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We had another day of outings !!! On the day none of the kids are getting stem cell treatment everyone tries to get out because the day of treatment & several days after you really shouldnt leave the hospital. So today we went with Shel & Macie who leave next week & had to pick up a few last minute things. We took a driver again & had about 12 of us in total. we dropped off some at the zoo and for us that had already gone we went to the beach for an hr. I had the stroller again so couldnt really take it on the beach. Melissa & I walked around & took pics of the thousands of people crowded onto the beach. The sand is much darker than what we see at a Florida beach. the water is so far off the beach you walk way way out to even get to it..then all you see are people standing elbow to elbow in ankle deep water ???????? It also had the familar stench of a sewage plant ?????? After the beach we went to the Jemo again…Shel had a few things to pick up, the Jemo is the place that everyone goes to barter for goods. Anything you can think of from usual souvenir things to jewlrey housewares & clothes. It has about 5 or 6 floors to it & reeks of urine also…parts of it are underground & damp & musty on top of urine smell. I assume since these people have grown up in that they dont even smell it like we do. I thought about it the other night & may have already said this , but it reminds me of what i imagine a litter box unchanged after a year would smell like !!
Although its nasty & smells the people here are very nice, very nice I will have to add….always smiling alot too !! After that we went to jesco or I think we did that first..oh well it all runs together !!! jesco is a mall type store, although you go in & when you find items they take them & give you a ticket & a tag off the clothes then you take that to a central cashier & she rings it all up you pay & then go back to the area you found items & they get them back for you..seems like an awful lot of trouble to me !!! They are so conservative here to you dont get bags, you can buy them ..im talking about like a kroger plastic bag…they dont like trash or waste. They recycle everything ..from food to cans bottles glass….some staying here with family that have a hotel room said every morning they dump alll the room trash on a huge patio & sift through & seperate it all out to recycle !!! We have watched the cleaning people here do that too..wondering if the food we have leftover they take home & eat ? some said yes but I dont know !!
Another full day of being out & it was much hotter today too…so everyone is exhausted again & ready to go back to our home away from home !!!
We get back all wanting a shower, guess what ?? day 3 of no hot water here !!! this happens very often im told too !!! I still think that they cut it off every so many days as a conservation thing..now many others think the same thing !!! because we have hot water in out kitchen just not in anyones bathrooms ???? I took a cold shower because i couldnt sleep knowing how hot it had been the past 2 days & out roaming in the nasty zoo !!!
were off to bed !!! tonight we tyler ate some chicken pasta & he ate real well, I had pizza since most ordered it after being gone all day…i dont like it so i think 3 tries is enough for me…i can eat what i brought from now on !!! tomorrow is stem cell day so we wont leave the hospital for a few days !!! security is also getting tighter with the Olympics approaching !!! we now have guards at the entrance to our hall & we have to check in & out when we leave !!! we dont feel unsafe here at all though..in fact a couple of days ago when tyler was up at 5(his usual) i fed him & took him to the park by myself and it was a nice walk & cool that early in the morning. we got the stare down but that is normal !!!!
August 6th, 2008
Sorry Ive gotten behind !!! Our time here stays so full that it seems hard to get on here & catch everyone up !!!
The past few days we have not had any treatment so we have had a driver take many of the group out to sight see. We had a day trip to the zoo in Qingdao, you had to walk very very far from the road to the main gate & it is mostly cobblestone paths which wasnt easy with Tylers stroller. We made it up there though !!! NOTHING here is very handicap or stroller friendly though, even on most streets there are steps everywhere & very uneven pavement. Tyler & I stayed in a small park while the rest of our group toured some of the zoo, it was very shady & cool but the trees were full of what sounded like a zillion locust. They were so loud at times Tyler would cover his ears up !!! we were sitting on a bench built around a large tree just watching people for a change although we were the main attraction !!! As I sat there i felt a tap on my shoulder & turned to see a maybe 20ish yr old chinese guy, he said LARGE ..and I thought wait a minute he is going to call me fat..since every chinese female here is the size of a teensy fly..lol…then i shook m y head as not understanding..he said again LARGE…INSECT..im like ok..large insect…then he pointed to my back..OMG one of those 12 inch locust was on my shirt…he picked it off and moved to another bench. He spoke about 10 words in english but thank god 2 of them were large insect !!
