Stem-cell therapy: October 2007 Archives

It's 10:25 a.m. here in China ... Shawna got stem cell injection No. 2. Once again, it took only a few minutes for the procedure and she is now laying in bed again. She must remain in bed, flat on her back, for 6 hours. Dr. Xi is very optimistic; she feels that Shawna is improving and at least her eyes will be back in line with each other soon. She seems pleased with Shawna's progress so far.

Since there is little to do on stem cell treatment days, Gary and Gary II have gone on their golf excursion. It looks like a good day for it today. They should be back close to the time I'm allowed to start moving Shawna around again, so that's good ... they needed the break from the hospital setting.

Shawna is doing very well ... bruised from head to toe, but improving. Her coumadin has been cut back to 1 gram a day, so maybe she won't get so many bruises from now on. Three things are for certain ... one is that her body temperature is now holding steady at normal; two is that the tone in her body is far less than it has been previously; and three is that she inhales pudding in a flash! [laughing] There is one other thing that I have noticed, but will not report on just yet inasmuch as I want to be absolutely sure. Besides, it's fun keeping you all wondering and guessing what it could possibly be.

We are just about at the halfway point and the prospect of the homeward bound countdown is too exciting! Though we have settled in quite nicely now and the people are great, there's still no place like home.

Shawna had her first stem cell injection this morning at approximately 9:30 AM (Tuesday, Oct. 16th). It took longer to get her loaded on the stretcher and down the hall to the Operating Department than it did for the procedure itself. It took only about 20 minutes and Shawna was being wheeled back up the hallway and into her bed again. We had to keep her laying on her back perfectly flat for 6 hours, but she came through it all like a champ!

The only side effect we were told to watch for was a fever; Shawna was actually lower than normal today ... go figure! That is one change we have noticed prior to the stem cell treatment today ... her temperature has been lower than what we have been used to at home. Her normal is usually around 99 to 99.3 F; since we have been here, she has been 36.7 to 37.3 C. Anyway, now we just have to wait and see what changes occur. Her next stem cell injection will be in 2 weeks.

It is so exciting to know that we are now on a countdown towards returning home. Don't get me wrong, the people here are great ... you won't find a more caring, helpful environment, but there's no place like home. To that end, we are one down and three to go ... woohoo!

OK, I fixed my accent [laughing]. Being over-tired and typing messages here do not mix well. We are finally settling into a routine. Working without all of our conveniences from home is exhausting, but we will manage. We were able to find the converters and adapters we need for the electric and I'm sad to say that it would seem we have fried the nebulizer machine and the Kangaroo pump's base unit ... the portable unit of the Kangaroo pump will still work if we could charge it, but we can't because the base is gone.

Shawna's IV infiltrated yesterday causing her left hand to swell up the size of a softball or bigger. Her poor hands are so bruised up from being stuck constantly; price we have to pay though. No pain, no gain, right?

Can't wait for the first stem cell injection on Tuesday, Oct. 16th. Gary already thinks he sees some slight changes in her just from the stem cell proliferation meds. I must say she does seem more alert ... something in her eyes.

I have a few things to report today ... first, Tony, the physical therapist here, says that Shawna is like a newborn baby and he feels some of the therapy techniques we've been using in he U.S. are not quite appropriate. One of them being having Shawna kneel over the ball ... he feels that it is contradictory to what we need to accomplish with Shawna's head control. Head control, as in infancy, should precede all other movement. Interesting point.

Jason Plotkin - Daily Record/Sunday News
Lorraine uses a harness to help carry Shawna to the mat for therapy. Shawna's parents are hoping the stem-cell treatment will help loosen Shawna's taut muscles. (click to enlarge photo)

If you're just starting to read this blog following the York Sunday News article of Oct. 7, here are some places you can learn more about Shawna's story:

In Nicki Lefever's Sept. 28 article, "Will stem cells help?", the Weils and their medical team talk about the potential for Shawna as she goes through the treatment - that she might once again be able to communicate and eat some foods on her own - versus the costs and risks of traveling to China to do so.

To accompany that story, photographer/videographer Jason Plotkin created this video footage of Shawna as her family, friends and nurses talk about her condition.

And at Shawna's MySpace page, you can read the many comments her friends have left her since her accident and learn more about Shawna's heroes and interests.