Panama Canal & agenda for tomorrow (Friday)...

Hello everyone,

On my day off, Mom and I went to the Panama Canal today. To say the least, it was very interesting. There is sure a lot of history behind it that I had no clue about. The pictures from the Panama Canal are below. We saw a ship passing through the canal as we were getting ready to leave. That was an awesome and amazing site to see. While the ship was passing, we got to see where the crew stays on the ship while they are working. It is just absolutely unreal. Take a good look at the pictures that are below.

Tomorrow is going to be my first injection of stem cells. They are going to inject them through the spine. The injection should take about 35 minutes. I will post a short video of the procedure tomorrow.

Until tomorrow, so long everybody!



The ship they used to dig up the rocks when they were building the canal

The Panama CanalShip Passing through the Panama CanalAnother picture of the Panama Canal

Where the crew on the ship stay while onboardThe canal administration building

Bone Marrow Extraction Procedure!

Hello everyone,


Yesterday, I had the bone marrow extraction procedure done. At first, I was a bit nervous because I did not know how sterile the practice and the hospital was but suprisingly enough, the hospital was very sterile and they took very good care of before and during the surgery. I was in the operating room for about 30 minutes. After the procedure, they took me to a recovery room where I was in there for around another 30 minutes. Then, I got to go home. I thought I was going to be in pain after the procedure, but oddly enough, I am not. I am not the least one bit sore. I am able to move around and function normally like I would on an everyday basis. The procedure overall went very well, and I have no complaints.

Today and tomorrow, I have nothing to do stem cell procedure wise, so Mom wants to go to the Panama Canal one of those days if I feel up to going. If we do end up going, I will post pictures up on the blog for everyone to see. If not, you will probably not be seeing me blog until Thursday night to let everyone know what they are going to do Friday (which is the first day of the stem cell injection which is going to be through my spine). The reason I have off today and tomorrow is because The Stem Cell Institute has to seperate my stem cells from bone marrow then, they will mix it with my blood.

The videos of today's procedure (the bone marrow extraction) can be viewed below. Beware the videos may be a little graphic. Until next time, so long!

On to the bone marrow extraction...

Hello All,
Tomorrow morning at about 11:00 AM Central Standard Time, the Stem Cell Institute in Panama City is going to take me into surgery to take my extract my bone marrow for the harvesting of my stem cells. The procedure will only take about five minutes, but they are going to put me to sleep. Today, the doctors said I will only be asleep for about 20 minutes. Then, once I wake up, they are going to keep me in a recovery room for about one hour. After that, I will be able to go back to my hotel room. That pretty much sums up what they are going to do tomorrow. I am sure I will be sore after the procedure, who knows. But one thing is for sure, I will update everyone as to how I am doing tomorrow.

Also, check back on my blog tomorrow as the doctor's assistant will be videotaping the procedure tomorrow for me so I can post it on here. So be sure to check back here tomorrow to see the procedure. That is it for now.

Goodbye and good night everyone!

The day before the procedure starts...

Hello everyone,
We arrived in Panama City (south of Corpus Christi in Central America) earlier this afternoon. To say the least, it has been a culture shock for me. Citizens down here barely speak any english, so with that being said, I do not know how I am going to get through the next 12 days. But, one good thing is, they have a few American Restaurants here. We just got through eating at Tony Romas. It was very, very good. The coming days will be very interesting.

Now on to what is on the agenda for tomorrow.

The Stem Cell Institute is going to take blood work and evaluate me. That is the only thing they are going to do tomorrow. Now, Tuesday is a different story. On that day, they are going harvest my bone marrow for the stem cells.

That is all I have for now. I miss all my family and friends already and can't wait to see everyone when I get back. Check back for more updates. Hope everyone is doing superb!

Seven Days Out!

Hello everyone,
I created this blog to let my family and friends know how I am doing while I am in Panama getting this life changing procedure done. I have talked to a local businessman that had it done for his arthritis in his hand, and after two weeks of injections, he does not have arthritis anymore. So with that being said, I hope I have the same fate. I know it is not a cure for my ceberal palsy, I am just hoping that I will be able to walk without canes (or with one cane) after the procedure.

I will be there for a total of two weeks (July 18th-July 30th). I will let everyone know how I am doing and what all they are doing procedure wise along the way so be sure and check back on this website. Thanks!