Last Day!

Ever hear the saying, "You know you're done when things come around full circle."? Last night was a perfect example of that old addage. Remember my first post talked about gun fire and the cartel attacking less than a mile from the clinic? Things have been relatively calm and quiet since the second week but last night, tempers flared once again. John and I fell asleep to the sounds of gunfire. In talking with the neighbors, we think it was happening about a half mile from here. Cheese. and. Rice. Someone was using a bigger gun than the others. It started up unexpectedly, then abruptly stopped. As awful as it sounds, I hope they shot each other dead. The world needs less of that kind of crap happening.
Full circle brings me to John's last treatment. All went well, IV is gone (whew!) and he's D.O.N.E.!!!!! I could almost cry (but I won't). We met with the doctor, as well. He gave us a letter for school so they can help us work to get John better and he reviewed his last blood work taken yesterday. All his levels have improved. The only concerning numbers was his CBC (complete blood count). Some of his blood readings were a little low - indicates a virus. This makes sense as he was exposed this weekend with his cousin, Rachel, being a little down with a cold. John probably got some of the virus but his body is working hard to fight it. And work, it can. With all the amino acids, vitamins and minerals he's been infused with these last 3 weeks, he's in prime condition. It's all good! The doctor is very confident John will make a complete recovery and not even need supplements anymore. Hallelujah! He's thinking we should start seeing recovery in 3 or 4 weeks, but it can take up to 6 months. We made return plans for June 15-30 for his booster.

Ahhhhh....so good to be done! Gotta go get packing (our suitcases, not heat - although that's not such a bad idea around here). Signing out for now. Will post a few times as John progesses through his live cell adjustment.

Adios mis amigos!!!!

An Open Response to 5B

First - Steven Bradley in England...we did not receive the book. I'll check with the receptionist tomorrow and follow up with you. In the meantime, please contact me via email. Thanks!!
***********************

Dear 5B,

I got your letters today and I'm going to answer some of the questions you asked. Thank you for writing all those letters to me!
Dear Jaden - How cool that we're playing Smoke on the Water on recorders!
Dear Karissa - Hope you had fun at the varsity girls game.
Dear Bradley - I laughed at some of your funky, weird words.
Dear Renee - Mexico is cold. It's only 80 today. I met some kids at the hospital. Their names are Devon and Roseanne. They're Amish.
Dear Jake - Please stop hurting yourself! Hope you do feel better!
Dear Adam and Seth - Congratulations on winning the snow bowl!
Dear Karley - I've watched some movies. Elf, Sum of All Fears, Saints and Soldiers, Top Gun. I'm reading Hatchet and some of Hotel for Dogs.
Dear Emily - Why did Konnor cry? Thanks for the math problem (no thanks!).
Dear Sami - Sounds like you had fun sledding!
Dear Morgan - I'm doing good in Mexico. Tacos are NOT the same in Mexico as at home.
Dear Taylor - Being in Mexico is kind of boring but not too bad.
Dear Annika - Got your message. Thanks.
Dear Tucker - Hope you don't break any bones at ice hockey or break any teeth! For Christmas, I got a couple of video games, binoculars that takes pictures, a tent and a chair.
Dear Winona - Hope you don't get the flu.
Dear Jarod - When I come back, there's a good chance I will not come back with four stomachs or come back shaped like a cow. I'm not living in the hospital. I live in apartments on hospital grounds.
Dear Sam W - I cannot believe that YOU are playing football. And you can tell Seth that anyone can do anything! The procedures have not half-killed me. The procedures made me lots better! Sorry to hear your fish is dying. I care about that. My grandpa taught me how to read a compass. I can help you when I get back.

For the rest of 5B, thank you for your letters! Boo-hoo...I am crying a river and I'm going to build a bridge and get over it!! with gratitude. haha I'll be back at school on Monday. Our plane gets in at midnight on Thursday night so I'll be home on Friday, unpacking. I think there is no school Friday, anyway.

Thanks for all your letters Everybody!!!!! I can't wait to see Miss Johnson's crazy dances!

John

One Day Left...

Wow - one day left. Amazing how time flies, but we are surely ready to come home. Ready to have our routine back, our food (what we can have of it), our friends, our family but most of all, OUR BEDS!
I couldn't post yesterday as I felt awful. Had a horrible headache that turned into a migraine. Ugh. Slept it off and feel much better today.
Tomorrow we will review all of John's labs and compare them to his first ones when he got here. As of today, however, his Augusti test (the test that measures immunological function) is down to a 2.5 That's perfect. Very, very good. A lot better than the 4.0 it started at!
Will post one more time before we leave tomorrow so you can know his final numbers and prognosis. Until then, hasta manana! :)

Day Ilostcount: Rocket Camp

Try this?? http://www.flickr.com/photos/34491846@N03/show/
Let me know how it works for you?? They're pictures of our entire trip.


