Last night 15 of us (patients & their families) went to the
Sunkin Hua Kun Hotel - aka the International Buffet - for dinner. It was actually better than the last time we went. (well except for the duck heads & tongue from some animal - not sure what type of animal donated their tongue for the menu). It was pretty funny because I sat in front of a patient who likes to be
adventurous when it comes to food. As I sat there eating with Brandon, I tried my best to avoid looking a the other
patient's plate of sea shells & tendons. They did teach me how to use chop sticks so "Thank You" - you know who you are!! The reason I use the terms "they, the patient, or them" is because not everyone likes to be acknowledged on
som
eone else's website. So if I haven't asked their permission - I don't mention names. Today was Brandon's final treatment!! YEAH!! He is currently beginning his 2
nd hour of lying in bed - 4 hours to go! The Dr. met us in the elevator as we were coming back up to the room & said that everything was fine. In fact his
intracranial pressure was at the lowest we had seen it before - 70 which is a normal!! I'm not sure why we have seen the pressure drop from high to normal but we're happy. It certainly makes recovery go a lot smoother with less complications. Brandon is so happy that this was the last
treatmen
t. He has gotten tired of feeling like a pin
cushion - being poked & prodded. But he has said that his eyes are working better so he's glad he came to China. I think we are all happy to have had the opportunity to come here. I may have complained a lot but not once have I ever regretted coming here. I'm adding several pictures that I took last night & today since this was the last treatment. During the previous treatments, I've sorta slacked in the picture taking department. I have just been informed that the staff is throwing us a party tonight at 6:00 pm. Apparently since there are three families that are leaving Monday & Tuesday, they want to have a going away party. That's very nice of them - it will also give B
randon & I something to do to pass the time. I have asked them if I can wheel Brandon out into the lobby for the party since he's unable to get up until 9:00 pm (providing he is feeling well). They said that we could probably do that. Well we are almost packed up. Tonight I will pack most of our clothes up & leave only the clothes we'll need for this weekend & Monday. I'm done doing laundry in China! The clothes don't dry for a few days & by the time they do dry, they smell funky. When we get home, I'll be washing ALL the clothes up so we can hopefully get the smell of China out
of them. So we're down to wearing our cleanest dirty clothes until we get home!
Photo's: 1st - Some of the other patients & families linger after dinner. I had forgotten the card that shows the hospital name & address in Chinese back in the room so I had to wait & catch a cab back to the hospital with another family. This was the first time I had ever forgotten the card - thankfully there was still other people that DID have theirs or Brandon & I would never had gotten back to the hospital! 2nd - Brandon standing in the lobby of the Sunkin Hua Kun Hotel last night after dinner. It's a really nice hotel!! 3rd - Brandon tod
ay making faces as we wait for them to take him downstairs. He was being silly! 4th - 2:15 pm China's time - Brandon is whisked away by a nurse an the interpreter Wendy. Time for treatment!! 5th - Brandon is being loaded on the elevator to be taken down to the 4th floor where the spinal treatments are done on kids. The adults have their spinal treatments on the 9th floor. 6th - Brandon waves to the camera as we go down the hall on the 4th floor. OR room here we come!! 7th - At 2:25 Brandon is fast asleep after he receives a dose of medicine to put him to sleep. They put two different 
medicines into his IV using a syringe. It only takes a minute or so for him to go to sleep. After he is fast asleep, they move him into the gurney used for treatment. 8th - Brandon is on the gurney & is whisked away to the operating room. That's the last time I see him before the treatment starts. I am sent to the waiting room to do just that - wait. 35 minutes seem like hours when your child is in the operating room. Only when he is awake do I get an update & that's to tell me that I can see him again - back in the same room that he received the medicine to put him to sleep. 9th - The Operating Room. When you first walk in, 
they ask to to wait there - do not cross over the line because you can contaminate to OR. However nurses & Dr's can cross over the line & go back (apparently there's a difference). So they take Brandon to the line & give him the medicine to put him to sleep. I have to lean over the line just to hold Brandon's hand as he falls asleep. 10th - The dreaded waiting room. Actually this is a really nice waiting room. The families of patients who receive stem cell treatments wait in this private room while the Chinese families all have to wait in a little room filled with hard me
tal chairs across from the operating room. They just recently granted us use of this room so the families can be more comfortable. More often than not, I sit at the table & try to read a book. It's hard though since all I can do is worry about how Brandon is. I'm so glad this is over with!! The waiting room is actually a meeting room where Dr's go to converge. They have a big flat panel TV, a projector & a computer in the room. I can understand why they would hesitate to let us use the room to wait. In the background on the wall is a Chinese saying. From what I understand, it means to always think of the patient with understanding & to give 
the best care possible. 11th - At exactly 3:00 pm Brandon is back in the room just inside of the operating room after receiving his last spinal stem cell treatment. He is fully awake and in a great mood! The shelf in the background holds several pairs of sandals. When people go past the line, they have to put on the sandals (I guess so you don't contaminate the floor?) Right next door to the OR is the door that you enter to go into the waiting room. As soon as you walk into the hallway leading to the waiting room, there is the same type of shelf with sandals. They usually have plastic bags that they have
you place over your feet. Today I wasn't quite so lucky. With no bags, I was forced to use the sandals. They're comfortable but I'm sure many people have used those same pair since washing them. I have a problem using sandals that are community property & where someone else's sweaty feet have been. But if it means sitting in a comfortable waiting room instead of the common waiting room, then I'll get over my phobia -Afterall this was the last time!!
