The trip went really well. We had no problems or anything. The flights are just sooo long and then theres the 3 hour lay over. I didn't sleep at all on the way home. When we went to the DFW baggage claim, there was Billy with a huge smile and my DAd wAS so happy! Its the best feeling ever. We got in wednesday night at about 9 pm. All I can say is it feels so good to be home.

Trip 4 Update #2

We are soooooooooo ready to leave! Omg for real. I need some normal food. I'm going crazy. Atleast I have Edgefest to look fwd to April 27.

So we haven't been doing much; just been doing therapy and getting massages everyday. My therapists only understand certain words so we've been messing with them... actually everyone else too. They fall for things so easily. Everyone here drinks vodka everyday all day... its funny. I wish I could really explain this clinic and Russia but it is all just so unexplainable. I honestly don't know where to begin.

Saturday, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe; ate some cheeseburgers and french fries. The burgers and all the food here would be good if they would just season it! Everything is so bland. Once you go into the city, it is really cool and different. Everyone is so fashioned in every way, and the buildings are just so unique and detailed.

I got my second injection yesterday; it went well. Wow my doctor told me he wanted to perform procedure execution yesterday. I said execution means death... He doesn't really speak well english. Well we are coming home tomorrow; I'm so excited! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers - T xo

Russia Trip 4

April 4 - 16

So we’re in Russia... freakin Russia... Mom and Tacha came this time. We arrived saturday. The flights went so well; everything worked out. They had this new option where there was a tv screen on the seat in front of you and you could choose your own movies, tv shows, music, games... it was awesome. I watched juno, national treasure 2, and house!

We went to the market yesterday... didn’t see one smile but that’s no surprise. The doctors came in today and he hit my knees with something to check the reactions and the nerves in my left thigh reacted and made my thigh tighten up and flicker. That definitely didn’t happen last time.

I got a double dose injection tuesday, which went well. I had a headache in the night and the next morning however which is a side effect. My therapy has been different this trip. I've been getting on a bicycle that uses a motor to move my legs and I have been getting in a standing frame working on balancing. I had some weird test done yeserday by a man that honestly looks jussst like Mr. Bean. It was odd. I pointed to him and saiid Mr. Bean? And he said "No, ...Roland!" Omg it was sooooo funny. I'm pretty tired of the food already seriously! Plz keep praying 4 us! :)

RUSSIA TRIP #3

So our next trip is here already! We are actually leaving tomorrow morning. Our flight leaves at 11 AM. This trip, my mom and Billy are coming. Billy hasn't been yet. We are first flying to Atlanta, GA and then connecting to Moscow, Russia. We will be gone from Nov. 3 - 16. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. :) I will keep updating here while we are there.

Update #3

So what is today? Oh WEDNESDAY... Yayyy friday's almost here!

Well monday was a weird day. After we woke up and ate, the head hancho of the clinic and probably 7 more doctors came in with our GROOVY translator, basically discussing my case and their thoughts. They kept saying "Da" which means yes so I started saying it. Haha it was so funny. Something we noticed that they do here is wink... some do it with one eye and some do it with both eyes at once. It is like saying "Hello" or smiling, which we now know. At first, it was kinda odd; we were like wondering why everyone was winking at us. When all the doctors came in, they were all winking at me. So I started winking back and they all started laughing and speaking Russian. And nooo the translator did not translate that part!

And we SURE did go buy bacon at the market and fry it up for lunch. We brought a hot plate (a portble burner). So we opened the door, fried bacon and put on some prodigy music. I got my 2nd injection monday... the double dose. The 1st injection wasn't a double dose. And we got a picture this time. Just FYI: after an injection, I have to lay still for 6 hours. And the injection also drains ALL the fluid from my body, "let me tell ya"... as mom says. So by the time 6 hours was up, it was 9pm so I just stayed in bed the rest of the night. I did get a slight headache but it wasn't too bad.