This weekend really clinched how well John's treatments are going. Wow. He was full of energy, pooping like a champ, focused and entertaining. Quite a different kid than 3 weeks ago. Three weeks ago, he was lethargic, unfocused, apathetic...even though a lot of people said he seemed fine. Parents can always see the little changes in their own kids. We're spending 24/7 with them, so subtleties are blatant in the world of parent/kid relationships. The changes Carl and I were seeing in John were enough to make us do this and it's definitely been good. My huge fear is that this treatment will be like all the rest from the past ten years. They all have worked...then stopped. We'd have to research, visit a new doctor, try a new med, find a remedy...relentless and endless. I am so praying, and asking you to also, that this is the end all, be all for him. That this is the end of the road. That this is the answer. It was so clear when Carl and I prayed about coming. It was like God was shouting down from heaven, "For the love of me, GO! already! I've made it all work out! Get on the plane!" So we feel this is the place to be, yet...ho-hum. All this back and forth in my mind is tough.
Back to the positive, though. This weekend. What a fun kid we have! He's got a great sense of humor (it was hot, so he took off his shoes and said, "Goodbye Shoes! Hello socks!") and he's full of energy. For once, I am tired hanging out with him. Before, I'd have to pull teeth to get him to run around with me, bike, whatever...now I'm the one pooping out (oh! ha-ha, get it? - no pun intended) before him. That's so great!
On Friday after treatment, we headed up to San Diego to visit his cousin one last time before coming home (in less than a week - hurray!!). John and Jacob went to Rocket Camp with Jacob's Webelo pack. On Saturday morning, we drove about two hours southwest (toward Arizona) to the Imperial Valley Desert. The boys got a 45 minute lesson in building rockets and rocket safety, then they got to start building their rockets. Pretty soon rockets were launching high into the sky. It continued all day when we finally left around 4:30. It was so awesome being out in the desert! Did you know that it's not just movie magic that people actually ride around in the desert on dirt bikes - for fun, all weekend long!? They bring out their RV's and/or tents, adult beverages and bikes and just tear it up! I was soooooooooooo jealous! I so wanted to "make friends" with some biker so I could take a bike out. I rode out in New Zealand and have wanted a dirt bike since then, so it was awesome to feel the excitement again! John was all about the ATV's running around, as well as the really cool dirt buggies. What a FUN time. There was another group of people with a gi-normous catapult. They were catapulting different melons. It was so cool to see them fly through the air and splat! all over the desert floor. Some desert animals were going to eat well that night! We got home around 7 and everyone was really ready for bed.
On Sunday, Rob (my brother-in-law) and I went for a run up Iron Mountain (near their house). We ran 2000 ft up, then back down. I am SO sore right now...But God, it was beautiful. John, on the other hand, went bike riding. Here's what he had to say about it:
On Sunday afternoon, we went for a bike ride for about three miles. It was a HUGE PAIN! My bike tire was a little flat and it was super hard to pedal. But, I had fun rock climbing. We climbed near a waterfall, so if you missed a rock or slipped you'd fall into the water or get seriously hurt (mom here: good thing I wasn't there or John would have nothing to report about...).
We took the train back to the border Sunday afternoon and was once again reminded of how truly, truly blessed we are. Every time we take the train south, we see new poverty. I just cannot get over the fact that people live in such conditions. It utterly blows my mind. It only reinforces my desire to teach - knowledge is the way to bigger and better things.
Here are some pictures from the weekend:




Going through the border: Mexico to US








Building the rockets...









"Clear to the left, clear to the right. Insert key. IGNITE!"













We've got take-off!














John and Jacob (r) returning from rocket retrieval.













Pack 109, Poway, evening ceremonies.

Day 17: High Hopes

Took the trolley from America Plaza to Qualcomm Stadium to meet Lisa (Carl's sister) for the weekend. We were picked up in San Ysidro (the border) by a friend of a friend and got a tourist perspective on Coronado Island - where Camp Pendleton is located. Saw about 75 new recruits jogging down the road, loaded with their packs and in full greens. It was breathtaking. John is going to participate in Rocket Camp out in the desert tomorrow. He had one and a half treatments this morning and will have the same on Monday when we get back. He ends his treatments on Wednesday, then it'll take a day of travel to get home late Thursday night. I can hardly believe we're on the end of this journey. John's overall health has improved so much, it's shocking. First, from a physiological level, when we first arrived his body was not functioning very well. His blood work showed lower levels of different functions and his overall immunological functioning was horrible (a 4 out of 5, 5 being the worst). He had a reading same as some of the cancer patients. It was really scary. But, he came down fast. By the second week, he was at a 3, now he's at a 2.5. He'll have one more blood draw on Monday and we get a final reading on Tuesday. I'm so anxious to know how he's doing now. His other levels have come down, also. The only one I'm still not completely comfortable with his is thyroid levels. My side of the family has a quality history of thyroid dysfunction, so it wasn't entirely surprising to see John's numbers. However, instead of being on the LOW side like most in my family are, he's on the HIGH side. That makes me a little nervous. Granted, he's still in the normal range, just on the high end of normal. Given all his little idiosyncrasies in his body, if it's not smack in the middle of normal, I'm not happy. This is just another "thing" to get used to with him until it changes. I am focusing on the all the other positives at this time, though. I cannot believe how well his little body has taken to his treatment, how it's accepted everything it's been given (no rejection, no illness) and is continuing to synthesize all the new material. I have very high hopes for his treatment and look forward to his continued wellness. It'll be so incredibly interesting to go back in June and see where his numbers lie.
It also helps to be surrounded by such enormously positive people. How can you not think positive and have such hope when the people around you are brain cancer survivors, liver cancer survivors, people with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome completely cured, people with MS who can hardly walk when the come in yet leave carrying their own bags. The success stories go on and on. If they can improve so much, what's a little poop issue? High hopes. That's what we have.
From a "boy" perspective, John has improved a ton, also. Before we came here, John wasn't too rambunctious. He played around, ran around, yeah...but he peetered out pretty quick or would prefer to play video games or watch TV. Now he's a B.O.Y. Totally. He cannot sit still (sorry Miss Johnson), he's wrestling all the time, paying attention (I think Miss Johnson will like that!), shying away from TV. "C'mon mom! Let's go kick the ball!"
"C'mon mom! Let's go race up and down the road!"
"C'mon mom! Let's go chase the cats!"
"C'mon mom! Jump on the tramp with me!" On and on it goes. It's really, really great to see. Tiring for an old lady like me, but great. It will be nice to get home so I have someone to share the running with (get out the running shoes Carl!). Ironman can't compete with his energy level! I guess his downward trend was slow enough we didn't notice. Now that he's back to being a regular kid, I look back and see how sick being constipated made him. There's a huge difference in "going" everyday and not.
We truly have everything good to say about IBC. Even the violence that surrounds the center pales in comparison to what they can do for people. High Hopes.

Day 17: La Bufadora (The Blowhole)

No, I'm talking about some patient here that won't shut up. Or a doctor full of hot air. Not at all. I'm talking about a real, life blowhole located in Ensenada, MX. It's about two hours south of here, right along the coast. It's one of seven in the world (or so we're told). The blowhole is actually a very small crack in the rocks that line the coast. When the tide crashes against the rocks, it forces the water up and out...the water blows out the rock. It was really cool!





