We woke up to intense fog today. We couldn’t see the road just outside our hospital window. Because of the fog, the smoke couldn’t escape easily so the smoky smell was the worst we have experienced. I had a good night and I feel as good as I have felt in a long time. I knew it was going to be a very busy day and it started by getting another IV full of
Add comment September 30th, 2006
Today I spent much of the day waiting for my stem cells to be ready for injection. Finally, around 3:00 pm, I got the word that we could precede. The entire process was rather simple. It began by having me lie in bed while I was wheeled into another room set up for the injections. The room where the injections were given was similar in size to the room in which we are staying. It was sparsely outfitted with medical equipment, rather dimly lit, and the floors dulled by use. This same room was used by Tony who received his stem cells just 30 minutes before me. I was made to lie on my side in a fetal position. Dr. Wang and his nurse both wore surgical masks and gloves. It seemed that standard procedures were used to disinfect the needles and the area to be inserted. Dr. Wang drew out about maybe 20 cc of spinal fluid and then injected the stem cells and
Add comment September 27th, 2006
Today was a cool, drizzly day so I stayed put waiting to hear from the doctors about their surgery and stem cell injection decisions. Mom and dad went to shop for groceries, so I got to know more about the nursing staff and patients. The nursing staff are really, really nice and some are very cute. They seem to know their stuff. If these nurses were in the states, they would probably function at the same level as best I can tell. They are extremely eager to learn English and want to know about life in the United States. The nurses taught me how to count to ten and then I taught myself how to count to 100. I also learned a slew of Chinese words and I taught them how to say
Add comment September 26th, 2006
Medically, today was an off day. So, I have no medical news although I did see Dr. Wang in the hallway and we introduced ourselves to one another.
I decided today was the day to sport a spiked Mohawk, which garnered many looks and a lot of attention throughout the day. After getting into a cold shower (second day in a row), all three of us headed for the shopping mall by foot. It was a pretty good wheel for me and I had some trouble with the bumpy, rough sidewalks. I made it into a tobacco shop, where we looked for some Chinese cigarettes and a lighter for my buddies. We also cruised through the Century Mart mall, just so I could look around and shop a bit. The looks I got ranged from a blank,
Add comment September 25th, 2006
Today I received my MRI images and we discussed my condition. Dr. Wan said that our American surgeon (that would be Dr. Yingling) did a very good job fixing me up. It was Dr. Wan’s opinion that no surgery should be attempted. He and Dr. Wang would discuss further over the weekend before making a final decision. I then endured acupuncture while mom watched, who said it was a hoot. People were all standing around while I got four, three or four-inch needles jammed in the upper fleshy part of my butt, kind of in the lower back. Electrodes were attached to the needles as well. It felt like sitting on an electric fence, so I guess I am confessing, like a dumb ass, I have sat on an electric fence. In any event, my acupuncture therapy lasted 15 minutes. I continued with therapy during which I stood for a few moments without using hands on the parallel bars. Later, Dr. Wan visited with us about my racing and drifting. Dr. Wan said that he
Add comment September 25th, 2006
The hustle and bustle of Shenyang started early as it did the day before. The city must sit at the eastern edge of the time zone because daylight comes early, before 6:00 am and the sun sets about 5:30 pm. The chanters were quite busy and we could see groups of people in the park practicing certain arts. The weather today would be like the last two days, sunny and warm during the day and cool in the evening; very pleasant indeed.
Today, I began my routine around 6:15 am with a blood test and x-ray, and then a few hours later I was evaluated by the therapy doctor (Dr. Xu
Add comment September 24th, 2006
The Beike staff we met yesterday and today seem like great folks. We have met the following to date (name and country they are from): Jon (United States), Sid (China), Venus (China), and Kotan (Isreal). We are looking forward to working with all of them. It was nice to finally sleep as we hadn’t done that since Monday morning at 6:00 am. Nevertheless, we woke earlier than expected. We had to leave the window open because it is still warm and there is no air conditioning. We think the air conditioning has been turned off for the season. We woke to hearing someone yelling out chants; not sure if he is a cuckoo or what, but he kept it up well into the morning. Apparently, there is going to be a national holiday the first week in October and we can see some signs that people are preparing for the festivities. Perhaps our chanter is simply fine-tuning his voice for the big show. The view out our window is rather nice for being in the middle of a massive city. There is a river and big park situated below us as a main road bustles with people going about their business. We have seen virtually no urban wildlife, except for a few herons of some type with a rather raspy squawk at sunrise and sunset.
