This will be my the last update from China, however, I will carry on updating when we are back in South Africa.
Since Enid’s IV Injection she did not appear to have made any further progress….she seemed to have remained at the same level of progress after she received her second Spinal Stemcell Injection. Enid has now received her final Spinal Stemcell Injection on 11 April 2007. We are monitoring any further improvements.
They have also now started teaching her to use her hands & fingers during her Occupational Therapy sessions. This was not done for the first three weeks we were here until I asked Enid’s doctor the reason for not doing it…she could not explain the reason & just told me that if we wanted it she will instruct OT to do it. Enid has so far done OT twice on her hands & fingers. By the time we leave we hope that Enid has had two more sessions of OT on her hands & fingers.
Enid is still struggling to keep her balance whilst standing/walking, but the doctors here says that it will take time & continuous rehab. for her when she returns to SA. I have been shown the various exercises to help Enid’s balance whilst sitting & standing.
Today, 12 April 2007, one day after Enid’s last Spinal injection she showed a little more progress in that she can now walk full distance using the parallel bars as support and with no one helping her. Her walk is still very shaky and very slow, but at least she is walking.
The one think I have noticed about Enid is that she is more aware of her surroundings & she responds more readily when someone speaks to her…..speech not completely understandable yet and her response is also a little slow.
On 14 April 2007 during the afternoon PT session Enid managed again to walk the full length of the parallel bars without assistance, but at a faster & steadier pace. By this time of the week Enid is very tired and would have liked to walk back, but her legs would not let her do that. When she is tired she starts shaking a lot more than usual. Enid ended the PT session in standing position for 30 minutes on the standing machine.
Sunday is an off day for all patients as non of the staff in the PT or OT section work and we will most probably take a stroll around the “old” town one last time before our departure next week Tuesday.
Monday 16 April 2007 is our last full day here at NAN Shan Hospital. It is the usual routine of PT & OT in the morning & PT in the afternoon. I have also used today taking photographs of Enid with the various hospital staff who treated her throughout our stay.
The plan for Tuesday is that Enid will go for the morning PT & OT sessions, but not the afternoon PT session as the afternoon session only finishes at 17:30 hours and our driver will come to pick us up at 18:30 hours from the hospital to drop us off at the Hong Kong Airport.
During Tuesday afternoon we will go around saying our goodbyes to the Hospital staff on the 14th floor & 4th Floor and perhaps more photo sessions with people we may have missed out.
At this point Enid & I are both looking forward to going back HOME!!!!!
April 16th, 2007
Enid received her first IV Stemcells on 2 April 2007….this was rescheduled as it was initially scheduled for 4 April 2007. She has now received in total three stemcell injections (two Spinal & one IV injection). The last Spinal Stemcell Injection will be on wednesday 11 April 2007.
Since the last posting Enid has made progress to such an extend that she can now stand upright with one hand resting on the wash basin whilst brushing her teeth. She has not been able to do this for at least 3 years.
She can also stand upright from a sitting position by holding onto the walker without assistance from anyone. This is something that was not possible (for the last five years) before her treatment in China. However, she is still struggling to walk with the walker frame unassisted. With the assistance of a walker frame and another person assisting she can walk approximately ten to fifteen steps.
Standing upright at the wash basin Standing upright
with walker only
April 4th, 2007
I finally found out how to post photos on the blog and here are a few Photos showing Enid’s exercises & progress made to date….so enjoy. LOOK AT THE LAST PHOTO (that is progress made by Enid after only 12 days in NAN SHAN Hospital).
Arm Exercise Standing machine Leg Exercise
Stretching exercise Enid Standing/walking for first time in 6 years
March 28th, 2007
Since the last posting Enid has made some remarkable progress which I cannot still believe after only one Spinal Stemcell Injection.
On the 26 March 2007 Enid managed to stand on her own for the first time in 6 years for a few minutes with the aid of the walker frame, the Physiotherapist & myself. On Tuesday 27 March 2007 Enid did not only stand upright on her own with the walker frame, but she managed to walk 5-6 steps with assistance. After a short rest she managed another 5-6 steps again which is a fantastic achievement especially when you have not walked/stood upright for 6 years.
But the most amazing progress was today (28 March 2007) when she walked ON HER OWN between a set of parallel bars that she uses for support. She walked the full distance forward & turned around to walk back to the wheelchair. She is being taught to walk again just like a baby trying to walk for the first time ie. she is still very unsteady on her feet but with practice we all believe that she will be able to walk without holding onto the parallel bars. Enid received her second Spinal Stemcell Injection at 16:30 today 28 March 2007 & we hope she will show further progress in the forthcoming weeks ahead.
March 28th, 2007
I have finally worked out how to post information on this website. Today is Saturday 24 March 2007 and local time here in Shen Zhen is 12:48. Enid & I have just had lunch which consisted of what we call a “Chinese Burger”. I go to the supermarket everyday to buy lunch & supper for Enid & myself. It is very cheap….you will not go hungry here as there are so many places where you can buy food (Eastern & Western Foods).
We arrived at the NAN SHAN Hospital on Friday 16 March 2007 at approximately 09:30am. Everything was handled professionally from the time we were met at HK airport at 7:30am by the driver to our check-in into the hospital.
Enid had her first Rehabilitation session in the afternoon on the same day we arrived and from Friday onwards Enid had twice daily Rehab. sessions & Occupational Therapy (O/T) sessions which lasts up to 3 hours in total…sometimes a little bit longer. Enid showed a little progress by just doing Rehab. & O/T sessions, but after her first Spinal Stemcell Injection which was done on Wednesday 21 March 2007 Enid has shown a lot more progress especially with her co-ordination and she can stand for a few minutes using a walking frame. Her speech has also improved a little and the strength in her arms and legs have definitely improved. Since the Stemcell injection, Enid receives daily an IV, which I was told consists of medicine to help the stemcells to grow(Stemcell growth hormones). The Stemcells are like an energy boost for Enid because she does all the exercises required of her but at night she gets very tired & goes to bed early.
The O/T she receives every morning helps her with her speech & stops her choking whilst eating or drinking. Since the O/T, she has not choked once & her speech has improved.
Enid will be receiving her next Spinal Stemcell Injection on Wednesday 28 March 2007. We hope to see more improvements after the second injection.
March 24th, 2007