After a day at the zoo we went to the american store, it is very small but has many foods we are familar with. Our kind of cereal, a few progresso soups, kraft mac & cheese, regular block cheese, spaghetti sauce & lots of pasta…canned vegetables & fruits..tons of chips..doritos fritos lays…i never looked at the prices and just got what i thought will hold me over til I leave, tylers food supply is holding up pretty good so far. The american store is way more higher priced that then other markets here but no one cares for the most part to get a taste of home !!! Just an idea…a smal box of frosted flakes (smaller than any size we have at home) is about 6.00 here. But if you bought themin another market here in chinese they woudl be maybe .35 cents !!!
One of our US dollars is about 7.00 in RMB’s which is their currency, so things sound high when you pay & they ask for 300.00 it would be in US about 42.oo. A lot of people have a hard time figuring out the money! I printed out charts small enough to put in my wallet that have conversions so i can take that with me to know what im spending…but im so conservative like that it wouldnt surpise anyone who knows me !!!
We all came home & put our food away & crashe, it was a long day ….the city is about 45 minutes each way so it takes all day to do anything. Everyone is always so excited after going to that store though because for a few days they have REAL food !!! That night after tyler went to bed we sat out in the commons area & chatted & a few drank a cold beer I had my fantastic diet coke & we ate an entire bag of Frito’s !!! it was wonderful !!!!
August 6th, 2008
Today was Tyler’s first spinal stem cell treatment, needless to say im a nervous wreck all day !!! I got up and felt great and we had bought more eggs yesterday to make a fried egg sandwich for breakfast. I went over & cooked us a couple & then scrambled one for tyler toput in his grits since he cant eat after 9:30 this morning. I took one bite of mine & just about threw up, the smells here are so horrible & they were really bothering me today…i coulndt eat one bite of it & had to throw it out. So i havent been able to eat today from being nauseated so bad from the smells here. I cant really describe it other than as ive said before…its sewer urine some weird spice & GARLIC all rolled into one.
Tyler had his spinal at about 3:30 pm and we went down to the OR about 5 til 4 & they were waking him up..so far he is fine..he is sleeping at the moment & has to lay flat on his back for 6 hrs !!! oh boy …im purely exhausted today from wrestling with him after they put his IV port in his head for the fluids he got. Before they put it in his foot & he was fine with it, but today they put it in his head & he doesnt like that dangling in his face pretty much. They do things so strange her compared to our american hospitals !!! I think they need to put it so that it goes over & behind his head then he wouldnt really know its there…but im not the medical person here…lol…well im off to sit & watch him..thats about all I can do at this point but he seems to be taking it well so far…as long as I can keep him still for the duration !!! will report back in later tonight as to what is going on !!! wish i could figure out how to add pics here..I think I will ask one of the other dads here to help me figure it out !!!
later
Tami the tired grandma !!!!!
August 1st, 2008
Today we took the day to go out again, Tyler will have his first spinal on Thursday & that is a day of not leaving the hospital. Also Terri will be leaving on Saturday, so we wanted to try and get out for a full day in China ! We hired a Chinese nanny for the day and she got here at 9:30 a.m. Our translator came to explain his meals for the day & where his clothes & diapers & things were. She was very smiley !!!
Our van picked us up about 10:30 and today only 5 of us went to the place called Jemo..not sure of the spelling though..it is a huge indoor type flea market with booth after booth after booth of anything & everything you can imagine..just think about everything we buy at home that is made in China…yep !!! its packed into the place. The booths are about the size of a bathroom in the US…so you can imagine how crowded it is in there…..on the street there is a set of metal doors that are partially closed ..but just enough to squeez through…that leads down some stairs to another section of alley.,…its very odd & all under ground,..,this is where the big bargains are…pearls… coral all kinds of jewlrey …clothes for everyone & many places make it right there..you can pick out a style of chinese dress then pic out the fabric & they measure you & make it in their shop..you can usually pick it up in a few days..they run about 45 US dollars to maybe 100 US…one of the cute girls here got her prom dress made & it is a traditional chinese dress of silk..very pretty too ..
