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| I'm still periodically emptying the guestbook so that it doesn't get too full, so please don't panic if your message has mysteriously disappeared! I've savedthem all for James and Carol to keep. Please scroll down to see the updates. I want to make sure Carol has plenty of room to add without having to do a lot of maintenance. |
| Monday Jan 10,2005 7:30 p.m. It was a busy busy day. James is still on IV's for a sodium defiency but the number of IV's was reduced. He is eating well and he slept really well. The big doctor, Dr. Huang came in and told him he looked good. Then he said get up and walk around the room. After a slight hesitation,James and I looked at each other,and I said,"Walk in the name of Jesus!" So with Ray in the front and me at the back, (by the way he is still cute from behind) and a doctor and nurse on his side, he took about 6 steps. It wasn't pretty but he moved his feet. If it wasn't a work out for him, it was for Ray and me. We are pleased. Pat and I played the hero role today. We went to the other side of Beijing to an American supermarket. I am not sure if I would call it super but it was a welcomed site. Kraft, Prego, Dr.Pepper was awesome to see. We also found a Subway. We brought several sandwiches back to share. We are class favorites today. The Beijing we saw today is very modernized.I know for sure we are in the ghetto at the hospital. You can still see a lot of the old China but it is like the modern China is literally swallowing up the old. In a one mile block there were nine cranes building high rises. It is obvious they are preparing for the 2008 Olympics. They are cleaning up the city for the Olympics as well as they are becoming environmentally aware. We were in a part of the city that had more tourists. It made it easier to find English speaking people to help us. Did I mention I found the Starbucks too! A taste of home for four bucks. You gotta love it. I hope to send pictures tomorrow. I will see if I can be computer literate enough to succeed. Carol Sunday Jan.9,2005 5:00 p.m. James was able to sit in his wheel chair today for a few hours. This made him very happy. He told the doctor he was ready for therapy. The doctor told him he felt he was still to weak. James told him no he wasn't and then flashed him one of those cheesy grins. The doctor said, "Well maybe a little physical therapy." Scooooooorrrrree James. The doctor also took out his stitches. That about covers the day. Yea!!! Have a great day!! This is the day the Lord hath made rejoice and be glad in it! Carol |
| Saturday, January 15, 2005 6:45 pm
The nurse was very excited to run in and tell Mr. James, no more IV's. So for the first time, since arriving, James may not have a needle come his direction. I truly think the nurse was as happy for him as he was for himself. He definitely flashed a huge grin. Jodi and Nathan were able to talk to him today, that also made him smile. Things are always very slow here on the weekends. James' group is still the last group that had surgery. People are a little....mmmm....let's just say testy. The attitude on the hallway has changed. You know me, I am busy trying to keep morale up but I am not sure it is possible. The US doctor thinks they may have a surgery go Monday. But, no one knows for sure yet. They are still waiting on the cells. An interesting side note. The Chinese doctors love the US doctor. He is teaching them English everyday at one o'clock. They "have knowledge of the language but need technique." They can say that again. The US doctor, Doctor Bob we call him, is helping them with a website. They have been criticized for not having enough follow up so they are really trying to work on it. I received two packages from US yesterday!! It makes us popular on the floor. Everyone wants to know what's in the package. Of course they know it's food they are really just looking for some handouts. Also, the American written newspaper was a hit. It didn't matter it was the Bryan-College Station Eagle sports page and they didn't care about the Aggies(imagine that), they just wanted to read an English written newspaper. Thank you for the DVD's too. We are looking forward to a new day!! Hope your day is fabulous!! Love, Carol Friday Jan 14, 2005 It is 11:30 p.m. here. This is the first time I have had a chance to catch up on emails and the website. According to Ray, James had a good day. He still had a couple of bags of sodium but was still eating okay and behaving. According to Ray you ask? Well that would be because my wonderful father-in-law stayed with James all day while Pat and I went shopping with a some of the other hospital families. Oh my gosh we had fun bargaining. I "saved" James all kinds of money. I hope my kids are reading because I bought presents. Do you love me? I know things seem to be moving slow now but I remembered a lesson I learned when Jodi was in the hospital as a preemie. The doctor told me not to concentrate on the daily progress as much as the weekly progress. That helps a lot because a week ago there is no way I would have left James to go shopping. I fight the urge to become impatient. I am constantly replacing my thoughts with "God's timing is perfect." I know things are moving according to HIS plan. I am humbled and astounded by all of your love and support! I will never be able to put in words how much it means to our family. I can't help but end with HOW 'BOUT THAT AGGIE BASKETBALL TEAM? Now that put a smile on James face! Whoop! Whoop! Love, Carol Thursday Jan 13,2005 I am having many computer problems. So this will be short today. James looks much much better today. He actually has some color in his face. He is eating better and continues to sleep better. The doctor told him tonight that he would be finished with the IV's if he was doing the same or better tomorrow. "Eat more, drink more, James!" the doctor said. Tuesday, January 11, 2005 It was a quite day today. James is sleeping much better. He is able to rest some during the day. I think he was tired from yesterday. He still has a way to go just to recover from the virus, not to mention the brain surgery, but everyday his eyes seem brighter and brighter. He only had two IV's today He was free of needles by four. He had to drink two 12 ounce bottles of salt water instead. He was all for it! Anything to be free of the tubes and wires. I thought I would mention some observations about the Chinese medical staff today. The nurses are all so kind. They are eager to make the patients happy. I enjoy watching them work together. The nurses are truly team players. They check on the patients vitals alone but anything else they do they work in pairs. They seem to love their jobs. They all have English names given by the "high nurse" (the head nurse). I came across a new night nurse the other night and asked for her English name. She didn't have one yet. So I gave her one. I told her she could be Laurie. She asked if it was a good name. I told her yes it was a great name. I wanted to name a child Laurie but James didn't agree. So, I named a Chinese nurse instead. We mainly see residents. I find them to be very thorough. I don't always understand what they are doing and what they are saying, but I have shared my frustration with you on that subject. However, they are very humble. They absolutely do not want to disappoint or upset the patient. Once they understood how upset James was about the IV's, they made it clear they were doing everything they could to get him off the IV's. They did not give in but they were very compassionate and did change the length of time of the IV. The other patients have had similar situations. Most of us feel the same, they are gracious and want to please. One last thing, I am glad we came when we did. The patients that came after the holidays, (I think there are 10, mainly Americans.) are waiting two to three weeks for surgery. They are waiting on the stem cell cultures. I think they are all very frustrated at the moment. It is hard for them to know that 4 of the patients had surgery within 3 to 4 days of arriving. Pray for peace that passes all understanding for all of them. Love, Carol |