my posts and kept up with me despite your busy life! I also saw your home coming pictures you looked so beautiful! I am looking forward to a burping contest in a local resteraunt sometime soon !
Stevi Jo: I am baffled. I just don’t know how you do it! Go to College, work 2 jobs, and still have time to post comforting and uplifting words to your Cousin! AND a personal life onto that sheesh! you make me feel so.. inadequate! but thats ok you know I love you! just don’t take on more than you can handle at once ok? Remember God never gives us more than we can handle ( and even though sometimes it feels like he does we have Family and Friends to help us out!) I love you and can’t wait to see you and your Family! speaking of give them all a hug for me especially your Sister! ( Just don’t fight ) and I need to check out this Jacob guy, make sure he is Good for you ( I’m sure he is, DON’T MAKE ME GO GTA ON YOU! Hi Jacob~! did you know me and Stevi are acctually related? /embaress Stevi) as for the Stalker guy give me 5 minutes in his vehicle he won’t bother you again Muahaha~
Mindy: Wow! I havent seen you In forever we really need to catch up and talk about things! I thank you for posting wonderful words in my time of need, this is all Nick Lachey Cliqueness but I might be broken and half the man I used to be but ( My inner demons) Can’t have whats left of me I am looking forward to seeing you when I get backso we can talk about many things!
RyRy: Pretty Kitty! I miss you ! only a few more days and I will be back on Vana’diel! I brought shinies! ‘ Toy Store!’ you are a wonderful friend and even though I don’t know you IRL I still have a strong bond with you I hope we remain to be the best of friends forever!
Jykia: Pretty Kitty #2! Yay! /dance and Shinies ! you will hear from me soon! and I had my ‘Inner Ballista Match’ guess who won? ^_~
Everyone Else who didnt post in Recollection: you know I still love you and appriciate you just as much! I will try and do more shoutouts before I leave but there is only so much one guy can do in one day !
You all made me feel very loved and very blessed to have such wonderful Family and Friends, I needed to take a step back and evaluate my life and my priorities, I am still doing that as I type to be honest but you all made it much easier on me and I thank each and everyone of you for that, I don’t know If I will become a Journalist or not but I DO have a story to tell and it needs to be told America and the 30+ odd other countries who don’t do NON-CONTROVERSIAL stem cell transplants need to have a slap to the face and wake up but I will rant about THAT one later I love you all and will see you soon!
October 14th, 2008
This is a post about a few of the awsome people I got to meet during my Journey in China. I will try to post pictures up later but for now here is some of my thoughts on the wonderful people I have met,
Riaz, Lisa, & Keanu
They came from South Africa seeking treatment for their son Keanu. they were here before we came to China and they helped us learn about the many areas around China. Riaz has this cool sword collection and showed us some of the swords he bought while he was here, my only question is… ‘ how will he get them on the plane?’
Lisa is the mother and she is a kind soul, but don’t piss her off! she can be scary if she gets mad! she is also very kind and giving, she always was shopping for family members or other people before they left they gave me a keychain that looks like a leather sandel with the name of the town they are from on it, I am going to put it on my car keys when I get home!
Keanu is one of the sweetest little boys I have ever met, He couldent talk to me but you could tell in his eyes that he had so much good inside of him I pray for him everynight that he had his family recieve blessings.
David & Tanya
Like Raiz they showed us the ropes of the area and told us much about the place David organized a googlegroup for all the people that were in this hospital for treatment it’s called ‘Stem-Cell-Journey’ he also gave me a pep talk when I was feeling down one day and gave me a piece of paper thats on my wall right now its a quote from Winston Churchill ‘ Never, never, never, NEVER Give up’ it inspires me on days when I lack motivation, Tanya is also very nice and gave me some of her stuff before she left like Mac & Cheese ( omg sooo good ) and Ranch Dressing for my salads I eat Thanks guys !
Robert & Tanya
Robert is a Parapalegic like me and due to the poor care his doctors in New Zealand gave him he has had one hell of a ordeal my heart goes out to him and his Iron will to never give up, Tanya my heart also goes out to her she is a very strong woman to take this on, and she is honest and upfront and will tell you like it is a very good quality I like in people I will miss them so much!
Barbara, Alan & Rita
Oh.My.God. What can I say about these crazy awsome Irish people! we got along fantastic and had many good times while were were together, Barbara is a wonderful, caring woman with a twisted sense of humor like myself She is also a huge Wizard of Oz fan which is what the title of my post is about “And you Scarecrow, I will miss you the most” we got along famously and my heart goes out to both her and Alan for making this journey here. Rita, Rita Rita. My Irish Granny~ How I miss you and your wonderful presence from the nice talks to the dancing in the nightclub you were so fun to be around!
