Updates From China: Kymber, Tim, Sharen, Brit

June 11
We have been home a month now, it’s hard to believe. This is to let you know how we are all feeling since we got back. Brian went thru a hard time of jet lag, about a week and a half, he is now feeling good, and he does his daily phisio a set out by the hospital, they set a program out for us to do at home before we came home. Brian's balance is much improved; he said he never felt this good in years. Brian is now off his anti depressants and sleeping pills, and sleeping better then he did for a long time. Brian wants to take his dad for treatments this fall. I had a week of jet lag, it was tough. I feel I have more energy as well as my balance is better. Kymber had the a week of jet lag, 2 weeks of the flu, and is now getting over a cold since she got back, she is now doing her exercises, and we can see improvements since she started back with theses. Keith is doing well, he said it was like turning the clock back 10 years, his eye sight is better, he is more focused and he said his balance has improved. All in all we all feel good; we now have to focus on doing our exercises each day for the next 4 months to give this a chance to work.

May 10 - We got home May 8 at 8 pm. Steve and Brit picked us up at the airport, as well Deb and Peter were there to greet us. When we got home there were about 20 people at our house to greet us, it was great to see everyone. Rose and Lorrence brought us supper. It was quite emotional. We had a nice visit, no one stayed long, they wanted us to get some rest. This was a great surprise, we caught up on the past months events and got to say hi to everyone. On the plane ride home Sharen and Kymber sat a few rows back from me, we could not get seats togeather, they were so lucky. A family sat in front of me, a mom dad and 3 kids, about 1 to 3 years old, the parents gave the kids hec for every move they made, and hit them every 5 to 10 minutes, not hitting them once but 5 or 6 times, I was getting so upset, this went on for 9 hrs. I didnt sleep a bit on the way home, this hitting the children drove me crazy. Other than that it was a good trip home. It is our 2nd day home and we still have bad jet lag, we cant get our days and nights straight, Sharen and I were both up at 3 am last night and could not get back to sleep. Hopefully it will be better tonight. We are all feeling good, but it is hard to get used to our food now, we as Canadians eat such heavy food. Everyone commented on good Kymber looks, we all think she is doing so well but she said she does not notice much difference, but we notice so many changes. I heard from Keith and Brian they had their 3rd treatment on Monday, Keith had an IV and Brian had a spinal, they went into his spinal a lot higher, almost above his shoulders becouse of his back fusion he had some years back, it all went well, he said he is noticing some changes now, Keithis noticing changes as well. Hopfully we can get our nights and days straitened out in the next few days and start on our phisio programm they set out for us before we left the hospital. We are supposed to do phisio fo at least 4 to 6 months, during this time the stem cells will keep on growing and we should see improvements all along. I received a email from Josh, he was the first SCA pacient to have stem cell treatments in this hospital, and he still sees improvements now, his treatments were done in Dec, he wants to go back for a second round of treatments, he will keep us informed. Dave, he is the person I went to see in Febuary, also treated for SCA said he saw good results, I understand he is going back for his second treatments as well this fall, I wish both of you the best. I guess they understand what we went thru as they went thru the same. I look back and am amazed at the care we had in the hospital, they made our month stay as easy as possible. I cant thank Dr.Liang enough he was Kymbers favorite he was so gentle and pacient with her. Also Dr Yang, the night Drs, Dr Le at phisio, Dr Ye at voise therepy, the nurses Rose, Zoey, Irene, Ivy, Debbie, Angel, Rain, Lily, Shadone, Linda, Lulu, Vivid, the Beike group Jon, Grace a fellow Canadian, Sunny, Elizabeth, Mary, Dr Hu. we cant thank you all enough, I wish we had caring people like you everywhere. I think the nurses are happy to see me go, but I left Brian beind to carry on the teasing while I am gone. I will try to keep everyone posted on our progress at least omce a week or so. I was asked the question would you go back knowing what you know now, Sharen and I both answered the same, yes without a doubt. I will have to ask Kymber the same question. As I was writng this one of Kymbers friends came over to visit, Jennifer, she said oh my goodness you look so different, so I said do you notice Kymber is different, she said without a doubt.

Day 35 May 7 – This is being posted in the morning, because we only have the internet for 1 hr per day. We are planning on visiting a couple of temples, there is an 800m out door escalator up the side of a mountain, which we thought we would take, and then Kymberly wants to walk down. We argued with her, but lost. There is Stanley Market here as well, but I think we might just walk thru this one. We are done with shopping. Tomorrow we go to the airport to catch our flight. We should arrive in Humboldt by 8pm or 9 pm.


This blog is written from the author’s point of view, or so as he sees it. It may not reflect the actual way things happened or how others may have seen it. Ha Ha

Day 34 May 6 – We are going to Kowloon today. We got up and got ready to go. Kymberly finally found her pancakes for breakfast – she has been craving them for a month and 5 days now. We arrived at the subway station, and actually taking the subway was quite easy. We arrived in Kowloon ½ hour and 5 stops later, and this is even switching to another subway – without getting lost. Here is the famous Ladies’ Market, which from a woman’s point of view, is wonderful but from a man’s point of view it sucked to say the least. (he liked it). There is everything here imaginable. If you want to know the definition of crowded, this is the place you would go. From there we went to Temple Street, where on the streets they have vendors, psychics, palm reading and outdoor restaurants setup. We took the subway back to our area, walked to the hotel, and called it a night.

Day 33 May 5 – We got up this morning and finished packing, or should I say Sharen finished packing. We gave the front nurse’s desk flowers, took more pictures. We ordered a thank you banner for all of the staff, but this will not be ready for a few days, so Keith and Brian will have to give it to them. We said our goodbye’s to the nurses, translators, Jon and anyone else who was working. We had to take 2 taxi’s to the ferry because we could not fit in one, it’s not because we have too many suitcases, it’s because the taxi trunks are so small. Ha-ha. We caught the 2pm ferry to Hong Kong Island Central. What a gong show trying to bring that luggage thru doors, up stairs, down stairs, across ramps, thru terminal buildings, thank goodness for moving escalators. Finally, we arrived to the hotel. Bellhops are wonderful they handle the luggage from here. Sharen and I ventured out while Kymberly had a nap. We thought we would scout the area to see what is around the hotel. Well, I hope we were in rush hour traffic, because, there were so many people, taxis, people and buses, and did I mention people like 3 times as many as Shenzhen. There were full streets closed down so people could walk. It was shoulder to shoulder. We found the subway station, which we are planning on taking tomorrow. At night, we took the tram to The Peak. We rode the tram to the top. The view was spectacular of Hong Kong city, well, until the clouds rolled in, and then you seen nothing. Walked around up there a bit, took the tram down, taxi back to the hotel, and called it a night.

Day 32 May 4- Its hard to believe but we leave the hospital tomorrow, we are finished all our medications, Kymber is feeling good. So we are going to Hong Kong till Monday. We fly out Monday at 3 pm, and should be home your Monday night. This month went so fast, I can’t believe we are leaving tomorrow, our days were busy and the people here were great. We had a lax day, this morning we packed, answered some emails, because we will likely not have this computer on line till we get home. We went for lunch with Jon, Sunny, Sunny’s husband and Elizabeth today, sort of a going away lunch; we went to a hot pot. This afternoon we did phisio, Kymber had voice and Jon interviewed and videoed us a bit. The day was gone, Kymber wanted to go to SeaWorld one last time for supper, so we did. We came back to the hospital paced a bit more, and called it a day. Vicki and Charlene I hate to break this news to you but Keith and Brian thought it would be a good idea to open a discipline clinic for Canadian women, because I thought it was not a good idea they will look for property when I leave, the women here totally respect men, most actually bow to you when you speak, Brian says this is the way it is supposed to be. They insist you go in the door before them, they fill you plate, they basically run after you, It would be hard to get used to and I have a hard time with this but I guess I could live with it, good luck Keith and Brian, you may need it when you hit Canadian soil.

Day 31 May 3 – It is a cloudy rainy day. We planned on going to this hot springs not far from here but we will put it off for another day. Dr Liang was in at 9:00 am, I was wondering how long he would stay away, this week is holidays, but I am sure he made his rounds and went home. We hung out at the hospital this morning, did phisio and talked on msn. This afternoon Sharen and Kymber went to get their nails done, Keith and Brian finished the movie they started watching for 2 or 3 nights, and maybe they will stay awake in the afternoon. I went for a walk and sort of got wet, or is it soaked. Elizabeth took Bream, Keeet, and Tem ( this is what Elizabeth calls us) to the electronics super store at 4 pm, we were looking at a camera for Kymber and a few I-pods, we made a deal on the I-pods but not the camera, we negotiated hard, Elizabeth said we got them cheaper than she got her own, negotiating is a game here, she is so funny, I think we are the first people to give her a hard time like we do best. We went for 2 and ended up with 5. We went for supper to our favorite spot the one where you have you own suite and invited Ahmet, Armed and his daughter form Turkey along and Elizabeth, but only Ahmet came along Armed had company, and Elizabeth was busy. Brian Keith and Ahmet took a taxi back, Kymber Sharen and I walked back, we went thru a few side markets on the way, because Kymber has not seen them yet. I stopped at a small Liquor vendor and picked up a bottle for the boys back home, the lady said 你 不 想 试 试 今 夏 最 , I did not get it, so she wrote something on a piece of paper, it was in Chinese, it looked like 70, so I started digging out 70 rmb, this is like $11.00, not bad, she took 7 rmb out of the pile and nodded. This is criminal a 750 ml bottle for $ 1.20 Canadian. I hope it tastes like so good, or not, I will not be drinking for a 6 months. We got back and the sleeping beauties were sleeping already, oh well, went for a walk and we did the same. Looks like we will be flying home on the 8th, we get confirmation tomorrow. We will likely go to Hong Kong Friday morning. The hospital fills up again on the 6th so they can start treatments on the 8th; all people from Hungary, after we leave there are only 2 rooms full on this ward, Drs. get back to work on the 8th, there is still one Dr. around on call.

