Well, we finally made it home and how sweet it is to be home! Our return trip was very long and hard, somewhat better on our return until Delta tried to bump us off our flight in L.A. We traveled from Qiangdao, China (Friday China time, Thursday USA time) to Korea then to L.A. via Asiana Airlines, which I am still raving about the excellent service by this airline. We were never wanting for food or drink as they continued to provide full course meals and as much water, soft drinks, tea, coffee, etc as we wanted, provided headsets to listen to our choices of movies as many times as we wanted (in English), blankets, pillows and a packet of goodies which included masks for sleeping, socks, travel toothbrush & toothpaste and didn’t even ask for any of it back! Ok, why am I making such a big deal? Well, when we arrived in L.A. to make our connecting flight, Delta tried to “boot” us off our already paid for flight due to their error of overbooking, had food for purchase, but did offer us crackers, water and soft drinks a couple of times and had headsets for $2.00 each for a one time Disney Movie. Yes, I had made it perfectly clear that we had paid for our tickets months ago and expected to be on that plane as did many others and even though we were not among those boarding the plane just before take off, we did get our boarding passes and board we did. We arrived in Atlanta about 6;15 a.m. Saturday, yep just after the tornadoes had hit downtown Atlanta and yes we had a turbulent flight, but safely landed and Philip and Trenton were there to drive us home to Navarre, Florida (5 hr trip). What a wonderful sight those two were to us! Nicholas walked through all the airports instead of riding in a wheelchair as he had done on our trip to China. He is much stronger now, experiencing sensations he did not have before China and is able to lift his feet to some degree. Nicholas even went to the beach on Sunday with his brother and cousin and did NOT wear his braces…….only used his cane! This is something that he has not done in over 5 years! He will continue to see inprovement over the next couple of months as the stem cells continue to grow and do “their thing”….I believe it’s called “regenerative medicine”. Come on USA, let’s get this treatment over here for others to experience their miracle!
Our homecoming was awesome as Mama had a big pot of her Southern style Chicken ‘n Dumplings that Nicholas so loves and so do I! Family members gathered ’round to listen to our tales of our China trip and of course most importantly, Nicholas’ miraculous improvements. We met some wonderful people in the “same boat” as Nicholas…….having to travel around the world to receive stem cells treatment. There is quickly a “bond” established as all cheer on each other. Questions of ”Are the stem cells working for you, how?” We can not say enough about the wonderful staff from Beike, their professionalism, kindness and excellent care they give. The attentativeness that all gave to Nicholas absolutely “blew us away” and according to what we saw, this is the way they treat everyone! From the head doctor to the lady who cleaned our room daily, all gave care in such a compassionate and caring manner in whatever their tasks. The Chinese people that we met were so full of life and seemed to have a passion for living……always seemed so happy and eager to learn about us as they shared their way of life. Our reason for going to China was for Nicholas’ treatment and how sweet the returns have already been, not only did he receive this miraculous treatment and is reaping a wonderful return physically, but what a wonderful experience we both had as we experienced the kindness of the Chinese people and their culture.
We are both so glad to be home in the USA and what comforting words of the customs officer (USA) as he said, “You don’t need to show your passports anymore, you can put them away, now.” We knew we were home indeed. I think we both let out a sigh of relief at the same time.
Thank you all who helped to make this trip a reality and for your continued support via emails, prayers and thoughts. Now, let’s get this treatment in our country!
Vicki
March 18th, 2008
I had my final evaluation this afternoon and showed vast improvements from then time i came here. My legs have gotten stronger, and i have gotten more feeling in both legs and can feel parts of the bottom of my left foot which i have not be able to do in 5 yrs! They grade your strength on a 0-5 level with 0 being the weakest and 5 the strongest, for instance if you cant move your foot at all you will get a 0 and if you can move your foot up and down with heavy resistance you get a 5. On my right foot i got a 2 and on my left foot i got a 2.5 which is really good considering i could not move my feet at all before i got here! On my legs i got a 3 on my left hamstring which is good that means i can bend it up from a straight position laying on my stomach on my own, which i in no way could do before i came here! On my right leg i got a 4 on the hamstring part meaning i can move it up even with light resistance!!!! Things have actually moved along very well considering its only been a month. I can even walk around on just the cane with out using my braces with no shoes on very well and am very stable now. Things look good and the out come is looking better and better every day, it will take time and more hard work from me but it wont be long now. My mom and i are going site seeing tomorrow have a day outta the hospital before we leave, so that will be fun. One more day in China then like Simon and Garfunkle (spelling) said we will be “homeward bound”!!!
