Tuesday, December 2
Today was a little on the boring side. There is always something to do but still boring. Kevin is so fatigued that he needs a hand to walk everywhere. Those baby stem cells are making him sleep like a baby….and he’s not alone. It is a common theme here with the adults……and with the kids, they are the opposite, they are hyperactive. Showers, breakfast, , doctor’s visit, electric wave therapy, physio (which is now 1.5 hours), butt dragging (otherwise known as returning to his room), accupuncture (Kevin calls it his 30 minutes of torture), more electric wave and now it is lunch. Make lunch, wash dishes, tidy room, check email (when available), go to RT Mart for groceries (2 blocks but takes at least an hour even if I take the stairs…..) put away stuff in teeny weeny fridge, hand wash items, update shedule, figure out supper, update blog, visit other rooms, make supper, eat, do dishes….on and on until bed. That’s a regular day. Throw in a stem cell treatment or an outing and you have the “other” days here. Today was a regular day until I was invited to go shopping with some others….it is cheaper this way as we then split it 3-4 with the driver costs. We left at 2:30 with full intentions of returning by 7…..it takes a half hour to get where we usually go IF the traffic is light. This wasn’t one of those days. I had bought a silk quilt and decided the size was wrong (we don’t have a great deal to talk about when it is the same people stuck together for days on end) so the Silk Factory was the first stop. Two hours later, we left. That whole time was spent waiting for 5 sales clerk to figure out how to charge me an extra bit of money as the new design was a tad more expensive….Jack, please tell them I want to leave now…this is ridiculous…..they are done? Perfect….wait….where’s my discount??! Never mind…..I know the answer…it’s not my lucky day…..lovely, just perfectly lovely. Get in the car….next stop, Wushan square….Robyn needs a picture and Louise needs some tea sets…..A bit more luck here…..Jack barely pulled me out of harm’s way….two people fighting over some object they both wanted……thanks, Jack….I owe you one……What you mean Tracy? Never mind….just thanks Jack. Back to the car and another 15 minutes putting Robyn in the little car, wheelchair in the trunk, parcels back on top, the rest of us in and waving goodbye to the hordes that stop to stare……On to the night market for some Gucci purses or knockoffs of knockoffs! It got cold quick and it took us forever to get to the market. I used Jack’s phone to call the hospital to make sure Kevin was ok. He was pretty weak today and laid on the bed and watched movies or listened to the IPOD….Terribly cranky today. I told the girls I should get back and would have Jack return me to the hospital after dropping them off…..NO, NO, call and see if he’s ok, ….he was playing card with Clarence…ok….all clear to shop again. Robyn knew exactly what she wanted and after checking out every spot, two hours later, she returned to the car with 6 jackets and 12 purses! She was a happy camper. I had picked out 3 too, but when I heard the clerk roaring at her, I thought….forget it …not tonight….I put them down and left with Louise, back to the car….I’m freezing…..At one point while we were there, Robyn had picked out a bunch of stuff and started bartering….guy wouldn’t budge….he was just yelling at her….no buy! price no good…..so Louise stepped in….offered price…NO! k…another price….NO! She turned and told Robyn…this guy won’t deal at all….go to another spot….but I want those, Louise…..just walk away…..the guy yelled “ go look….you come back….no problem….Louise turned and yelled back….”We no come back!” ….the guy leaned into her and yelled ” NO PROBLEM!!?
His wife came running after us but we kept walking….later we returned, and he gave Robyn an amazing deal on all of her purses! We returned back at the hospital at 9 pm and had snacks with Clarence, Louise and Leslie…..went to bed around 11:30….another one down.
December 4th, 2008
Ok, so first the server crashes. Back up. Laptop dies an early death. Shared computer has a virus. Fixed. Mouse has been stolen. Culprit returned it. Doesn’t work. New mouse….nope…not working …oh, look ,….keyboard is shot too….where’s Alf……
All is working now ….oh, great…Alf reinstalled windows and all of my pictures are gone….dang it….it took me 2 hours to upload them and resize them as the blog won’t accept them normal size. Looks like I have more work to do. DING! My time is up. Shoot. I’ll try back in a few more hours to do more. I have to go to the back of the line again.