Day 30 May 2 – The hospital is quiet, the doctors and ½ the nurses are off this week, and there are only 3 rooms full with foreign patients. Keith went to Hong Kong today with Jon, he said they had a good day, they saw lots, he said it makes the amount of people here look like Humboldt, there are so many people there it is unreal. Brian hung around the hospital, had a massage, went to phisio and had a sleep. We went to Splendid China Park, this is a park that demonstrates the ancient china, and it has a mock up of the great wall, historic buildings, live shows, Buddha temples, water canals, sort of a small theme park. It was interesting, we saw lots, but we got rained out at around 6 pm, it must have rained an inch. We went back to the hospital; it must be getting to be a long stay because we call the hospital home now, I picked up supper and took it back to the hospital, where we all compared notes on our day, then we sat around a bit and called it a night. Kymber feels like a star here, she was asked like 6 times to have her picture taken with people, the all say “beautiful girl” that is about all the English they know, I think much more of this and it will go to her head, but it makes her feel good.

Day 29 May 1 – Kareem and his family (from Australia) left this morning at 5:30 am they are on their way home, good luck. We kicked around the hospital till 1 pm. Jon, Calvin, Keith, Sharen and I went to a lavish hotel, Happy Valley Park, a scenic walk thru a treed area of the restaurant hotel park area, stopped for lunch at a restaurant on a lake. We then took a cab to a shopping center, a top end expensive mall, brand name stuff. We stopped for a drink, in a raised sort of solarium bar restaurant, something wrong with this picture, Keith and I had a coke, the others had a beer, the things we have to do to make our stem cells grow. It was 29 degrees humidity of 87% felt like 41 degrees, Jon was not there yet and he wanted to check it out before he sent anyone else there, so we tagged along. It was a relaxing afternoon, Brian slept all afternoon we got him out of bed at 6 pm when we got back, I think they found a bear and got some hibernating stem cells, this man can sleep. Kymber took it easy all day she did some of her exercises laid for a bit walked, laid for a bit and so on and so on, she gets a bit of a head ache when she is up to long, but she was good tonight, I think she may be up for going out tomorrow. Brian Jon and Razes from turkey went for a massage at 6:30 pm, Keith and I went to SeaWorld he got a ancient Chinese dragon knife for Dalyn then we picked up supper, went back to the hospital. We did our exercises in the hall because we missed phisio today, the nurses gave us a hard time, because of all the giggle ling that was going on. The hospital is emptying out because of the holiday, it sounds like the 8th it is a full house again.

Stem cell update: Keith said his eye sight is getting much better, he still needs glasses but not to the same degree, Jon mentioned that Keith and Kymber do not have the starry look, like they had when they got here, I can confirm that because I noticed it on Keith yesterday and on Kymber a week ago. Both Kymber and I noticed going down stairs is much easier, Sunday Kymber went down a full flight of stairs without stopping once, she usually goes down 2-3 stairs stops gets reorganized then continues on going up is no problem. Her cough is almost non existent; I think the voice machine had a lot to do with this. She walks from heel to toe during phisio much much better. We will have to sit down and talk about all the changes we feel and I will post them.

Day 28 April 30 - It is a hot day again today and humid. And it is stem call day today, the doctors are working today because they are off next week. One thing I did not mention yesterday was on the way home we drove thru the forest and mountains there was forest for about 70 km or so. It was nice not to see city for a bit, also Keith, Brian and I tried frog legs for lunch, they were ok. We sort of took it easy today for Keith and Kymber have the lumbar punch and Brian and I have the IV, this will be around 3:30 pm. We did not leave the hospital today, we just kicked around, drank Chinese tea, basically did nothing. When the stem cells came, Dr. Jang was going to do Kymber, but she has such a level of trust and comfort built with Dr. Liang she wanted him to do the procedure, we had to wait an extra ½ hr till he had time, but it was worth the wait, Dr. Jang is supposed to be as good but Kymber had this level of comfort built with Dr. Liang so Jon, arranged to have him do the procedure. Jon is very accommodating with any request you have, we can’t say enough good about him and his team, and they take every step to make you stay as comfortable as possible. There were some patients asking for softer or thicker pillows, or softer beds, he quickly went to the market and there were like a dozen pillows and foam mattresses in the store room the very next day. Kymber had a hard time getting emotionally prepared for her last treatment today, but once Dr. Liang came in she seemed to settle down, the treatment went very good, we threatened her we would tell him what she was doing yesterday, but we waited till after the treatment was done and he came back to check on her ½ hr later. Them we showed him the pictures of Shane and her bungee jumping, he looked at her and said, you do this, I can’t believe it, and you were frightened of a simple lumbar punch, wow I would take the lumbar punch any time over this, he could not get over how she could work up the courage to do this, and be nervous over a lumbar punch, he said this is good to get out of the hospital. There are some things you had to be there to hear, this was one of then, again some things are lost in translation and this was one of them, and he speaks fairly good English. Keith’s injection went without a flaw, it took him 20 min he laid his 6 hrs, they said he could eat after 1 hr so we had food ready for him, he gets hungry like a bear. Sunny took a close up picture of him sleeping with his mouth wide open right after his injection, it was so funny, she brought it in to show us then took it so show Brian, them we had no choice but to show everyone in the hallway, we all had a good chuckle, Keith took it is stride and said but I was tiered, you know him, he had his pouty dog look on when he said it, I guess you had to be there. Brian and I had IV’s so today was a “walk in the park” for us. Tomorrow is back to our routine gym, IV’s voice, etc. etc., but no doctor’s scheduled visit in the morning, but I bet Dr Liange will come even if it his day off, he is so caring.

Day 27 April 29 – Today we had a van take us around the city and country for a site seeing day, Sharen, Kymber, Keith, Brian, Shane the guide and myself. Shane is a friend of Jon’s he is from California, He is the splitting image of Sharen’s brother Don, his looks and personality, its unbelievable. Kymber is feeling good today, Shane and Kymber got along so well, she really enjoyed herself. Brian was going to stay back because his back was a bit sore but he decided to come along at the last minute, Elizabeth, one of the interpreters, when I said he may stay back, said he is ok he is lazy, he wants rest, she meant he wanted to sleep and not be so busy, but it is so funny how things come out, when you are lost in translation. We went to the east suburb first; it was a 2-3 hr drive, we were out of the city where the factories are, so instead of person each square inch there is 1 person every 2 square inches, it is not like our country where there are wheat fields etc. instead there are factories.. We then went to the water park, it was a site seeing park, it had some live entertainment, rides, rivers, small lake areas where you feed the fish, it was quite scenic. Kymber and Shane eyed the trampoline bungee jumping ride up, and dared one another to go on it, they both agreed that if one would do it the other would, so the way they went, they were afraid at first but had a great time once they got going. You flew like 30 to 35 feet in the air and landed on a big air bag, they had great fun, no one tell Dr Liang about this. After this we drove thru the south west part of the city to the south east section of the city, this is more city central, there were people there, way more than any other part of the City. There we had lunch and looked around at a few shops. Brian decided to take a cab back to the hospital he said his back was getting a bit sore but I think he snuck a nap in. After that we went to one o Shenzhen’s nicer beach areas, it was a beauty of a spot, it was on the South China Sea. The weather was a bit cooler today and overcast so the beach was not busy at all, this was a nice change. We spent a hour or so there, they had tug a wars going an a few other things going on, it was a very nice fine sand beach, about 3 km long. We then wade our way back, we drove along another sea I will check to see which one it was then back to the hospital. I was good to see Kymber out and about today, she really enjoyed her self, it was a nice break from the hospital. We got back around 7:30 pm. It was a early night everyone was tired, except Brian, he was all rested up, I think he is lazy, Ha Ha he wont live this down.

