i'm gonna sleep good tonight!

Well, Today started out very slow. I didn't sleep at all. When I say at all, I mean, I was walking and on the Internet most of the time. NO SLEEP!! I had a little extra energy from my Stem Cell injection, but I had a lot on my mind. When I have a lot on my mind, I tend to just lay and think. When I think, my mind races so much, I can't allow my Brian to shut off. Want a name for it? Lets call it, Racing mind syndrome.

Well, I will tell you what. I was up and ready to go at like 5:00AM. lol. I almost made a fool of myself too. OK, so once I got the nurse on call to unlock our floor, and grand me access to the outside world. I decided to use the exit I had never used before. The exit with no elevator. This is what happened because of my decision.

First thing I did was walk down the never ending flight of stairs. Yes, I am on the 10th floor. But these steps seemed to never end. Once I got to the bottom of the stairs. GUESS WHAT? All the doors were still locked from the opposite side..with chains and what not. LOL. SO...I had to make a decision. Jump out this perfectly good window with a hole in my back, and risk damaging something or myself........OR walk all the way back to the 10th floor and walk down the hall way, and to the elevator....I seriously stood at this window for close to 10 minutes to contemplate whether or not I was going to hop out of it.

I had it all planned out. This picture is taken from the window. It was maybe a 6 1/2 foot drop. I was going to hang out of the window, then lower myself down. I would have probably only dropped maybe a foot at most..........But believe it or not, my good judgement overruled my laziness and I walked back up the never ending stairs.

SO, once I finally got out of the hospital. I headed over to the Park that is across the street. In the early morning, this park is booming with activity. There are women dressed in their traditional wear, doing aerobics. There are men with long, loud, leather and metal whips whipping at stuff. Check out this VIDEO FOOTAGE. Click me

Not to mention the HOARDS of people walking. Walking, biking, skating, jogging, standing, sitting, eating, watching, smiling, frowning, staring, sleeping. You name it, they are doing it! Right here, in this park. At like 5:30 AM. It's great, And I love CHINA.

Once I got out of explore park mode. I settled down a bit, thought about my task at hand. I want to interview Chinese people from the hospital. I want to get their stories, input, and experience. I want to place all of that on my blog. Here is the plan. Hopefully, once the new American people get settled in at the hospital, I will have a little more access to Sid, to translate for me with the Chinese patients. Then I can have a one on one session with individual people. I am excited. I am going to do a really good job. You will see.

Ohh, and to end the night on a wonderful note. My mom made some killer spaghetti. it was how do you say.....YUM!

Got some stem cells today.

SO, exactly one week ago today, I had my hip opened up and bone marrow removed. Since then, they have been purifying and removing everything that aren't stem cells. Today, the purified stem cells were re-introduced into my body, via spinal cord injection. It was just a slight prick, no sweat.

So, I was able to get a little bit more footage than last time. I got a picture of the sterile room. This is where my bone marrow was taken, and this is where my stem cells were put back into me. The room is very clean. In fact, there is my doctor. He is really good at what he does. I would trust this guy with whatever. Very personable, even though we barely understand each other.

I don't know if I have taken a picture of the hospital yet. If not, here it is. Shenyang Liberation Army Hospital 463. It's a good hospital. I like it a lot. I had to lay still for like 6 hours today. I watched some movies, and thought a lot.

I also am very interested in something that has come up. I talked with JON. Who, like I said in an earlier blog is in charge of bringing foreign patients to come to know and understand what Beike has to offer. NOW, this is hard to do unless you have lots of information on the patients. Information like.....what they have gone through. What they are currently experiencing, what kind of positive progress have they seen sense treatment has started.

Well, I think I can help out a little in this area. I love the people, American and Chinese. I love people, and I think I can help Jon out in this way. Well, I am going to at least give it a try. We will see what happens. But, I am going to try to get a translator, and do some interviewing of patients, both Chinese and American. There are some very compelling stories on this floor. Maybe, just maybe, I can tell some of them.

head hurt, then things smoothed out.

~Message to COMMENTER'S~

I just wanted to say Thank You from the bottom of my heart to everyone who leaves me comments. The comments, especially totally random ones really have a way of lifting my spirits, and make me feel like I am writing this BLOG every day for a reason. Thank You a million times over. I read every single one, usually multiple times. ALSO, if there are any ignorant readers who would like to disagree with what I am doing here in CHINA with these wonderful Umbilical Cord Stem Cells, feel free to contact me VIA E-Mail. mobileRILEY@gmail.com Just know that I will not post comments with ill will towards what I am trying to accomplish. So, don't leave them!

SO, today started out kind of slow. I got my acupuncture, then the head aches started in. I did a lot of this......

yea, laying still, and chilling is the name of the head ache game. Once head pains started to cease a bit, I became more active, and happier.

