Success so far...

Hi everyone! Since my last entry I have had my first treatment of stem cells, and I must say it was easier than I thought it would be! On Friday, I got my first IV treatment and it took about one hour for the bag to drain into my system! After that I was a bit tired, but then I got hyper...kept my dad up most of the night! I'm still adjusting to this time schedule, but I think I'm starting to feel some effects of the treatment. I had no bad side effects...no throwing up, no fever, no headaches, but today I think I really surprised my mom. We were getting ready to go on a tour of the city and we were in the lobby playing at a table. My mom stood me up beside the table and I stood on my own for like 10-15 minutes and played on my own with the toys on the table! My mom was amazed but couldn't go get the camera to film me...but I'm sure I'll do it again soon for everyone to see!
So we went on a tour of the city that ended up being wonderful. Yesterday my family ventured out on our own and took a taxi to the shopping district but the experience was a bit surreal, and my sister and I really didn't want to be with all those people in the hot, sticky weather. Today, however, it rained and so the weather wasn't that hot or humid! So we returned to that shopping district on a bus that we rented with 4 other families. My parents bought almost all the gifts that they needed to get plus a couple of things for themselves as well! After shopping we went to check out the coast, the public beach and the main pier...all very beautiful. Downtown Qingdao is gorgeous...very modern, very manicured, very hip...even saw a few Starbucks....they are EVERYWHERE! My mom is going to post some pictures on here when she can so that you can all see what it's like! After all the touring we went to a fabulous Italian restaurant. It was so good for my parents to relax , enjoy the food, and get to know the other families a bit more!
So now we're back at the hospital and my parents just got the schedule for this week. From now on I will have 2-3 hours of therapy a day...PT, OT and Acupuncture! My next treatment (and all the rest too!) will be a lumbar injection on Wednesday, July 1st. I will have to be put under with a local anesthetic and then lay still for 6 hours after the procedure is done. These treatments are much more intense so I could have some side effects, but hopefully I won't! I can't leave the hospital the day before, the day of, or the day after, so we'll be around here a lot! I have Friday off and next Sunday too, but the treatment schedule for the following week will include two lumbar treatments, so we're going to have to lay low or split up...Soraya and dad or Soraya and mom will have to go out while someone sticks behind with me!
Ok...well I'm going to sign off for now. Hopefully I will have more to share soon! Thanks for joining me on this journey! See you later!

And so the adventure begins!

Well after months of preparation, planning and fundraising, I am happy to report to all of you that I am in China! Yes, that's right! We arrived on June 23rd after a looooooooooong flight to Shanghai and then a transfer to Qingdao. The flights were good, relatively comfortable, and both my sister and I slept most of the way. My parents were very happy about that! The food was even decent, and I got special meals with lots of fruit, meat and veggies that I could eat! When we were in Shanghai waiting for our connection we met another family traveling from Louisiana to the hospital in Qingdao as well for stem cell treatments. They are really nice and their room is just down the hall from us. There are lots of families here from all over....Australia, England, the US and even from the United Arab Emirates. Everyone talks a lot and helps each other out! We're like a giant family...all here with the hope of improving our lives....I'm the only one with Cerebral Palsy....lots of people are here with degenerative diseases and eye problems but no matter what the reason, we all have the common goal of getting better to some degree.

My dad and I can't seem to adjust to the time schedule here, so we sleep most of the time and then get up at like 2 in the morning! My mom and Soraya have adapted better, but we are all still out of synch! We are 12 hours ahead of home and so our sleep patterns and eating patterns are backwards! Yesterday the doctor, Dr. Tony, and the PT, Owen, evaluated me for treatment. They have decided that the first treatment will be this Friday, June 26 and therapy will start today, June 25th. I will get PT, OT and acupuncture 5 days a week. The first treatment will be by IV and the rest, if I do ok will be spinal treatments. My mom is thinking about adding a 6th treatment for an extra $3500 if they can fit it in and I respond well....the more I get, the better my chances for improvement. Some people here are getting 9 treatments! They've been here forever and still have a long way ago. My mom has spent a lot of time talking with the other families and making plans to get out a bit and see the country. I still don't have my schedule for the whole time here, but they told my parents that I will get 5 days of therapy, 1-2 treatments a week, and then have 2 days free. I know mom and dad want to take us to Beijing, but who knows what we'll end up doing! Soraya is being pretty good, but she is very hyper! She is anxious to get back home to see her friends and family.

My parents have had funny adventures in Chinese society. My dad went to the bank with our interpreter, Sweetie, and then my mom went with her to the supermarket. Both think she is a bit crazy and almost impossible to understand....and she's our interpreter! Soraya has charmed her and all the other interpreters so we actually get lots of help! They think I'm adorable too! Actually, they are so excited about the changes I might undergo that they've asked my mom for filming rights to highlight my story on their website when I'm all done! Yesterday they started filming me for "before" footage....kinda crazy because I'm sooooooo tired that all I do is sleep, eat and laugh a lot! I hope I can figure this time change out a bit so that I can be more of myself for them to see!

I'll try and do more updates as I get treatments and as we all have more funny stories to share! Thanks to everyone for your love and support! Lots of love to all!