Tomorrow is stem cell day just think after tomorrow Kymber and I will have 50,000,000 stem cells in us WOW.(that is 50 million)

Day 26 April 28- It is a rainy day here. Kymber felt good this morning so we went out for breakfast, we went to Seaworld, after the doctors came in at 9:30 am. When we came back we had the IV’s and phisio as well Dr. Liang went thru our MRI’s one more time, we did not fully understand them from the first time he went thru them, as well he went thru them with Keith and Brian . We had an appointment with Dr Lee in phisio to go thru the exercises next week, as I said before everyone is on holidays next week, as well as for when we get home. Both Dr. Liang as well as Dr. Lee stressed the importance of keeping this up for the next 3 to 4 months while the stem cells are growing. They said we have to train the brain while the stem cells rebuild, it works together, I think they are totally right. The system they have set out seems to be working very well for all four of us. Dr. Lee has added a list of exercises for us to work into; none are vigorous work outs but more a slower type of exercise that works on balance and coordination, each one of us has a different program. Keith said he thought he was in good shape but these simple exercises work some areas that he finds to be challenging. We were there till almost 6:00 pm he was very through, and made sure we understood. We went back to the same restaurant we went to last night, it is like 2 restaurants sort of together, it was equally as good, maybe better. The bill was like 163 rmb $24.32 can this was for all 5 of us not each. On the walk home we picked up some Chinese tea to take home, this stuff is awesome it blows coffee out of the water. There is this tea shop we always stop at, she brings you in, you drink different teas for like an hour, and you buy it if you like. She is a gem of a lady, she speaks no English but we always manage, you cant be afraid to just go out and meet all these people, they are so kind, we have so much fun doing this kind of thing. Keith, Brian and I went to this little shop they sell all kind of ancient Chinese stuff, we were working on getting this fighter ship and Chinese sword sets for a few weeks, but could not make a deal, getting them home is the problem, we would stop in and look at them whenever we went by, she speaks some English, and we came to a agreement tonight, she is sending the home via a shipping company, it will take about a month to get there, we paid lees than ½ of what she was asking and she is shipping them to Canada, good thing my negotiator was there, Brian is ¾ Jewish, and the other ¼ is Jewish but she was happy when we left so she must have done OK, or maybe she was happy to get rid of us ,and maybe we will never see this stuff again, what ever we had fun negotiating, and I trust her. We got back to the hospital, read our emails, talked on MSN and called it a night. We have a van and drive booked for tomorrow morning at 9:00 am to 6:00 pm he is taking us to see the country, some factories, a farm and the main beach area of Shenzhen so we will be busy tomorrow. We leave for home in a week so we are panicking to see a few things before we go. Sunday is our last treatment.

Day 25 April 27- I got up at 4:30 am and went to the internet room, I slept to much last night after I got the stem cell injection. Keith and Brian were up at 7:00 am, so we drank Chinese tea till 8:00am, then went down for breakfast. I got back to the room around 9:00 am, Kymber and Sharen were up. The doctors were in with Keith and Brian shortly after, then our room for their morning visit. Kymber had voice at 11:00 am; I went to phisio at the same time. We all went for lunch across the street at 12:30 pm, then Brian and I went for a massage for 100 minutes again, Brian wants to go every day, it really seems to help his back, and I get them to work on my bum knee. We went to the phisio lab at 4:00 pm to meet with Dr Lee our phisio doctor, he is going to make a list of useful exercises for when we get home so we can continue when we get home, I think the phisio has contributed to a lot of the improvements we see, anyhow it cant hurt. Kymber is still having the head aches but they are a lot better, Dr Hu is going to talk with Dr Jon the hospital pain specialist, he said there is a different procedure they can use for the spinal injection which will eliminate most of this, her next spinal is on Sunday. We went for a walk to see the farmers market this evening, it is something to see, The fish ,snakes ,turtles ,bull frogs, fish like non you ever saw before, live pigeons, live chickens, rows and rows of vegetables, there is to much to go into everything. On our way back we stopped for supper at a very fancy restaurant, we got our own suite, yes suite, with its own private bathroom; TV, couch, the waitress stood beside the table and helped you with everything ,she filled your plate, toped your tea up every 2 minutes, you name it she helped. We had a real time ordering though, we forgot our Chinese translation book, we take it where ever we go, it is our life saver. But we managed to get thru it. As the meal went on we were thinking, when we get the bill we will suffer, this was undoubtedly the best meal we had, it would have been for sure $350.00 plus at home, the food was 2nd to non and the service, well lets say I never in my life saw it like this. Now it was time to pay, we got the bill and it was 159.00 rmb this is $23.73 Canadian, can you believe this. We walked back to the hospital and called it a day.

Day 24 April 26 – It is stem cell day today, I get a spinal, Kymber gets an IV, around 3:30 pm. Blair’s stag party was this weekend at home and I guess Eugene was dancing on the tables, as usual, he fell off and broke a rib, was alcohol involved, I will investigate when I get home, and if it was, he is in big trouble, he said he was not going to drink when I am not there to assist him. We had Drs in at 9:30 to check on us. Julie and Dylan went home this morning at around 10:30. Now Kymber has lost her baby to hold. What will she do? They are fellow Canadians from Toronto, we said our goodbyes, we hope nothing but the best for Dylan, he has improved tremendously since the first time we saw him. Reza, Mojgan and Ali went home this morning as well; they are from Iran, the best of luck to them all. The hospital is a bit empty now, on our floor anyhow, it is a public holiday from the 1st to the 7th of May, called Wu Ye, and so no new patients will come till the 8th of May. They are decorating the streets like we do for Christmas, I think it is a major holiday here, only the service people work that week, the doctors are on call. We had 2 visitors from Israel this morning; they are from a non-profit organization helping people from their country get medical help. They asked many questions. Wanting to know how we decided to come to this particular hospital for treatment as well as wanting our opinion on the treatment and care. One of them was a Rabbi so he got some spiritual advice from me while he was here as well, hey Deb. I also had a call from Chris from Australia, this morning; he is thinking of bringing his parents here for ataxia treatment as well, he just wanted to see how we were doing. Kim from the United States contacted us as well, he is coming for ataxia treatments this fall, I hear he is an artist; I will have to search around and see if I can find some of his work. We went for lunch early, because I have a spinal this afternoon, you should not eat 4 hrs prior to treatment. We went to a small restaurant down the street, it was a locals restaurant, there were no forks, Keith and Brian were forced to use chop sticks, I never saw a couple of pieces of wood get twisted into a shovel so quick in my life. They are chop stick illiterate, but they managed. Brian went for a massage with Jon this afternoon, he is a sucker for punishment, these girls work you over, but good. Keith and Brian’s MRIs came back this afternoon the Doctors will review them tomorrow morning, I looked the MRIs over and I think I found the problem, the brain cavity is almost empty, there is only a pea shaped object in its place, so when the tilt their head this pea sized brain rolls around in this big cavity and makes them dizzy. I don’t know but I think this is not a good scenario, it likely doesn’t pay but they will get a second opinion tomorrow from the doctors. At 3:30 Sunny walked by our room, she looked in and said about ½ hr the injection will be ready, I was putting my shoes on and looked up and said I have to go to the store for a bit, but I will be back at 5:00 or 5:30, she said you can’t leave the hospital, I insisted I go, so I proceeded to the door, she had a fit and said 搜索简体中文网页搜索所有网页 you will be late for the doctors, I said I need a web cam, She said get it tomorrow, I insisted I needed it now and smiled, She said I no trust you no more, and went giggling down the hall. At 4 pm Dr. Liang came in and I had my stem cell injection. He did it in record time, it only took 18 minutes. I had a shot of pain that went thru my butt. It was vicious. Dr. Liang said ‘wow’; I looked at him and asked what now. He said, ‘I think your butt cracked a smile, I said what does that mean, he said it is so happy, it is the last injection’. With that all aside, I had no headache this time. My IV was done in about 1 hr, Rose came in to remove the IV needle, I asked for her hand, she gave it to me, so I pulled myself upwards, she said 搜索简体中文网页搜索所有网页 what are you doing, I said I want to go to the store shopping, she cackled 搜索简体中文网页搜索所有网页 you must lay for 6 hrs., I said no way, so she went to Sharen in the next room to tell on meand said he can’t get up for 6 hrs. Sharen said don’t you know him by now. Kymberly was given her IV the same time. All went really well for her. Although she admits she is getting real tired of being tied to a pole for hours a day. And then, have to hold this q-tip over her IV spot for 5 minutes. Sharen did remind her, that at least she had to hold the q-tip on her hand, poor Dylan had to have his IV thru a vein in his forehead. He then had this 6” q-tip taped to his head, swinging this q-tip around every time he moved. It was quite a sight, you had to feel sorry for him, but yet it looked so funny. I laid for 2 ½ hrs, got up went to the washroom, at the 4 hour mark I had something to eat, and walked a bit, then laid for another hour or so.
I can’t believe how easy it was this time, no head ache, no back pain, just a little butt pain. Kymber felt good the complete time this round.

Day 23 April 25 – Britt got home OK, but her ½ of her luggage is in Vancouver, Eugene and Lori picked her up in Saskatoon, Jerry and Dianne met her at the airport as well. Keith and Brian went for their MRI’s at 830 am there was an opening so they got in early. When they got back to the room the doctors did some more tests, more clinical ones, I think so they could set up the rehab program. The doctors were in to see us at 9:00 am, Kymber had voice at 11:00am and she last enhancer IV for a few days with exception of the ones tomorrow after our spinal. We went for lunch early, Keith and Brian started their rehab at 3:00 pm, Keith said they worked him hard, he was sweating like crazy. At 4:00 pm they started their IV’s, they take about 1 to 1 ½ hrs. Jon took Keith, Brian and I for a massage at 6:00 pm, Sharen didn’t feel like having one, they are 100 minutes long, and do they work you over, feet, calves, back , hands, shoulders, neck, arms, head, temples, ears, and even the eye sockets. They crawl on your back, they only weigh 90 lbs soaking wet, but are they strong, sometimes you almost go thru the roof. Brian wants to go every day, you feel very relaxed when they are done, we will likely go back. We went to Seaworld for supper, Brian stayed back and had something to eat at the hospital and went to bed early, he was tired, he said it was a busy day, to get the Drs visit, rehab, IV’s, lunch, etc, etc., we have to start earlier because it gets to late for him, he went to bed at 8:30pm. We went to a buffet for supper, Kymber filled her plate and carried it back to the table going down 1 stair, I was beside her expecting her to hand me her plate a usual, but when I looked she was on her way herself, this is something that did not happen for a quit a while, she is definitely becoming more stable. Brian said being around her before we left home to now she is at least 50% better. Well I hate to say it but tomorrow is spinal injection day, it is Kymber and my last one, after that it is 1 stem cell IV and we are out of here, but believe it or not I think we will miss this place, the nurses, Drs, translators and other patients are so good, we took a real liking to them.

