Mike’s Ataxia Blog

Day 18 11/02/08

     Sunday, day off. I decided to sleep in. About 8:15, there’s a knock on the door.  I responded with something intelligent, like, “Mngl?”.  The door opened and the cleaning lady walked in.  I tried to indicate “could you please come back later?”, and she proceeded to spend the next 15 minutes cleaning the room!  Smiled at me, talking in Chinese, and I was lying there in my skivvies under the covers.  Exactly what is the proper etiquette in that situation? Strange country.  Then again. this is a hospital.

     Later, Dr. Bing came by, I think he’s the senior Dr., a really nice guy who speaks more English than the rest.  I keep thinking of him as Der. Bingle.  He asked me to be ready early the next morning for an X-Ray of my spine.  In light of my previous experience,  I was all for anything that would help with the next spinal, so I told him I’d be ready.  Then I mentioned my ambivalence about having only one more spinal.  He readily agreed that an additional spinal would be better.  I don’t know why he had the sudden change of heart, but I’m glad we got that settled.  I may ask for another.

     2 weeks to go, and I’m getting very antsy to leave.  I know it’ll go fast, but not fast enough.  I’m ready now, thank you. I guess a little improvement has gone to my head.

     Aside from the important stuff, like my wife and kids, it’s the little things, like TV, driving, American food.  I could go on and on.  I don’t know how the expatriates do it.

     Went out to dinner with my friends from Canada next door (literally and figuratively) Rena, her son Richard, his wife, and their son, Jake, Clint and his 15 month old son from Missouri, and Debbie, her mother and daughter from Capetown, South Africa.  We went to a “hot pot” restaurant.  You get a pot of hot broth, and you cook your meat and vegetables in it.  It was fantastic, and only $15 per person.  How to live in China for just $25 a day.

     I haven’t talked much about the weather here.  I was told it was like Chicago.  Only if Chicago was moved to Georgia.  It’s in the 50′s at night, 70′s during the day, basically perfect.  Too bad I don’t get out more.

4 comments November 2nd, 2008

Day 17 11/1/08

     Very strange day. At physical therapy, I’m doing bridges with Jason sitting on me, when he rolls off and wants to arm wrestle me, two hands to one. Like I said, he only weighs one-fifty, so it wasn’t hard. Later at acupuncture, he has Frank, another therapist, ready to go at it.

     I’m starting to feel like I’m back in college, only then, I won drinking money doing it. Oh well, at least the kids were amused.

     I pushed myself in that therapy session about as hard as I can. Rising from a sitting position holding a rod with 20 pounds on it, with my feet together (not as easy as it sounds). Holding a squat with that 20 pounds for almost a minute. Of course, remembering that I used to squat 30 times that kind of puts it in perspective. I know I shouldn’t compare what I could do with what I can do, but sometimes it isn’t easy. I used to walk 4-5 miles a day in the course of my work. Fast. That used to be my way of relaxing, of thinking things through. Now, the idea of walking across a mall is daunting. I miss that. But this way lies madness. What I can do is take care of my kids, hopefully earn a living, and enjoy life.

     Anyway, back to therapy. The harder I push in there, the more bang for my buck I’ll get from those stem cells. So I push. When I think of some of those other programs I could have gone to, with no therapy, five days and your done, and only as far away as Mexico, well, I’m glad I’m doing it this way. I’m just worried that I’m not getting enough spinals; the doctors say it’s enough, but cells introduced into the body through IV don’t pass the blood-brain barrier, and my problem is in the cerebellum, in the brain. I think I’m going to request two more spinals instead of one, even though one was a real pain in the…back.

4 comments November 2nd, 2008