Today was supposed to be a day of rest and it was for the most part. We did venture into town a bit, unbelievably to Wal-Mart. We had some brunch (local Chinese fast food) with Jon and Sid and then did some minor shopping at Wal-Mart. The streets of Shenyang are remarkably clean as we saw street sweepers near every corner. That is quite amazing given how many people live here and how trashy are some American cities. Taxi cabs are everywhere and constitute the majority of vehicles on the road. Later in the evening, I counted 15 taxis to 5 personal vehicles for every 20 vehicles that streamed by the hospital. During the day, there are more personal vehicles, but the ratio is still heavy towards taxies. The air in Shenyang is pretty polluted and smells like a campfire. We assume that is because of all the industry and coal-fired plants in the area. There is a nuclear power plant (I think) within view of the hospital. This city was the hub of communist industrialization for many years and the air has paid for it. When we get more brave and familiar, we will take on the city. The city is not very wheelchair accessible so I am not sure I could live here alone.
The people of China, based on our early experiences in Beijing and Shenyang, are very interesting. They are extremely helpful and go out of their way to provide services or physical help without being asked. Most of them smile a lot and are very curious about foreigners. We hear no shouting, name calling, or foul language (if we could even decipher foul talk). They do stare at us and especially me. Apparently, the handicapped in China stay out of view for the most part, so to see me wheeling about in a strange-looking chair with a Mohawk, has garnered some looks. It seems that Chinese people rush about as they jostle for space and they are aggressive if need be. Examples are in public restrooms, where agressive people dash for open stalls no matter how long someone has been waiting to use the facilities and in driving, where one better stick the nose of your car in traffic or you will not get to where you want to be.
We have met some patients in the hospital and they are all very interested in my situation. One patient, Ms. Pai, is well known in spinal cord injury circuits as she has recently been all over the internet and Chinese television with her remarkable recovery after receiving stem cells. She is now beginning to walk. We also met some of the caregivers including one unbelievable acquaintance. We met Lilibeth in the cooking area and she spoke good English. She asked us where we were from and we said
Add comment September 23rd, 2006
I made it to Shenyang, China today, with my caregivers Linda and Bob Hrabik (mom and dad). Our trip began in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, in the early morning hours of September 19. Our trip took us over Canada, near to the North Pole, and Siberia before entering China. It was awesome to see glaciers and mountain ranges that I only knew through television specials.
We first landed in Beijing for a connecting flight to Shenyang. The approach into Beijing was scenic with the mountains to the east of town. The airport was surprisingly modern and sparkling clean. We made it through customs and obtained our luggage surprisingly quick. We then met with a family friend who first treated us to a short drive in Beijing via taxi and then to a restaurant for some food and drink. This is where culture shock began to set in a little bit. Most Americans would not be able to drive in China’s large cities. The streets are jammed with people walking, riding bicycles and other human powered vehicles, motorcycles, cars, buses, and trucks. There are no stop signs and only a few lights. I can best describe what we saw as chaos, but like chaos theory, somehow it all works. Primarily, drivers do not drive very fast and they really pay attention to the road. After that, it is a free-for-all, where drivers turn in front of other drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Drivers seem to have the right of way and one better stop or risk getting smacked. The general rule of thumb is to always look ahead, never to the side or rear lest you smack into someone ahead of you. Taxies often cross the center line and drive down the wrong side of the road to get around stalled or temporarily parked vehicles. There is a constant honking of horns, but no one ever shouts a negative word. Most of the honks are for courtesy letting someone else know they are about to take your space. In America, this would lead to bloodshed, of that I am certain. We were quite glad not to be driving and even our friend would not drive in China’s large cities. This was not limited to Beijing as we were to find out when we made our final destination, Shenyang.
We next boarded our plane to Shenyang. Flight staff made reasonable attempts to get us to sit together or near one another and I had a pretty good seat for the 1-hour and 10-minute flight. We were able to see the breadth of Shenyang at night with all the lights aglow. Shenyang is not considered to be a really large city by Chinese standards, but do not kid yourself, this place is huge and has over 7 million people! All went well as our luggage was accounted for and representatives of Beike were there to pick us up. We were transported by van to the hospital via a very nice, well lit, and wonderfully landscaped parkway into town.
Similar to Beijing, people were busily moving from place to place in whatever mode of transportation they could muster. The streets we saw were large, well maintained, and well lit. The hospital is relatively new, or parts of it anyway. Just like the airport, the floors shine and the place seems very clean. The hospital is called
Add comment September 22nd, 2006