Day 22 April 24 - We have to be at the airport by noon, it is about a 1 hour taxi ride from the hotel. We had breakfast and left the hotel by 10:30, when Brit was cleaning her glasses the lens fell out so we will try to get it fixed on the way. We got to the airport and tried to change Brits tickets to go straight from Vancouver to Saskatoon but we were not successful. Brit went thru security at 12:15 am; there is a glass repair shop about ½ ways to her gate, so she wanted to get them fixed before she left. So she is on her way. Doug will meet her in Vancouver and help her out, the flight back to Vancouver is 3 hrs less than coming here. I took a van back to the hospital; got there around 2:00 pm. Sharen, Kymber, Brian, Keith and I sat, had a cup of Chinese tea, took the IV and talked for a bit. Keith and Brian had their blood tests at 7:00 am, at 8:30 Brian went to pick his new glasses up and at 2:00 pm they had ultrasound. Before we knew it the stem cells were here, Brian was first, they had a problem with his spinal injection because of his back operation some years ago, he had 3 vertebra fused together, which they anticipated from the x-ray they took yesterday, so they gave his cells through intervenes (IV). Brian had to lay for 2 hrs so he had a nap. While they were doing Brian they did Keith’s, it only took him 20 min, and things went real smooth. Keith was a bit tired so he slept for a few hours, when he woke up we talked, he said it was not near as bad as he anticipated, he had no head ache, virtually no back pain, he felt good. But he said he was hungry, they don’t want you to eat much 4 hrs prior to the injection, and four hrs after. Sharen, Kymber, Brian and I went for supper, and brought Keith his back to the room, at the 4 hr mark he ate, he woofed it down in 4.34 seconds and went to the washroom; he said he felt real good. After Keith’s 6 hrs were up he got up and walked around for a bit, and he was standing on one leg and chanting, 搜索简体中文网页搜索所有网页, my Chinese is a bit off yet but I think Vicki may have her hands full when Keith gets home. They are both tired at 10:30 so they called it a day. Sharen and I went for a walk, and also called it a day. They are both feeling exceptionally good. Keith and Brian have their MRI’s tomorrow morning at 10:00 am.

Day 21 April 23 – I had my IV early, Brit and I are going to Hong Kong today. Sharen, Brit, Keith and I left at 10:00 am for the ferry. The ferry ride is about one hour. The ferry is the fastest way to get to Hong Kong. We got off at Kawloon and stayed at the same hotel I stayed at last time I was here. We checked in, unpacked and took a taxi to the Stanley Market. At this market they have aisles and aisles of ancient Chinese artifacts and lots of handmade jewellery. We stayed there till 3pm. We picked quite a few things up so we had to go back to the hotel to drop them off. Then we headed to the Ladies Market. This market was a hundred times busier. It was blocks and blocks of ladies clothing, accessories, purses, every item you can imagine geared toward capturing women shoppers. Britney found quite a few things here. We shopped til I dropped, Britney was still ready to go. We ended up buying an additional suitcase – this thing is a beast. After that, we spent the evening on Temple Street which is an open-street market with lots of Chinese cultural items, tarot readings, fortune tellers, palm readers. They also had lots of outdoor restaurants. This is where we had supper and it was very good. Britney repacked her suitcase, squeezing every square inch full. We then called in a night. I think Britney took all of 5 minutes to fall asleep. We had a real thunder storm and lots of rain during the night.

After dropping Tim and Brit off at the ferry, Sharen & Keith walked to Seaworld. It is about a 10 minute walk from the ferry station. We walked down to the South China Sea and walked among the restaurants. As we were walking, the beggers came up to us. Keith wanted to get rid of the change in his pocket, so he gave it to one of the beggers. Well, I think they all heard the tinkle of change in that metal bowl, because you give to one, they come around in flocks. And they don’t leave you alone; they follow you, shaking their bowl, chanting something to you. It is very hard to get rid of them. He said he will never do that again. We only stayed there for about ½ hour because it was very hot and humid. The temperature today was 31 deg, but with 99% humidity, it felt like 41 deg. It was a scorcher. Elizabeth, the new interpreter on staff, took Brian to get his prescription checked and picked out a pair of glasses. He can pick them up tomorrow. He looks like Elton John now! He also got his back x-rayed. Jon took Brian, Keith, Sharen, Kymberly, Julie & Dylan to Seaworld for supper. It was such a nice evening, sitting outside eating.

Day 20 April 22 – I got up early and got Keith and Brian from Hong Kong airport, I met them at around 8:30 am, we got back to the hospital around 10:30 am. They said there trip was long, the wait in Vancouver for 8 hrs was long, but the 14 hr flight was longer. When we got to the hospital they were impressed, they said it felt more like a hotel than a hospital, you are free to come and go, as long as you are here when it is required, and the translators and nurses are 2nd to none. They unpacked and we went for lunch. After lunch I took them to the bank and store to get a feel of where they are and how to do things. Kymber and I helped set their computer up, and new hot mail addresses so they can web cam. They had Doctors appointments at 2:00 pm, they did some balance and coordination tests, ECG, Stool, Urine, blood pressure all the basics. Brian gets an x ray on his back tomorrow, because of his back injury; they want to find where it is best to do the injection. Monday morning they get blood taken and MRI. In the afternoon around 3:30 pm Monday is their first injection. Brit and I will be going to Hong Kong tomorrow, she leaves Monday; she wants to see a bit of Hong Kong before she goes, she is packed and ready. Kymber had a good day today, we were worried about the day after the injection but she feels good. We went for the hot pot supper again, it was Brits choice, it is her last meal here so we let her decide where to go. Keith and Brian were having so much trouble with their chop sticks; Sharen felt sorry, so she got her translation book out and ordered them forks, I would have let them tough it out, that way they would learn faster, but it was also kind of funny. After supper we helped them do some grocery shopping; we had to keep them away from the chickens feet, goose heads, pig snouts and live turtles but they found enough without that. The injections are easier and easier as we go, the first ones were a bit tough, but now things are going so good. Sharen says she sees so many improvements, in both of us, Grace said I have more hair, what a side effect, I will get Sharen to list the changes tomorrow, she is in bed already.

Day 19 April 21 – It was 26 deg humidity 79%, felt like it was 35 deg not as warm as yesterday but close. Same same, this morning Drs came in at 9:00am, IV at 9:30, physio, voice at 11:00am. Kymber had some emails to send so she had lunch in the room. Brit, Sharen and I went out for a hot pot lunch. Grace had to come and order for us. This is the neatest thing you ever saw, you order your food, it comes raw, there is a boiling hot pot in the middle of the table (it has a burner under it) and you pick up your food with chop sticks and cook it in the hot pot. The meat is cut very thin so it cooks in 30 seconds, vegetables take a bit longer, the pot is cut in ½ one side very spicy the other side is garlic. I mean garlic, whole toes, 100s of them, it was very good, likey the best meal we had so far. I think we will break Keith and Brian in with this tomorrow, but the chop stick thing is going to be so funny, I can’t wait. Outside the hospital there is no such thing as a fork. I am going to Hong Kong tomorrow morning to pick them up at the airport. Kymber Sharen and Julie went to the health spa at about 2:30pm, Brit would not participate, believe me I tried, They do a hair wash and massage for 2 hours, all this for ….can you believe this 20 rmb, $3.00 Can. Each. Brit and I walked to this dress shop I saw earlier, it was ½ way across town, or it felt like it, she wanted a red Chinese shirt, but she could not find what she wanted, can you believe it, girls. She saw and tried on a dress the other day she wants to go get it tomorrow. I think it was the first one she tried on (you know what I mean). The stem cells were supposed to come around 3:00 pm, but were late, the showed up at 8:00pm, this is why they went for the hair thing. I had the IV today, it went like a breeze. Kymber had the spinal tap today. You don’t know how many times I asked the Lord if I could take this lumbar punch for her, but he said “with gain, there is pain”, so I guess she has to do this on her own. Dr. Liang said if she can she should not get sedated this time, the recovery is much better, so we were hoping she could bear the pain and get thru it without. We asked for Dr. Liang, he is so good with her, he is so gentle and caring, he also talks fairly good English. We were in the next room listening to the whole thing, he talked to her about bands (the bands pictures are on the wall), different music, he plays guitar. The complete time, she was into the conversation. It took a bit longer than usual, only about 5 min longer, but she pulled thru with no sedation. She said it was a bit painful but not bad. I really think the conversation was the key; I can’t thank Dr. Liang enough. The stem cells being late worked out to be the best thing for us. We did not know when they were coming, so she was not near as nervous. They finished the injection at 8:45pm so she can sleep till the morning, and Dr. Liang was a gem. She has IVs till about 11:30, stem cell enhancer etc. Now let’s hope there are no headaches. The second spinal I had, the head aches were oh so slight. Some may say it is because “no brain no pain” I beg to differ. We now have 30,000,000 stem cells in our veins just that alone is enough to keep a lay man busy, but I don’t find it bad, I just lined them up one behind the other gave them their orders and they are hard at work. As you know the Chinese are team players. If some decide to stray off and not work on the problem at hand , I will kick some ass.

