Yesterday was supposed to be stem cell day but there were some complications at the lab, and so the treatments were postponed until today. Better safe than sorry especially with foriegn stuff being put in my body……I have no problem waiting an extra day. So in a few hours I’ll have my fourth treatment.
In the meantime, my dad has made it safe and sound back home with all our purchased goods, which means we have more room to go shopping. He has made quite an impact here and is missed by all. Everyone says to say hello. Ken has now joined our ranks as he arrived the night before last and is busy meeting the crew here on the 14th floor.
I also stared occupational therapy yesterday and I had 2 people on either side of me working the knots out of my hands, arms and shoulders. It felt great, a big thank you to Terry for suggesting I get it……you were right.
Anyway I’ll try to write more often and I’ll let you know how my injection goes.
May 9th, 2007
Yup you betcha……I got some CHEESE. Well actually some friends that are here went to a restaurant and brought back this spicey tex mex bread thingy with mushrooms, bacon, and oh yes covered in melted cheesy goodness. It was fantastic……JC your my favorite person for a whole week, thank you so much, it made my day:)
P.S. Ad I hope your finger falls off……at the very least gangrene. And to the other cheese teasers, may you be bunged up forever:)
No new changes for me but I thought I share someone elses good news. Theres a little boy here from Italy who is autistic, between 6 and 8 years old, he has never spoken a word in his whole life…….until now. His first word ever was ‘DADDY’. Something so little but so profound, just amazing.
missing all of you
May 5th, 2007
Well I think I’ve done it, I think I’ve cracked the driving code. As far as I can tell the rules go something like this:
2 short horn blasts means I’m coming up fast on your left, if its followed by another short blast it means ‘hey didn’t you hear me, I said up coming up fast’. 1 short blast means I’m coming up on your right, although it also means I’m going to cut you off. 1 long hardblast means your about to hit me to another vehicle or to warn pedestrians that they are about to be run over. Signal lights are a personal preferance and are used accordingly. Local taxi’s play a game called beat the bus. The object of this game is when in the far left lane, next to the guard rail, and a bus is coming into that lane you must of course speed up and make it past the bus before it hits you or you hit the rail. Or maybe I’m just full of nonesense and they just like the sound of the horns.
We went to a Japanese restaurant last night and it was fantastic. There was about 12 of us, 5 in wheelchairs. Everyone was staring at us, they had never seen anything like it. Some stranger was taking pictures of us, it was most amusing. In the restaurant we all sat around a grill and watched the chef prepare and serve our food. It was one of the best meals I’ve ever had, cheese was the only thing missing:) Ken were going again when you get here.
We attempted to go shopping today in another district and booked the Beike van instead of a taxi. He was an excellent driver and the ride over was quite pleasent. I may not have mentioned it but it is a holiday here. The roads were absolutly packed near the shopping center, we couldn’t get anywhere near it and so we decided to head back to the hospital. Round trip it took us around 2 hours but we got to see some of the city, its absolutly huge and crazy beautiful.
Hope all is well with you
May 2nd, 2007
Well if anyone out there wants to take their own life China is the place to go, all you have to do is cross the street. Even though the little walk sign is lit up its more of a guidline than an actual rule. Its kinda like playing frogger (I just dated myself) buses, cars, motorcycles etc. still turn corners without a look or a thought. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way. I think dodging traffic is learned at a very young age as it doesn’t seem to bother anyone else. I myself have not attemped to cross the major streets just some minor ones. I think I’ll stick to right hand turns. Driving is another “fun” experience. 3 lanes during rush hour quickly turns to 6 lanes. The white lines on the roads are clearly for decoration as most cars drive in the middle of them until they see what direction best suits their needs. I don’t get it, there must be some sort of secret driving code. A few of us went to a restaurant/shopping district called SeaWorld, which takes about 20 minutes. We booked a cab and wow. I didn’t count on the way over but on the way back it went something like this: We almost took out 2 pedestrians, 3 bicycles…one bike had 3 people on it, a dozen or so smaller taxi cabs, and just as many or more buses almost sideswiped us, the grand finale was a U turn across 3 lanes of traffic into the hospital drop off zone. Were going again tonight….wish me luck.
My doctor paid me a vist yesterday morning to take a peek at my MRI’s I had brought with me, he decided I should have another and so he said he would arrange it for me and left. 10-15 minutes later one of the translaters, Ping Ping, came and said ‘ok lets go for MRI’ I would have waited at least 6 months in Canada. They took me in right away, no wait even in the radiology department….amazing, so this is what efficiency runs like. However in the MRI tube thingy was the foulest smell, a cross between bad BO and dirty feet. But done and back in my room in approx 40 minutes…..impressive.