Tuesday, I drank so much water it was ridiculous. Oh annnd we ordered pizza from Sbarro... was sooo good! Then I had therapy with Natacha. Most of the girls here share my sister's name, Natacha. I LOOVE my physical therapist. She is so fun and makes therapy fun. She even plays cool music that I listen too during therapy. Tuesday, all we seemed to do was dance :)

Then me and Tacha went to the market. I bought a headband and a shirt :) And yeah that was our excitement of the day. Today, I got a massage & I loove my massagist too. She's sweet and calls me "My Tonya." Mom went to the market and bought us more bacon, ham, 'American bread', and eggs. We had ham and cheese sandwiches and they were the BOMB! And tonight, we're definitely making BLTs... yum! I had therapy for about an hour and then went for a brain test, "EEG. " Now we're just hangin out watching Friday Night Lights that our friend here, Mike from Oklahoma loaned us.

Please continue to pray for us. XO!

Update #2

We started saying random things outloud now since nobody understands us. Is pretty entertaining actually.

I got my first injection of this trip tuesday and it went smoothly. I had a headache afterwards like last time and felt dizzy but thats expected. I will most likely get me 2nd injection early next week. I had a test done thursday where an awesome neurologist sends shock signals throughout my body thru the nerves. And he speaks good English. He told me he was researching stem cell on google and my name popped up, my stem cell page. Isnt that weird? He was telling me how impressed he was :) My doctor told me that the results show my fingers will come back so yaay!

We went to this bar/ pool tables place... (that was cool)on thursday with this Spanish/Russian patient named Ladimir. Hes probably 50ish and his wife came and this other patient and his friend... mid-twenies(they only speak Russian & live in Moscow) They both are inlooooove with Tacha. So we get there and there are some steps but we still managed to get in. They ordered french fries for the first appetizer which was shocking but tasty! They served it with mayonaisse... it was gross. The second appetizer was sliced salami, raw bacon, and ham served with bread. I've never ate my bacon raw and I refuse to start now. The dinner was like chicken and vegetables mixed together with some kind of herbs all over coals. We were there for 3 hrs and came back to all the gates being locked and had to walk forever to the only gate still being guarded. It was just a really odd night.

Today, we went to the Red Square, Souvenir strip, and the HardRock Cafe. At the souvenir strip, I swear here were 20 brides & grooms & there parties there. We found out that alot of people in Russia go there after or for their wedding on Saturdays. The Red Square was beautiful... lots of architecture. We ate nachos n quesadillas at the Hard Rock Cafe. But the tour cost $200. We had fun today.

Update #1

The flights went sooo well. I was comfortable the entire time unlike the last trip. Once we got to Russia though they started pissin me off. This guy was tryin to follow us & help us only so he could get his expected $40 tip. And he kept pushing me and wouldn't stop. I was tryin to tell him I can push but he wouldn't stop. I ended up losing mom n tach b/c he was in such a hurry! I had to be real straight fwd and tell him No but I had to keeep saying it. He got the hint but got pissed off and shook his head. They expect large tips from Americans.

When we got out into the Russian world, Tacha was trippin out on the cars.. how they drive crazy. But when we got to the clinic, it was about 1:30 pm but we went straight to bed b/c we were up for like 24 hours.

This morning I got a full body massage in bed and I got a new Physical Therapist but I start tomorrow w/ her. And the best news is that I'm getting an injection after lunch Alex (my translator) said!!! Sooo yay! Wish me luck n please pray for the best... it's a double dose injection.

RUSSIA TRIP #2 - JULY 7-20

We originally had plans to leave today on a flight out of DFW at 8:30 a.m. So we all got up at 5-ish and arrived early. We did have a 30 minute delay boarding though. And then we did the same process- I boarded first and then was transferred into a seat. I sat in the middle between Tacha and Mom, who are accompaning me this trip.



BUT after sitting without takeoff for 2 hours, they tell us the flight is cancelled. And we couldn't get another flight to take us to ATL in time so we couldn't make the connection to our other flight taking us to to Russia. So, we came home & have to try this again tomorrow. We got our flight scheduled for the same time tomorrow.