Tell you what. I’ll post the writings only. As soon as I can redo the pics, I’ll add them to each post. I will let you know when that happens.
One day, I went to the silk factory. I purchased the same things as two other ladies….they got a discount. I want same please….. “No, not lucky day for you. No more lucky days at silk factory.”……yeah well, it looks like luck isn’t on my side this week…..I think Kevin has it all…and that’s ok 
PS For those people who have been wondering, I do not assign the security words. It is a security feature of the Stem Cells China blogsite. It helps to eliminate spam and other excess garbage coming back to your computer. That’s my story….and yes, right or wrong, I’m sticking to it.
December 4th, 2008
Monday, Dec 1
Monday morning, bright and beautiful again……thiswas stem cell day #5 for Kevie…..lumbar puncture. He had regular physio but no accupuncture today. Dr. Mike and the team came in at 9:30. They gave Kevin medication orally and told him to take it right away. They didn’t think the valium was strong enough for him…not sure what the pills were….they told us but in one ear and out the other! They came to get him at 10:20 am and he was in and out in a half hour. I asked him how it was and he had a big smile on his face and was slurring his words….I looked over at Rick, who was sitting near by “I think that the drugs worked this time.”…yep…pretty sure they did!
Blood pressure check after treatment
They rolled him back to his room by 11:30 and he slept like a baby for 3 hours, waking only to use the bathroom….and no, he wasn’t allowed to get up …..they kept checking on him every half hour to ensure his oxygen levels are ok, his temp is fine and his blood pressure is good. No problems….Dr. Mary came in at 4:30 and told him he could get up to use the bathroom now but then straight back to bed for two more hours…..and to have something to eat….Tracy’s not feeding me Dr. Mary….oh, why you not feed him? Feed him? I’ll feed him alright…..hard to feed him when he’s sleeping, Dr.Mary…..
The Romanian sisters and their mom are heading home tomorrow so we threw a little party for them tonight. They came in to see Kevin as they didn’t think he would be able to go to the party…..couple of kisses and the delivery of some food they didn’t need, and Mr. Jones decided he was up to party! Turn up the music and open the wine…..party begins now:
We had so many laughs….these are some wonderful new friends we’ve made…..One of the interpreters, Lucy, got nurse’s hats for all of the guys and then made them dance to the little toy drum played by Susie…Oh my goodness we laughed…that was good for everyone….Lucy get up there and dance with the boys….”You no take pictures!” No, I won’t take pictures, Lucy….shhh! me take video instead! “Tracy! What can I do for you….laundry, cleaning….no show pictures….I have to work here for next few years!…..Ah, Lucy….I’ll think about it….not. Oh look! Christine and Joanne are dancing too! Don’t tell the docs we were all partying tonight….as far as anyone knows, it’s night physio…..:-)
The party lasted until the last drop of wine was gone and everyone slowly wandered back to their rooms….lots of tears and goodbyes to Carmen, Christine and Mom…..(we miss you)…..NIght.
December 4th, 2008
Sunday’s blog is right below Saturdays…..I posted them together and unfortunately, Sunday posted first….they are backwards but informative just the same.
I have had several emails wanting more uptodate info….I apologize about the lag but I am trying….there is only one computer for 15 rooms. It is sloooooow, and it takes me an hour to get one blog written, pics added and it published IF the internet is working….we’re in China, people…..it doesn’t get better than that. I do have somemore ready but have to wait my turn to load them to the server….just when I think I am getting caught up, Kevin will have an off day and I don’t get to the computer room at all ….so, hang in there, he is fine and getting stronger everyday or at least the growling is…..hates accupuncture with a passion and continues to berate Andy, his therapist everyday!