Day 18 April 20 – Man it was a cooker today it was 28 deg humidity of 87% feels like 38 deg (100 f). We had a easy day, had my IV at 9:00 am, Drs at 10:30, Kymber had voice at 11:00 am, physio, we were done at early today. Kymber had her IV at 1:30, so Brit, Sharen and I walked to the market. It was so hot and stuffy. It was almost unbearable, so we came back to the hospital and kicked around for a bit, them went to Sea World for supper, we went to the California Steak House. It was awesome, we never had this much meat since we got here, we were meat mongers, all we get elsewhere is rice, vegetables, rice, you get the picture, but I think we will miss it when we get home. Then we came back to the room read our emails and called it a night. I think I was mixed up yesterday, Keith and Brian leave tomorrow at 2pm. We get our 3rd treatment tomorrow, after that only 2 more to go, just think we will then have 3 million Chinese stem cells running around in our systems. I hope they can drive better than our taxi drivers, if not we are in big trouble, we had a guy tonight that makes my driving look like Miss Daisy.

Day 17 April 19 –We may only have 2 weeks left and it’s homeward bound. The weather network says it 28 deg 62% humidity feels like 36 deg. It’s hot. You will not believe it but we can only publish on the blog, we have not seen it yet, I hope it looks OK; the internet connection is a bit weak here. The morning was as usual, Drs. at 9:00 am, I had IV from 10:00am to 11:30 am, Kymber missed hers because she had a headache. I went to physio at about noon, I started walking up the stairs from physio, I actually got Kymber to walk up with me yesterday, from the 4th floor where phisio is to the 11th floor, and she was pooped so we took the elevator the rest of the way. I will try to make it all the way up in 1 go in time. We are on the 19th floor, I can do it but I have to take a few rests yet. Kymber had a head ache today and did not want to go out, so Sharen and Brit went to the busiest place on earth by themselves, the train station shopping mall. We had a late lunch in the hospital, and then Kymber had 2 -IVs to take so she did those, while I went for a walk. I think it is time we talk about the interest the nurses have in us making a stool. Each day they ask if we made a stool, as they cannot speak much English, I told Rose (our nurse) that I had made a beautiful stool today, you should have seen it was a beauty. She looked at me and said how many times, I said just once and pointed up one finger, she seemed to be happy with this so she went on her merry way. Sharen & Brit made it back to the hospital around 7:30. They had a very busy afternoon shopping. Just imagine 5 floors of shops. And every store as you go by, ‘Missy’ you want a Rolex, ‘Missy’ come and take a look, ‘Missy’ you want DVD. And when you try clothing on, they have no dressing rooms, they hold up a curtain. The trip back to the hospital was an interesting one – the driver must dream of driving in the Indy 500 for the way he was swerving around all the traffic. We basically took it easy for the rest of the evening. Keith and Brian should be on their way tonight at about 2:00am our time which is around noon your time. I hope their trip goes well.

Day 16 April 18 – Got up this morning what a nice day 26 deg and the sun was shining: it’s good to be alive hey Dale. The doctors came in around 8:30 am we had our morning chat, as we do every morning, checking on our progress. I just wined about my back being a bit sore. The IVs came in about 9:00 am this is the last one except for the stem cell enhancer on stem cell days, but the bad news is the tea starts again tomorrow, I can’t wait. Same ol same ol then Kymber had her voice at 11:00 am and physio after. Sharen Kymber and Brit went to the Qonxia (the nail and massage place) and got their nails done, feet and hands. They actually hand paint flowers on each nail, this takes 3 hrs, I don’t get it, but they enjoy it. I told them they could do mine as well, but I think they said it would take a week or so or something like that, there was a lot of chattering going on when they looked at my feet, I think they are a vision don’t you. So I went for a 3 hr walk instead, I came across a farmers market, it was huge. They were selling everything from, and this is true, cages full of huge live bull frogs (these are a delicacy here I guess), live pigeons, live chickens, any kind of vegetable you can imagine, bamboo roots, live swimming snakes, any kind of fish you can imagine (the fish is live in big aquariums), beef sides, pork sides, live rabbits, live goats, goose heads, goose intestines, and on and on. We have to go back there; the girls want to see this. Even with all the people, I mean 1.3 million here, I ran into Dr. Yang in a vegetable market (not the farmers market) he thought I was lost. It is about 15 blocks from the Hospital, and on the way back I ran into Dr. Lee our physio director, and he started telling me how to get back, but I told them I was just out for a walk, they both said nobody ever goes out this far you could get lost. I met up with Sharen, Kymber, and Britt at about 7 pm they were not quite done, so I hung out there for a bit, you can’t believe how you can give the girls doing the nails a hard time, even if they can’t understand a word you are saying, they sort of kicked me out, so I took Kymber back to the room, she had a head ache, I would to. We went for supper, this will always amaze me, you can’t read a word on the menu, and if you ask you can’t understand a word they say, so you go to a place where there is pictures on the menu, and hope for the best and the chop stick thing, but we are all getting the hang of them now. If you aren’t careful there will and I mean there will be chickens feet in your soup, you usually get a small bowl of soup to wash the rice down. After that we called it a day. Just think we now have 20 million yes count them 20 million Chinese stem cells running around in our veins, what our bodies will do now. This may be why chop sticks are becoming so easy to use and the traffic is becoming bearable, and the people are becoming sparser (in our eyes).

Day 15 April 17 – Deede and Jonathan left later last night for Beijing for further treatments, we will miss them dearly and we wish them luck. We had a phone call from Lorrence, Rose and Jeanette this morning, they were just about to have Easter supper, it was nice to hear from home. The doctors came in at 8:30 am, I told him that if he cannot find me this afternoon not to look under the couch, he said no pain today, somehow I don’t believe him. We more or less took it easy today. Brit and I walked to the electronics super market and looked around and get some air and exersize before the treatments. Kymber and Sharen went to voice at 2:00 pm. The stem cells were a bit late, they took me in at 3:45pm and it took to 4:30 pm, they ran into a few snags. Dr. Zhao had a difficult time, Dr. Liang finished up. This 45 min was like 2 hrs. I broke out into a cold sweat for a bit, there was some pain, but all went well. I had very minor head aches, and very little back pain. I got up after 3 hrs and went to the bathroom, after 4 hrs I had something to eat (you cannot eat 6 hrs prior), and laid till 10:30, 6 hrs, the worst part is by far the 6 hrs, on your back, on a hard bed, only a 1 ½” cushion. I felt exceptionally good; the part I hate is, being waited on hand and foot, it makesne feel so bad (ha ha) because you must stay laying. Kymber’s IV went so smooth; it is like nothing to it. We both took stem cell growth enhancer IVs and the medication by IV that stops your body from fighting off foreign objects. We basically called it a night after all this was over. Brit is still suffering from jet lag and a bit of the flu she went to bed at 9:00pm for the night.
Stem Cell Update:
Dr. Yang, the head neurologist, did some basic tests, with Kymber while I was getting the lumbar punch, like touching your nose with your finger tips fast, touch your finger then his while he is moving his and walking a straight line. This was done before her injection; she noticed that she could take 5 steps on the line before veering off, before she could do 1 to 1 ½. He said he noticed a real difference on the other co-ordination tests. Kymber and I were walking along the seam in the lino tonight Kymber could do as above, I could walk a straight line for about 3 to 4 steps before veering off and now I can go 20 to 30 feet before veering off.

Day 14 April 16 – The Easter bunny found Kymber and Brit but Tim and I must have been bad because he did not find us. We decided to go to Sea World for Easter, Julie and Dylan(8 months old) are coming with us, you know Kymber if there is a baby around, she will be around them, and besides, we need one another’s company. The doctor was in at 8:30am to check on Kymber, she is feeling real good today. We had a webcam conversation with Eugene, Laurie, Kayle, Addison, Chenelle and Shelby. We also had a call from mom it was good to hear from all of you. We more or less took it easy this morning. The nurses travel in packs here; there were 7 in this morning, looking at the pictures on the wall. Kymber had a bump where her IV was, she went to the nurses station to show the nurses her welt. First of all the look on one of the nurses face was priceless when Kymber showed her hand. There is a great loss in translation, because each nurse had a remedy for Kymber’s hand. The 1st nurse said to put warm on, the 2nd one said paper (I think she was trying to think of cloth), the 3rd nurse said cold. Well, the 4th nurse hollered out CHOCOLATE, I didn’t think that would work, but Kymberly thought what the hell, and went back to the room to have some, after all it is Easter, the nurses had a giggling fit, there are some things that have to be on camera to be appreciated. Julie and Dylan ended up not coming with us this afternoon. Dylan had a bit of a rough night and morning, and Julie decided sleep was more important than going out. We went to SeaWorld in the afternoon. We walked out to the Warf, and you know Tim, he was a magnet to all the beggars, I think he made their Easter even though they don’t celebrate it here. At the end of the Warf there was a small fishing village with many very ancient boats. Anything that floated was on the water. We checked out a few of the shops. We really found one of the shops interesting. It had a lot of ancient Chinese artifacts. We could not resist. We stopped for supper at Amazon BBQ. There was a buffet, inside had all your vegetables and salads, then you went to your table (outside) and they brought the meat to the table on skewers – there was beef, pork, chicken, cow tongue, lamb, sausage, ham, ostrich leg, bananas and corn. It was a very good meal. Afterwards we got breakfast from the bakery. We then found a taxi to get a ride home.
Stem Cell update:
Kymber said “that going downstairs is a lot easier. My legs are not as stiff. I also noticed that my balance is getting better; as long as no one cuts me off I am OK. Going up stairs is also not as tiring, although I only went up two flights today.

