December 2007 Archives

I can't believe it's been as long as it has been since I last updated here. I'm so sorry! We arrived back home on December 5th and I have been swamped with paperwork from the office that was stockpiled for the last 2 months.

Shawna received approximately 10 Million stem cells while we were in China. Now all we have to do is sit back and wait to see what may come from them. They will continue to develop for 6 months, so changes may take place in her from now until June 2008. Her body temperature is back to normal and she continues to make different sounds. Waiting is the horrible part of all of this ... seems like that's all we can do.

I will report immediately if there is any significant changes.

The Weils are safely back in the U.S. Their plane arrived an hour early. Lorraine said the wheelchair wasn't at plane side, so they had to wait a while, but we weren't there to pick them up yet so they had time.

Lorraine found a way to change Shawna's diaper in the women's bathroom, but then they missed the shuttle across the airport and had to call a private one. Gary and Gary II were waiting on the curb when we pulled up and Marci jumped out to hug them.

Lorraine and Shawna were coming out of the building. The luggage was quickly loaded and we're on the way the back Pennsylvania. The Weils, still being on China time, are awake and ready to roll.

Well, we're finally on the road. Marci's boyfriend Chris is driving the truck and his parents are driving the van to pick up the Weils. We called the airport and the flight which was supposed to arrive at 7:21 p.m. is actually early despite the snow and traffic. They are to arrive from Bejiing at 6:09 p.m. We're taking it easy and driving slow down Route 83 to make sure we get there safely.

Marci said she cleaned the house and baked a cake to welcome her family. They're braving the snow because Marci said it's like Christmas day, she can't wait to see her family.

We are all packed and waiting to leave the hospital. It is 2:40 p.m. here and we will leave at 3:30 PM for the airport.

I'm still amazed that we will depart Beijing at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, December 5th, and will land at Dulles International Airport at 7:21 p.m., Wednesday, December 5th ... talk about time seeming to stand still ... LOL. We will be in the air for 13 and a half hours, but it looks like only a 21-minute flight ... amazing.

I am signing off now so that I can get this computer packed up. Can't wait to see everyone at the airport and at home. It's been too long.

Well, we only have a couple of days to go now and we can hardly wait! Now that it is about over, it really did fly by fast. It doesn't seem like we've actually been here for 60 days already.

Shawna is doing fine. She did have a bit of a bad time with the last stem cell injection, but is doing much better now. It took about 5 days for her to come back around to her old self.

The internet is down more than it is up here. We've been having a heck of a time being able to log on. I do apologize for the lack of updates, but it has been out of my hands.

We are now very busy running around trying to get everything in order before our departure on Wednesday, Dec. 5th. Four medicines were introduced here, two of which are not available in the U.S. Therefore, we must arrange to purchase them here and bring them back home with us. So much to do and so little time to do it all in now!

It's Saturday afternoon here and Shawna is finally feeling like herself again (crossing fingers my words don't jinx her).

The nurses' dinner was canceled last night, but we did manage to take Tony (PT) and Faby (OT) out for dinner. There will be no time left to take all of the nurses, so we are really disappointed that we didn't get the chance to thank them on a personal level.

Ty, Renee and Mark will leave us on Monday; Blake and Jeremy on Tuesday; and we leave on Wednesday. Once we all clear out, there will be only a couple of Americans left here (Jack/Doreen and Glenn), but they leave the following week ... 12th and 13th. Our prayers will still be here with them.

The Internet has been down for the last day and a half ... seems to go down quite a bit. If the Internet isn't down, my computer is and I have to wipe it clean and start over. It's been a real workout just trying to stay in touch while we were here, but it's almost over now; can't wait!