we then ventured to another place back on the street for videos ..you go into a small shop and it has a few cd’s & dvd’s ..you go to the back which is only about 6 ft from the door you came in from..a man taps on the wall…a door opens & you step up to a room that is about 3 x 5 & floor to ceiling dvd’s//blackmarket of course…lol
We had gotten lunch at pizza hut earlier & they actually had a salad bar…nothing like we know at home but they had lettuce & a fewin a p croutons..and everything here..(irene would love) is thousand island dressing !!! we watched people as we got up for salad & one girl had a bowl like normal size salad bowl….she had cucumbers that were arranged in rows around the bowl in a pattern sorta….she continued this around & round…i kid you not this was stacked up maybe 14+ inches…i thought shewas making this for the salad bar as a decoration..but then we saw a few people at their tables with some elaborate bowls like this…well come to find out……they are cheap i guess but several people will eat together & order one salad..then they pile it high enough for 5 people & they all dig in & eat it …lol..oddest thing we saw today…oh other than a man with tiny baskets with one cricket in each one…singing away..we werent sure if it was for snacks or what…they were the largest crickets ive ever seen !
We left this place & headed to the RT mart ! kind of like a super target, we bought some more diet coke ..which you can only buy as singles here. You can only buy regular soda drinks in a 6 pack ! we picked up milk & juice & things for tyler and headed home. The nany was so good with Tyler ..as soon as I got back she came to me & raised tylers hand and said Ne-high…which i think is hello ..& tyler laughes so hard…maybe he is likeing their voices now !!! anyway the people on either side said he was great & they never heard a peep out of him !! the breal today was pretty nice for grandma here too !
July 31, Thursday will be Tylers first spinal so please keep him in your prayers…we had some other things happen tday that was funny too but ica barely hole my eyes open tonight !!
more later
Tami
July 31st, 2008
Today was Tylers first stem cell treatment, he was scheduled for 10:15 and as the time approached I got more nervous…but by 10 they hadnt gotten in to put in his port in. Kirshner then told several people that the plane had been delayed so everyone would be off schedule.
They came in finally to put his port in & aksed if i wanted pediatrics to do it since that morning they had tried to draw blood & couldnt find a good vein, so I said yes that might be best ! So Jack our interpretor came with me & a nurse & took me down stairs & in to a part of the hospital that is only for pediatrics. What a shock, ok people please be glad for our hospitals….this one was dark…well first of all they dont use lights in the hospital here in the daylight to conserve energy. There were hundreds of people with kids in there..and this was in the size of an 10 x 10 room. Of course everyone was staring at us AGAIN..they push us right through the crowd & put us as the first one to get the port put in. The Chinese just pretty much step back out of the way.They have this small table that they put the kids on..one on each end & they have a travel pillow they put their leg or arm on to put the port in …NO GLOVES AGAIN…they ask me if I want it in his head or foot so I said foot..she got it in the first time too !!!
We came back up & it was time for his fluids then upstairs for the stem cell !!! We went up in a room with about four other adults that were already hooked up getting their stem cells. Of course Tyler was already agitated from the IV port so was pretty hyper!! As soon as they put the needle in port for the stem cells he got VERY agitated..but now all he has to do is hear a chinese voice & he falls apart because he knows something is coming…there is another little boy here that is doing the same thing before tyler started it too…lol
The IV takes about half an hour or so, so they finally ended up giving him some valium to calm him down…he did well after that. We came back tot he room & he slept forever. He had no headache or fever from it either !!!!
Because he had slept so much all day, guess what !!! yep he was up from 2-4:30 so no sleep again… im getting more & more worn out by the day !!!! He wont have another treatment until Friday for stem cell & that will be his spinal…nervous all over again !!!
