We have had a few issues replying to our yahoo e-mail so we have started this hotmail account to try to keep you all updated as much as we possibly can. Rylea and I arrived here in Shanghai, China on Sunday, July 1, 2007. We traveled 3 hours by car to a town called Hangzhou to the hotel where we will be staying for the duration of our trip. Immediately, we knew life would be a bit more challenging than back at home in the US but nothing that we can't handle with God by our side through this incredible journey. Monday we walked to the hospital, which is about 4 blocks from our hotel, where we had Rylea's initial evaluation by the head doctor (Dr. Mike) and other staff. Everyone fell in love with Rylea and immediately started calling her Princess and Barbie. We filled them in with all vital information regarding her diagnosis of Optic Nerve Hypoplasia and the fact that she is very small for her age due to a growth hormone deficiency. We spent a few hours at the hospital before returning to the hotel to try to get a little more settled in and try to get some sleep in order to adjust our bodies to "China Time". Tuesday morning we had to be at the hospital at 8:30am for some blood work and so they could run a few other tests to make sure she was healthy enough for her to receive the first of four stem cell transplants on Wednesday. All went very well as far as her health, no fever, and blood work came back completely normal. We also had an evaluation with the Physical Therapist who will be assisting with the therapy Rylea will receive while she is here. We spent most of the day talking with various members of the hospital staff. We returned Wednesday morning between 8:30 & 9:00 am so Dr. Mike could check her out as he does every morning & waited around trying to get a schedule of her treatments and therapies until about 11:00 am. We went back to our hotel for a couple of hours and walked back to the hospital in time for her stem cell transplant that was scheduled between 3:00 & 3:30 pm. We went in around 3:30, the nurses had a difficult time trying to get the IV in her little veins but after trying both hands they were finally successful with her foot. The infusion lasted a maximum of 30 minutes (not too bad for receiving over 10 million stem cells) and after removing the IV Rylea bounced right up putting her shoes and socks on and going to find a snack. We had to spend the night in the hospital as we will have to do following all 4 of the transplants in order for the doctors and nurses to watch her for any of the possible side effects such as fever. Rylea did great with no signs of any problems. Thursday morning she started her therapies beginning with acupuncture. Wow, what a sight that is! She literally walked around the hospital for 30 minutes with 7 needles sticking out of her head. She followed the acupuncture with Chinese massage, then a little physical and occupational therapy. Very busy day for my little Angel!!! We received a call after returning to the hotel Thursday afternoon that Dr. Mike had found an eye clinic that he wants to take her to Friday morning where an eye specialist there will do an exam.

It is now Friday morning here and we are up getting ready for them to pick us up to head out to that appointment at 8:30 am. We have had many very encouraging moments since we arrived a few I'll share are the fact that there is a little 8 year old girl here from Romania who when she arrived could see no more than 6 cm from her eyes with no independence as far as using the bathroom, drinking from a cup, etc. She has been here for about a month now and is seeing clearly up to 2 meters and walking through the halls, drinking from a cup and using the bathroom independently. VERY encouraging, however, we have to keep in mind that this little girl did have some, although very little, vision when she arrived. But gives us a great deal of hope to go on. Not that our faith alone isn't giving us an unimaginable drive. The other big sign for us was a sign that I believe came from no one other than God. As many of you are aware we have had a motto for this journey that is, "Let's Help Rylea See A Brighter Future". Immediately following the first stem cell transplant as I was standing out in the hall, on the wall there was a sign that said, "Everyone deserves a brighter future!" that was a definite mommy and God moment. And if you know me at all I know this might be hard to imagine (or not...LOL) but I just began sobbing but it was by all means a happy and comforting cry, confirmation yet again that we are on this journey for sight alone!

Thank you all for your prayers and support. We ask that you do continue to pray us through the next 24 days and safely home on July 30. Now that I have this e-mail set up please feel free to write to us and we will try our best to keep mass updates going out on a regular basis.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

7-6-07
We went into Hangzhou city to an eye clinic where the doctors wanted Rylea to have an eye exam...pretty much a waste of our time since they did very little examining since it was obvious she was blind. Very similar to our experiences in the US except when we go to Dr. Larry Brothers' office where he is always eager to do whatever he can to check her out thoroughly.

7-7-07
It is Saturday so we didn't have a Dr. visit or therapy so Rylea and I ventured out to the Supermarket...ALONE! The smell is something I wouldn't want to describe even if I thought it was possible...UGH! We bought some fruit, juice, and the rest was pretty much junk but it was in packages that we recognized, for example...Oreos, Chips Ahoy, Kit-Kat and so on. We tried to go to the hotel restaurant but there was nothing there that Rylea would have given the time of day so we ended up eating at KFC.

