So what the heck happened over there?

Well it's Sunday the 28Th and I am writing this last blog from my home in Boxford. It's been a whirl wind couple of days and as I said in the previous blog I will attempt to explain what happened and why.

I met with the head of the clinic who was the Chief Neurologists for the Russian Navy on Thursday morning around 10:00am to discuss the results of all the tests and what the course of action should be taken .He explained that I was healthy and would be a good candidate for stem cell therapy except for one concern. His was worried that I might still have tumour cells in my spinal cord and they could potentially be activated by the stem cell injections. He went on to explain that the point of the process was to make life better and he wanted to make absolutely certain that if we went ahead with the process it would not create additional issues. His research has shown that stem cell will migrate to tumour cells and activate them making them begin to grow again. His diagnosis therefore was to wait and have an additional test (which he has been developing) which would determine for sure if in fact I still have any tumour cells in my cord. If no cells are detected then I can begin the stem cell therapy. It sounds like this will be within the next 3-6 months. I was impressed with his explanation his thoroughness and the fact that he was thinking longer term. This after all is a private clinic that survives on billings and I was walking out of the clinic having spent a third of what they were expecting.

We walked out of Burkerefsky's office after 2 hours and the decision had been made we were going home Friday. We went back packed settled up got discharged and went to Moscow for a quick visit. I attached a few pictures of Red Square St Basil's cathedral and the Kremlin It was a rainy day but still we had a nice time. If you ever get the chance to visit Moscow it is an amazing place well worth the trip.

Thanks for all the emails and support. I will be going back and am excited about the possibilities that Neuro Vita has to offer. Give me a call I'm in the office if you want more details I'll be there for the next two weeks. 800-847-1871

JE

The Decision

Sorry for the delay in the latest entry of the blog but it has been a hectic couple of days here in Moscow. As I write this entry it's 10 pm Thursday. I finished my last test Wednesday night and waited until 1o am Thursday to get the final results and meet with the chief of the clinic. The decision has been made to postpone the procedure for 3-6 months at a minimum. I think it's the right decision at this time and when I get home I will give those of you interested the full details on the blog. When we decided today at around 1:30 pm that we were going home we settled accounts, met with the attending physician for discharge papers, contacted Delta to arrange an earlier flight and quickly arranged to get a tour of Red Square St Basil's cathedral and dinner in downtown Moscow.

It's not what was expected but was a good decision one which I am very comfortable with. I will come back to the Neuro Vita clinic as they have had many successes with spinal cord injuries I am confident I will be one of those.

I have some great pictures of the above mentioned sites I will post when I get home as well as the full details of decision. All is well and I am looking forward to hamburgers and cold beer this fourth of July!! Now it's time to pack
JE

The Second Week Begins

Well it's Tuesday in Moscow. The plan today is to take an additional series of tests. The concern still remains that the tumor/growth in my spine could begin to grow from stem cell injections. I think we are getting close to the decision although slowly. The good news is that to date there have been no indications of any abnormalities from any tests done so far. The bad news is that the chief of the clinic still seems to be concerned and he by all appearances has the final say. The final test will be performed Wednesday which then I hope can finally decide weather I continue with stem cell therapy or come home. I'm glad they are so thorough and of course this is the best course of action however it's frustrating that it is taking so long. Sandy came with me for the cat scan today that is what the sign is above says in Russian (I guess). She was able to snap a few pictures of the long halls I travel for various tests. Surprisingly there was no one sitting along the halls as there usually is. The only logical conclusion, they have cured everyone in Russia. I'm in the right place it appears. We went out to the market again today and bought some cheese salad fixings and a bottle of Tuborg green beer not bad stuff. It was about eighty degrees here and sunny at 7 pm a nice day to sit outside and people watch. Wednesday should be it I know I keep saying that but I think we have reached the end of the road regarding additional tests.

JE

A Week

Well it's been 7 days since I touched down in Moscow. Of those seven days 5 have been rained but I hear that's better than back east where they've had 7, so I'm told. Monday there was a flurry of activity in my room. I was visited by 7-8 doctors all speaking in Russian at the same time apparently unhappy with other. Even Sandy commented to me that "they seemed mad at each other" it seems this is the common method of communication and the result is the director has requested additional tests. One of Which was done today which looked at the conductivity of my central nervous system. Imagine for a moment an electrical current running from your toes through your body up to your head for 2 hours. You might say to your self, man that sounds like it might be painful.... you would be correct. The idea evidently is to determine the health of the pathways so that they can target exercise. I am hoping that it is not necessary to retest that one any time soon. I had e stim on my legs, a massage and did some physical therapy. The PT's name is Dimitri affectionately know as Dima the Demon by the patients. Dima must have trained in Greco Roman wrestling before becoming a PT. He picked me up and threw me around like a 2 pound sack of potatoes. He had some interesting exercises and in fact I enjoyed the session. I took a few picture of the entrance to the hospital with a nice fountain out front.Two more tests and then we know.