He does have acupunture & physical therapy int he morning though so will report on that when were done…
Tami
July 29th, 2008
Ok so today everyone decided that they needed a break from jail,..well since we’ve only been here a couple of days not so much for us yet…anyway started out to be about 6 of us renting one van then that turned in to 15+ & two vans. They couldnt pick us up until 11 am which gave everyone time to get together & feed the kids. They came & we all went downstairs to the front of the hospital to load up. The showed up with a van & a mercedes ???? oh well it worked out 12 of us got in the van & the others got in the car. The trip downtown took about 30-40 minutes, traffic here is is a nightmare & driving is worse. There are NO stop signs NO traffic lights NO real lanes or right ways to drive, so they just drive however they want !!! instead of yielding or stopping they use their car horn ..and quite well i might add to let everyone know they are coming through so get out of their way..and im dead serious about that..pedestrians also have no right of way as back home…they walk right out in front of cars & trust me the cars DONT stop !! its the scariest thing ive ever witnessed !
So we get to the shopping area, it is like probably downtown New York only throw in a few more zillion people ! its was utter caous too…we just walked in circles for the most part. Some of the group wanted to eat at pizza hut so they could get american food and we decided to just walk around for a bit because the pizza hut only hat 1/4 zillion people in it. We went to Mcdonalds instead…they dont have diet coke at them here either…but we enjoyed a big mac & coke & fries & felt like home….
I guess since we have gotten here we have grown horns or something because people stare so bad, we both checked our heads several times & havent found them & suspect they may only come out once we leave the hospital !!! Tyler is quite the celebrity here , we cant go anywhere that they dont get in his face & say “awww pretty baby, hi baby…” they rub his blond hair and love his ears !!! they want to take pics with him constanlty so many folks in China will have his pic on their mantle i suppose ??
We spent four hours downtown & were more than ready to get back to the hospital at the end of the day,..it had also rained & we were stuck out in that for a bit. I think for my sister & I the most hilarious part of our trip was walmart !! yes they have a super center here..we said we had to check it out…when you walk in the door there are escalators, so you go up a floor ..first floor is the grocery section..we checked it out first..BIG mistake ! it smelled so bad you want to barf…oh and you could no one would even notice !! We needed a fewthings from the store anyway so decided to try and pick it up while we were there. Ok first we wanted cheese..to make a grill cheese..we will not be ordering anything else from takeout after massive stomach aches & other nasty problems…lol..trying to get to the cheese dept we passed many clear bins (like we sell gummy bears or nuts in at home) well these had things we never did figure out ..freeze dried alien looking stuff that smelled rotten…next the produce dept…it smelled of rotting fruit & vegetables ..we get to the dairy section …and find yogurt !!! yahooo for Tyler…so we got a few of those..then here comes the people again surronded the stroller they all just smile..one man tried asking me his name & age…that was about all he could say…we eventually found cheese & butter & checked out..then we figured out the rest of the store was yet up another escalator..so foff we go !
we get upstairs to the main store stuff…shoes clothes housewares shampoo & stuff…all of a sudden i had to go potty RIGHT then..lol(thankyou chinese chicken) so we proceed to ask where the restrooms are…my sis is asking one employee and she has no clue…terri(sis) is saying bathroom?? restroom? getting no where she remembers the nurses at the hospital have asked us daily if Tyler has done CA CA…so she says ca ca to the lady…she looks at her like, WHAT??????then she thinks we want to buy soap…lol another lady hears the conversation & speaks 5 words of english…she starts jabbering away & the lady goes OHHHHHH downstairs 2nd floor…good grief ! so i tear off down stairs…upon walking down a cattle ramp i come into the cave of a restroom..i thought for a moment i was at a concert waiting with the other 350 people needing to potty !! I start to my left to the stalls & notice the floor is wet..oh its standing about 4″ in CA CA water….and people in dress hills & flip flops wade through it to potty..good lord no way..i saw stalls across the other side so went over there…there were 4 stalls & 7 people waiting…i said “ok just wait” when im next to first in line the gilr comes out & opens the door wide & i see the hole in the floor …………OMG i got out of there without thinking twice…how can they do that ???? plush you dont flush paper ????? you put it in the trash can so oyu can only imagine the smell & the sight in there..ok i have to stop there…its gross enough..so i will be telling everyone they wont be getting souvenirs from China , As I have no plans to go back out like that again !!! nighty nighty folks…more tomorrow !!
