Char's MS Blog

March 24, 2008

char — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 23:58:08 +0000

It’s been almost 6 months since returning from China. I’m still walking better than before going to China, but I think I was at my best around 2 months ago and am possibly declining a little now. I’m considering more chemo (mitozantrone) and see my ms specialist in April.

February 10, 2008

char — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 16:03:02 +0000

Hello.

It’s been 4 months since returning home from China. The MRI at the end of November showed that my ms has not progressed since one year ago, and that at least one lesion is smaller. I did have chemotherapy in Feb, March and April 2007, which can slow down progression. I had an appointment with my ms specialist last Thursday and he feels that possibly the chemotherapy stopped progression and the stem cells transplants made the lesions smaller.

I don’t feel I’ve improved over the last 2 months. I am still walking better than before I went to China. If I begin to get worse again, I will probably try more chemo and would consider more stem cell transplants.

Nov 22, 2007

char — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 18:59:14 +0000

I’ve been home from China for 6 1/2 weeks and continue to slowly improve. I walked 125 steps last night without touching anything. The times when I can walk are sporatic - I usually walk around the house in the morning without a cane, but still use a cane or walker when I go out. I have better balance as time goes on. I continue with rehab therapy 2 or 3 times a week and am doing exercises every day. I have a MRI on Monday, so it will be interesting to see what that shows.

Oct 31, 2007

admin — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:10:06 +0000

I walked 75 steps yesterday unassisted, so am still continuing to improve slowly.

October 21,2007

admin — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:14:13 +0000

I just realized how long it had been since I updated this blog. We came home to Canada October 7th, and I still had some headaches for a couple more days. And of course, jetlag. So it took about a week to get adjusted, then I started acupuncture and some physio. I was home 8 days when I started walking a few steps like I did in China. I’m very optimistic and am sure that the new cells are beginning to work.

October 21, 2007

admin — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:08:04 +0000

Hello!

The website was down for several days, so I can finally give an update.

Last week was very exciting - Monday I took off walking without a cane from the kitchen, down the hall and into our den, rested for a minute and walked back. Since then I’ve had good days and bad days, but usually I can walk quite a bit in the morning without a cane and hardly touching the walls. I’ve found an excellent massage/physio therapist as well as acupuncture, so I’m kept busy. My balance isn’t great and I still have to concentrate on every step.

To my friends in China: I’ve misplaced all your e-mail addresses - can you please e-mail me at cpeacock45@hotmail.com. Also, if anyone has Michael’s e-mail from Austrailia, can you send that to me too? Thanks.

admin — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 04:14:42 +0000

October 2, 2007

Sorry I haven’t written for so long. I had a bad reaction to the stem cell injection last Wed. I had a migraine headache and nausea for 5 days. It really set me back. I’ve lost the strength that I had gained. The doc says it’s ok, it’s just the new cells fighting for a place in my body. Then yesterday I had the last stem cell transplant via IV. I have a headache still today, but not so severe. There’s a lot of positive stories from people who have been here in the past so I’m still hoping for great things after I get home. It takes a while for the myelin to reform and the nerves to regenerate. We are looking forward to coming home Sunday.

Love Char

Sept 17, 2007

admin — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:28:19 +0000

Hello everyone,

I’m walking better - my left leg hardly drags anymore. I still don’t have my balance good enough to take off across the floor. I’m walking quite well using parallel bars. I don’t really hang onto them, I just brush up against them to keep my balance. Physio continues to be very helpful. It’s still hard to tell if the stem cells are helping yet, but I think so. I had my third transplant Monday via IV and on Friday I have another stem cell injection into my spinal cord.

Nicole and I are having a blast shopping in between physio treatments. She got a pair of gorgeous boots yesterday for $10. We’re also are having a blast shopping for knock-offs. The malls 10 min away, $1 taxi ride. We’re getting used to crossing street amid the melee of cars, bikes & people going every which way. A crosswalk doesn’t matter, everyone and everything’s whizzing around you as you cross.

Hope you are all well.

Love Char

Sept 17, 2007

admin — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 14:46:22 +0000

Hello.
I had my 3rd stem cell transplant today, this time via IV. I am walking a little but still don’t have good balance. Evidently some don’t improve at all here, but slowly improve after they get home.
.
We went to the zoo Sunday - it was very nice. The bus driver fed the tigers and bears, so they were running along side the bus and the bears were dancing on their hind legs, trying to reach up to the bus driver to get their food. It was amazing to be so close to them. They have one panda bear, which they just got recently. Today Nicole and I went shopping in between treatments. We’re having fun with the knock-offs.

Thank you all for the e-mails.
Love Char

September 12, 2007

admin — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 04:22:08 +0000

Hi eveybody! I have had a hard time getting this blog up and running. First I had to wait to get it set up, then I need to borrow other patient’s laptops when they are available, then need to luck out on a time when the internet is up. We’ve been in Shenyang 9 days already. A staff person named Tony met us at the airport and took us to a hotel, then picked us up the next morning and took us to the hospital. We felt very well taken care of. Tony speaks pretty good English, actually he lived in Montreal for 5 years and became a Canadian citizen. There’s one other girl named Lucy that speaks English, other than that it’s sign language. I’ve had two consulatations with doctors, through Tony’s interpreting. Life has settled into a routine. I have accupuncture at 9:15, physio therapy at 10:00am and 2:45pm and a 3 hour dailyIV whenever it works out. I’ve had a heart test, blood tests, x-rays and a 2 hour MRI. They are very thorough here. Last Wed I had my first umbilical stem cord transfusion which was painless. Then Thurs they took out cells from the hip bone. Ouch! Now today they are putting those cells in my spinal cord. My MS specialist at UBC clinic was most excited about this procedure, so hopefully it works. My left foot used to drag but is already lifting so that I can walk a little, so that’s encouraging. I’m not sure if it because of the stem cells or the physio therapy. The therapist is excellent. He doesn’t speak English, but it didn’t take long to figure out what he wants me to do. The other patients were telling me that someone with ms left a while before we arrived and he didn’t feel any benefit while in China, but is improving since he got home. So it takes 2 to 6 months to get all the benefit. The hospital is clean and our room has a TV, DVD player,(you can buy a package of DVD’s for $1), water container, fridge, microwave. We have our own bathroom with a shower. There is a Wal-Mart which is very different