After we (Viola, Delilah, Norma, Dave, Tom and us) saw the blowhole, we shopped a little bit along the main road...ugh! I hate the Mexican vendors. They don't let up! One guy wouldn't let me leave his shop and repeatedly asked me to spend my money in Mexcio. I took out my "teacher voice" and gave him a little talk about how I AM spending my money in Mexico and plenty of it! I told him to back off and that no meant no! He put his hands up and said in the best Valley voice I've heard in a long time, "Well, Oh My God!" I stomped off just peeved. What a jerk. We found a nice little restaurant right next to the ocean. We ate a nice lunch and watched about 25 whales swimming near the cove, blowing their water. It was so cool! I felt like we were in the Mediterrean. The sun was shining on the water, making it shimmer like diamonds. The rolling hills were draped like a soft blanket around the water and there were beautiful white houses dotted along the hillside. We could hear the surf crashing below us and see it hitting the rock outcroppings. It was just so surreal. Our driver, Victor, was sharing stories about growing up in Ensenada (now he lives in Tijuana). John was thrilled to be able to order some chicken nuggets. His thrill was squashed just a little when his order arrived with rice, refried beans and salad. No fries here! Interestingly, after two weeks of organic, whole food the nuggets didn't agree with him very well. He got a pretty good tummy ache but dealt with it like the little man he is. There were no public bathrooms there, either. If you had to go, you paid .50 (American) to use the toilet and .25-.50 for toilet paper. One toilet we went into even charged extra if you wanted the toilet seat!!











After Ensenada, we drove to the beach - La Mission. We stuck our feet in the water and we played football a little bit. The water was a bit chilly - 58 or so. Nothing that a little wetsuit couldn't handle! Right, Ron - we've done colder!

Day 16: We Eat Cactus

Yup, you read it right. For dinner they served us cactus. Oh yeah, and lentils. Holy man, do I want a steak! When you can't have something, you want it all that much more. Before dinner, we just hung around the clinic, talking with all the new people here. John played dice and cards, too. Worked on school stuff and did some word searches. I did some sprints on the treadmill. Pretty low key. I tried chelation today. It's where they use an IV to push a mineral (forgot the name) through your veins. This mineral adheres to the toxins and heavy metals in your system and takes them out (you end up peeing - a lot!). It took 3 1/2 hours to complete and I hated every minute of it. It tasted funny and it made my arm very, very cold. After that was done, they gave me a dose of calcium cuz this mineral latches onto calcium and takes that, too. They replaced what it took. I'm not doing it again. Here are some pictures from today:


John having a hissy fit cuz he just learned he can't have grilled cheese for 51 more days. Grilled cheese is not exactly a healthy food (sorry grilled cheese fans), therefore not allowed. He was jumping around, using a pillow to cover his mouth to scream, "I want grilled cheese!" Remember what I said earlier: To not be allowed makes you want it more.






John and his doctor, Dr. Vasquez








Spaceman Spiff taking off for Mars. (John is in the hyperbaric chamber. This thing forces air into his blood cells, encouraging them to do their job and make him well again.)





Playing a dice game with a new friend (I cannot remember her name, but she's a teacher in an Amish school. How cool is that?!) on the back patio.

Day 15: New Friends

Our beloved Joe from Oklahoma. Joe and John spent almost every evening together playing cards, watching "guy" movies, football and playing Call of Duty on Joe's PS3. Joe left for home today. We'll miss you Joe!!





Deke and Becky from Maryland. Deke brought Whooping Cranes to Wisconsin!







Wade and Ann from Canada - ultramarathoner








Many people have moved into the clinic. Today, in the treatment,there was a line for treatment. There are 11 recliner chairs for patients to relax in during treatment and they were all full. Even some of the boring wooden chairs were taken. We were told this is how it would be now for the next few months. There are many people here for cancer, there are also people here for stroke, CP (cerebral palsy) and MS (multiple sclerosis). It's hard to stay positive with all the sadness surrounding us. One lady who's been coming here for many years got news today that her breast cancer is back and now it's spread into her lung. She's the only patient we've heard of or known where the cancer came back. With all the people here, one is a pretty good statistic. I'm sure she didn't want to be that statistic (no one does) but in the big scheme of things, one is good. Most likely she'll be put into remission again following the program here. Regardless, everyone has a positive attitude. There's a lot of faith running around here.
We met a guy today, Deke, from Maryland. He suffered a massive stroke a few months ago and is undergoing stem cell transplant to help his brain recover. He has a PhD in something or another and was instrumental in setting up the Whooping Crane recovery program in Necedah, WI but he can't speak a word and needs help walking. But he is positive the doctors here will make him better. He just wants to talk to his new wife. Another guy, Wade, is here with colon cancer. He believes his cancer came from years of chronic constipation (he's the epitome of my fears for John). He, too, is getting stem cell transplant. He, too, has an unshakable faith that he'll be cured here, too. When he's not managing his 8 million Super Suds Car Wash (he's from Alberta, Canada and it seems cars - who knew they had them up there! - get dirty, too), he runs ultramarathons - 250K across deserts, over mountains, in remote jungles. Wowza. There are some truly fascinating people here. Just like John is considered fascinating (and who am I to argue!?). All the patients are so impressed that he deals with his treatments like a king. They all appreciate his quiet presence when the adults are all talking about nutrition, sleepless nights and being apart from families. They all especially love his bright smile and sincere laugh. It's nice to have a kid around with all us serious adults. We also have three new sets of Amish people here. Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin (Cashton). I love, love, love! talking with them. They are just a fascinating bunch of people to me. All have cancer. And all are quite rascally. They are surely not as serious as we see them to be in English society. :)
Today we discovered some food we like. Woo-hoo! At lunch we had potato lasagna...layers of potatoes with veggies, cheese (Mexican cheese, not American) and a side of broccoli. For dessert (dessert at every meal - don't get that at home!) they gave us sliced bananas in a ginger-orange sauce. Either we're finally becoming accustomed to the food here (or maybe we're just plain hungry) or it really was good!
While our lives may seem pretty boring, all this info makes for a very full day. I'm beginning to think the stress and rush of our daily life in America contributes to many our ailments. That said, I think I'm going to need a nap everyday around 11 and 3, I'm going to need 4-6 organic meals prepared for me daily and my mode of transportation will be "meander." No more texting, emailing and talking on the phone at the same time. No more teaching and signing at the same time. No more 2 hour stressful meetings. No more relentless paperwork. Sorry. Mexican time is a good time!
Oh my Gosh! I almost forgot!! Steven Bradley - if you are reading this: THANK YOU!!!! You are the sweetest, kindest, most sensitive person I've met in a long, long time! We got your card today and are looking forward to the James Bond book - John is beside himself with anticipation. The card was soooo cool! We loved that panther lounging in the tree. How cool! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for thinking of John and corresponding with him.
Thank you, too, to Karissa for your wonderful letter and word searches for John. You kept us busy today looking for all the states and sports. You are TOO sweet for taking the time to find such fun activities for John to do! You know him well, too, as word searches are his favorite. We shared your beautiful photo with our friends, as well. The Mexican staff were in love with your golden hair. :)