The Weekend

Sandy arrived Saturday at 12:00 pm from Boston. Total travel time door to door 15 hours. She left Boxford 9:00am for an 11:00 am flight to Kennedy then a four hour wait at Kennedy 9 hours to Moscow and then to the clinic. Throw in a eight hour time difference and it makes for a long trip. She stayed up as long as she could in a bit of a daze and then hit the rack hard I think she's now on Moscow time. We went out shopping at the market next door to the clinic on Sunday. I have attached pictures and will try my best to describe the scene and it is a scene.

The market next door does not appear to be tourist oriented in any way. It is a local supermarket as we would know it. What struck me as odd initially was the armed guards stationed at the entrances, it doesn't make for worry free shopping in my mind. It has a large building in the center then stalls or booths similar to flea markets have been built around the main building in the paved area. Everything you can think of is being sold. I have tried to included pictures of some of the stalls however I was told that most Russians do not like their pictures taken. As a result I took quick snapshots when I thought no one was looking. You can buy shoes,meats,cheeses,fish, home goods, clothing and toiletries just to name a few items. The technique is roll up (in my case literally) point to an item then give the shop keeper a piece of paper and pen to write the price down. This is always met with a shake of our heads no matter what they write and we then write down our price. They intern shake their head and no deal. We usually come back repeat the process and finally we agree to the price. We are now the proud owners of a bag of dried apricots ,wow it seems like a lot of work and Sandy did most of the negotiating! I took the picture of the shoes because believe it or not the women wear that type of shoe day to day. The spiked heel is big in Moscow I have no problem with it. We've been watching movies reading books and generally laying around waiting for Monday and the Doctors decisions. I think they will require more tests so we will see what they say.

Low and slow

JE

Friday

The day started off well with a nice breakfast (sorry to keep mentioning food but it's about all I have to look forward to) some yogurt bread some type of porridge then my MRI. So now we wait for my prior MRI's to arrive and figure out once and for all where we stand. Nothing new to report really a boring day sitting around reading books and surfing the Internet. I will do some PT today which should break up the monotony.

I took a pictures of the two doctors who are handling my case. On the left Andre, they only use their first names for some reason. He is the chief of Neurology and on the right Stanislaw who is the neurologist assigned to me. These guys are hilarious. They come in each morning to explain yesterdays test results and the current days tests. They ask me questions and then always ask if I have any questions. I can't tell but I think they argue with other but am not sure. When all business is done they pepper me with questions about real estate in the US. They want to know how much homes cost what sizes people own if they all have pools etc. Andre asked what the mortgage rates were as Moscow rates range in the 20% range. I told him now was a great time to be a buyer in the US that the government was giving away money to everyone even Russians. Now they both want to move to Oregon yesterday it was Florida go figure. Stanislaw brought me in his favorite movie "There's something about Mary" Ben Stiller is his favorite actor he set up the movie in the lounge and stopped by periodically to tell about the good parts coming up and then would laugh his head off, just to funny.

Aother day down

JE

Pretty slow day today a couple more tests down long strange halls it's like a being in a time machine or in an old Russian movie. I can't get over it it's like I'm in a 60's building with hundreds of people going in and out of doors holding files no talking no smiling it is surreal. I used to think Amercian hospital food was bad well think of the diffrence between prime sirloin and two day old meatloaf wow. Meals consist of some type of soup bread and meat normally boiled it's a lot diffrent that were used to. I had a hard boiled egg for breakfast and I don't know what they feed chickens in Russia but it is clearly diffrent that what we feed chickens, this egg tasted like nothing I have ever eaten before. I attempt to try everything on the plate like I tell my kids you'll never know if you like it unless you try it. I did get outside this afternoon a little cold I'd say 50 degrees but green and nice. Sandy leaves Boston tomorrow and arrives Saturday I am looking forward to her arrival and her impressions on Moscow. I'll post some more pictures tomorrow but getting near bedtime.
JE

United Nations

Well I've begun to meet some of my fellow patients. We sat around the common area last night and it really did feel like I was at the UN. We have people from Croatia, Serbia, Cypress, Greece the US and I believe a Canadian. English really is the universal language and everyone seems to know enough to get the point across. Those that don't get their comments translated by someone else which makes for hectic noisy conversations.