December 3rd, 2008
Saturday, November 29th
Today was an easy day. After breakfast, showers, blogging and skyping, we made our plans for the day. Kevin was weak but happy. He is staying in today because of that and we also voted him out of the car today….it is a shopping day….funny thing….he’s not the least bit interested! Works for me
Robyn, her husband Bobby, Jack and I took off for Silk Street. The rows of shops go on and on….and after you’ve been to the first 15 spots you’ve pretty much seen everything. Most of what is here is made of polyester not silk and you really have to be careful. That’s where Jack has been a blessing….Jack…here, I would like to get this….NO, Tracy….no real…..ok, Jack …thanks…..where’s the real stuff?…….Great, here Jack, I like this….yes, very nice, ok to buy but too much money…..ok, Jack, get me the chinese price, please…..after much bartering and shoving, I usually walked away with a wonderful gift at a great price. Sometimes, I would say…Jack, that’s a great price…..can you do better if I get more of them?? “no problem!” He really charms the female salesclerks….we have a saying now…Jack has one wife but now has many girlfriends! He just laughs…..we’re never entirely sure he gets it …….By times, we won’t get a good deal and Jack will argue quite loudly with them and then look at me, wink and go shhhh……walk away …..as soon as we walk away, they come running and they meet our price. Christmas shopping is going to be difficult this year….I’m going to see something I like, hold it up and start bartering ……just can’t pay the full price anymore! Doubt very much it’ll work though…..:-) ….
After Silk Street, we detoured over to Wushan Square for a few things that Robyn wanted and I wasn’t exactly just along for the ride…..we had a great time and arrived back laden down (man, that woman knows how to shop!) shortly after supper. Returned to the room….no Kevin….good sign….means he’s chasing nurses or visiting. Turns out he ran off to Rick and Susie’s room after Clarence whipped his butt playing crib! (See, he has good days, too!). Pretty soon, Robyn and Bobby joined us, followed by Carmen, Christina, Mom (we’re not sure of her name and it works for us!) and finally, Clarence and Louise….we had a lot of laughs over shopping and other discussions from politics, family and religion. Our little group seems to get along very well. Miss Kitty joined us just about the time that Rick and Susie were showing their purchase of a little drum….Susie played and the rest danced! I’m gonna stick the video on YOUTUBE for his congregation!
Yesterday, Catherine came in with a little gift for me….two pairs of shoes…..chinese slippers and a black summer wedge…..how sweet of her…..her family has a shoe business. She asked me Kevin’s size so I think she’s looking for something for him too….I didn’t tell him….he was whining (Mac will understand what this means….as will 50 others!)about not getting anything and he was the patient….Ah, suck it up big fella…she’s not stupid, she knows who really brought her a gift even if it was you that gave it to her…..I figure I’ll let him whine until she brings them ….Casey’s right ….Bigga Baby!
Tonight, we returned to our room around 10:30….late night for us to be out….lol……shortly after, Helen came in with a huge scroll with chinese writing on it….apparently it is a poem done by her husband who is an artist….I’m going to have to have Yan explain it to me….. hmmmm wonder where we’ll hang it?
December 3rd, 2008
Sunday, November 30th
Free Day number two! Yahoo! Another day out……We have Jack booked again for today at 11:00. We have invited Rick and Susie to come with us if they like. Yesterday, I spent time with Robyn and Bobby and will again on Tuesday evening….night market time ….Clarence and Louise and their daughter Leslie are taking another driver and we’re all going together. Everyone signed out and got doctor’s approval to go….A beautiful day to be out but slightly chilly…..I really wish that I had taken mitts with me….We stopped at the silk factory as I wanted to pick up some hand cream….I had purchased some yesterday but one of the ladies, Donna Stiles, hardly got out of the hospital to go shopping….she just wasn’t up to it so I took in a bunch of stuff to show her….she loved so many of the items. They did manage to get out once but never saw anything like I got. The heartstrings yanked a bit and I offered her any of my stuff….what the heck….I still had close to 2 weeks left to repurchase it…..much to Kevin’s chegrin. She was thrilled and selected several things….her hubby Rick came knocking on the door…..”I’m here to pay off my gambling debts!”
Louise said she didn’t need to buy a thing at this stop but ended up spending the most….she got severly teased for the rest of the day….too funny……
Next stop….Silk Street!