I will most likely edit this post later and put a few more people but for now I am really tired and going to go to bed See you soon!
October 12th, 2008
Ok, No there has not been a outbreak of some virus in China ( though if there was I would be pretty screwed at the moment eh?) I’m just lacking ideas and coffee, so these posts are a few days late.
So I have been here for 28 days and let me tell you as nice as the people and staff are I am ready to get the hell out of here both me and my father are going through a major case of homesickness and it dosent help when everyone you met at the hospital has left to go home and your one of the few people left , ( there is new people but they are all children! 10+ children and they are giving me a headache) one is even a pregnant lady taking her 9 month old half way around the world, all I can say is “Wtf are you thinking woman!?” then the grandmother who is with her needs a special diet of no MSG… yeah good luck with that lady, you can’t be too picky here.
In the absense of all the wonderful people I have met here I have really gotten homesick and heartbroken that they are gone I will miss each and everyone of them dearly I will try to post pictures on my blog when I can but that requires time and patience, both of which I am almost out off this place has drove me more insane than I already consider myself to be
As far as improvments go there is little to talk off the stem cells take much time to mature but even so my hip muscules have improved, along with my balance other than that not much else, also I am going to do one more shopping spree soon, so I will write my next post shortly, btw unless you have the physiqe of a 13 year old girl don’t expect clothing, when I asked them if they had anything In my size I swear I saw the clerk laugh. he was probably thinking ” Silly fat americans! no clothing will ever fit you here harharhar!” *deep breath* nope.. not worth going to jail over and so close to being able to come home too!! will post more later!
P.S. I am writing a special post for everyone who sent me positive and encouraging comments on my last post, I am doing much better just home sick atm
October 8th, 2008
Today I had my 7th treatment today and it went by in a blur I went up there and they completed the spinal injection within 20 mins. It was amazing how quick they got it done. the hours that followed went very slow though and I let my mind wander, bad Idea with my overactive imagination. I noticed one thing about my life, It seems the good memories always are fuzzy and distorted or are built upon false trust, but the bad memories seem to come in crystal clear.
I need to take a serious look into my life and find out who I am and what I want to do with my life, the choices I make or don’t make every day led me to be the person I am today, I realize I am only human and we make mistakes but sometimes human emotion can hurt so much, that it can scar your soul and thoughts every waking day, alot goes through my mind when I think of those things, about my childhood and why I don’t remember hardly any of it, to when I came to be a teenager and had those years ripped away from me by a doctor who decided to lose his grip on reality for one day, then the trials I faced learning to deal with my challenge and how it started to tear my family apart, from there a light of hope came when the Doctor recieved a bit of justice but then I realized once I recieved the gracious settlement people started to look and treat me different, I guess from observing and watching how people acted to those less fortunate and to those that are more than fortunate in terms of finances sickened me.
Apperently we live in a world where there is one Universal rule, “Money is Power” I hate to say this but in our worlds state of affairs it is the truth. Now before anyone goes and starts judging me I want to say this. If I could trade all the money I have to have the hands of time turned back and have things done differently I would, but the hard cold reality is that is impossible, I realize that things happen for a reason, but I would really like to start getting some answers. Not just for me but for everyone who managed to be dealt a wrong hand, even innocent children have to deal with the pain and suffering of disease everyday and there is not a damned thing you can really do about it unless you have that thing called “Money”,
I want to know why people suffer when they do no wrong, who is to judge that people have to pay for others sins, as I lay hear typing sick children are dying while Murderers run free of disease and the hand of Justice, now I know I am no saint and I am far from innocent but I just want to know why these events happened are these ramblings of a crazy man crying out for help? Or am I just looking for answers to who I am and what my purpose in life is. It feels like everyone has a plan or purpose and the world around me is frozen.
Another thing that I learned the hard way is that money comes with responsiblitly, and honestly I don’t think I am responsible or strong enough to control it. Part of me does thank this blessing/curse in disguse. It showed me one of lifes toughest lessons. Trust. I have a problem, I used to trust people so quickly, was it because of my heart? or was I just too naive? Some questions were answered when my best friend of many years took advantage of me and my familys hospitality. After that happened I shut my self away from the real world trying not to let people get to close. Is this my purpose? To never know real life friendship or love again? Or do I try to ‘be careful’ and try over once again?