Tami Terii & Tyler
July 28th, 2008
Its definately going to take a few days to get adjusted to our new home. The flight was incredibly long & tiring, Tyler was a real trooper though !! He did great & never cried at all…he played & slept a lot …he was the star of our section & everyone commented on what a great kid he had been for the long flight. We left at 10:05 our time Thursday & arrived in Shanghai at 2:00p.m on Friday I didnt sleep any on the plane either..so I felt like a zombie ..well I still do…lol…we were not to leave shanghai until 9:20 p.m & had a long day of sitting in the airport…since we couldnt check in until half an hr before the flight we had to stay in the terminal where there is little of nothing other than a trillion little chinese people rushing around.
When we got to check in at 7:30, guess what ..the reservation that we had & the paperwork to prove it was not registered in their system..so essentially we had no tickets for the flight..i might add the ONLY flight out of Shanghai to Qingdao..i argued with the non english speaking airline employees until i finally said how much are the dang tickets ? and re bought them..the next better thing that happend was as we got to Shanghai getting out luggage…one was missing…oh yes, the one that has ALL of Tylers food & diapers & since one piece was to heavy we had to take clothes out of that one to put in tylers bag for weight ..so half of our clothes..it was found,,.in ATLANTA..they didnt get it on the plane…but this morning first thing the wonderful translators here called & got the information & the bag should be here today & they bought our airfare from qingdao back to shanghai for our departure trip..so i didnt have to stress anymore,.,.lol..believe me we were both STRESSED last night…so this morning tyler wakes us up at 4 am oh yeah time to play & because he was to have blood work first thing he couldnt have anything to drink or eat til after they came…now seeing that we dont have our FOOD luggage that made that easy…my sis & I were starving to death too…so i found a community kitchen & as they showed me around I told them we would be going to buy food but needed to walk to something this morning as we all needed to eat pretty bad…so they said there is nothing like that close by….great…one dad that is here with his daughter getting treatment was making the most fabulous looking scrambled eggs & toast..we had 2 pks of easy mac & decided that would be breakfast today for all of us…so as we cooked it we hear a tap at our door ..the wife of the man cooking brought us a plate full of eggs & toast…that was so nice of them …so we had that plus easy mac…lol…
They came in & did Tylers bllod work about 6ish & then a doc stopped in around 9 to let us meet him…they are coming to do his assesment at 2:30 today so we will then have a plan for all of his treatments I think…were so tired today..tyler has been asleep for hours now…but we dont dare wake him…we are going to tryand stay up til their bedtime here …so the time difference is one day ahead so like now its 12:09 pm here & for you guys its 12:09 a.m…….well i have tons more to share but the internet just dropped so will have to do this later…plus im sure i will have more interesting stuff to chat about !!!! everyone here we have met are so nice ..they come around your room at 10ish to see if you want to order pizza & they order it for you…its kinda like papa johns…they deliver here so for 10 US $ you get a large pizza & litter of coke..we each had a piece & it wasnt to bad..they come back around about 4 to see if you want to order dinner ..pizza or chinese !!! so we’ll see..one family here got online & found a mcdonalds & took a cab there for breakfast..so now that they found it im sure some of us will be making a trip there soon too..they said you get real sick of the pizza ..lol going to go take some pics of the world outside our windows here !!! And I will say this probably in every email or blog I do…be thankful everyday that we live in the USA..we have no clue how truly lucky we are !! more on that later…lol
Tami Terri & Tyler
July 26th, 2008
Today I am at work but its hard to concentrate ..all i can think about is packing, leaving, the Trip..Tyler my other grandkids back at home…my grown kids…yes to many things going through my head…i seem to be a bit emotional today to ?? im off tomorrow to get ready !! here we come…….
Tami
July 22nd, 2008
Tyler will be heading to Qingdao for his treatment on July 24 !!
Were very anxious to get started & meet other families going through this great miracle. Please check back often as we will try and keep family & friends updated on what is going on & also pictures !!
Tami & Tyler
July 19th, 2008
Welcome to Stemcellschina.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
July 18th, 2008
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