Update #5 (Injection Success)

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Wow I got an injection yesterday... 10,000 stem cells!! But its a slow process... normally 2 years, sometimes more; and I have to return every 3 months, continuing hardcore therapy & injections. We have planned 2 double injections for my next trip. A double injection is one injection w/ 2x the amount of stem cells. So my next trip will be a total of 40,000 stem cells!!

I had to lay down, off my back for 6 hours!! It was ridiculous. I tried to lay on my stomach but my neck & back muscles arn't strong enough so that didn't work and it made me ache everywhere that I can feel. I was in bed all day thursday and half the day friday. The injection side effects were a headache and an overall weak feeling... and I sure did get the effects.

It takes 10 days for the stem cells to reach the injured site. BUT... I told you about that cyst on my spinal cord right inbetween my injured area C4-C6. And if there is anything on your spinal cord, it can prevent the full potential effect of the stem cell treatment. So unfortunately, I'm gonna have to have surgery sometime in the near future :( which is expensive. I'm hoping we can do it in the states & that my insurance will pay for it.

Last Tuesday, we went out to the cool part of Moscow... and shopped. Thank God!! We went to this souvenir strip and used every bit of our money. Their currency is called "rubles" and there are 25 rubles to $1. We went sight seeing also and it was so awesome to get out of the clinic area. Wow dad found his Mt. Dew and got so excited. And OMG I finally saw a black person... and it made me feel like I was closer to home but he didn't speak Eng. And I need to get home ASAP. There's ONE english TV station and they show the same thing everyyyy day. I'm like, I know there's different stories... or is the same thing happening every day?? Gawwwdd I feel like I live here and I've aged 40 years.

We leave SUNDAY. I CANT wait to eat some chicken fried steak & Mexican food!! Dad said, "All they serve is meatloaf; with everything!"

Info About Russians Part 2

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

ALMOST EVERY RUSSIAN... I'VE HEARD... LOVES ALCOHOL. AND THERE IS NO AGE LIMIT TO DRINKING OR SMOKING. WE SAW 3 14-YR OLDS DRINKING BEER ON THE SIDEWALK. YOU CAN ALSO DRINK BEER/ ALCOHOL ANYWHERE; DOWN THE ROAD, IN FRONT OF THE COP STATION, IN STORES... PROBABLY EVEN IN THE LIBRARY. HAHA

THE TRAFFIC IS RIDICULOUS & THE DRIVING IS WORSE. THE LANES ARE NOT NOTICEABLE AND EVEN WHEN THEY ARE SLIGHTLY, RUSSIAN DRIVERS MAKE THEIR OWN LANE, LIKE IN BETWEEN LANES. I HAVE NOT SEEN ONE PERSON WEAR A SEATBELT AND ONLY FEW USE THEIR BLINKERS. AT STOP SIGNS/ LIGHTS, THEY WILL GO AHEAD AND GO INFRONT OF YOU, EVEN IF ONCOMING TRAFFIC IS COMING IF YOU ARE NOT A SPEED DEMON LIKE A RUSSIAN. AND THEY MAKE 3 TURNING LANES MERGE INTO 1, CUTTING INFRONT OF YOU & BLOCKING INTERSECTIONS.

AT MCDONALDS, THERE ARE ABOUT 15 CARS IN LINE AND LINES OUT THE DOOR INSIDE. THATS B/C RUSSIANS DON'T HAVE GOOD FOOD LIKE US.... STUPID CABBAGE YUK.

RUSSIANS ALSO PARK ON SIDEWALKS, CURBS, & IN THE FURTHEST LANE ON THE ROAD. AND ITS LEGAL. I JUST DONT GET IT. AND PEOPLE RUN OUT INFRONT OF CARS TOO, EVEN IF THE CAR MIGHT POSSIBLY HIT THEM. WE HAD TO SLAAM ON OUR BRAKES, ALMOST HITTING SOMEONE! THERE IS A TROLLEY IN THE MIDDLE OF MOST MAJOR ROADS HOOKED TO A WIRE AT THE TOP.