I want to start over, begin a new life somewhere far away where know one really knows who I am but I can’t not so long as I have this disablitly I am unable to take care of myself and I can’t be selfish enough to ask my parents to take such a journey with me. So you see my diliema. some wonderful words of wisdom would be great right now so I am going to stop typing incoherently, I know this is a very morbid and sobering post but it is how I feel on the inside at times. Please try to understand.
October 7th, 2008
Today was a much better day Amanda came in and handed the phone to my dad ( I was sleeping big news eh? hey it was my day off!) It was her supervisor for all the labrotories/stem cell wards and around the area he called to personally apologize to me and my father for what had happened , I realized my emotions got me very upset and I said some things that were a bit excentric but everything I said was true, and apprently changes will be happening.
You see most of them down that area only deal with children that are knocked out from medicine, they have never really had to work with people in my situation, so I guess it was a eye opener for them, anyways I am writing this blog over the course of 2 days, we went to the international buffet again and as always, had wonderful food, the next day we went shopping for my family and friends ( yes I got you all something ) we are also going to a place that has some nifty items at fair prices tomorrow since I don’t have therapy tommorrow. also another thing, I don’t know if I failed to mention this but public indecency does not apply here in china apperently, in the mornings if you look out the window you can see construction workers taking a bath in a basin ( I really need to get a video of this lol ) then some ladies who smoke on our ward said they saw one couple at night, in the car parking lot pull out some rug and they proceeded to do the dirty in front of everyone and God, I made a joke with them and told them ” I need to take up smoking! you guys see all sorts of fun stuff you don’t see on TV!”
Anyways I am gaining some more control of my hips as I was playing some music and showing dad that I could move my hips pretty well ( yeah I know scary thought of me shaking my ass to Kanye West’s ‘Breathe in Breathe out’ lol! Oooooooo! also I got my care package today from Mom and It had lots of awsome goodies ! including Smallville Season 7!!!!!! <33333 I get to see my Chole! 
but I have to go to bed soon because we are leaving for the store early tomorrrow so I will see you all soon!
October 3rd, 2008
So normally I try to be polite, calm, and cool headed about most things but what happened today pushed my paitence to it’s limits. I had my 5th STC today ( 3rd Spinal Injection) and they sent me down to the operating room to some ‘specialists’ for this weeks injections because of the holiday, and when I got to the back operating room I was instantly starting to shake a little uncontrolably, It was like the operating room back when I had my Scoliosis surgery… where I got paralyzed 9 years ago. So I tried to calm myself down and waited for the valium to kick in. Of course it didnt work, so I asked them if I could have something more to calm my nerves down I told one of the doctors down there like this “Could I please have something to calm my nerves? I am really scared right now.” Now at this point I would like to say that this doctor spoke AND understood the English language, what does he do? he ignores me and goes back to work. So I tried maybe 15-20 mins later, at this point I was so worked up my legs were spasming on this tiny operating table, they didnt even know what a spasm was and thought I was doing this on my own , when they spasm they fall off the table ( at least the left one did) so the doctor tells me to ‘hold still please’ I tried to calmly explain to them what a spasm was and that it was involuntary, they apperently didnt seem to understand well or just didnt care.
I asked for the Translator Amanda to come into the room so I could speak to her and she could translate to them that i needed something to relax me and help the anxiety/spasms. Yep, They ignored me again, at this point I am getting flustrated and I am shaking. These ‘Specialists’ have been poking at my back to get this injection for at least a hour and I am getting sore of laying on this cold,hard operating table, but there is no use saying anything to them because they don’t listen, or choose not to. after another half hour apperently they were done and placed a bag on the pole that holds my IV bags ( it looks like the stem cells) so that right there told me that they were unsuccessful in the injection and had to give it to me through the IV after all, it had been a hour and a half since they started.
Right then I shut down and would not look or talk to any of them, not like they said anything to me anyways, once I got back out to where my Dad and Amanda was, my Dad knew something was wrong from my expression, and he saw the IV bag and asked if they got it in, apperently they did get the injection in and this bag as a growth syrum to help the stem cells along. even after hearing that I was still not very happy seeing as the way they treated me, when I got back to my room I finnaly broke down and told my Dad everything from start to finish adding a few things like ‘ I did’nt fly half way around the world for these people to do a half-assed job’ needless to say I was very pissed and so was my dad, he went to go find Amanda and talk to her, once she found out what happend she was furious as well and went to talk to her supervisor and to get me some more medicine to help me calm down and sleep.