Jon, you can call his position. President of foreign affairs. Or, Foreign stem cell consultant for something something something.......Just call him Jon. He is in charge of bringing Foreign patients to China to have Umbilical Cord Stem Cell Treatments. He isn't some miracle worker, doesn't claim to be. He does however have several Hospitals that have had much success in treating a variety of physical issues. To learn more, visit www.stemcellschina.com

SO, Jon, and Kirshner Ross-Vaden took all the Americans out to eat tonight. We went to a Chinese Hotel that has never served Americans before. We were there first. It took a while to get food, but it was really good. Check out these pictures. This is a picture of all the AMERICAN Shenyang Stem Cell patients. One big happy family.

After I finished dinner, I went outside for a look at this Hotel, and I noticed a glass elevator on the side of the building, it definitely went up to the 33rd floor. TOP FLOOR, SO, i asked around, and soon enough, me and some pal's were on our way with such a great sight of the city.

look closely at this picture, you can see how bright, vibrant, and alive this city is. Sometimes, at night, it is lit up like VEGAS. it's pretty amazing here. SO DIFFERENT. I really am starting to like it here.

Ohh, I started my devotional/Study on the Apostle Peter today. I am already in love with it. If I had my book next to me, I would explain in more detail. But it is quite thought provoking. The more I read about Peters life, the more I see he really is the perfect example of a trying Christian. He messes up so much, but has such a huge heart. Simon Peter reminds me of me. I see a lot of my frailties and boastfulness in him. I think I am really going to like this study on PETER, It might end up being a study on ME. ;-) I'll try to keep ya'll updated on that as well.

A change of pace

Today started off a little strange. I did my usual routine. I went to acupuncture, and did my thing. Then I went back up stairs to the 10th floor. When I walked into the hospital room.....My mom was on the my computer, trying to type something of some sort. She looked like she was really struggling too. SO.... I read over her shoulder. It is a bunch of garble. Seriously, half written words, and sentences that a 6th grader wouldn't write. I knew something wasn't right. I looked her in the eyes, and asked. "Mom, are you feeling ok?" She looked at me with tiny pupils. "I feel like the room is spinning, do you feel that?" I laughed a little bit, then told her no mom, the room is staying still. Well, long story short. She accidental took her Ambien in the morning instead of her thyroid medication. She was a mess for the greater part of the morning, all the nurses knew it too, cuz when she went walking down the hallway to the computer room, she was all over the place. Definitely no straight line. Not even close. Once I talked her into going to her bed, and laying down for a bit, she finally passed out. I followed her shortly there after. My head was hurting me. BIG TIME HURTING. Started after acupuncture, and didn't end till I laid down and just closed my eyes early on in the evening.

Once the evening hours rolled around, a storm came right with them.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2174317855956490754

It was pretty wild. The sky's just went from pretty clear to DARKNESS THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END!

yes, it was quite exciting, but too bad I didn't get to experience much of it. I was in bed. Laying with a head ache that wouldn't leave me alone. Seriously, it was constant, painful, and OUCH.

But, before I did have this bout of head pains, I got to meet and talk briefly with 2 very important people concerning Beike (Chinese stem cell research team). The president...we will call him Jon. And the American Liaison who turned me on to StemCellsChina.com The person who can be given credit for saving my body from very painful and hurtful Chemotherapy that would have taken place at Northwestern. Yes, that's right.

Kirshner Ross-Vaden HERSELF!!

but, like I said. It was a very short visit. Pretty much after this picture, I went to my room and laid down. Some serious head ache issues.

If I make Lynn smile, my day is complete.

SUNDAY is the hospitals day off. No one but the nurse on call works on Sundays. SO....I promised Lynn, and her mom & dad that I would go shopping with them. I had a blast, and tried my hardest to break through the language berrier.

I got to push her around in the mall, and outside the mall when we did some street shopping. Which is a big part of Chinese shopping. Also, the malls are fairly non-wheel chair complient, so it can get very difficult to move someone around who is in a wheel chair.

This is a pic. of Lynn's mom feeding her a piece of Squid I believe. YUM YUM. lol.

This is me and Lynn's father. He is a great guy. When the women went inside, me and him had some pretty good "men time." This consisted of him pointing to an object or thing and telling me how to pronounce it in Chinese. OR, I would point to something, and he would tell me how to say it. It might not seem like much, but it was pretty fun, and I would say for at least 15 minutes, we both felt really comfortable with each other. SO, it was good. This is a pic. of lynn's mom shopping for a pair of flip flops for Lynn. Just because Lynn is in a wheel chair, doesn't mean she doesn't like to shop like every other girl her age. She just has to do it in a little bit different fashion. Which is really quite humbling. And sure makes me quite thankful for my legs, life, and everything I take forgranted on an everyday basis.
After shopping was done, we went back to the hospital, then me and my mom went on a wild goose chase to find an international church service created for christians traveling or temporairly living in Shenyang. It too was quite humbling. But GOD has a way of poking at us when we need him too, and when we ALLOW HIM TOO.