For 5B: (John's class):
Thanks for great notes! I've been to the beach - we went to a dog beach. It's called Solana Beach. I saw a really cute beagle and dalmatian mix dog when I was there. The water was freezing! I put my feet in and when I got out, my feet were numb. I'm doing my homework. I'm done with adjectives and stuff. I worked on DPP's today. Please keep writing. I'll be back in 2 weeks, on Monday Jan 29. I have a Mexican treat for everyone.

Day 14: El Gatito

We had a pretty uneventful day today. Good right? Yup! In order to pass the time today after treatment, John and I made friends with los gatitos. There are five cats (gatito) that roam the clinic area, we decided to make friends with them. John had some leftover milk from breakfast, so we poured it into a bowl and set it outside the back door of the apartment. We waited. Soon, the cats smelled up the milk and were mewing around the door. John made friends with the seemingly king cat - he named him "Spot."

Day 13: Life is Good

I just finished reading a really good book called "The Year of Living Biblicially" by A.J. Jacobs. The author, a New York "Jew like the Olive Garden is Italian," is a agnostic and decides to live for a full year according to the Bible to see if he can find God. As time goes on, he learns to love to pray. He finds a lot of benefit to it. What he ultimately decides is that, if anything, he has learned that prayer is a major key to life as it makes you focus on small things in life and makes you understand you're an important part of a much bigger thing; it made him grateful.

This weekend, John and I went to Carlsbad/La Jolla. We were able to stay with a Global Hero friend of mine and her family. She has an 11-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter, so John was in his element. We had a great time! It was so fabulous to go to an American grocery store, buy the things are most familiar (Cheddar Bunnies, chardonnay, trail mix...) or go to American stores and SHOP! John got his "boy fix" of baseball, Wii and the park. Momma get her "fix" of Ann Taylor, J.Jill, LuLuLemon and Z. Galleria. Oh yeah!! My friend and I also did a long 12-mile run this morning along the Pacific Coast highway. Oh my gosh...I have been to some amazing places in the world and this is definitely in the Top 5. It was so utterly beautiful that I ended up running only 10 and walking 2 so as to not miss any of the scenery. We were running up on the cliffs overlooking the ocean, so we could see all the surfers and boaters and hear all the waves crashing against the cliffs and rocks. Up on the trail, we had to dodge other runners and cyclists constantly because there were so many people. The coastline also happens to be the route for the Carlsbad Marathon, so I kind of ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon (which most of the people out the running were training for)! How fun! Anyway, it was surely a run I'll never forget. We could see the coastline for miles and miles, either north or south and the spray from the ocean hitting the cliffs created this kind of muted affect between the actual coastline and ocean so they blended in together so smoothly.

Unfortunately, as they say, all good things must come to an end. We had to leave as my friend and her family had things to do. They took us to the train station and we rode the "Surfliner" back to San Diego. We rode the upper deck. The train followed the coastline, so we were able to enjoy it for just a little longer. When we got back to San Diego, we put-putted around downtown for a little while, visiting Seaport Village (where John got a "Life is Good" t-shirt, hence part of the reason for the title of today) and stopping in some extremely fancy hotels. We walked around the harbor and enjoyed the million-dollar yachts anchored at the slips. Nothing like the slips at the Northside, I tell ya! Some of the yachts were almost as big as my house.

We finally jumped on the trolley, back to San Ysidro to get across the border before dark. The trolley ride (the trolley is actually an electric train) takes about 30 minutes from downtown to the border. The further south we go, the poorer it gets. It was so sad and disheartening to see the landscape change from beautiful coastline, gorgeous homes on cliffs and shimmering tall buildings to factories, warehouses, boarded up stores, tiny stucco homes with laundry hanging outside, yards filled with garbage, children playing in parking lots, even homeless people camped out behind buildings or under trees. What a change of scenery within an hour. While watching this amazing change take place, it reminded of the book I mentioned. The author's ideas came back to me that we can be grateful for the smallest things in life and really appreciate everything we have. My heart went out to the people I watched as we zipped past...I prayed they had appreciation for the smallest things in their lives, as difficult as that may be. I know as we drove through those areas, I became more prayerful and appreciative about the small things in John and my lives - grateful we're able to be here, grateful we have a good support system, grateful for the doctors and nurses treating John, grateful that we were able to spend a beautiful weekend with friends, grateful we were on the trolley and not sleeping against the dumpster...I mean, it could go on and on. Bottom line is that my family is enormously blessed. We have much to be grateful for and I thank God for reminding me of that today. As ironic as it sounds given our current circumstances, Life really is Good.