Long story short. this is a venting post and yes I got the injection after much trouble and inconvinence and I am not going to them anymore I will have all my injections up here as normal, as for the ‘specialists’ I’m not sure what I want to say to them or have Amanda say to them for me. anyways I am sorry that this is not a happy post but I had to tell people how I felt and the experience we went through so hopfully tomorrow will be a better post .
October 1st, 2008
Ok so today was our first real day off from last weeks ‘kick-joshies-assathon’ I tried to log on to FFXI to say hi to my friends there but it won’t let me /cry I think the internet is not strong enough to support it or something I will talk to the people that run the network later and see what I can do.
So that night Dad, Joe, Riaz and myself went to a Night Club called Paradise Cove. It was a really fun place when we got there we all had ordered some drinks and watched the Comedy show they had going on at the time ( Of course we couldent understand what they were saying but like they say actions speak louder than words lol) Then the music started playing. They have really nice dance music over here and all the fun bells and whistles ( Smoke, Strobe lights etc) at first I was to shy to dance… Until I got 2 drinks with vodka down then I was feeling really relaxed then I got out onto the dance floor and started ‘dancing’ like a fool! I don’t know what it is but when I was dancing with people and the beat was flowing through me I felt so happy and so alive! ( That could of been the vodka as well but thats a minor detail! ) Apperently I was ‘Dancing good’ or people were just amazed that I didnt let my condition keep me from having a good time, that one guy bought me a drink lol.
Also one guy must of been really drunk and mistook me for a girl and started to dance real close to me and he even took off his jacket ‘seductivly’ in front of me ! Then this one girl was like freak dancing real close to me and around me lol It was such a fun time! Even the Translators Wendy and Jack were there! and Doctor Tom! haha so awsome! We must have danced for like 3 hours and met some really nice people, Dad even got up there and showed off some of his moves lol.( Thats a scary thought eh?) Also, to protect the Innocent ( or in some peoples cases not-so-innocent) some stories can not be said at this point! lol j/k
After the club let out at 1:30ish we left to go back to the hospital some people wanted to go to the next club down the street but the few of us still thinking logically decided that if this club closed at 1:30am the club down the street was surely closed ( Plus I was just tired ) so we called it a night. We plan on going again sometime this week with our Irish friends, oh that should be a awsome time! anyways just updating you all on my life here we should be going to a bazzar market of some sorts tomorrow so I will update you shortly! I miss you all and hope to talk to you all very soon!
P.S. We have a little over 2 weeks left so I will be home soon ! though it still seems like a long ways away
September 29th, 2008
Hey guys! great news!! so I am laying in bed at night ready to sleep and I feel a strange tingling and warm sensation in my hips and legs well I found out I am able to now move my hip muscules on command!! also if I concentrate I can move and contract my thigh muscules as well-without causing spasms! This a great and wonderful improvement and has boosted my spirts tremendously ( For the record this is the night after my 4th STC my 2nd Spinal Injection) I am skipping ahead a bit to get caught up to present day so you guys can get daily updates if possible on my progress I was also so tired this morning because I was so wired and happy about my new improvment I couldent sleep until like 5 am haha. Once again I thank each and every one of you for your prayers and positive thoughts
This morning I awoke really sleepy and the lady who cleans the rooms came in and was speaking in chinese to my Father about something, well apperently she cleans the rooms generally after therapy ( usually when I am too tired and we clean up the room ourselves…. sorta ) well this time she was hell-bent on cleaning the room! we were confused at first to why she was so head-strong on cleaning. Well actions speak louder than words and she did the awsome ‘finger-on-table-pick-up-and-show-dust’ action and we all bursted out laughing. Dad even made pig noises indicating that we were messy lol. She is a really nice person and we are going to try to get her a gift when we leave, speaking of, if all goes well we will be leaving on the 16th of October (guesstimating from the schedule they have us on) Well we might have plans tonight seeing as this coming week we will have some time off of therapy aside from the treatments of course, It’s supposed to be because of a holiday or something I will look more into it later so I will keep you guys posted!
September 28th, 2008
Ok, ok! I know I have not been posting on here like I should be I apologize for that. but this time I acctually HAVE a good excuse! you see during therapy one day I was doing stomach crunches/situps and I was doing really well, my balance was great and I had my fathers streak going in me, you know: Stubborn-’ I can do this myself! cha!’ and ‘lo and behold on that one I pulled my muscule from my neck to my lower-right shoulder blade. I felt like I was going to pass out then and there, I couldent move without my body hurting, So that day I missed my therapy and the day after I could barely do anything, It reminded me of when I broke my Collar Bone where I could only move one arm
I also had my 4th STC my neck still didnt want to move much and I could still barely move, so I had alot of down time along with much tossing and turning at night , Gravity was not kind to me on my injury whether i was on my back or sitting up, So sleep was not much of a option hopefully I will learn to be more careful and take it easier.