Then I watched Jurrassic Park 3 with Lynn, and now I am writing in my blog, before I pass out.

THANK YOU GOD, for everything you have given me. Thankyou for Lynn, and her family. Thank you for GRACE, and thank you for people in my life to keep me accountable. Even when it is easier to just try to impress people, and fit in and be comfortable.

Scotty's B-Day Celebration fantastico!

Today started off a little bit differently than usual. It is Saturday, but no one has the usual activities. This morning, a lot of the physical therapists aren’t working because of like interns and meetings that are going on. Also, a lot of the nurses had exams today. So, amidst all the activities I managed to slip out for a bit. This morning I didn’t go to acupuncture, which was a relief, I was glad to take a day’s break from it. I was getting a little sore from it. Not hurt, just sore in certain muscle areas where the needles go in. SO, me and some of the other Americans went to breakfast at one of the international hotels. It was a buffet, and it was really good.

After that, we went back to the hospital, and the streets were booming with activity all around the hospital. Of course, I had to go out. I went to the park, and saw small children in balls floating in the water. They were of course teathered to the land just in case the wind picked up. They have little stands, similar to what you would see at a carnival. You used electronic guns to shoot at the animals. It is just kind of funny to see it sitting out in the middle of a run down park.

So, after I got all the wiggles out of my system, I went back to the hospital, and All the americans gathered for Cake to celebrate Scott's B-DAY.

You gotta love that Chinese cake! It was soo good, and I think it helped the fact that Scott was in China celebrating his B-Day instead of at home with his friends and family.

After the present opening, and cake eating at home. The boys headed out to a fancy restauraunt. I had cow tongue, squid, pork, chicken, and all kinds of stuff I had no idea what it was. Quite the experience. The cool thing was Sid, our translator was with us the whole time. Good people, good times, Good stuff.

This was our live entertainment for the evening. He wasn't that good, but it was funny to listen to him for the 15min. he was playing.

Happy B-Day SCOTT!!!

head hurts.....had to lay still for 4 hours

I knew this morning that I was going to have my first Stem Cell injection at 4:00pm today. I was definately looking forward to it. BUT, I really thought It was going to be by I.V. injection. I was wrong. It was definately a spinal cord injection. SO, knowing that I was going to be down for the count, and possibly a little under the weather, I went and ran some errands and just walked around China as much as possible. I went to the bank of china right off the bat, then went and got Scott, B-Day boy tomorrow a present. Scott, is an american, taking care of his brother who gave me the juicy quote a couple of days ago. He will be 22 tomorrow, and I got him a little something something. Tomorrow Scott will have a B-Day of his life time! I guarantee he will never forget the Birth Day he had in CHINA! Good times it will be. heh heh heh....;-)

So, after I got his present, I took a taxi back to the Hospital, dropped off the present, then walked what seemed like a long time. My walking time probably added up to like 2 1/2 hours. I enjoyed every minute. Using my pathetic Chinese words to make people smile, and stare. I can honestly say, If i could get 5 Chinese people to Smile at me, and wave. I could call this Trip a success. But, of course, I hope and plan for much much more. After my feet were a little tired. I found a Sunrise International Hotel. I went in, and liked how it looked. Then I spent way too much on some good food.

You gotta love that rack of Lamb. Seriously, it is sooo good!

Here is a picture of me getting my free ride down stairs to get a needle stuck into my spine to inject some stem cells!! Whoop Whoop. If I am correct, and i am 85% sure. I was injected with umbilical cord stem cells. That would be great if i woke up and started speaking Chinese. Get it... sense I was injected with Chinese Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells......I would have a little bit of Chinese in me.........Therefore it would be funny to say.............Nevermind. Here is me heading into the room of sharp needles. This room suprised me by it's cleanliness. Extremely clean, Extremely organized, made me feel Extremely Safe. At this point, there is no turning back. I am in it to win it. I guess you could call this the BEFORE picture. This would be on of the After pictures. The I.V. that is in my arm is connected to a growth factor drip. This speeds up the regeneration of the Myelin Sheath that is being destroyed around my nerves. I think I was feeling pretty much okay, maybe a little bit of a headach. But nothing serious.

This is a picture of Tian Tian, She is my favorite nurse. This is what Tian Tian was hooking into my arm. It is the Growth factor. Fun stuff. Grow Myelin, GROW!!!!!

This is all I have to say for today. I didn't take many pictures, but I guess I was being kind of lazy today. It was my picture break day. I did see like a thousand awesome things. But it's all stuck in my head.

