Little Gary went out last night with a group from the hospital and he didn't get back until 3:45 a.m.! Needless to say, he had a blast but is feeling it today; we have nicknamed him "the puking puppy" [laughing]. They are allowed to drink young over here!

We finally got an adapter to run our laptop computer, so things just got a little better.

So, to fill you in on the flight, it was very, very long but went good considering. Shawna kept hyper-extending her legs and sliding down in her seat; we had to keep readjusting her. That worked fine for the first half of the flight, then we were exhausted from constantly shifting her back up into her seat. Accordingly, I got up and we laid her across 3 of our seats and Dad moved down to the last seat in our row (at her feet). I had to find as many pillows and blankets as I could to pad underneath her and where the arm rests flipped up. Once laying, she gave up the fight and went right to sleep for the remainder of the flight. Little Gary took the row in front of our designated seats and slept practically the entire flight. I stood and walked around quite a bit until I finally felt comfortable about Shawna laying on the seats with no rail to keep her from rolling off. I know Dad was at her feet, but the man can sleep sitting up in his office chair and hears nothing, so I was very uneasy for a while. Finally, I sat in the aisle seat just back to the left of our designated seats. It sure is a good thing that the flight was not booked and we had the option to spread out!

Upon arrival in Beijing, we waited patiently for the plane to unload, which was not easy considering we had already been on it for 13 hours ... yes 13 hours; we landed ahead of schedule. The flight attendants were very attentive and helped us to get Shawna back in her wheelchair and off the plane. We were met by airport security personnel who walked us through the airport, helped us collect our bags, and then proceeded to march us right through customs and out the door to meet Kamee, Isabelle and Dianna (all from the hospital). Shawna and I were loaded into an ambulance while Gary and Gary were taken in another vehicle (a van) with all of the luggage. Let's just say that everything I read from others on the internet was correct ... China drivers beat New York City drivers hands down.

Getting from the airport to the hospital took about 35 minutes, I think ... not quite sure inasmuch as I never looked at my watch after we touched down in Beijing. I think it was just too much excitement for me for one day.

Beijing is huge! You cannot even begin to imagine ... at least I couldn't ... until I saw it first hand. In order to get to the hospital here, we were on interstates and then roads much like our Route 30; just much more congested. Then the ambulance turned down this tiny, unpaved alley. Now that was fun! One vehicle could barely get down this road, which finally led us to the front entrance of the hospital. I know I sighed a sigh of relief once I saw the hospital entrance that I could recognize from my internet pictures of it. For a brief moment, when the ambulance turned down that muddy alley, I had an uneasy feeling; thinking for sure it couldn't be the right way, but it was. I was so happy to be out of the ambulance and to get Shawna off that stretcher, which had no straps to help protect her during transport. This is definitely a different world from what we are used to!

So we are now here and find out that our AAA is selling power adapters that will not work here ... go figure! Needless to say, we are on a manual system with regard to Shawna's equipment that we brought with us. We could have left 4 bags at home had we have known [laughing]. Anyway, trying to work out the power adapter situation with the language barrier cost us one piece of equipment already. Unfortunately, trying to explain our needs brought about the nebulizer machine being plugged into a 220V line using multiple power adapters in an attempt to explain our needs ... the nebulizer got fried along with our power serge bar! As a result, we have to feed Shawna through the good old fashioned drip system, i.e., we just hang her tube feed bag on an IV pole and adjust the hose clamp to allow it to drip slowly into her stomach. Well, that system has something to be desired since guessing is not a good idea. Our guess-work was a bit fast thereby overfilling Shawna's stomach and hence causing projectile vomiting in the middle of the night last night (Oct. 5th).

Our quest to find the right power adapter for her equipment continues still because it is a holiday here ... for the entire week from Oct. 1st to Oct. 8th. Gary and Gary went out this afternoon and did manage to find me an adapter for the laptop computer to plug into. At least I can now update all of you at home!

I do believe I have caught you up-to-date, so I'm going to close for now. Tomorrow is another day and when it gets here, I pray that it will not just be an extension of today [laughing].

God Bless Us All,

Lorraine