September 22nd, 2008
Today we went on our long trip from the hospital to all over Qing Dao! I have all sorts of pictures and I will try and send you some when I get some time as you know I have been slacking on my posts, I blame the techies! 6 days without internet makes Joshie grumpy and you would think that a hospital would need internet well apperently it does not apply in China ” In China the internet eats you !” sorry I my witty-funnyness is on ‘E’ today the coffee really sucks here and the coffee you can get out of the machine costs 1 RnB ( its like 1 dollar) but it only accepts coins and apperently the coins are a dying thing here and the paper bills are the ‘in’ thing , go figure eh ?
Where was I …..? Right field trip! lalala here we come! so we got up early and left in 4 vans they are not very accecible and you have to litearlly lift yourself into the seat by A: physical injury by ones self. or B: Injury of the lifter/s once that was out of way we were on our way to happy Polar world! Dolphins I say ! but before Polar world we had 40 mins of driving in China! and like I mentioned in previous posts they have no road rules, on our way we almost got hit by a black car, almost ran over a biker and almost had a fender bender with a sudden stopping car needless to say that Vodka back at the room was looking preeeety tempting right about now , but once we saw the signs for Polar World all was well in life.
Polar World(tm). Home to one Big pool for the Dolphins to dance in like the monkey who dances for his master playing the music to the amusment of others, along with the Dolphins ( who were taken care of decent enough) there was Polar Bears and Penguins, who deperatly needed a good washing, The Animal behavoralist in me wanted to set them free but that would lead to a cruel twist of irony in me behind bars I guess they had a ok home, they just looked so unhappy and they should of been taken care of better, there was also a Beluga Whale who would swim around and talk to us which I thought was cool, oh and no tourist attaction would be complete without a KFC next to it! and for those of you going along with the running joke of the dogs and cats being served as food in restraunts you can put that myth to rest as it was real chicken and I DID see a cat! we almost ran over it. Dad got the puppies back home some toys, now here is the thing, when you think toys for the doggies you think squeaky cheap toys right ? Of course with my Father being the Morbid person that he is, gets 3 little sea lion plushies , cute as can be un beknownst to their fate of a slobberymouth and teeth in a month or so. Save the Sea Lions!
Next stop, Jusco. Qing dao’s biggest mall nothing to special for any of us just a glorified shopping mall It has pretty much everything you can get elsewhere except for one thing…. Mc Donalds! I never thought I would be so happy to see those golden arches we were so freakin’ happy to eat food from there and it tastes just like it did back home! ok, enough nostalgia after we ate we decided not to wait in line for starbucks coffee, though I miss those little frapachinos /cry I wonder if they sell them there… anyways it was so fricken’ busy in that mall the only other things we grabbed were heinz ketchup ( REAL ketchup, the tomato’s grown over in China are way too sweet it tastes like sugar) and paper towels, there was a road block in the way of the isle and as soon as dad moved it this rude man brushed past me and dad, not sparing a second glance, I wanted to hit him over the head with my ketchup bottle but I decided I should pay for it first
After Jusco we headed for the beach ( getting in and out of that hellish van everytime and having to deal with the headaches and fluid level difference from the spinal injection didnt help much either ) once we got to the beach like 20/23 people wanted to leave and just go back to the hospital we were so tired, so while we gathered people around to go back we watched the people fly these giant kites , it was really cool,and the sea breeze felt great. Once we got people gathered we left to go back to the hospital, we almost hit a group of kids this time and it made me think of the funny youtube video “Dr. Tran and the Toy Cack” then we almost hit a guy on a bicycle and the Irish lady who was sitting in the front seat said in her lovely accent ” Ooooo you just about lost your sweet ass!” I instantly bursted out in laughter and in tears because it was so funny , that made the ride back so much more enjoyable!
Once we got back we all just went to our rooms and slept because we were all exausted and worn out and kinda depressed we didnt get to see any of the Chinese History or Culture ( besides the way of driving and pushy rude men ) I know that their culture is much better than that and I will learn more about it before I leave, ok well I am super tired so I am gonna stop here for now I will see you in the next Blog!
September 21st, 2008
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