Day 13 April 15 - The doctor was in at 8:30am this morning, he indicated that Kymber should walk a bit, but not too much, and go to physical therapy more often. He will talk to the physical therapist and to set up this. All of the foreign patients that stayed on this floor had a going away part for Gabi and Cami, and Jon and Deede last night. We all exchanged emails and will stay in touch after leaving here, comparing our experiences at this hospital and with the stem cell injection progress. Gabi and Cami left this morning at 6:00am. They will be missed, Gabi has such a sense of humor he told the person that cut his hair to make him look like Tom Cruise but they made him look like Jack Nicolson. Gabi said if he looked like Tom Cruise, he would not have to pay wherever he went, as he would be a star and stars don’t pay. Cami says he should get Arnold Schwarzenegger’s stem cells so he would have some strength, but he says maybe he got Sharon Stone’s, so instead of looking for a wife he would look for a husband. He says he may have better luck with that. They said they came with one bag between both of them, now they have 5 bags, they are allowed 80 kilos and they have 110 kilos, but he will put his sad poor face on and try to get away with not paying extra. And he probably will! I hope all goes well for them. We also met Reza (dad), Mojgan (mom) and Alireza (son) from Iran. They are very nice people, very soft spoken. Kareen (dad), Marydell (mom), Kimberley, Marybell (daughters), and Mitchell (son) are from Australia. They are both nurses, they are quite knowledgeable with the spinal cord procedure, letting us know a few precautions to take, they are also very nice people. Brit has to watch, she slept in Kymber’s bed last night, when the nurses came in to give our IV’s, they thought she was Kymber. Like they would get an IV in Brit. Ha yeah right! I don’t think they could run fast enough to catch her. The nurses think Kymber and Brit look so much alike, I guess it is like us we think all Chinese people look alike. Can you believe it Kayle, Brit got up at 6:30 this morning, but the bad news is she went back to bed from 8:00 to 10:00. I think her clock is ½ turn out. So yon lo hey woo, Chinese for “I think we are going out today,” we are all feeling good. Thank you (or in Chinese pronounced Shie-Shie) everyone for the cards and pictures that were sent with Brit, we could not wait till Sunday so we opened them today, so, so sorry, Kayle, Grace loves your glasses, they are too cool, as she had a pair like that 20 years ago.
Our options for going out for Easter are: 少林、武当、峨嵋三大门派将齐聚深圳锦绣中华·民俗村，为市民献上一道“中国功夫”盛
For you English speaking folks
http://www.cn5000.com.cn/
Splendid China
Or
武魂——主场演出：少林、武当、峨嵋——汇天下英雄，容八方精武
Again for you English speaking folks http://www.chinatravelone.com/english/themepark/windowworld/index.htm
Windows of the World
Or
Sea World (various western restaurants)
Brit figured since we are on the 19th floor paper airplanes would soar like an eagle, sooo, the first one went forever it must have almost crossed the street and came back and landed by the trees, the second one almost went straight down it flew like a turkey. I had to put my foot down and put and end to this nonsense, Sharen wanted us to keep going but I said no, then we had to go pick them up. We went for a stroll this afternoon, went to a few shops, and sort of took it easy. When we got back Grace met with us, they revised our schedule, they do the stem cells Fridays and Mondays, with Kymber’s pain she encountered they will change her IV’s and Spinal injections so this will almost shorten our stay up a week. Our last stem cell IV is April 30, then we rest for a few days and fly out on May 2nd or 3rd. We went for supper at the restaurant in the hotel across the street (the one I stayed at when I was here last time) it was all Chinese, ordering was a task, but fun. On the menu there were items like, baked goose head, broiled goose intestines, chicken feet soup, and shark fin anything. To say the least, Brit was grossed out. We found a few items that were acceptable; the chop stick thing was going on again. Brit was having a real time, one of the waiters tried to help her lots but she did not catch on real good, as she is left-handed and he did not know how to show her, but he had a fun time trying. She was persistent and did ok. Supper was very good. You cannot believe the service here, I think there is 1 waiter/waitress per person, and so cheap it makes you feel guilty. A supper like you would have in the Keg for $20.oo a plate, is like 200 rmb, this is $3o.oo Canadian. This is for all 4 of us. If you tip, they almost insist you take it back, they can’t understand why you would tip. Tomorrow the Easter bunny comes. I don’t know that he will find us. They don’t celebrate Easter here. I hope you all feel guilty when you are stuffing your faces tomorrow. We get rice on rice mmm mmm good. At least we won’t get zits (hehe).
Happy Easter Everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 12 April 14 – Got up early this morning 5:30am to go to Hong Kong to get Brit from the airport, going thru customs at this time in the morning was quick. Picked Brit up at about 8:30 am, she said thing went real good, she called Glenda in Calgary, but did not need help; she was only there 1 hr. She met Doug in Vancouver, she had a 4 hr lay over, she was glad he met her, she was a bit intimidated by the size of the airport and going from domestic to international is a big venture. She said the flight from Vancouver was not as long as she expected (14 hr). She slept quite a bit because she wasn’t feeling the best. Coming back to the hospital was tedious the traffic was brutal and the border crossing was so slow. In Hong Kong they drive on the opposite side of the road as well the steering wheel is on the opposite side. The traffic and the way these people drive sort of freaked Brit out. When we got back we had a short nap and took our IV. Brit wanted to go look around at the shops and see what was around here, so her and I walked around for about 2 hrs. She picked up a couple of Chinese lamps. Kymber and Sharen stayed at the hospital, the doctors were supposed to come around 4:00pm. They brought the CT scan back at about 2:00pm and showed us why Kymber was having this pain. It is her tail bone, and this caused some swelling which caused the discomfort. They gave her an anti inflammatory, now the pain is basically gone. We will keep our fingers crossed. Tonight at 7:30pm there is a going away party for Gabi and Cami from Romania, they go home tomorrow morning as well for Deede and Jonathan, from Massachusetts who are going to Beijing for further treatments. When Josh was here (if you recall he was the first ataxia patient here) he left quite a mark on one of the nurses, Rose. When Josh emailed me last time he said to say hi to Rose, she was so happy to hear from him. Staying here a month or so you become quite attached to the ones around you. They do not celebrate Easter here.
Happy Easter weekend everyone!!!!! on our menu is rice. I hope your ham is good.
The only bad thing about Friday is that monday is only 2 days away, ouch.

Day 11 April 13 – We are all happy for Janelle, Cory and Carter that Janelle's surgery went well today, this is relieving news. Its Keiths birthday today happy birthday. It is a bit cooler today about 20 deg and some rain. It is supposed to rain the next 4 days. Hotmail conversations and web cam conversations are great, but sorry we have to keep them so short, your evenings at home are our mornings here and the mornings are so busy, the doctors come in around at 9:00 to 9:30am this usually takes about ½ hr., we have IV this takes 1 to 1 ½ hr. Kymber has throat therapy (voice) at 11:00am. The emails are great; we usually read them after supper when things are winding down for the day, thanks everyone for the support and laughs. It is hard being this far from home and not having people come to visit but, it’s good to know you all care. I forgot to mention, when we were out for lunch the other day we saw a mini Chinese Merle, can you believe it, there may be 2 of him on the face of this earth are we ready for this. Kymber was real sore last night so the nurses came in at 2:30 am and gave her a needle to relieve the pain she slept good. We had our eye appointments this morning at 10:00 am, they give you eye drops to open you pupils, then take a picture of you eye, what a flash, and our pupils did not get back to normal for 2 hrs. Again at 12:00 noon Kymber’s back started acting up again, she said it was definitely her tail bone; the paint became unbearable again so the doctor examined her the gave her another needle and ordered a CT scan to see exactly what was causing this. He feels it is the tail bone not the injection that is causing this discomfort, and when he presses on her back it does not hurt her near the injection but at her tail bone area. At 2:00 we took her down for the CT scan, we will get the results tomorrow. They brought in the physical therapist up to the room and he had 3 machines the first was like 2 pads they put on her back, she said it was like pulses, the second was like a heat pad, and the third was like a heat ray lamp. The rest of the day she was real good, we even left the room and went for supper. I had gym today at 3:00 pm. Sharen and I went for a walk to the open market to pick up a mattress pad and a few extra blankets because Brit will be here tomorrow. We talked to her when she was in Vancouver airport she was with Doug waiting to get on her last leg of her long flight, she is feeling a bit better, she has a touch of the flu. Thanks again Doug for taking care of Brit we know it is a long way from Victoria and oh so late, leaving Vancouver at 2:55 am. Brit will be here at 7:10am tomorrow morning, I will meet her at the Hong Kong airport. Yes can you believe it Kymber is mobile and feeling good.