7-8-07
Got up and around early to be at the hospital by 8:30 am for a trip to Wooshon Square (sp?) and West Lake for the day. Possibly the hottest day I have ever experienced bit we were troopers and got in a little shopping on Traditional Street. Bargaining was quite different but we caught on pretty fast. Bought my girls adorable little silk dresses and perhaps a few other things too! We ate lunch at Papa Johns which was like a fancy restaurant here. Rylea ate a whole order of breadsticks but she has been eating like there is no tomorrow since her first stem cell transplant...what a welcome change!!! West Lake was nice but really a bit too hot to fully enjoy.

7-9-07
1st Spinal Stem Cell Transplant~ They put an IV in her hand and I carried her down from the 20th to the 3rd flor where they do the procedures. Once down there the Anesthesiologist gave her the meds to all but put her out. She sounded like she was falling from a really tall building, quite a sight! About 20 minutes later they brought her back up to the 20th floor where I was waiting for her and she was FURIOUS! Screamed and threw a fit for about an hour and a half. She was supposed to lie flat and be still for 6 hours following the procedure to avoid a headache &/or upset stomach but we weren't real successful. She kept screaming, "Mommy please save me from the nurses please rescue me! I love you more than I love them!" They gave her some Valium to try to help her relax but of course she fought it off. The beds in the hospital are much like our box springs back home so not a real comfortable night.

7-10-07
As expected Ry had a pretty bad headache but she was a trooper! We went into downtown Hangzhou with our buddy Zack (Triple Z is what Rylea calls him) this evening to find a Mexican restaurant...A car load of Americans in China looking for a Mexican restaurant...a little different but it was fun and the food was pretty good too!

7-11-07
A break through kind of day!...We arrived at the hospital as usual today between 8:30 & 9:00 to see the doctors and to do therapy. When Dr. Mike did her eye eval today (shining the pen light in her eyes) she would close her eye and turn away from him each time. They were in complete shock but congratulated me on the awesome sign of light sensitivity. All along I have said that even if that was all we achieved it would be worth it and now one week after her first transplant we are already seeing changes...What a miracle!

7-13-07
Yesterday was just a normal day nothing new to mention. Today we talked to Dr. Mike about increasing her acupuncture to add the other 3 needles that focus on vision...in her forehead. Martin, the therapist who does acupuncture was heart broken to have to do it but did it gracefully as usual. She is now up to 10 needles that protrude from her head daily for about 30 minutes. This evening we went back into downtown Hangzhou to go to Hooters for dinner (for the wings of course), all of the food was familiar and that was wonderful! We walked to Traditional Street after dinner and Rylea got some little china dolls to play with...WooHoo!

7-14-07
Grace took us into the city today after our hospital visit to go purse shopping, eat at Papa Johns, and to buy some Jade. We had a lot of fun but we were worn out from all of the walking and it was a bit on the warm side!!!

7-15-07
Our day off! We hung out in the hotel most of the day. We met Triple Z near his apartment and walked to the big 5 star hotel for dinner and to go swimming. Rylea has been dying to swim since we got here so she was pretty happy! She ate a ton for dinner...gotta love that! She also had a blast swimming with mommy and Zack. He has been a huge help with his ability to speak both English & Chinese...and his English is perfect w/o a Chinese accent to speak of. And, he is great with all of the kiddos here.

7-16-07
BIG, BIG Day!!! Woke up this morning thinking Rylea was going to have a transplant only to find out when we got to the hospital that it is actually tomorrow. So we went back to the hotel after our morning routine. This is when our next miracle took place...Rylea walked up to the TV so close her nose was touching the screen and she was watching the bright colors of the animated movie I had put in for her...Praise the Lord! She said all along that when she could see she wanted to watch TV and I know now how serious she was!

7-17-07
3rd Stem Cell Transplant (Spinal Infusion) What a brave little girl I have! She got the IV without a word other than to say they were a lot nicer than Martin he pokes me 10 times they only poked once. I once again carried her down to the 3rd floor for the procedure and waited for her to return about 25 minutes later. This time coming off of the elevator she was awake but laid there waiting for me to pick her up and carry her into our room where we sleep at the hospital. Never even cried for this one...Whew! BUT....She did count down the entire 4 hrs til she could eat. I have to laugh because before I would have spent 4 hrs trying to convince her to eat something, ANYTHING!

7-19-07
Today during her Dr. visit they suggested we schedule an additional IV infusion along with the spinal that is already scheduled for next week. I'm going to discuss this with Dr. Mike in the morning but we might as well get all that w can while we are here and if they feel there is enough of a chance for this to improve her sight who am I to say otherwise?!?