John in the Pacific Ocean at Solana Beach

Justice, Addison, Kristine and Travis - our Carlsbad friends

Day 12 and 13: La Jolla

Going to La Jolla (pronounced "la hoya") for the weekend. Will be back later on Sunday. Will post then.
Have a fabulous weekend!
~ John and Mom

Day 11: Live Cell Shot

John got his live cell shot today. Wow. What an experience for someone who's never had a shot before. Okay, he had 2 immunizations when he was a baby (less than 3 months old) but that's it. Nothing after that. He was not a happy camper, but with the people around here being as kind and generous as they are, he was talked through it by several others who've been through it.
Live Cell Therapy is the crux of the IBC. You can google it and find all kinds of information, mostly negative and how it's quackery. The hidden truth is that they use it in the US but call it "Living Therapy" or something like that. Doctors who use it say it's the lastest invention of condition control. It's not. It's been around for over a hundred years. It originated in Greece and was/is used extensively in Europe.
The live cells that John received today are from the embryo's of a calf. We expect him to grow a tail, 4 stomachs and start mooing next week. Just kidding. The embryo's are non-species specific, meaning they'll adhere to any organ in any species. They haven't developed yet to anything specific - calf, human, dog, cat, etc. These embryo's will attach themselves to the organs most needing repair - the organs with the most damage. Specifically for John that is intestinal, lymbic (thyroid, pituitary) and placental (general cells for any other organ damage). He had three tubes of cells injected into his cute little hiney cheek this afteroon around 3:30. Elias (remember, our nursing savior?) was so great with John, although we all lost our patience a little bit. John was extremely anxious about receiving a shot (if there are any downfalls of not immunizing, the lack of experience with needles would be it) and really acted up about it. Finally, Elias told John in no uncertain terms, "Buck up, boy. You're getting a shot and that's that." John was shocked into compliance. Sweet Elias has never spoken like that. Elias grabbed a chunk of butt, told John to take a deep breath and stab! In goes the needle. John didn't even flinch - Elias had to tell him the needle was in and the cells were going in. We don't know which was injected first, it took about 10-12 minutes to do all three tubes but it was easy. Elias just unscrewed the tube of one injection and screwed in the new one so the needle never had to come out. That's a smart way to do it. So John survived his shot, now he's got a lump the size of a golf ball on his butt cheek and it hurts to walk. All I know is he better improve before tomorrow later morning as we walk the mile it takes to get across the border. Damned if I'm carrying his tiny little hiney! I am proud of him, though. Once he calmed down, he did a great job and he's handling it well now. Another story for him to tell, another adventure he's lived. And he's all that stronger for it.



Tijuana Trivia: Around Tijuana, people stand in the middle of the street, selling stuff. This guy is selling ice cream in the middle of a very busy street.


For 5B:
No, it's not cold here at all. It was 74 today and sunny. Tomorrow and Sunday it's supposed to be in the 80's. We're going to La Jolla (that's in California near the ocean). Sorry you slipped and fell in the ice, Jake. We don't have ice here. I hope you're okay. It never snows here, either. People don't understand how we can live in snow.

Day 10: You Got Mail!

After treatment this morning, we were delightfully surprised when Juan delivered some mail and a package for John! Yippee!! A card from Grandma Mary and Grandpa John, an "I love you" picture from Daddy and Andrea and a package full of crayons, coloring paper, mazes and suduko from Aunt Cathy. Hurray!! Thanks to EVERYBODY for thinking of John!!!


Here is a picture of John getting his treatment. The man sitting next to him is his nurse, Elias. What a gentle, caring person. He's really great - everyone around here just loves him. Elias is injecting the Alivazatos serum into John's IV.

Day 9: Boring Again

It's good that it's boring here. That means treatment is going well and we've fallen in to a routine. We'd much rather have that than constant drama each day. Some new people came today - an Amish couple from central Ohio. Their names are Joesph (they all seem to be named that) and Martha. Very young...maybe early 20's. Joesph has cancer. They left three children back home, a 4-year-old, 2-year-old and 1. Martha seemed very sad when she told us about her kids. They'll be here three weeks. The family we've made friends with leaves tomorrow. That puts no one in the apartments except John and I and two patients in the hospital. The nurses say this is the slow time of the year but it should pick up in the next week or two. Ho-hum.
We did have a bit of excitement during dinner, I suppose. Tijuana is a city of 3 million people, most of them poor. There's going to be violence in a city of that many people. Just think of what happens on the North side of La Crosse once in a blue moon. The government has never had much control over the drug cartel (which has most of the power here) until now. They have a new president [just heard gun fire] and he's cracking down on the cartel. Cartel are acting like spoiled children and rebelling big time. Tonight, during our dinner, about a mile down the road, the cartel raided a restaurant, starting shooting up the place and kidnapped a patron. This went on unknown to us...so as we're all sitting in the dining room (see photo from earlier post), there are suddenly 5, 6, 7 cop trucks screaming up and down the street in front of the clinic. Their sirens are blaring and they're just tearing up and down the road...squealing tires as they turn the corner. The cops had their guns drawn and they were in the "ready" position. It really scared us all. Everyone stopped eating and wondered if we should hit the ground. None of the night staff at the clinic spoke Spanish. I'm the most "fluent" speaker here and that wasn't getting us far so we really didn't know what was happening. We found out later through one of the English-speaking doctors who came in for rounds. Soon after the cop cars came, the helicopters came out. It was seriously like in a movie. And, like in the movie, we sat there like waiting ducks. But where were we to go? Back to our rooms? Not us, I'm not taking my kid outside. In the kitchen? Not allowed and there was no gun fire, so I doubt they'd let us. The clinic was locked, so we couldn't go there. We just sat there, all together. Figured we had some safety in numbers. Finally the night guard we have at the clinic came in and we asked him what was up. His answer, "No habla englais." Great. He went straight to the kitchen, the cooks, servers and he spoke for a bit. One of the servers came out and told us to just stay here. "Everything is fine." Everything DID turn out fine (obviously since I'm writing you), but it was quite scary. As of writing this, the police have not found the gunmen or the kidnap victim. The news showed shot out cop cars and rows of police lights(that's one thing they don't lack down here are cop cars). The doctor I spoke with about the incident said cartel has been focusing on people who look like they have money: people who drive fancy cars (either citizens or Americans) or dress nicely. Since we're neither, I really do think we're safe. But I think there will be no more walks to the grocery store like earlier today. I'm not willing to take any chances. We'll have to get everything we need on the weekend when we're over the border. No one is clear if just anybody is being targeted on these attacks or if it's just cartel killing cartel. Hopefully that's the case. Not that you want anyone to to die, but if it's gonna happen it might as well be them killing each other. Well, on that note: Good night.