Last night 15 of us (patients & their families) went to the Sunkin Hua Kun Hotel - aka the International Buffet - for dinner. It was actually better than the last time we went. (well except for the duck heads & tongue from some animal - not sure what type of animal donated their tongue for the menu). It was pretty funny because I sat in front of a patient who likes to be adventurous when it comes to food. As I sat there eating with Brandon, I tried my best to avoid looking a the other patient's plate of sea shells & tendons. They did teach me how to use chop sticks so "Thank You" - you know who you are!! The reason I use the terms "they, the patient, or them" is because not everyone likes to be acknowledged on som
eone else's website. So if I haven't asked their permission - I don't mention names. Today was Brandon's final treatment!! YEAH!! He is currently beginning his 2nd hour of lying in bed - 4 hours to go! The Dr. met us in the elevator as we were coming back up to the room & said that everything was fine. In fact his intracranial pressure was at the lowest we had seen it before - 70 which is a normal!! I'm not sure why we have seen the pressure drop from high to normal but we're happy. It certainly makes recovery go a lot smoother with less complications. Brandon is so happy that this was the last treatmen
t. He has gotten tired of feeling like a pin cushion - being poked & prodded. But he has said that his eyes are working better so he's glad he came to China. I think we are all happy to have had the opportunity to come here. I may have complained a lot but not once have I ever regretted coming here. I'm adding several pictures that I took last night & today since this was the last treatment. During the previous treatments, I've sorta slacked in the picture taking department. I have just been informed that the staff is throwing us a party tonight at 6:00 pm. Apparently since there are three families that are leaving Monday & Tuesday, they want to have a going away party. That's very nice of them - it will also give B
randon & I something to do to pass the time. I have asked them if I can wheel Brandon out into the lobby for the party since he's unable to get up until 9:00 pm (providing he is feeling well). They said that we could probably do that. Well we are almost packed up. Tonight I will pack most of our clothes up & leave only the clothes we'll need for this weekend & Monday. I'm done doing laundry in China! The clothes don't dry for a few days & by the time they do dry, they smell funky. When we get home, I'll be washing ALL the clothes up so we can hopefully get the smell of China out
of them. So we're down to wearing our cleanest dirty clothes until we get home! Photo's: 1st - Some of the other patients & families linger after dinner. I had forgotten the card that shows the hospital name & address in Chinese back in the room so I had to wait & catch a cab back to the hospital with another family. This was the first time I had ever forgotten the card - thankfully there was still other people that DID have theirs or Brandon & I would never had gotten back to the hospital! 2nd - Brandon standing in the lobby of the Sunkin Hua Kun Hotel last night after dinner. It's a really nice hotel!! 3rd - Brandon tod
ay making faces as we wait for them to take him downstairs. He was being silly! 4th - 2:15 pm China's time - Brandon is whisked away by a nurse an the interpreter Wendy. Time for treatment!! 5th - Brandon is being loaded on the elevator to be taken down to the 4th floor where the spinal treatments are done on kids. The adults have their spinal treatments on the 9th floor. 6th - Brandon waves to the camera as we go down the hall on the 4th floor. OR room here we come!! 7th - At 2:25 Brandon is fast asleep after he receives a dose of medicine to put him to sleep. They put two different 
medicines into his IV using a syringe. It only takes a minute or so for him to go to sleep. After he is fast asleep, they move him into the gurney used for treatment. 8th - Brandon is on the gurney & is whisked away to the operating room. That's the last time I see him before the treatment starts. I am sent to the waiting room to do just that - wait. 35 minutes seem like hours when your child is in the operating room. Only when he is awake do I get an update & that's to tell me that I can see him again - back in the same room that he received the medicine to put him to sleep. 9th - The Operating Room. When you first walk in, 
they ask to to wait there - do not cross over the line because you can contaminate to OR. However nurses & Dr's can cross over the line & go back (apparently there's a difference). So they take Brandon to the line & give him the medicine to put him to sleep. I have to lean over the line just to hold Brandon's hand as he falls asleep. 10th - The dreaded waiting room. Actually this is a really nice waiting room. The families of patients who receive stem cell treatments wait in this private room while the Chinese families all have to wait in a little room filled with hard me
tal chairs across from the operating room. They just recently granted us use of this room so the families can be more comfortable. More often than not, I sit at the table & try to read a book. It's hard though since all I can do is worry about how Brandon is. I'm so glad this is over with!! The waiting room is actually a meeting room where Dr's go to converge. They have a big flat panel TV, a projector & a computer in the room. I can understand why they would hesitate to let us use the room to wait. In the background on the wall is a Chinese saying. From what I understand, it means to always think of the patient with understanding & to give 
the best care possible. 11th - At exactly 3:00 pm Brandon is back in the room just inside of the operating room after receiving his last spinal stem cell treatment. He is fully awake and in a great mood! The shelf in the background holds several pairs of sandals. When people go past the line, they have to put on the sandals (I guess so you don't contaminate the floor?) Right next door to the OR is the door that you enter to go into the waiting room. As soon as you walk into the hallway leading to the waiting room, there is the same type of shelf with sandals. They usually have plastic bags that they have
you place over your feet. Today I wasn't quite so lucky. With no bags, I was forced to use the sandals. They're comfortable but I'm sure many people have used those same pair since washing them. I have a problem using sandals that are community property & where someone else's sweaty feet have been. But if it means sitting in a comfortable waiting room instead of the common waiting room, then I'll get over my phobia -Afterall this was the last time!!
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