Well on a more somber note I had my 2nd spinal stem cell injection yesterday and again was rolled in a ball and when it was over got another smack on the butt and the nurse said ‘ok all done’ then patted my leg and said ‘you straiten’…..I replied ‘kinda part of why I’m here lady’ she understood and because I not allowed to move myself she preceeded to try and position me flat on my back. Well you would have thought I was a 10 ton beached whale with all the grunts and groans coming out of her…..all I could do was shake with laughter, it was hilarious. And today only a small headache, as long as I don’t move my head to quickly its fine. much better than last time.
Miss you all very much
May 1st, 2007
Traits and family characteristics are passed down from generation to generation and although I was blessed with some, I also recieved one that could be considered, undesirable…….bad veins. Not only are they small but they seem to have a mind all its own. As soon as a needle comes near they vanish or they wait until the needle is in my body then the veins will collapse. The nurses say I have “difficult” arms, I prefer zero needle tolerence. I’ve been punctured so many times that my body has declared a revolt against foreign needles, even the accupuncture ones. The poor nurses feel terrible about missing the veins, its not their fault, its always been this way. So they decided to try and get a vein from my foot so I can get my magic juice……..ummm yeah not such a good idea. My whole leg lost its mind trying to dislodge the needle and the tiny nurse holding it. I think I scared her half to dealth. I said sorry and she said ‘try arm again’. Good news, I hear that when it becomes to difficult to find a vein they switch to a shot in the butt…….I’ll take it. But on the whole its more amusing than anything else.
Hope all is well
I’ll write again soon
April 28th, 2007
Well so far China has been a fasinating experience, except for one thing…… the lack of cheese here is ridiculous. If I had known of this unfortunate fact I would have packed an entire suitcase full of it cause there is no such thing as too much cheese. My dad….god love him…..went on a scavenger hunt and managed to find some kraft slices, still different, but at this point I’d eat anything that even claim to be cheese. Curto stock the fridge on May 20th with some cracker barrel old please, I going to make up for lost time.
Just thought I’d quickly express my cheese envy
I’ll write again soon
April 27th, 2007
My apologies for those who have been waiting for this blog, but for those who know me my tardiness comes as no surprise. This will no doubt be long winded for there is much to tell.
The first few days were jetlagged with many general tests and introductions to doctors, nurses, physio staff, admin staff, and other patients from all over the world. Everyone has been wonderful and kind despite some of the language barriers. The people here are exceptionally friendly and wish only to help. There are obvious differences such as punctuality. You are assigned times for physio programs, both morning and afternoon, and are expected to be there promptly (something I have done surprisingly well at…..so far). Meals are not provided as is in Canada, but there is plenty of western food around. McDonalds, KFC, Papa Johns pizza to name a few and there is a restaurant on the first floor that will deliver to your room. The nursing staff are not responsible for any of your personal care, only things of a medical nature. They are a fantastic group of women who are very good at what they do. Most speak only a few words of english, but a few speak very well. Friendships are easily made. They giggle good naturely at my clumsy attemps to speak chinese. Joe is the man to see for any of your technical needs, he’s awesome. The girls in the admin office are in your everyday dealings and act as interpreters to doctors, physio, nurses, and throughout the community. Hats off to you ladies you are wonderful.
The physio program is, for me, an intense program, 6 days a week, morning and afternoon that leaves me ready for bed by 8 o’clock. I’ve worked harder in the past week than the 6 months of rehab I had with my initial injury in Canada. It’s good and it’s why I came. Each program is tailored specificaly to each individual by your physio doctor. My program includes standing twice a day, a workout/balance session on the tables, accupuncture hooked to electrodes, and an electro muscle stim session. Plus everyday the nurses give me an IV of chinese herbal medicine to promote health and circulation. I call it magic juice because two days after I got here I have had no problems with my bladder and thats saying something coming from someone who has been plagued by chronic bladder infections. I also have had problems with severe swelling and now I’ve seen my ankle bones for the first time in about 6 years.
I am having 6 stem cell treatments, 4 spinal injections, and 2 IV treatments. Friday April 20th was my first spinal injection. I was wheeled into a room on my bed, positioned on my side in a ball, given a local anesthetic and a needle placed in my lower back where my doctor took out 30ml of cerebrospinal fluid which was replaced with 30ml of stem cells. I was in and out in 15 minutes. After I had to lay flat on my back, no pillow, without moving for 6 hours. But in the morning when I sat up I recieved the infamous headache. It’s like a pressure headache like none other and is caused by some spinal leakage. It’s not uncommon and is why you must not move, especially your head, for the 6 hours. A small price to pay for the possibilities of this treatment.
Today, April 25th, I had my second stem cell treatment only this one was IV and took all of 30 minutes flushed afterwards by the chinese herbal medicine. No pain or discomfort (except IV needle) from this at all.
The whole 14th floor is the Stem Cell Ward and all the patients here are amazing people. Some are from half a world away, some from home Canada. All with different ailments, but all with one united purpose…..hope.
April 25th, 2007
Almost a week has gone by, sorry about the lack of info. I had some technical difficulties so this is just a test. If it works I’ll write all about the past week.
April 23rd, 2007
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