Day 10 April 12 - It is 28 deg today humidity of 74% feels like 39 deg, it is hot, the sky is clear. First day the sky is this clear since we got here. At home the weather looks good as well, 18 deg Saturday, there must be water everywhere. Brit called this morning on the cell phone they provided. It was like she is next door. It took a while to connect. She has a touch of the flu, what timing. We talked for about ½ hr, she is getting excited to come she will be here Friday morning. I will go to Hong Kong to meet her at the airport. Sharen is going shopping and site seeing with a bus load of people from the hospital today, they left at 9:30am and should be back around 2:00pm. Dr. Liang was in this morning for his daily visit to check our progress he suggested that we go with the bus tour to get mobilized. He speaks fairly good English, he said it usually takes about 1 ½ to 2 weeks to see noticeable improvements, but it is important to get mobile. He also said not all people get headaches as a matter of fact most don’t. I think we will get more mobile a bit sooner next treatment. I talked to Josh today via email and he said the first treatment was the worst for him as well. This was nice to hear, and reassuring because he went thru the same treatments a few months back. It is too hot for Kymber to go out; as well she is still quite stiff and sore, so we will go to the gym, and do exercises, and do her voice today, I will talk to them about a massage for her as well, and this may loosen her up. We have met a lot of other patients and their families over the past week, they are all very nice people, and it’s like a little family here. Julie and Dillon are from Toronto, Ontario, she lived in Saskatoon for a few years, and she knows a family from Humboldt but can’t recall their names. Dillon is only 8 month old. Jenny and Jerry are from Florida he got in a fight 3 years ago. He had 3 vertebra crushed and is paralyzed; they actually went home 2 days ago. He is very satisfied with his results, he said he could not sweat before but he does now, living in Florida he could not go out when it was hot, without sweating it was unbearable. Jenny does not know if this is good because she has to wash his cloths, he also got warm and cold feeling back, as well as more movement in his arms and legs. He can now push and pull his wheel chair across the room, before he could only push it a few strides. He said for us this may not sound like much but for him it is huge. We also met Didi and Jonathan they are from Massachusetts, Jonathan almost drowned when he was younger, and they are leaving Sunday for Beijing for further treatments and will be back here in 6 weeks to finish the stem cell treatments. Didi said Jonathan has more movement in his neck. Met Gabi and his mom from Romania. Gabi had an accident on the beach when he was younger. He is also paralyzed, he is always in such good spirits, his English is very good but his mom does not speak English, he jabbers a mile a minute. We went to the gym at 11:00am but they said to come back around 2:30pm. I guess they thought we were going on the bus today. When we got back to our floor I talked to Dr. Yang to see what we could do to loosen Kymber up a bit, he said to put hot towels on her back and legs and walk around, so we spent till 2:00pm just doing that, putting hot towels on her back and legs then going for a walk to the nursing station and back and so on and so on, it really seemed to help. We went back to the gym at 2:30, Kymber did her throat therapy and I did the exercises they set out for me, he added one today. Sharen came back around 2:00pm. Kymber was too sore to take her massage so we went back to the room. Her back became continually sorer so at around 4:30pm we called the resident doctor up to check this out, she was in so much pain. The doctor came up and discovered she had an inflamed lumbar, so she prescribed a medication taken by intervenes, as well as some therapy by heat, the doctor spoke fairly good English so we could understand her well. A therapist brought a heat light of some sort and shone it on her lumbar, and the on duty nurse gave her the IV, 1 bottle and 2 bags of IV. Within 20 minutes Kymber felt much better. After the IV was taken off we walked around, she feels fine now. We watched a movie and went to bed. Kymbers swelling has gone now; we are thinking it may have been caused by her broken tail bone from a wile back, along with the treatment that caused the inflammation.

. Day 9 April 11 – Jon gave us a cell phone to use while we are here, you just buy a card and they activate it for you, its going to be very helpful, Grace said you call her any time day or night and she will help translate, order meals, talk to taxi drivers, if you need anything just call, this is going to be very helpful. We got it activated yesterday and tried it out today, Brit is calling us from home tomorrow to see how it works from home. Dave Griffiths had the same one when he was here and I called him many times from Humboldt, it is also very inexpensive to use, we had it since we got here and just hooked it up now, we should have had it hooked up right away, it gives you a feeling of safety knowing you can get back from wherever you may end up. We had eye muscle coordination test booked for 10:00am and Kymber’s voice at 11:00am but we cancelled them both, they will rebook them for tomorrow or the day after. They shine lights in your eyes and feel our head aches would get worse. We had our IV at 10:30am. The doctors came in to talk to us at 9:00am to see how things are progressing, they said the head aches are normal for the first time you have treatments, but we should get a bit mobile, but also take it easy and rest for the day. The famous herbal tea came at 11:00am, I think it is getting worse, this is something no one can get used to, it is best to let it cool and shoot it down, sort of like tequila, hey Marilyn. So it was a bit of a relaxing day. Kymber slept on and off, I moved around most of the day having a few naps. Any fast movements or a sneeze is a bit painful. Our backs are a bit sore but not real bad. I was laying down today and I think at least 2 of the 10,000,000 (yes 10 million) stem cells made it to my brain one said 搜索所有中文网页 the other said 搜索简体中文网页 I think they are from Chinese Albert Einstein College of Umbilical Cords, I could not really tell my Mandarin Chinese is still a bit off. Sharen and I went for a walk to KFC to pick up supper. Went about 2 blocks that was enough for today. Can you believe it, there is a McDonalds and 2 KFCs within 1 block of the hospital. Our 2 most unfavorite places to eat, but I must say the chicken has no grease. Kymber laid down while we went, she still has a bit of a headache and sore back, we have to get her more mobile tomorrow. We watched a movie before we went to bed.

Day 8 April 10 – I forgot to mention a few things in the days past, our Uncle Norman from Victoria passed on, we don’t know when the funeral is, He moved on to a greater place. Our condolences to Lil and family. And on a brighter side Glenda was miss diagnosed, she does not carry the gene carrying SCA, I am so happy for her and her family. We got up around 8 am. I had my IV around 9:30 am. The doctor came in around 10:00am. Kymber went for her voice at 11:00 am.








The doctors went thru our treatment schedule, so it looks like every Monday is treatment day, 10th today spinal chord injection, 17th spinal chord injection, 24th IV, 30th (Sunday) Monday is a holiday here, May 1st spinal chord injection, 8th IV. He said the way it looks we can book our flights home, if all goes as planned around the 10th. The cells arrived at the hospital at 3:00 pm and the injections start around 3:45 pm. We have to watch what we eat and when because you get nauseated with the injections. We hired a nurse, her name was Wa who spoke no English, to help us thru this injection, we did not know what to expect and if Sharen could handle us both, she stays as long as you require her up to 24 hrs; you will not believe the cost 100rmb $15Can. She was a mini Cindy maybe a bit taller, at you every 5 min to see if she could get you anything, but she was also a bit of a Hitler, you could not turn on your side, tilt your head forward, she brought 2 bed pans just in case, Kymber was happy to see them. The doctors were here right on time; Kymber was getting a bit nervous so I went first. The process takes about 20 min. each; you have to get in the fetal position lying on your side pulling your knees toward your chin bending your head forward, and stay like this for the entire time. I had Dr. Yang administer mine he is the chief neurologist of the hospital, he was a bit rough, but did a very good job; he is the older of the doctors. They give you some local freezing, I think because I did not feel much pain. They insert the needle between two vertebrae into your spinal chord, let the spinal chord fluid out, and then inject the stem cells. Next it was Kymber’s turn, she was so nervous; Dr. Liang did her administration, he is younger about 30 or so but he is very suttle and gentle, he is the resident neurologist of our floor, he had to give her something to go to relax because she was so nervous. I sort of watched maybe a bit to much. I think it was more painful on mom and dad, I think they even shed a few more tears than Kymber, mom anyway, I think dad’s were from a piece of lint in his eye. All in all it went very good, now we have to lay flat on our backs for 6 hrs. I counted the holes in the ceiling tile, whoever made them messed up, one has 2401 and the other has 2450. Kymber slept for 2 ½ hrs, she woke up with a bit of a head ache, I had the same but it was not real bad. We were allowed to get up and go to the bathroom after 4 hrs. At the 5 3/4 hr mark Kymber had a serious head ache, so she was able to roll on her side. If anyone has tried to lay flat on their back for 6 hrs without basically moving on a hard bed, good luck. Try it after someone was digging around in your back for ½ hr. I slept till about 2 am, Kymber slept till about 2:30 am, the head aches only got worse. I sat up till 5:00 am in a chair I could not lay the head ache got too bad, Kymber fell asleep. She woke up at 5:45 am and had an unbearable head ache; we had to call the nurse who called Dr. Liang. They gave her a shot of pain killer; she slept till 9:00 am. I slept from 7;00 am till 9:00. I slept with the bed cranked up into the sitting position the head ache seemed to get better. The doctors came in at 9:00 am and woke us, the head aches were o lot better by now, he told us to get a bit mobile and the head aches should taper off, he also said this is likely the worst because you system gets used to it. We have eye mussel coordination test at 10:00am but I think we may have to postpone them till the head aches ease up. All in all the treatments went well but it was a vvvvery long night. Thank goodness we had Sharen to help because it was a real chore just to sit up at times.