March 12th, 2008
Well the final injection went well and thankfully enough when i woke up this morning my headache was gone and i was able to walk around and do my normal thing with out having to bare the pain of that headache! Strangely enough all it took was another spinal tap to fix the headache that the last one caused! Well we are going to go site seeing on our last day here Thursday, so we are both looking forward to that. Then we get to come home, i am very greatful for the chance i had to come out here and the experience but i am ready to return home now and be where things make a little more since to me. Well i dont really have much else to say my mom has pretty much covered it all so i will probably put one more blog up before i come home.
Nick
March 11th, 2008
Monday, March 10
Sorry for lack of posts, Nicholas has been battling a headache for several days now. Nicholas did go to a club with others on Saturday night (wanted to experience the night-life in China), but returned earlier than planned due to headache. No, I did not go with him. Ha, can you imagine, me (Mom) going to the club with him? Don’t think so. Sunday we canceled our outing due to his continued headache. Nicholas’ headache would subside as long as he was lying down, so down he has stayed. This last injection went well and Nicholas is on his back for a long 6 hours, but this time he is sleeping (medication). Hopefully when he awakens his headache will be gone. We continue to be excited about Nicholas’ progress as he is moving his feet where he could not before China. He will continue to see improvements as the stem cells continue to grow and “do their thing”. Just such a shame this is not available in USA; hopefully soon!
To our Denmark friends: Marianne, I promise I will download those pictures and send via email and Al, Nicholas says thank you for telling us how to make the “toasties”……been running into the kitchen continually making ‘em for Nicholas. Maybe after we return home I will be brave enough to tell how I came close to burning down the community kitchen. No one but Nicholas knows, oops guess it’s no longer a secret. To our Canadian friends: the KMart that I visited is NOT like our KMart in USA, actually I discovered the KMart (here) stands for Korean Mart. OK, joke on me! Oh well, the pastries were really good, all but one of which I am still not sure what it was.
We hope to have one more outing before we return home. We will leave the hospital on Friday and arrive in Atlanta Saturday morning to be greeted by Philip, Trenton and Jack (Trenton’s dog) then drive home to Navarre, FL. Our return trip will be much shorter than the very long and hard trip here……….. hallelujah!!!!
Hopefully, the next post will be much sooner, until then…….
Vicki (Nick’s Mom)
P.S. Mama, we are both so looking forward to your good ole Southern Chicken N Dumplins!
March 10th, 2008
Well, Nicholas has had his 4th injection which was a spinal, which means 6 long hours flat on his back. All went well. Many thanks to Marianne (patient from Denmark next door) who sent Nicholas some bendable straws. You see, two hours into that 6 hour stent Nicholas is allowed to drink, but without a straw that’s quite a task to perform. Four hours into this same time, you are allowed to eat. Now those who know Nicholas, know that he likes to eat and not having eaten anything 3 hours before the injection, he was HUNGRY. No worries, had a pizza delivered and here at the 4 hour mark and yes, Nicholas managed to eat it just fine, flat on his back! Nicholas’ humor remains in tact……… he is learning Chinese and I must say speaking Chinese very well, much better than my attempts, anyway before the injection the doctors came in to examine Nicholas and speak with him. Nicholas responded to doctors in Chinese with, “May I have a beer, please?” Yes, they responded with laughter. Nicholas had already spoken this to the nurses, who also responded with laughter. People over here are so full of joy and have such a positive outlook. They are all such a pleasure to be around. As Nicholas has already posted, he is experiencing improvement and surrounded with caring and positive people.
Will keep you posted….
Vicki (Nick’s Mom)
March 5th, 2008
Well i have my 4th injection today, i am bored so i thought i would update this thing some. My Mom, Martin, and I went to the mart yesterday for a couple things, and we also went to KFC.. So i have eaten at McDonalds, and KFC over here in China and although KFC was a little different it was still nice to have a little taste of home. Everything is still going very well over here, i am moving my feet more and more at Physical Therapy and am also noticing more feeling coming back especially in my left foot right now. With the 2 more stem cell injections i have to go and a couple months of letting the stem cells do there job i believe i will have a total recovery, its just going to take a little more time and work. To everyone who have been emailing my mom and i thank you, like we have said every time we get an email its like chirstmas day cause that gives us someone else to talk to other than each other. We have been able to talk to my dad and my brother over the computer thing so that has been nice to be able to hear their voices and actually talk to them. Ok well i guess thats good enough for now, we will let you know how the 4th injection goes….
Nick
March 5th, 2008
Well today is Sunday one of my free days, and my headaches have stopped so me and my mom went out to the RT Mart. They were having a festiville like thing there today with a stage and someone up there singing on it and what not. So we stood around out there and watched that for a few min. then we decided to head on in and do some grocery shopping. Now i just have to wonder this but i think there is something about going to the store you are going to see someone you know no matter where you are in the world! We were walking around and getting ready to go check out and all of a sudden my physical therapist Martin (english name) comes walking up saying “hi”! To think of all the people there we are in some other country and still go to the store and see someone we know. We were very glad to see him though cause once again someone from the hospital was a big help when we needed it! It was nice to recognize a face! The day was fun hanging out with my mom and getting stared at wasnt all that bad either, i know they must all be thinking wow look at that good looking american guy i wonder if i can get his number! haha ok maybe not but atleast let me think this, and make my world feel a little better! We had a good time going out today and am looking forward to going other places soon. Oh and my next Spinal injection the 4th one will be on Wed. so i will keep you informed!