I have heard some crazy stories as you might imagine. The fellow from Croatia was in the Croatian air force and was practicing parachuting. For some reason he lost consciousness and was not able to pull his chute cord in time. He suffered multiple injuries one of which was a broken back. Obviously he lucky he's not dead but he's hoping Neuro Vita helps. I told him he needs more practice parachuting he howled.

Lots of car and motorcycle accidents and the shame of it, 21 years old is the common thread running through most of the stories. All in all very nice folks who are much different than me but who lead very interesting lives. Yahtzee is the game of choice in the evenings so I hope to come back a Yahtzee pro.

Several more test today, what the tests should reveal is if the piece of tumor that remains in my spine has in fact not grown for over 3 years. The concern is if there was any growth during that time period that the stem cells they inject might actually activate and it would begin to grow again. So a few more MRI's and comparisons with old ones should help solve the question. If there is growth end of game and I go home. I don't think there has been any but of course it's always good to be safe.

Some pictures of my room sort of like a single dorm room in college and my Russian Friend Oleg who is helping me navigate my way through this maze. I have also included some pictures of a party last night. The family from Croaita leaves Thursday so they bot pizza beer and vodka and asked the entire floor to come enjoy.

I tried my best!

JE

Day Two

Well life in a hospital is strange enough with unusual words environment and food from our normal course of day, wrap in a Russian hospital Russian phrases and Russian food well you get the idea. This morning I gave a little blood had an electrogram then went for some x rays. This was my first foray outside my floor we went down to the first floor I am on the 4th and traveled down long halls with benches that had conservatively 70 people waiting for tests I guess. I was wheeled right to the front of the line some words were spoken and I was taken right into x ray. I can tell you there were conservatively 70 sets of eyeballs staring at me on the ride back down the hall. As insult to injury the nurse who was pushing me yelling at people in our way ran over several peoples toes that were sitting on the benches of the narrow hallway. I'm sure as a result they love Americans even more than they did.

I have attached some random pictures of buildings seen across the Moscow river on my ride to the clinic yesterday as well as the view from my room. My photography will get better and more interesting .I wish I had been taking pictures of my hallway trip this morning but that might have incited a riot I've met all the Doctors they are professional explaining all the tests and why they are performing them. 2 days down 19 to go

JE

Well an exciting first day for my trip. Sandy drooped me off at Logan airport at 9:30 am for an 11:00 am flight to JFK in New York. I had a 4 hour layover and then a 4:20 pm flight to Moscow. I checked in with customs at the gate and our first problem. My visa had my date of entry as June 15th my flight was to arrive the 14th. My first neyeet of the trip. There was no chance I was getting on that flight. Delta arranged for me to stay at the Ramada Plaza at the airport and I would recommend it to wholesalers if they are having budgeting problems. Since I was staying an extra night I asked for my bag to be pulled from the plane. The second problem they weren't quite sure where the bag was. It was checked on in Boston but could not be found on the plane or at JFK. They said it was quite possible it was on the plane and would end up in Moscow.

A meal a nights sleep and back to the airport to wrestle with Delta Baggage Claim. My question a simple, one where is my bag? Well we're not sure give us a hour and we'll see what we can find out. The good news I hear from behind the counter is we found your bag and it's in Moscow. Great would you ask them to hold it and not send it back until I get there? That was meet with blank stares again I said I would like to pick that bag up in Moscow when I get there tomorrow. Consultation looking at computer screens general chatter phone calls paperwork and then yes it should be there when you get in.... I am not feeling confident that I will ever see my bag again.

In any event I great flight to Russia nice meal, nice seatmate and a nice nap before arriving in Moscow on time. Then Oleg the Russian business partner of my friend in the states meets me at baggage claim.Oleg one small problem, my bags arrived here yesterday so I'm told, where do we go to claim them? Ahh follow me back into the bowels of the Moscow airport to fill out numerous documents answer questions generally stand around ( no different than our country)
Due in large part to Oleg bags appear and no ransom has to be paid a win. We took a car to Neurovita passing by the Kremlin and the KGB buildings. Moscow is a large city 9 million occupants and lots of traffic. It looks similar to the northeast but is at a much higher latitude close to Galloway Ireland I will attempt to download some pictures on the next post.
All is well I've had a nice meal I have already met some Americans here at the clinic and am looking forward to a good rest

Let the games begin

JE

testing new blog