Day 6 April 8 – We had our IV’s at 9:00am this morning, we thought we would get this over with earlier so we have more of a day to waste. Woke up this morning and, and the fresh aroma of the dreaded herbal tea (mud). The nurse said it was “no delicious” she is sooo right. I think we use the same stuff for patching roads. I read on the package and it said 索所有网页I think it means things that want to make you go poo. It is Saturday so not much goes on at the hospital today. The doctor came in for a friendly visit today not so serious but more for a chat. He said the tea is more of a traditional thing it is not used for many medical reasons. So we found a new use for Kymber’s , the drain was a bit plugged, we poured it down to see what would happen , low and behold we found something that works faster and better than Drano. The gym thing is optional today. So Kymber took her voice training and we skipped the rest so we could go out this afternoon. I turned a little country today. Logged on to CJVR and we can listen to Melfort radio, tried to get more rock or soft rock stations but I can’t get them to work, I can’t remember the names of the stations. We decided to go to Sea World today, this is an old cruise ship a western person brought on land and turned it into a hotel, the rooms are only $65 Cdn. per night. They dug it into the ground about 1 storey and it is about 6 or 7 stories above ground. It has restaurants and bars from across the world around it, India, Russia, USA, France, Italy Japan, Korea, etc.etc.etc. There is likely about 50 bars and restaurants. It also has a small market set up for some shopping, the prices are a bit higher but it is a bit more user friendly (language). When we got there we were thirsty so we stopped at Starbucks I know what the man from Brooklyn was talking about when he talked about the prices of this place, we each had a small drink and it was more than any 3 complete meals we had while we were here so far 78 rmb. We had supper at a Russian restaurant, borsht soup and skewers with mutton, chicken, pork, and vegetables. It was awesome we actually had meat, no rice, no bamboo shoots, no rice, no egg noodles, no rice, and no bamboo shoots.
The taxis are so cheap you can go to a place like this, which is about 20 -25 min taxi ride for 18 rmb or $2.76 and they don’t accept tips here, all tips are included in the price (this is what we are told by Grace). When you tip they insist you take your change. I always talk about Grace Sonny Jessica and Jon they are our foreign translators, they will come to the restaurant and help order your meals, they will go to the market with you, and they will sit in on all your doctors meetings and make sure you understand everything. One more free day until the treatments start so we will have to make it count. We brought lots of pictures and hung them on the wall with sticky tack.
The nurses are more interested in the photos than our medicine. They came in to drop off our medicine and started looking at pictures, only to forget to leave the medicine coming back 10 min later saying “ sorry sorry sorry “. We will put more pictures up each day, next are the quading and snowmobiling photos this should get their attention (if not it will get mine).We forgot the video Roxy made from all our quading trips, this would have brought the whole floor here for the afternoon. I think I will get Brit to bring it up when she comes.

Day 5 April 7 – Its Friday 搜索简体中文网页 I picked up some Mandarin Chinese the last few days. So yesterday they talked us into trying ancient Chinese herbal remedies, being we have the time we thought what the hec it cant hurt. They brought some Chinese herbal tea, they say it supposed to be good for you, make you strong, you drink it 2 times a day, why did I say I would try this, tastes like mud smells like dirty mud, but I think I am stronger . Kymber will not try hers. I told her it was awesome, she does not believe me. Have to assess if it is worth it or maybe NOT. I think I should go to more Chinese Mandarin classes and learn the word NO. We had a web cam over voice conversation with Brit, Lorrence, Rose, Mom, Cindy, Amanda and Gloria this morning, it was good to hear familiar voices. Today was routine went to gym, had our IV and drank our tea, can’t wait until tomorrow, I miss that good morning aroma of mud (or is it Maxwell house I am thinking of). We had an interesting supper. We went to Fu Rong Lou or something like that, Gerry and Jenny (2 other patients here) told us to try it. It was good but ordering was a task, good thing they had pictures, and the chop stick thing, well we won’t even go into that. Someone told me that Jonny Cash died and went to heaven a while back, but they didn’t tell me he was buried in Shenzhen China, he sang me the burning ring of fire all night long. The table next to us, they were having a party, the food and beer that was consumed was unreal. Their beer comes in big bottles about 2x the size of ours. On our way home we stopped at the market and picked up a few things for breakfast.

Day 4 April 6- Up at 5:30 man we have to get our days in sync. Doctors came in around 10:00 this morning. They read the MRI and talked about the exercise program as well they talked about ancient Chinese herbs, we decided to try them. They said they taste awful so you can either drink them or take them by IV,we decided to go with the IV as well as the tea in the morning. We have nothing else to do so we will give this a shot what the hey. Stem cells will start Monday at 3:00pm. Kymber will start her exercises at 3:00pm today. Went for lunch in hospital cafeteria, it was good today Sharen and Kymber found stuff they actually liked. At rehab I had my program set out yesterday so I did my thing, I don't have much to do they say I am a vision of health!!?? or I think that is what they said my Chinese sort of sucks. Kymber had 1 1/2 hr of balance related exercise. She had this one toe to heel exercise, she had to use 2 hands when she started, and by the end she was using one hand. Program ended at about 5:15pm. I think we will start earlier tomorrow. We got back to the room and the nurse was there with the IV, Chinese herbs, it took about 1 hr. There is a school next door each morning at 9:30 am the kids are lined up in perfect form and do exercises before class, they are much disciplined. Also there is a park area we can see from our window each morning the adults do yoga etc. etc. (don’t know what it is all called). We went for a walk tonight; there are a million shops, restaurants etc. Grace suggested some parks we should go to they are only 15 min by cab. These park are Chinese history parks, they have a piece of the great wall, temples Chinese dancers Etc. We will check them out in the days to come. The days are busy. The elevators are something, if you are polite and wait you would be there days to get on, they pack 18-20 poeple on average in this small 6'x6' elevator. If you would step out on the street you would get nailed by a car or bike you need eyes on the back and both sides of your head. If we think we have a fast pace, you would be in the back seat here. I read this artical about them having a cure (treatment that would stop SCA where it is) it was in the Hong Kong / Shenzhen paper the doctor/researcher is from Hong Kong, Jon is looking into it with me, he is at a wedding in Florida but will be back in 10 days. He knows lots of doctors in Hong Kong so he is confident that he can make the right contacts to help me out.

Day 3 April 5 – Up at 7:30 we have ultrasound booked for 8:30. The ultrasound is called a CCDD Cardiac Color Doppler Diagnosis. Grace came at 8am and said it would be around 9:30 because of an emergency. We went thru the CCDD you could almost say it is like our ultrasound. On our way back to the room we stopped at the exercise rehab room. Grace introduced us to our rehab Doctor. We are scheduled for 2:30 to have our programe set up. Sharen Kymber Grace and some others are going to get their nails done at 12:30. They were a bit late in getting back so I went down and got my program set up; it’s not too bad only about 2 hours per day in the morning and 1 1/2 hours in the afternoon. Kymber is to go tomorrow at 2:30pm to have hers set up. It looks like Friday we will get our first injections they will confirm this tomorrow.

Day 2 April 4 - 7:00am they took 7 small vials of blood, urine sample, and a stool sample. We had breakfast. 8:30 am we went for a MRI this took until about 10 am. At 11:00 am the Doctors came and did some balance coordination, strength, and reaction tests these were over at noon. We are free till 3:30; Grace is booking ultrasound and will talk to us at this time about when the appointment is. We walked to the supermarket 3 blocks from here and went to the bank, the debit card with the plus symbol worked as if we were at home except for the buttons have Chinese. We went to wal-mart, can you belive it there is even a wall-mart here. Things are very reasonable here Jeans $6 can, Tshirts $1 can Bycycle $29 can, Hair dryer $9 can they have almost anything here. Kymber says it is much safer in the hospital, the traffic and people are overwhelming. When we got back Grace saw us and said our ultrasound is booked for 8:30 am tomorrow. Saw Jon and he indicated that the stem cell injections would start Fri or Mon because the cells for Wed came back from the lab rejected. Sharen and I feel asleep at about 4:00pm Kymber put up pictures. We had supper late again we must get on schedule.

Day 1 April 3- Arrived at the hospital around 10 am. We got unpacked. Nice room 2 beds and a futon. Hospital is 2 years old. We went for lunch around 12:15 with Grace and Sonny. We checked out the convenience store downstairs. When we got back to the room they took our temperature and blood pressure. We have to fast from 7:00 pm on so they can do blood tests tomorrow morning at 7:00 am. They took 7 small viles of blood. Dr Liung came in and did some tests on coordination and balance such as walking a line, touch your nose quickly, wave your hands sideways, follow you hand with your eyes, he pushes you and you keep your balance etc. After that they gave us an ECG then checked our blood pressure. Never left the Hospital we had bad jet lag.

The flight down here was long, the jet lag will take a few days to overcome, but I think it will all be worth it, we will keep you posted.

Welcome to the new website that we will be posting the updates from China.