Nick
March 2nd, 2008
I had my 3rd Injection on Friday Feb. 29th. It was an IV injection so all i had to do was sit there and let the drip do its thing. Sorry for the delay in updating this thing i have had a pretty bad headache the past 2-3 days from a minor fall i had in my room one morning. Nothing big just a little fall that messed with the pressure in my spinal column. So i had to lay down alot ,that was the only way for the pain to go away when i would sit up or stand for to long it would hurt again. Other than that though everything is going good here. Starting to notice a little feeling difference in my legs and feet, more in my left than the right but there is a change. So any kind of change right now is a good thing. The doctors have told me it could take anywhere up to 2-3 more months for complete change whatever all that intells. I must keep doing the physical therapy and working hard even when i get home.
March 1st, 2008
I had my 2nd Spinal Injection on Monday with no pain or problems. The only complications was trying to get the IV into my arm. I had to stay on my back for a very long 6 hours after the injection. Once the 6 hours was up i got outta bed and moved around some with no headache and very little back ache. The back ache coming from the 6 hours of laying on it with no pillow or anything under my head and not being able to raise my head. The next morning i was able to complete my PT, Electric Wave Therapy, and Acupuncture. With the acupuncture i am starting be be able to feel the electric pulses in my the rest of my legs and feet which i was not able to do when they first started it with me here! That means that signals are starting to get through. I have enjoyed my time so far in China and have gotten to see some of the sites and experence the culture like what my mom has already told you. To all who have left me comments thank you very much, it has been an inspiration to me and has kept me motivated knowing that so many people are thinking of me and supporting me through this! It snowed here the other day it was very pretty to see when i woke up and looked out the window to see all the snow on the ground and in the trees, and to see it still falling it was very cool looking! Oh and by the way since this is my blog i just want to say one thing real quick, HI GRANDMAMA!! I MISS YOU AND WOULD LIKE SOME CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS WHEN I GET BACK PLEASE, I LOVE YOU!!! Ok my next injection is on Friday it will be an IV injection. I have been told that this is pretty much a piece of cake just sit there and let it drip for about an hour is all. So that will be a nice change. Everyone over here has been very kind to me and my mom. The staff is excellent, they are very caring and have been taking wonderful care of my while i have been here! Well once again to all who have left comments thank you so much they mean alot to me and thank you for the thoughts.
Nick
February 26th, 2008
Yesterday (Saturday) Nicholas, Wendy (rep from Beike, who is absolutely wonderful!), Al (husband of Denmark patient) and I went to downtown Qingdao. It’s about 45 minutes from the hospital. We began with lunch at a Japenese restaurant with sushi bar…….food was good. We were advised to go to toilet before we ventured out into downtown shops. What a shock……..Wendy had warned that there were no seats…..porcelain hole in floor. Oh all clean, just had to hold on, take aim and fire. We then headed to the many shops along the streets which were “packed” with people coming and going in all directions. We thought there was some type of festival going on, but Wendy assured us that this is a typical day in downtown Qingdao. We were all pretty tired after walking much, especially Nicholas. In one shop, Nicholas was offered a “seat” and took it. We saw a McDonald’s and a WalMart while there, as matter of fact, Nicholas ordered (McDonald’s) a double cheeseburger, fries and coke to go and off we went as our driver arrived to take us out of the crowd. We drove by the waterfront where we saw a temple, various structures, housing and the brewery. We understand their “Beer Festival” is in August. We continued along the waterfront looking and taking pictures then on to the Bank of China for additional money. I was surprised at how easy their ATM’s are to use……..just like ours. Guess I was a little apprehensive being in another Country. While we were in the bank, Nicholas inhaled his McDonald’s burger……he was tired and yep, hungry again. Today (Sunday) I went to RT Mart with Al to pick up a few things. Nicholas stayed in room recuperating as he wants to be his best for tomorrow’s 2nd spinal injection. I have gotten used to the stares I get in the market as people refer to me as “foreigner”. Some say, “Hello” I think to hear me say hello back. The people are all very friendly and curious.
We have had problems with getting access to the internet, but will definitely keep you all updated as connection permits.
Mona, I inadvertedly deleted your email address. If you or your mother want to contact me when we return to Navarre, please email again and I will give you my home email address. Thank you for your very encouraging words. Nicholas just said that he would like to thank you and everyone for all your encouraging comments.
Vicki
February 24th, 2008
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