For 5B:
This John. I can't come home early. I have to stay 21 days and Sundays. Thanks for your notes. I like them. They make me laugh. I miss you all, too. Street ball is just a made up game of ball in the street. We didn't play in the street. We played in a patio. We kicked the ball against the wall. The other person tried to kick it back. You had to kick hard to trick the other person. It was fun!

Day 8: Boring

So today was pretty darn boring. We just stuck around the complex. We slept in this morning til 8:15. Woo-hoo! We're getting lazy now. So, we got up, John went to have his treatment, I did my run (out on the treadmill), John played video games, then we had his IV removed. It was bugging him so he chose to have it out. A new one will be placed again tomorrow. Needles are becoming a NBD thing for him now ("no big deal" for you non-texters). Then I took a shower (one can get pretty darn sweaty and stinky running in 70 degree weather), we ate lunch and John made new friends: Jose and Raoul. See, we bought a playground ball at Target this weekend in San Diego. Christmas clearance thing that is totally worth its $3 cost. It's kept him very busy for the last two days. Praise God for small favors. Anyway, the ball got a little flat today, so we were going to go across the street. There's a mechanic across the street and my plan was to borrow his air hose to pump up the ball. The problem was I didn't know how to say "air" in Spanish. There were 2 clinic guys standing outside the clinic having a lunch of coconut slices sprinkled with paprika from the fruit cart guy that always parks outside the clinic during the week (I think that was a run-on sentence...). Anyway, I approached one of the guys (we later found out his name is Jose) and asked, "Como se dice 'air' en espanol?" - How do you say "air" in Spanish? Jose answered, "El airo." Seriously, it was almost too cliche. I tried not the laugh, but a smile did slip. He got it and added, "Really, it is." Okay. I told him my plan and being the helpful Mexican they all seem to be, he went with us to visit el mechanico (again, not kidding) to be our translator. Now, notice how I did not say our "interpreter." It's two different things, something I am painfully aware of as a sign language interpreter, never a translator. Anyway. He helped us out at the mechanics, John got his air and he also ended up getting an hour of play with the big boys. The boys ended up skipping work for an hour and took John to the patio next door to play Street Ball. John had a lot of fun! I sat and read while they played their boy games. While seemingly mundane, it really made our day. If anything, being on "Mexican time" makes you appreciate the really small goings-on like this one. Mexican time means people get to sleep on the job. Can you believe that?! My work contract actually tells me I cannot sleep or I get fired (this kind of irritates me - what idiot fell asleep at work, was caught and fought it? Lowest common denominator, baby.). Over here, anytime you walk into the treatment room, there is at least one person sleeping. Okay, so Dr. Park, the acupuncturist doesn't count. He rents space in the clinic, so he can sleep if he wants. It's his money. But when you see the nurses, office staff or even some of the doctors taking a quick nap (usually an hour) it's another little reminder that we are no longer in Kansas, Toto. I think Americans can learn a little from Mexicans in that regard.

The Adventure Day

Today's adventure began when we found out that our doctor went on vacation for the remainder of January, without telling us or redirecting John's medical care. Nice. After I calmed down, we were able to work out new care. Our new doctor (and at this point I'd have to say "improved" as well) is Dr. Vasquez. He's quite nice and very willing to answer all my questions. I was warming up to Dr. Henriquez, but now I'm not too fond of him. Maybe someday...
So, Dr. Vasquez was quite able to pick up where we left off. I updated him on treatment so far, shared John's medical records with him and then asked him the very same questions I posed to Dr. Henriquez to make sure the course of treatment would still be the same. The treatment will continue as planned, thank God. Today is also Monday, which means Blood Work Day (from now on referred to as "BWD"). John had his pinky finger pricked (he howled a little more than the IV placement, but then again your fingertips have more nerves than your forearm). The doctor brought up a blood smear and a blood spot on the computer so we were able to look at the cells in HD. Pretty cool. Pictures are below: The top left one shows his blood cells stacked together like coins. That's not cool. The more stacked they are, the less oxygen can get into the cell and the less they do their job. Usually when cells are stacked like that, it indicates an enzyme imbalance. People with stacked cells are usually sick (the more stacked, the more stacked), tired, easily cranky and have low concentration. This would surely be John (and a million other people, but that's their problem). There's another photo we looked at that looks like a planet or some photo from space. Or, as John noticed, a close-up of a hamburger (I think he misses cheeseburgers). The problem with John's "hamburger" is it has pieces floating off of it. This shows a vitamin deficiency. With the way these pieces are clumped it indicates a deficiency in Vitamin C and magnesium. Interestingly, here is where the doctor paused and asked, "What is John's problem? He does not have cancer, so what is it again?" Well, chronic constipation can lead to deficiencies in vitamin c, magnesium, calcium...all kinds of things. If poop is stuck in the intestines, pushing on the walls and just sitting there, the intestines can't do their job. Their job is to absorb remaining nutrients as they move through to the toilet. In other words, all the Vitamin C tablets and powders, all the magnesium supplements and calcium supplements we've spent 100's and 100's of dollars on through the years has just been pooped out (in the rare times that happened). Great. Well, now we know. Now we know we need to get his gut healed, remove the inflammation and power it up with enzymes, vitamins and minerals. Oh, yeah! That's called the Alivazatos treatment!! Silly me. For those of you researching this treatment and these ideas, the blood test is called the Augusti test, named for the French researcher who came up with the markers. We've also set a date for the live cell treatments - this Friday. John will get 5-7 shots for one week starting Friday. But, shhhh...he doesn't know that yet. All in good time, Young Jedi.
Also for those medical people who are keeping tabs and who've asked, here are his blood levels otherwise:
HB: 13.7 (range 14-18) \ only slightly low...no big deal, really
HCT: 41.4 (range 42-52) /
platelets: 102 (150-350)
Hepatic Index: 5.1 (greater than 10)
Immunologic Index: 4 (less than 0) - yes, that says FOUR
Immunity Coefficient: 14.2 (-10...10)