ADVENTURE #2 Day 6

so today I got my acupuncture treatment in the morning, the rest of the day was pretty much left blank. I don't have much going on because of my situation. My situation is that I am not disabled. The rest of the Americans that are receiving treatment here are in wheelchairs. This is a good thing, because I am not disabled, but it is a bad thing, because I have to find things to do on my own to keep myself occupied. I did plenty though.

I started off by going to the Bank of China to exchange some travlers checks. It's pretty easy too. I get the translator to write Bank of China on a piece of paper in CHINESE, then I go out to the street, flagg down a Taxi and make sure he knows where the destination is that I want to go to. This is some video I took shortly after I left the Bank of China. It shows how busy the streets in Shenyang are. There is non-stop honking, and the bike traffic is as bad as the cars. No one looks out for each other, it is a free for all. This video was taken during the slowest part of the day also. In the morning during "rush hour" it is unimagionable. Check it out. CLICK ME

After that I went to the bank, and wondered the streets of Shenyang for a bit, I got bord and took a taxi to the Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum. Check these pictures out.

Shenyang palace is one of the two remaining ancient palace complexes preserved intact in China. It was built between 1625 and 1636, during the reigns of Nurhachi and Huang Tai Ji-the founders of the Quing Dynasty, and was the imperial residence up to 1644, when the Quing capital moved to Beijing.

Shenyang palace complex comprises over 100 buildings within an area of 60,000 square meters, and is divided into three parts; Dazhengdian Hall and Pavilion of the inggong palace in the middle and Wensuge Pavilion in the..........Yea, this is all out of the tourist book. I'm done with that. Check out these pictures though.

This next picture needs a little bit of an introduction. It is a stone sclupture for a body guard who offered to be burried alive with his whatever in order to pay respect and to be immortalized within the royal family..........I'd say it's worth it............................

After I was done with the Imperial Palace, I went back to the Hospital and watched a movie with 2 cool dudes.

FRANK

&

Eric a.k.a. Dr. Biggs

After the movie, Sid, the translator took me and Dr. Biggs out to eat at a kick a** BBQ place. We had all kinds of yum yum food. Lamb, Squid, Rabbit just to name a few. It was a really good time, and I am glad Sid offered. Sid is a really kind and gentle person. Extremely helpful and pretty much holds the 10th floor together. My hat goes off to this man.

Now thats some Chinese food for ya!!

I have a hole in my back.

This girls name is Lynn. She is paralyzed from her belly button down. Including her hands. PLEASE PRAY FOR HER. Pray that there is a miracle taking place in her body as she has these treatments done. She was an Olympian gymnast. If God can part the red sea, he can sure make this little girl walk again. Pray for her instead of me, just please give her your prayers.



Yes, that's right, a hole in my back. This is what went down. It all started out this morning with ACUPUNCTURE, I learned a very valuable lesson. Today, I learned that once the needles are in, it is a very unwise decision to move your body. Reason being...if you move when the needles are in, it hurts a lot. I had acupuncture needles in my face, spinal cord, and leg/foot. well, some of my butt was hanging out and the nurse thought i needed privacy, so she closed the little privacy curtain. this was bad, because it kept slightly rubbing against the needles. and that hurt. The needles go in like 3 1/2 to 4 inches into your body, so the slightest touch can aggravate your muscles. I tried to move myself. OUCH, i swear it like ripped muscles when i moved myself inward a little. won't do that again. So after acupuncture, sid(translator) said to get into my bed, it was time to remove some bone marrow. this is SID

This is a picture of Sid and a nurse wheeling me down to the 8th floor to get my bone marrow taken out. I think I am the only person in the hospitals history to demand to be taken down on a bed when i didn't need to be. I just wanted to go for a ride. :-)

Also, i am sorry, i wanted to document the procedure, but they would not let me. i got before and after pictures though.

BEFORE(nice butt)

AFTER(hole in back)

They used something similar to a cork remover to drill into my bone, then stuck a needle into the crock remover tool to suck out the bone marrow. Which is rich in stem cells and protein. My back still hurts, and I had to stay still for 2 hours after the procedure. This is what I did mostly.I hate laying on the bed in a city as active and vibrant as this one. There are a million things to do, places to go, people to see. BUT, reality check. I AM NOT ON VACATION, no matter how much i wish i was. So, i will deal with the down time.

I had a little adventure today. My mom has been feeling pretty sick. Her stomach is just not cooperating. It is really yucky. anyways, long story short. She ruined the pot roast, cuz she was unaware of the temperature setting on the crock pot. And so i got some money and trekked out toooo...

good ole, Americana BURGERS! I ate mine up and it was amazing, my mom ate some of hers, but her stomach is just not being nice. THAT WAS MY DAY TODAY!

Good quote to end on.

"I feel more comfortable with the doctors and procedures done in this hospital, than I ever have at any of the hospitals back home."

-Ben Collins