Kevin ready to roll on down the road....or silk street!
Back: Clarence, Sam, Jack, Louise, Rick...Front: Leslie, Kevin, Susie
Is everybody done!??
Next stop: bathroom…but wait, Jack we can’t get through because of all the bikes…..”no, problem”…Jack fix:
You go Jack! Quick....here comes the old man....
Soon after, we were back on the road again. We drove around part of West Lake….it was beautiful and clear today…..there were alot of people out walking and boating……We parked at the Hyatt and went into the lobby for a tea. We had reservations for the dinner buffet at 5:30….had an hour to kill. They were decorating for Christmas and had a huge tree. It was the most stunning tree I have ever seen. They only had the lights on for a couple of minutes ….trouble with some of the sets…..so never was able to take a picture…..maybe another time. The buffet was expensive….$60 person……but……steak cooked in front of you, mashed potatoes, creme brule….need I say more….don’t care about the hanging animals waiting for someone to chose them …..a very tired crew loudly returned to the 20th floor
…..Some people’s kids!
December 3rd, 2008
Friday, November 28th
Today is a normal day of physio and docs visits. Kevin is very tired today and will go lightly with the physio. He feels like he is worse than when he arrived…..several patients came to visit him this morning just to let him know that feeling like a mac truck ran over him, is normal and expected but will get better. I can tell him all I want but when it comes out of a mouth going through the same things, it means more….no offence intended or taken.
Much to Kevin’s delight, there was no accupuncture today! I knew that by looking at the schedule but I said nothing….it’s a much nicer surprise when Andy comes in and tells him…….No, none today, you rest…..perfect….Mr. Jones is a happy camper now……but it’s time for another stem cell treatment, dear…..Catherine has come to get you…..”Keveen, you no be late, come now”….yes, yes, Catherine, it’s a date!….start without me! ha……..he enjoys getting the stem cell treatments by IV as it is as easy as sitting in the lazy-boy smilin’ and chattin’ up the nurses and other patients who all just happen to be female……
Catherine hooking up the juice
Half way through the drip, in walks Casey….Hiya bigga baby! Hey, Casey…..Kitty is also in the room hooking up bags of juice…..picture time!
Kevin, Kitty & Catherine
Oh no, Miss Kitty, it is time for your CPR test! What? NOW!??! OOPS! See Kitty run!
Rick and Donna Stiles, USA
Kevin slept for a couple of hours in the afternoon and we had a light supper. We called it an early night with a bit of room visiting and planning a shopping outing for tomorrow….looks like we have the weekend off again….yabadabado…..
December 1st, 2008
Thursday, November 27th
With bed rest still in effect , Kevin woke when the alarm went off at 6:30…..he still had no pain or soreness and was amazed that he had slept all night. He kept saying that they had given him a sedative but no, once his legs relaxed, he fell into an exhaustive sleep. He didn’t even wake for the sedative that the doc had ordered. He was weak but said he felt 100% better than the day before. He said ” if that happens again, take me out and shoot me”…..buddy, just let them know a little earlier next time…..IF there is a next time. All of the doctors came in to see him first this morning as they were concerned with how he was feeling. Dr. Mike and Dr. Mary made him go through a few tests to ensure the pain had really subsided. Whew….passed…Big smile by all including Kevin…Back to normal. Andy did very light physio today as Dr. Mary didn’t want him to exert himself. It was amazing to see each of the 15 people on the medical team coming in to see him and make sure he was ok….we’re really going to miss some of them when we leave. Casey and Catherine just make his day. They are two favorite nurses. There is actually only one that doesn’t really connect with him but C & C tease him like the girls at Maid Marians! (He loves Fridays too girls and he’ll be home before you know it…..we fly in on Friday the 12th and he wanted to know if we would be home in time to go and surprise you all!