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.