Well, it's been a while, I know. My computer keeps going down so I'm not able to successfully log on as much as I'd like. Oh well, we only have a week to go.
Shawna received her 4th and last stem cell injection today. All went well until about 3:30 PM ... she started running a fever of 101 F and became ill. I guess we are lucky it didn't happen with the previous injections. The fever and vomiting is a common side-effect from the stem cell injection ... poor Shawna.
Gary and Gary II were able to get out again today and go golfing. They had a good time golfing on frozen ponds ... lol.
My computer is acting up again, so I'm going to run for now before it cuts out before I get this e-mail done.
Lorraine's thoughts: November 2007 Archives
It's just a lazy day here today. We are sitting and watching movies with Shawna, so I figured I would let you all know that we are still here, but have only a little over a week to go. Shawna is not very happy today; very tense. I think she's getting anxious to go home since we have been telling her about it daily.
Well the guys are waiting on me for the next movie to start, so have to run for now.
We just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! It is Thanksgiving Day here already and all of you are still sleeping ... weird. I'm organizing a Thanksgiving dinner trip for anyone who wants to go from the hospital. We will be going to the Outback Restaurant for our Thanksgiving dinner ... none of us trust how a turkey might be prepared here. We figure steak is our best bet ... lol.
This Thanksgiving I want to give thanks for everyone who has touched our lives in our quest to bring Shawna to China ... we couldn't have done it without each and every one of you! I/we are thankful to live in such a caring community, great friends, and the greatest family anyone could ask for!
As you all sit down to your turkey dinners today, please include Shawna in your prayers and remember how jealous we are of you today ... we get no turkey ... lol. And Gary, with a whimper, says "no pies" ... he does so love all the baking I usually do ... oh well.
Thank you all again for caring so deeply for Shawna and being a part of our lives!
We only have a little over 2 weeks left. We are on the countdown for sure now!
We went out to dinner tonight to say goodbye to Dan and LaNae from Utah ... they will leave us tomorrow morning. Nurse Linda stayed with Shawna tonight so that little Gary could go out to dinner too.
Though little Gary didn't take pictures of them at the Great Wall of China, Dan and LaNae are who he went with to see it.
Saying goodbye to another family is hard, especially since we have been here together this entire time. It also brings about the realization that we only have 16 days left here ourselves.
Shawna is doing great! She seems to be very relaxed lately. Gary (Dad) has noticed that she has been crossing her body with her arms ... this is new. Not a big deal, but every little thing counts!
It's Tuesday, Nov. 6, and Shawna is taking the day off. She woke up with a fever this morning (100.4) and Dr. Xi said she cannot go to therapy because of it. We won't let Shawna know; she'll try to duplicate it every day [laughing]. She loves her days off!
Gary II had a good time at The Great Wall of China on Saturday. Gary (Dad) had a good time running around Beijing with Robert Lee on Sunday ... they went sightseeing at the Yong He Gong (Buddhist Temple).
Gary found an Outback Steak House, which we went to late Saturday night and thoroughly enjoyed. Little Gary stayed with Shawna while we went ... we did get a meal to go and brought it back to him.
It's Saturday morning here and little Gary has gone to the Great Wall with a group of other families from the hospital. I had him take the camera, so hopefully he'll get some good shots for us.
Gary (Dad) is on a quest to find real American food [laughing] so he has gone out for a bit to see what he can find.
Shawna and I are watching a movie; taking it easy.
O.K. ... there is no "secret" ... I was quite clear in my blog that I didn't want to report on one thing I've noticed until I was sure. Well, it would seem that Shawna is definitely saying "more" while I'm feeding her pudding. I told her to let me know when she was ready for another bite and she did. As soon as she swallowed what was in her mouth, she said "more" and then opened her mouth wide so I could give her the next bite. She has been doing it pretty consistently. Accordingly, she now has a two word vocabulary ... "Mom" and "more".
God Bless,
Lorraine
