Top Ten Reasons Why I'm Glad To Be Home From Nanshan Hospital

• Food is available in a wider choice than Chinese food, KFC, McDonald's, or pizza
• Folks address you in a language you understand
• You can sleep in without worrying about the hospital staff awakening you
  
• You can cross the street without getting run over
• People will hold open the elevator for you
• I can see the sun a lot more
  
• You can use your credit card to buy something without worrying, "Am I carrying enough cash?"
• Web sites are all accessible
• You don't have to decide which side of your body to insert the needle

And finally ...

• Nothing else compares with the comfort of your own bed, pillow, and blanket
  

I made my second trip to the YMCA the other day. Unlike the prior week, my muscles weren't quivering. As Lily had mentioned, I just wish I hadn't sprained my ankle and that this insomnia would go away.

May Day

We've been back for two weeks now. There's not much progress to report. Jet lag is the most formidable obstacle in our "recovery" process while our friends and family are the best facilitators. Unfortunately, Richard sprained his ankle a few days ago. Despite ice packs and elevating the foot, it is still visibly swollen and bruised. I suspect that it'll take some time to heal.

In terms of PT and OT, Richard has gone back to the local Y for his regular weight training on the different machines. As he has written in his previous post, it has been tough going. His energy level and stamina is good but not as good as when he was in Shenzhen. We attribute this to jet lag and the lack of the rigorous Nanshan PT regime. There is no OT at the moment because we're still looking for the tools needed to replicate Dr. Ye's exercises.

Jet lag has hit Richard much harder than it has hit me. He has been sleeping very badly at night and often does not drift off until dawn. He then sleeps until late morning. In a last ditch effort, he decided to take Ambien at bedtime in an attempt to reset his body clock. It has worked well the last two nights. However, on the first night, he had night terrors that woke me up. As usual with his night terrors, he did not recall the details of his dreams. However he said that it is proof enough that he is getting to the REM stage of sleep that is restorative. I will keep a close eye on his Ambien intake to make sure that it does not become a regular habit.

Today is May Day which marks the start of the Golden Week, the annual seven day national holiday in China. My thoughts wander to Nanshan and the patients on the Stem Cell Ward. It will be trying for them this coming week since the hospital will be operating with a skeleton crew. Restaurants, shops and tourist attractions will be similarly affected, but I'm sure that the Beike staff will make sure that everything is taken care of.

We head to LA this Saturday for Richard's check up with Dr. Perlman at UCLA on the following Monday. It will be interesting to see what the check up reveals.

Exercise is the yuppie version of bulimia

The title is from a book titled Food Worship. Being born in the late '50s, I would call myself a late Baby Boomer. Growing up in New York and attending college in the east, I've seen my share of Yuppies.

I physically don't enjoy the act of exercising. I don't mind what I do to pass the time but that is not the motive itself. I do it both out of necessity as well as liking the results.

Before Shenzhen, I would visit the YMCA once or twice a week, do Pilates with Lily once a week, and go on an exercise bike at home on the other days of the week. The emphasis would be "balance neutral" activities.

Since our trip to Asia, the emphasis shifted to sustaining and enhancing the skills taught by the various therapists to put the stem cells to use. Exercises taught and practiced in China would be duplicated if possible. Easiest among these was adding some weights for arm exercises. Not losing the strength I had before is another story.

Yesterday was my first visit to the local YMCA since returning. I wasn't so much panting as certain muscles were quivering near the end of the repetitions. Muscles that were used to 70 pounds two months ago were trembling at the same settings.

It has become apparent that after just a month of disuse, muscles can very easily atrophy. Avoiding injury has a renewed importance. I can't wait to see how Pilates goes at the end of the week.

I wish I had an answer to that, because I'm tired of answering that question

The title is another Yogi Berra-ism. The question I am referring to of course is, 'Have I noticed any improvement?" I did not mean to be cynical in my response to this question. Everyone asking has been sincerely wishing me good luck. I just thought it was an amusing quote.

For those who don't know who Yogi Berra is, he is a former NY Yankee baseball catcher in the late '40s and '50s and manager in the '60s. See http://www.yogiberra.com/yogi-isms.html for his web site and some of his other quotes.

The answer is yes, I have noticed change, mostly improvement. I attribute this to both the intensive therapy and the stem cells. The way I think of it, most tasks require a combination of strength and control. Muscles can easily atrophy from disuse thus losing their strength. Therapy and acupuncture help restore this. Control is via the brain. The fresh stem cells are intended to rejuvenate this. Without both, neither effort alone isn't brought to its maximum benefit.

Some of the specifics in my case are as follows. I've updated this web site with a final handwriting sample (see below). While folks' comments have ranged from the samples look "comparable" to "some improvement" to "noticeable improvement", I can say that my writing is tighter and more controlled, and my hand cramps less. The former would be due to stem cells while the latter I would attribute to therapy (i.e. hand strengthening exercises and hand massage).