Okay, enough medical talk. For fun, we went to Aviendo Revolucianes. "Revolutionary Boulevard." It's an open-air market. Full of Mexican people who want you to buy their stuff. "Pretty lady, pretty lady, I have something for you. Only for you!" (Yeah, right.) or, "Come here lovely boy. You can buy my things."(Leave my kid alone.) "Boy! Boy! I have fun things. Come to my store to buy." It was incessant and annoying. It really took away from fun shopping. But, we did get some GREAT deals. We had fun wheeling and dealing with the people, I had fun working on my Spanish. When the vendors found out I speak semi-fluent Spanish (a lot better than most of the touristas here), they weren't happy. I feel I got better deals that way. But I have to say it was hard to do that. They seem so poor (some people say it's all an act to get more money but I don't know) and I felt bad trying to talk them down in price. I mean really - $3 for a sterling silver bracelet? In America it would be 10 times that, do I really talk them down? The driver who brought us to the market told us he makes $150 American dollars/week!! That's nuts! But, then again the exchange rate is currently at 13:1 (13 pesos equals one American dollar). Our money goes far here. Ugh, I'm getting into politics and I don't want to go there. All done for today!


P.S. Did you know if you click on the thumbnail photo, you can make it larger and see more detail? Well, now you know!

First Week Done

On Saturday afternoon, we took the clinic van back across the border for a visit to John's cousin, Jacob, in San Diego. Waiting at the border was an experience! It took us 2 hours and 2 minutes to get across. It's nothing coming in to Mexico but getting into the US is insane. There are two choices: walk across or drive. We drove since it was raining and it was a Saturday early afternoon, so the walking line was over a mile long. In the rain? No thanks. It was definitely quicker than driving, but a lot wetter. So, we sat in the clinic van with two ladies from New York. One of the women was a patient at the clinic. She had Stage 4 lung cancer. She spent 28 days in the clinic and left with no signs (blood work and PET scan) of it. Amazing. She's 78 years old and is a retired Broadway actress. She's fascinating to listen to so sitting in the van for 2 hours was actually pretty interesting.
We finally got across, met Jacob and his mom, Lisa, downtown and went to their house for the night. It was so great to see John being a kid again. He was running around, jumping on the trampoline, going boulder climbing at the park, bike riding, chasing the dog and playing video games. Finally some normalcy. We had "real food" (not the vegetarian diet they have us on). I cheated and made some chocolate chip cookies (sh....that's between you and me!), ate some (okay, a lot of) dough. YUM! We got some laundry done, too. Thank you Lisa and Rob! For me, I got back to training a little - swam 1500 yds and did a 10 mile run. It was a great run - all the training is finally paying off. When I stop to think about it, it's very fun to be running in January wearing shorts and a t-shirt - outside!
On our way back to Mexico today John and I talked about how we've been here a week now. We felt very different coming across the border to the clinic this time. Last week, we were both nervous, worried and frankly, a little scared. We didn't know what to expect. Last week, after we arrived at the clinic and Sergio was giving us a quick tour, I fought back tears - a lot of concerns, fears, worries, questions...it was all so overwhelming. This time, we were coming home. We're the "seniors" of the clinic. Most of the patients we met last week were in they're last week and have since left. It's just us and one other family left now, plus two people down in the hospital. We had no qualms, no worries, nothing. Our biggest dread was lettuce juice and more avocado. I'm not sure I'll ever want either for the rest of my life once we leave here.
So, here we are. Ready to tackle Week Two. Highlights of the week include lab work tomorrow morning, hypberbaric chamber for John and one more try at acupuncture for me (gulp!). We're looking forward to a trip to La Jolla for the weekend to visit a Global Hero friend, Kristine. It's supposed to be in the 70's here this week, all sun. Sorry!! Not really...

The Border back into Mexio

The traffic at the top of the photo is going INTO the US. The traffic at the bottom is going to Mexico.
John walking across the border. Super easy to get into Mexico. Not so much on the other side.