OMG! THE MOST POPULAR HAIRCUT FOR MEN & WOMEN IS THE MULLET. THE WOMEN WEAR ALL KINDS OF PANTYHOSES; ALL COLORS, ALL DESIGNS... W/ KNEE HIGH BOOTS. AND TEENAGE GIRLS THAT ARE FRIENDS HOOK ARMS.

Update #4

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

So since my last update, I've pretty much just been doing therapy and getting my arm/ hand massage. When I heard about massage for the first time, I was like all excited. But my massage therapist actually hurts me. He claims that he barely touches me (he speaks alittle English) but... you know how guys are...! He said it hurts so much b/c I don't use my arms as much and that I need therapy w/ them. So when I get home, I'm going to do hardcore therapy... probably at HealthSouth and I need a massage therapist.

SOOOO on Friday, we went across town to get an MRI done to my neck. It took forever to get there and back, like 2 hrs in traffic. Moscow has twice as many people as DFW, 6 million total, so there's alot of traffic. When we got to this hospital, I had to take my bra off.. and that was a big ordeal (b/c of the metal wiring) and I had to be carried from another room into the MRI room. Apparently, my chair had too much metal. But anyways, my MRI turned out normal. It showed my spinal fluid everywhere in my spine except from C4-C6; which is why I'm paralyzed. However, it did show that I have a cyst inbetween my injured site which can complicate my injury and withhold my potential stem cell treatment recovery :(

On Saturday, we went down the road to a supermarket with a Michigan couple staying at the clinic also. I don't think we have anything in common at all. Every time we mention something we like or enjoy doing; they are against it. Like I ate some Mac & cheese and the man made a big deal about how bad & fattening it is. I was like... I guess I'm fat; and I was over it instantly, but I don't think he was. Haha, me n mom were laughing. But anyways, they had little shops- like Trades Day- set up outside infront of the store but what they were selling did not look appealing. I couldn't even figure out what some of it was. ewww. So we went inside, and guess what we saw? A LONG row, right when u walk in of Vodka and beer. And their food is so different. I saw a bag of cheetos, but the cheetos had no cheese. And there is no such thing as our white bread... like Mrs. Baird's. All they have are little itty bity breads; almost like french bread but 1/2 the size.

Sunday, a missionary family (origiinally from Alabama) came to visit us. And wow, they brought us some lettuce, broccilli, and RANCH! I was homesick from my fattening ranch. Then, the family prayed over us, which really lifted my spirits.

Sunday night, a hemotologist came and put a "catheter" in the artery of my thigh! I couldn't even look. It is similar to an IV u get at the hospital except there is an input & an output (a Y connection) . This is necessary for the blood transfusion that was performed today. They hooked me up to this huge machine... through the catheter in my thigh. And they drew my blood, filtered out my stem cells and put my blood back into my body. Wow, you shoulda seen all my stem cells!! Thursday is INJECTION DAY!!!

The 'pinkish' part is my Tonyalicious stem cells.

Update #3

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Hey Hey~

I guess I'll start w/ yesterday. So I finally started therapy and my therapist doesn't speak "a lick of English" my dad keeps saying. He smells like B.O. too unfortunately. He began working with my hands and arms; stretching them and such. Then, I did stretches and bicep/tricep workouts.

After that, I had this test done called TMS to see if my nerves were still active. When a person becomes paralyzed, the nerve signals to the brain are lost. So, the person can still have active nerves but the signal has just been disconnected at the site of injury OR your nerves can become nonactive and this is what this test is determining. The neurophysiologist places these patches first on my legs/hands; then on my head. These patches are hooked to his computer and a shocking machine. Everytime he would send shocks to my body, the computer would record results. When my legs were shocked, I couldn't feel it of course but they would jump all over the place. When the left sides of my hands were shocked (w/ palm facing up), my thumbs would move. When the right sides of my hands were shocked, all of my other fingers would move. So, my entire nervous system is still active. yay! That means there is still hope. However, when he shocked my head... which felt like I was being struck by lightening (oh yes I got a picture)...

there was only one response- my left hand's thumb. By shocking my head, we found out that my thumb is still connected in some way in my nervous system which was literally a complete shock. We weren't expecting any movement.