….ummmm no.) Casey was on one day when Kevin was getting his acupuncture. He makes me hold his hand as it gives him great pleasure to see me in as much pain as him when the needles go in…..”Kevin, why you hold hand?” ” because , Casey, it hurts! “…..Casey: “You biga baby”…needless to say, that’s when the nattering back and forth starts….”I come give you accupuncture”…..have you ever done it before, Case? “no, but I try on you”…..not very likely…..”biga baby”…..and the day goes on …she told him that she is going to come in tonight and stick him with the acc. needle….NO you won’t….Yes, I will come…you sleeping…hahahaha….No Casey, I’m sleeping in Tracy’s bed then…with this, she pulls out a tiny flashlight…” That’s ok…I find you………Catherine really understands the best English and has a wonderful sense of humour and a huge belly laugh….and no, none of them are much bigger than a minute. They were both so good with him yesterday that we gave them their gift early. Now, gifts are optional but something we felt we wanted to do and since coming here, I am soooo glad that we made that decision. I asked Yan what to bring as everything I picked up from home said “Made in China”….she mentioned that she always brings cosmetics like Clinique or Estee Lauder….you can buy them here but they are sooo expensive….so I hustled off to Sears a month before we left and hit a great salesclerk there…..they had some great gift sets on and if you bought so much in came a bunch more free gifts….I told her why I was buying and she threw in some more sample perfumes and stuff….Let me tell you, I was some glad to have all of the stuff when I started putting their gift bags together. There are 10 nurses that rotate through the shifts but 6 were extraspecial to us so they got the best stuff. But nobody suffered! I also made sure that nobody got a clock as this is NOT done in China…..if you give a chinese person a gift of a clock, it means it is their time to die….who knew….I googled “chinese gift giving customs” and also learned that “4″ is a very unlucky number so I made sure that in the gift bags, there was never 4….always more or less. I have checked it out….there is no room 4, floor 4 or 14 and I have yet to see a license plate with a 4 in it…..interesting. C& C were estatic with their gifts…..that night, (Miss) Kitty was on and we gave one to her also….she is an absolute riot too….we’ve invited the 3 of them home to visit . I really hope they do some day. As soon as I can get the pictures uploaded somewhere, I will post their pics..
Today was American Thanksgiving dinner and there were so many of us going to the restaurant for this so called traditional meal that Beike hired two vans for us and paid for it….it was wonderful to get out and yes, there was turkey ( we were all deathly afraid it was going to be pigeon) but no stuffing or anything else resembling thanksgiving dinner….I think our first inkling something was up was on the sign at the entrance “welcom to thanksgiving dinner a la Paris”….Paris?? Since when do they celebrate thanksgiving in Paris??? They don’t even know about it in Quebec! I went up for more turkey 3 times…..look at your palm…divide it in half…..we were lucky if we got that big a piece……The last time I came back to the table, Kevin asked me ” I thought you wanted more turkey?” Well, buddy, I did…..I even asked him for two pieces….oh well…..the desserts and the chocolate fountain made up for the braised eel I didn’t eat…..We did have a great time with the group and one tired boy has just crawled into his bed…..belly half full but happier than the last few days……night….