Another example is upright walking. I still use a walker. However, I have a narrower gait and I look straight ahead more so (rather than down at my feet). I always had the strength to do the walking. I think the stem cells helped improved the control. However, many of the physical therapy exercises were geared to reteaching the brain what had been forgotten after years of disuse.

I plan to revisit both my local neurologist and Dr. Perlman @UCLA within the next two weeks for an "after" picture. Hopefully, I can present a less subjective view after these appointments.

On a separate note, many friends have wanted to welcome us back home, often by offering to eat out together. With doctor's appointments and jet lag, our availability has been somewhat limited in the past week. We wanted to thank everyone for their well wishes and kind gestures and look forward to getting together and thanking you personally soon.

Life in the slow lane

Home at last! Our stay in Hong Kong was restorative in every sense --- family, food and rest. Delectable food, feather-soft beds, showers so bracing that the water literally excoriates dirt off the skin and coddling from Mom made up for a month's worth of boot camp. Oh, did I mention shopping? However, there's no place like home. We missed the clear blue skies, the mild dry weather and the refreshing clean air. Our lungs thank us!

Today is devoted to sorting through a month's worth of mail and recent emails, shopping for groceries, unpacking, doing laundry and battling jet lag. This left no time for Richard to resume his rehab. He has used the exercise center at the hotel in Hong Kong once or twice but it paled in comparison to the twice daily PT & OT regime at Nanshan. Our goal is to have him ramp back up to an hour of exercise per day. Aside from the recumbent bicycle, workouts at the Y and weekly Pilates, we plan on purchasing a treadmill and using it as per the recommendations of Big Dr. Lee. Also, I'll be looking for pegboards and the nut and screw board that Dr. Ye used on Richard during OT. These are possibly available at teaching supplies store. Acupuncture and throat collar will be impossible to replicate here. Although our friends Jeanne and Cathy have recommended a good local acupuncturist that we may try out in the future.

We will try to post updates on this blog to avoid the dreaded silence that so often occurs when the patient returns home after the stem cell treatment. Richard is slated for a visit with Dr. Perlman at UCLA at the beginning of May. We will be certain to post her comments and any findings of the visit.

*Speaking of posts, the photos of the "So long and thanks for all the fish" post are up again and this time they are captioned.

Bon Voyage - The Return Home

It's Monday morning here in Hong Kong. It's our last full day here in Asia. I'm in the hotel lobby banging away at the keyboard, checking e-mail, etc. I've cleared out of the room so that it can be cleaned up.

I just went on the exercise bike in the "fitness area" for about 20 minutes. I could/should put in more exercise time but it's easy to succumb to visiting family, eating out, etc.

We've already started to hear from recent patients from the stem cell ward. The cheering on continues. Some folks have had more adventurous returns. We depart for home Tuesday evening. Fortunately, it's a non-stop flight for us and we don't have excessive luggage.

Also, a quick update. The renewed choking while eating went away when I brought the food to my mouth and stopped craning my neck. Problem understood.

So Long, and Thanks for All The Fish

This entry is dedicated to our daughter, Andrea, who is a great fan of the Hitchhiker's series by Douglas Adams where the title of this entry originated.

As we wrap things up here at Nanshan, we thought that it's time for a bit of show and tell. This post will be light on text and heavy on pictures.


Nurses and Camillia (in pink). Camillia is the member of the Beike staff who exchanges your dollars for RMB/yuan.

Dr. Yang (the younger). The other Dr. Yang (the elder) is the chief neurologist.

The cleaning ladies. They have an extra set of the room keys and can help you get back into your room if you accidentally lock yourself out.

Dr. Kitty Guo (far left in stripe skirt), nurses, and Dr. Yang posing with a banner that we've presented to all the doctors, nurses and staff of the Stem Cell Ward to thank them for the excellent care that Richard has received. The woman directly behind Richard in the dark top is Lily, the head nurse. Dr. Guo is the Beike staff member who is in charge of scheduling the stem cell injections.

Big Dr. Lee, Little Dr. Lee, Dr. Wang, Dr. Shu and Dr. Ye with the banner that we've presented to Big Dr. Lee and Dr. Ye thanking them for the care they've provided to Richard.

Big Dr. Lee (PT & acupuncture) & Dr. Ye (OT) with banner.

With Dr. Ye and the collar that sends out electrical pulses to the throat.

Dr. Ye & Big Grace, the Beike program manager.

Little Grace and Cherry, the Beike staff member in charge of the PT & OT (4th) Floor.

Dora, Beike program patient manager and Jillian.

Nadia, Helen, Paola and Ylenia. Nadia & Ylenia are from Brembate, Italy. Paola is from Sardinia, Italy and Helen is from Florida.

John and Will from Thomasville, Georgia.

Ylenia and Fabio (Nadia's son) from Brembate, Italy.

Enid and her husband, Benny from Johannesberg, South Africa.

With Frank, the Ataxia patient from Hong Kong. All stem cell patients from Hong Kong and China are put on the 4th Floor of Nanshan.