And today, we FINALLLLY got the confirmation that tomorrow, they will begin the step by step treatment process. However, it won't be til next week that I get the stem cell injection. We spoke to the doctor in charge of it.

Wow and I say gonna alot but no one here can understand it or pronounce it.

I had an MRI taken today of my brain and guess what? I'm normal. My mom said she didn't believe the results... We had to take my nose piercing out and it hurt sooo bad b/c it was dry.

We went to the market again and I bought a headband but my dad bought 2 lbs of ham. haha We couldn't figure out how to tell them 1/2 lb. And guess what we had for lunch? Cabbage and meatball soup. And what about dinner? Mystery meat w/ rice. Doesn't that sound scrumptous? So we all just ate ham.

Info About Russians

Monday, March 19, 2007

Man these Russians sure are different... culturally. WOW.

So I told you about the hygiene thing- they dont wear deoderent or brush their teeth... Now I've found out more.

They all smoke and wear sandals w/ socks. There is a stairwell in the Clinic that ALL the staff & even almost all the patients go to smoke at. It is INSIDE!!! They also enjoy odd food, repeatedly. For example, every morning we get a piece of bread w/ bologna on it w/ milk. Their milk tastes like it is straight from a cow's udder; it's reaaal thick and creamy and eww.
Their greens consist of cucumbers and cabbage; so does their salad. There's no lettuce, no corn, no carrots... no anything but potatos, cabbage, and cucumbers. And they keep serving meatloaf meat... Ive had it about 5 nights in a row. They call it my diet... its just unbearable.
No one is happy either except the food lady.
They drink instant tea and coffee all day. Oh and they drink tea hot.

Russians don't bathe w/ rags. They bathe w/ gauze... like medical gauze. Is that how u spell it? So this is what we've been bathing with!!

And alot of women dye their hair red, orange, or burgandy. The men look like they need to shower... OMG! ANDD the men love to show their chest hair. I guess it makes them feel sexy but its wierd b/c its my doctors that do it and they're... not young.

Update #2

FYI: These are my updates I wrote from Russia... I'm leaving them "as is".

Sunday, March 18, 2007

This is my translator, Alex & my Dad in the back, the woman was the one that performed electrical stimulation (E-Stem) on me, and my Physical Therapist (PT).

HEEEEYYY guys. I so desperately need to hear someone that speaks Texan.

Well Sunday was not fun at all. I woke up with autonaumic dysreflexia... real bad. Just FYI: Autonaumic Dysreflexia (AD) is the summary of the symptoms I get w/ pain or discomfort. For example: If you drop something heavy on your foot, you feel it and it's painful. With me, since I can't feel it, I get these other feelings/symptoms- sweating, hot flashes, goosebumps, pounding headache, just overall bad feeling. I had AD bc my catheter is having problems. I had to be in bed ALL day but my doctor gave me a pain pill that knocked me and my pain out completely the entire day. I've never had a pill like that. WOW. *Im gonna try to get the Russians to say "wow." lol However, today was a good day. I got up and got a massage on my hands/ arms. Then, a TV Crew from LA, California that is filming a documentary on stem cells filmed/interviewed me and my dad. But yay, Im gonna be in a documentary. The guys filming work with universal studios and said to expect the film at the end of the year. YAY!!

Then, I unfortunately had to go to the urologist for an examination. You know, I'm only 19 and I've had so many doctors and nurses and PCA's that had to "examine" me for whatever reason. It feels very uncomfortable and I'm still not used to it. There was like 5 people in there!! Like its really hard for me to deal w/ all these doctors, nurses, therapists... seeing me w/out clothes on. I feel like I'm on display and that I've been completely robbed of my privacy and modesty. I almost feel vandalized... esp. with the male doctors. But, I guess that comes with this horrible injury. So, the transfusion process will actually be tomorrow or wednesday. Please pray for the best, love you guys.

This is my dad and me in our room.This is my mom, me, and one of the Russian nurses.

PS Thx to my neighbors for the food; it's definitely coming in handy.