Archive for June, 2009
Lawrence did very well with the stem cells. No headache. Yeah! He woke up at 1 am and ate an apple and an oatmeal square. He was able to go back to sleep and we slept till 5 am. Dr. Tony came in to explain that Lawrence had the most amount of valium and still was very tense. He is going to try to relax more next Wednesday. He will have another IV on Friday. That will be very easy! We went to the eye doctor downtown. It was sooooo long. We left the hospital at 12:30 and didn’t come back until 6 pm. There were so many people and it was kind of frustrating, He got his visual field test and VEP. The Beike doctors will tell us the results tomorrow. We got back, had pizza, and I took them for coffee across the street. We are praying every day during accupuncture and asking the Lord for his will. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.
June 30th, 2009
It’s Georgina again! Lawrence just got back from his lumbar puncture. He was very nervous today and did not sleep last night. They wheeled him in and took about 40 minutes. We are in the room now and he is lying still. He said that it was very painful, but not as bad as he thought. He said he could feel it all the way to his bones. He even says that he could feel pain shooting down his legs. They had to administer more valium, since he was tense. Even his accupuncture hurt a little bit. I am glad that the first one is over and will be praying that he does not get a headache! He won’t be able to drink for 2 hours and then eat for 4 hours and move for 6 hours. We’ll keep you p0sted. God is on our side and we have faith that these stem cells will work, work, work!!!! Please continue to pray for Lawrence!
June 29th, 2009
It’s Georgina! Yesterday, we had a day off. Emani and I went to the RT Mart while Lawrence stayed at the hospital with his new friend Kyle. I needed to buy some vegetables, since our stomachs are happier with my cooking. Later in the evening, we went to get a coffee with our new friends. Kyle has become my new “mijo” . Today, we got up and were planning to go to the zoo, but it was raining. So we changed our plans and went to Under Water World, which is inside. We went with two families and had a great time. It was an aquarium under ground. We had to be back at the hospital before 3 p.m. Lawrence will be getting his first spinal tomorrow at 5 p.m. We’re a little nervous, since it is an “unknown” , but I’m sure Lawrence will do fine. I will continue to keep you posted!
June 28th, 2009
Today has been another great day. It is his last accupuncture and electric wave for the week. The doctors came today and checked on him. (about 6 doctors) We will be going to an eye specialist on Tuesday, pending on the way Lawrence feels after spinal. The eye specialist will give him a VEP and other vision specific tests. If he doesn’t feel well, we can go on Thursday. I will keep you posted on this. Other families have told us it is an all day trip to the eye specialist. We have the weekend off, however, Sunday we need to stay in. I’m going to get Lawrence andEmani out tomorrow, since we are off therapy. We will be joining some families for dinner tomorrow night at the Hot Pot. That should be lots of fun! By the way, I made a better breakfast and lunch today. Cooking is getting easier.
June 26th, 2009
Hi! It’s me again. I woke up, showered and ate breakfast as usual. After which, my usual therapy of accupuncture and elecctric wave therapy ensued. Once this was done my mom, Emani and I went to the RT with a family from England. It still took some getting used to knowing the chickens and other meat products were not refrigerated. We needed quite a few things and it was really hot. There was a large international isle, filled with things that I hadn’t thought I would see. It’s interesting to me that when we go anywhere in a taxi, we have the translators write the place in Chinese and then we also have a paper with the hospital in Chinese to get back. I had my afternoon therapy and felt great. We got my stem cell calendar and my first spinal tap is on Monday. That means we have Sunday off, but won’t be able to go out. They do not let us leave 24 hours before a spinal tap or 24 hours after. I will keep you posted.
June 26th, 2009
Today I woke up feeling rested and ready for my stem cell treatment. I got up, showered, then we had breakfast (eggs and toast, yummm!) Then the usual round of accupuncture and electrowave therapy ensued, after which another round of chatting with all the families from Britain, America, Australia, Peru and other places. Probably one of the most interesting things to do here is to hear other people’s stories about conditions, journeys and improvements. And to know that we all share one thing in common—we have all made this journey to improve ourselves. I got stuck with my IV needle and it barely hurt. My needle phobia is going away. We went for my stem cell treatment and sat with 2 other families. My body sucked up the stem cells rather quickly, which I hope is a good sign. My friend Kyle warned me that after getting the stem cells, I would be starving! Unfortunately, it wasn’t an exageration, I ate a whole box of popcorn chicken that we ordered for dinner.
June 25th, 2009
Hi! It’s Lawrence. Today was phase 1 of my entire treatment. It started off with 6 tubes of bloodwork for various tests at 6:30 a.m. 3 hours later Jason, my therapist came in to administer my first accupuncture treatment. This really felt rejuvenating after the needles were pulled out. The rest of the late morning and early afternoon were spent shopping for necessities and having lunch with a few of the families that stay here at the hospital. At 1:30 a second round of accupuncture was administered, and after this, I went through my first electric wave therapy. It was like an intense deep tissue brain massage. And afterwards, I felt pretty rejuvenated. I took an x-ray and an ECG, which concluded my testing. My mom made a really good stir fry with the produce we had bought at the grocery store. My first IV stem cell treatment is tomorrow. We’ll see how that goes and wish me luck.
June 23rd, 2009
We have now arrived in Qingdao, China after a long journey. The people who picked us up, Jack and Sweety are great! We got to the hospital and unpacked all of our things. We set up our room. Dr. Tony came to see Lawrence for his first evaluation. He will be getting some tests tomorrow morning; blood work, growth hormone tests, and ECG. Dr. Tony will meet with the other doctors tomorrow and give us a stem cell treatment schedule. Jason, his physical therapist, also came to see him. He stated that he will be receiving accupuncture as well as electro wave therapy to stimulate his nerves. This schedule will also be given to us tomorrow. We are very tired and intend on getting a good night’s rest.
June 22nd, 2009