Pictures of Fancy Cars and Friends who Left

Day ??: Friday, Jan 2

The days are blending into each other. The first day here, someone said the days would start melding and I mentally promised myself that wouldn't happen to us. Well, so much for that promise. It all seems the same...get up, get treatment, eat, run, hang around, walk, nap, watch tv, eat, play cards, sleep, wake up and start over again. I wasn't expecting a vacation, but not this either. Not sure what I was expecting. But, I do have to say I'm very, very glad we're not stuck down in the hospital like Joe and Ava - no windows, very bleak and bland. At least we CAN go for a walk. The people downstairs are tethered to their treatment bags for hours and hours a day (sometimes 12 hours). They are very, very sick and they need it. John, fortunately, is not like that. So I'll quit my whining and be thankful we have a routine that includes the outdoors in some fashion (even if it is behind four stucco walls).
I have to also apologize to you if this post is either rambling, unorganized or otherwise not up to par - I feel like crap. Have been getting a nasty-a** cold for the last few days and today is really bad. Woke up throwing up this morning. What a great way to greet the day. Maybe it's just empathy-flu for John. He's the one who's supposed to be "flu-ish."
John took his treatment today like a champ. Our hero, Elias, was back from his day off, thank God. He placed that IV line like the pro he is - again, John didn't even have time to grab my hand. What a winner! John, I mean. His treatment lasted a little over an hour and today only his ears turned bright red. His body is becoming used to the infusion of minerals, vits and amino acids, which is great news. We have another blood test on Monday. His labs (we finally got the results back) showed too high inflammatory responses. They want to see a 2.5 or lower (I forget what the 2.5 represents - I have it if any of you detail-oriented people need to know). His is at 4. A reading of 5.0 indicates cancer. In other words, his body is working hard to regulate something that's inflammed. In his case, it's most likely his gut. Inflammation of the gut can come from numerous places: immunizations (which we stopped when he was 3 months old due to a reaction), environmental (toxins, food, etc.), stress, medications (which I guess falls under "toxins" but let's not go there) or something I took when I was pregnant with him (see, we're a walking billboard for no coke during pregnancy! Kidding - the worst thing I did was a can of Pepsi every so often and chocolate. Things could've been a lot worse!). There are a million of things that could be causing his problems, but this is not the forum for my soap box lecture on the dangers of medications and immunizations for perfectly healthy little babies and children. Anyway, back to my original story of his labs (my how easy it is to get off-subject...). We will be watching them weekly. We hope his numbers lower each week. I have to say, though, I'm pretty darn impressed with how it's going so far. He as pooped more in the last six days than he has in the last month, all together. He goes three or four times a day. It's awesome! Today, while in the Gas Lamp District, he had to go. (Side note, if you do not know that I have a little "Mama Bear Temper" in me when it comes to my kids, here's your first warning.) We ran into the Giradellhi Chocolate store (I swear, it was the nearest place and, yes, convenient that I wanted to buy some candy). There was a short line for the bathroom and we waited the best we could. When the people came out and the next were to go in, I asked if we could please budge seeing as how my son (pointed to John) had a small medical condition and REALLY needed to use the bathroom. They completely ignored me and proceeded into the bathroom. As the one woman shut the door, she gave me a little smirk. I banged on the closed door and yelled "You Bitch!" I think I startled a few people. Yeah, wasn't too happy with her decision. But, then again, Toto, we aren't in Kansas anymore and I gotta protect the needs of my kid. We beelined for the next viable bathroom. He made it and all was good in PoopLand. But, man, what a wench for the smirk and inhumanity! What comes around, goes around and I hope I'm there when that woman craps her pants one day. Mama Bear has now gone back into her lair.
We decided to go into San Diego to the International Car Show today. We took the van to the border, then got on the train in San Ysidro and took it up to Petco Park in San Diego. We roamed around the car show for a few hours, then went for a walk up Gas Lamp District (super cool!! - wish I had a bunch of girlfriends along for some major shopping!), ate at the Hard Rock Cafe (shhh....that's just between you and me. It's huge against the Alivazatos Diet!), then came home (boy, the word "home" just flew out of my fingers; guess we're comfortable here) again. John did a great job picking out some food, trying to follow Alivazatos - he chose grilled chicken, lettuce and french fries (ok, fries not so good, but I stole most of them. If I have to gain some weight in order to help my son, well, then I'll take one for the ol' Gipper). He also had a bite of my cheeseburger. You CANNOT believe how good a cheeseburger tastes after six days of various juices (lettuce, watermelon, barley and papaya), veggie pizza and cabbage soup! Lord have mercy!
I'll post some pics in the next post. Just know the black Jaguar, XJ retails at $105,000. Being a teacher and the wife of a tampon salesman, that car will have to stay in the book marked "Foolish Dreams." There's also a pic of John in his dream Mini-Cooper. Children are so realistic sometimes.

Pictures of the Place

front of clinic - apartments are connected, directly to the right
street view of the apartments
hallway to our apt - ours is last one on the right
our front door
Dining room

New Year's Day

Last night was wild! Wild AND crazy! Holy cow! You would NOT believe how we celebrated the new year last night. Okay, first we had dinner - baked chicken, salad, and tiaramasu (or however you spell it). I know - crazy! Over the top. Then, we back to our room for about a half hour. The neighbors knocked at our door and asked us to go play cards down in the hospital with the patients who are too sick to come upstairs. Wowza! How could we refuse?! Fun AND charity. Can't beat it. So, we down to play three rounds of BlackJack. The excitement was beyond belief...people were out of control. When we were done with cards we came back to our apartment to watch a movie. Okay, cover ears and eyes here...we watched "Shrek." Yep, living the high life!! When it was over at 10, we went to bed. Can you believe our wildness? Who knew it could get so crazy in Tijuana?!
At midnight, however, the noise from all the fireworks woke me up so I went out to check it out. It was pretty cool (no sarcasm here). The sky was lit up with constant color...it didn't stop til after 1 a.m. Pretty neat. Although I didn't hear any gunfire (in all the commotion, I'm not sure I could pick it out vs. fireworks going off), the neighbor (a Vietnam vet) said he heard a few shots. I trust his ears with that kind of stuff. He lived with it for four years.
After we slept in (have to recover after such a wild night), we got up to get treatment. The clinic is closed today so we had to go to downstairs to the hospital (I'm going to post pictures in a little bit so you can get a better idea). We haven't been here, so the nurses don't know us or what John "prefers." They started to get him set up. They started injecting the saline solution to clean out the IV and he promptly starting screaming. Nice. There are some seriously sick people down there and he's screaming his fool head off. I tried to hush him and it didn't work. The nurse, who doesn't speak English, stopped pushing the saline. She jiggled the IV around a bit (that went over like a lead balloon) and tried again. Mistake! She was insisting in pushing the saline when I noticed his skin was bubbling. I asked her to stop ("Alto, por favor!"). No response, she pushed, he screamed. "Alto! Por Favor!" No response. Everything escalated a little..."Stop! Now!" and I grabbed her arm. Not a good idea when someone has a needle stuck in the arm of your kid. She wasn't happy with me. I apologized and told her we would skip treatment today. When she investigated further, we found out the IV had gotten itself removed from John's vein and was just laying under his skin. That's why it hurt so much when she injected the saline. Even now, describing it to you, makes me nauseous. Yuck. So, the IV was removed, John dried his tears, grabbed his toys and left. We'll have to have the IV replaced tomorrow (he is NOT looking forward to that), but at least we'll have Elias, the amazingly gentle nurse.
The neighbor guy was really sweet - he brought a hugmongous "Cars" pen over for John to do his homework with. That was really nice.
To answer some of the questions in the "comments:" Yes, you can write us. Please do!! The address is International BioCare Hospital/Clinic, PO Box 431880 San Ysidro, CA 92143-1880. People have been getting letters from the Midwest and it seems to take about four days for mail to get here. Not bad. Amy and Linda - nice job on using a blog for the first time! We really appreciate it. John really, really enjoys reading the comments everyone sends. Please continue. It really makes his day. Thank you for thinking of us in your very busy days.
Up next: Photos of the Place