PS…many thanks for the comments….we check first thing everyday and Kevin just waits to see who has written nd the comments, jokes and support you all send…..it makes our day…thanks xoxo
November 30th, 2008
Tuesday and Wednesday, November 25th-26th
Today was the day Kevin got a super duper stem cell treatment . They returned his own adult stem cells via lumbar puncture. He went to the transplant room at 10:30 and was back from recovery at 11:30. This time, he didn’t hardly feel a thing. He was happy about that…the “kick-a-boy-joy-juice” was a little stronger this time, I guess! He slept for the next 3 hours and woke up hungry. I had ordered chicken nuggets from McDonald’s as they aren’t bad and easier to eat when you can’t lift your head. I put a movie on for him but he didn’t see much of it as he was snoozing off and on. That is one side effect of the stem cells too….they are tired for the next 24 hours but the doctors have advised that this is good….the stem cells are hard at work……Some even have temperatures or don’t general feel well but he hasn’t experienced any of that at all nor the back ache or heardaches that are generally related to spinals. later in the afternoon, he started complaining a bit of tenderness and soreness but couldn’t put his finger on where the problem actually was. He thought it was in his lower back. We gave him an advil gel cap. Andy came and put some traditional chinese medicine and heat on it. Apparently that helped while it was on but as soon as it was off….right back with a vengence. Andy said ” only 40 minutes, Kevin….no more right now”. Later in the evening, around 9:00, it was much worse to the point that he couldn’t settle or relax. He said it felt like his muscles were aching right to the bone but it wasn’t exactly pain….just complete soreness…he couldn’t sleep…couldn’t rest. We told the nurse and she went to get Dr. Mary. They decided to give him more ibuprofen….waited an hour….no change. Dr. Mary came back in from the on call room to see how he was….it wasn’t good. She ordered something to relax the muscles as she felt Kevin needed to sleep too. In went the IV and within a half an hour, he was sawing logs. Thankfully. He woke in the morning (Wednesday) and was ok for the first couple of hours…he did his morning chores at Physio, survived the acupuncture and round of doctors including Dr. Mike….the head doc here. There were about 9 of them quizzing Kevin about his condition as it was back again. We told them about the massage including the back and his extra exercising on the bike at night. Dr. Mike has very good English and told Kevin in no uncertain terms No MORE MASSAGE for you. If you want or need massage, Andy or James (PT) will do it or they will have someone come in. He believed that the massage may have been too deep tissue for Kevin right now having stem cell treatment….not a good time for him…..well, we had doc’s approval and sign out…who knew? And he is too stay off the bike and rest. Dr. Mike told him “I know that you are starting to feel better but be patient, rest and give your body and the stem cells time.” Poor Andy spent the day trying to make Kevin’s muscles relax but nothing really worked. Finally, he went and got Lucy to interpret for him….he wanted Kevin to tell him what would be the best physio he could do to help him”…Poor guy….he was at a loss as to what to do next. I told Lucy to let him know that it was up to Dr. Mary ….physio wasn’t cutting it at this point…he had already done his best. Dr. Mary and Luca came back in to see Kevin. By this time, it was after lunch. Dr. Mary went over him with a fine tooth comb and said she was going to get a pain specialist to come and see him. The afternoon came and went…….the agony continued. Kevin was pretty upset by this time and the problem was worse. They gave him more ibuprofen but understand, their drugs are not as strong as western drugs …so Dr. Mike says…..he trained in the US. It would take the edge off for a bit. Lenny and Angie, another couple, were leaving in the am to return home after 40 days. The rest of the patients got together for an hour to have cake and wish them safe travels. It was in the room next to ours and I slipped in and out of both trying to keep a good eye on Kevin. Finally, I got him something to eat but he didn’t eat much of it. He also had a hard time walking and slipped and fell off my bed unto the floor. He was in fine feddle then let me tell you. I think he was at a very low point…He told me the next day that he almost called Rick (room 3, and a Methodist minister) to come and pray for him…he really thought this was it…..all I could do was to sit and wait with him to go to sleep. Around 9:00, he really got upset and I went and got the nurse to get Dr. Mary. She came and asked him if the pain was worse. He kept saying “it’s not pain, it’s more of a deep soreness”….Finally, I just told him” stop telling them it’s aching or sore….they don’t get that! Tell them it’s pain! So he did, and I think that Dr. Mary just took one look at him and knew it was bad. She told him the pain doctor had been tied up all day and wouldnt make it until the morning but in the meantime she ordered something by IV for him. She also ordered some sleeping medication for during the night IF he felt he needed it. It’s 10:00 pm and he is sleeping like a baby…thank you Lord for miracles…….amen.
November 28th, 2008
Just a quick note to say that I think my hard drive crashed…..I’m not a teckie but after a couple of hours I understood the message : YOUR HARD DRIVE DOESN’T EXIST…..LOL….seriously, it has gone MIA….I can’t skype, I can’t get my pictures or my stuff from work….she’s broken….Alf isn’t in until Tuesday…we’ll see what he says but in the meantime, I am using the computer in the common area along with 11 other families and the staff…..I’ll do my best to continue updating…..T.
November 27th, 2008
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