It seems as if the forces of nature are somehow trying to
prevent me from completing a post, I've been trying to post an update since the
day after arrival. The first obstacle to overcome was the power difference
between Thailand and US. Then I spent 2 hours 2 days ago writing a post, I
saved it to come back to proof read before publishing, when I came back, it was
gone. I spent a lot of time yesterday trying to recover the lost data to no
avail so started writing a new post. I had to take a break to take Jerry to
therapy so I carefully saved it, I came back to find it was gone again,
really???? What the monkey??? So here I am again, let's hope third times a
charm....this time I am writing in word and will paste and publish at the same
time.
The electrical differences proved to be more of a challenge
than I anticipated. Thailand electric receptacles are 220 volts as opposed to
the US's 110 volts, which requires a converter to avoid damaging equipment. The
hospital here does not generally provide a converter however they did have one
left from a previous patient they let me barrow. The converter only has one
plug so Jerry and I had to keep switching back and forth to power our laptops.
The converter kept overheating so I went on a mission to find another. I walked
a few blocks to the mall, got lost a few times but finally managed to buy
another converter and make my way back to the hospital, only to find the new
converter also over heats. After much research I figured out that the laptop
drew too much amperage for the small converter however the power supply for the
laptop is capable of handling 110 to 240 volts. So after all that hassle it turns out we can plug our computers
directly into the wall....whew obstacle overcome.
The journey to Thailand was quiet the adventure, we arrived
at SFO 3 hours early fully expecting that it would take at least an hour to an
hour and a half to get through security. Upon arrival I had assistance curbside
to transport all the luggage to baggage check. I had made arrangements with the
airline a week prior to departure to have an assistant at every airport to help
with whatever I needed from transporting bags, to transferring Jerry onto
plane, to disassembling the wheelchair and getting stowed to cargo. SFO fell
short and was a bit of a disappointment in the assistance program. They will assist
if you rely on them for a wheelchair, if you have your own wheelchair they will
not assist you to the gate, go figure. It was a small challenge for me to drive
Jerry's wheelchair and manage 3 carry-on's but I managed to still get to the
gate an hour early. Getting through security went very smooth, the process was
much easier than the last time we flew. Once we got to the gate I had plenty of
help to load Jerry onto the plane, disassemble and bag the wheelchair parts.
Jerry was so excited with his seat, first class far
surpassed my expectations. Jerry was able to stretch out completely and
recline, it was almost as comfortable for him as being at home. I had plenty of
space to get in the seat with Jerry periodically to stretch and manipulate his
legs. Jerry was like a kid in a candy store having his own TV with hundreds of
movies to choose from including new releases. He watched 4 movies and pretty
much stayed awake most of the time.
Jerry's very own command center
The food on the plane was absolutely
fabulous, there was a constant flow of food, snacks and beverages. I think we
both may have gained 10 lbs on the flight, lol.....it was to good to resist, I
felt as if I were about to bust at the seams at any moment pretty much the
entire flight....just because you can doesn't mean you should, lol. Here's just
a sampling of the delicious food served in first class....
h'orderves...sushi
delicious salad with fresh mozzarella and greek olives
filet mignon, potatoes, asparagus
gourmet cheese, grapes, wine and ice cream with caramel sauce
cheese omelet with ham and saucage
curried chicken and rice
The transition in Tokyo was so smooth and easy, the staff in
Japan were so AMAZING! I had about 8 people helping me with bags, transferring
Jerry, getting the wheelchair from cargo, I had 2 people to escort us to the
VIP lounge which by the way is pretty cool, free buffet and bar, we were too full
to partake, but cool none the less. Two people came to the VIP lounge to escort
and help us at the gate, it was so great and stress free, SFO needs to take
lessons. We touched down in Thailand about 11pm on July 1st, I felt such a
sense of relief, all our efforts paid off, we were finally here. I was so grateful
that everything had gone so smoothly. As we prepared to transfer Jerry off the
plane the wheelchair was being retrieved from cargo. We were informed the chair
was ready we could bring Jerry out, I transferred Jerry into the isle wheelchair
and it took 3 of us to roll him off the plane. You have no idea the shock and
disbelief I felt when I saw this...
The airline had destroyed Jerry's $35,000 wheelchair, how
did this happen? ...how was this even possible? I stood there for what seemed
like forever, my mouth open, my hands on my head, I couldn't speak, I just
stared at it. There were about 15 cleaning crew waiting for us to get out of
the way so they could board and clean the plane, there were about 6 people who
brought the chair up from cargo, there were about 10 airline attendants waiting
to get off the plane and a supervisor that had been sent to assist me. Everybody
was silent, looking at the chair and then looking at me, so many thoughts
running through my head in a split second but it felt like slow motion. The
feeling of fear was overwhelming wondering how I will manage without a
wheelchair. I began to shake as tears welled up and then I lost control and unleashed a fury that I'm not proud of, I'm sure
to all the non English speaking staff I looked like a raving lunatic. Nobody
offered an explanation, an alternative, a game plan, nothing ...everybody just
sat silent and absorbed the tongue lashing. It took a minute for me to come to
my senses, calm down and formulate a game plan. I requested an airport
wheelchair to transfer Jerry into, I had someone go to baggage claim and get my
bags, I sent someone out to look for the hospital van to explain to them what
had happened. I requested maintenance to bring tools to try to fix the chair.
The wheelchair that Jerry was forced to sit in was not designed for a quadriplegic,
no tilt or recline, no head rest, no straps to even hold him up or prevent him
from falling out of the chair, he was too tall so his legs would not stay on
the foot rests, it was a mess. After 30 minutes of trying to fix Jerry's chair
I realized we just need to get Jerry out of the crappy chair he was in, he
cannot hold his head up so we had to hold his head for him. It was beginning to
cause him a lot of pain so I knew it was time to go, forget the repairs to his
chair, just get him to the hospital and worry about the chair later, I had an entourage
of people assist me to the van. By the time we reached the hospital and got
settled into bed it was 2 am, not sleeping much on the plane we both were exhausted
and ready to sleep. We got about 5 hours sleep then it was time to start the
day, breakfast then blood work and an assessment by the doctor. Next was an
assessment for occupational therapy then lunch, after lunch was a physical
therapy assessment. By 3 pm we were done for the day. The hospital maintenance
man brought tools and supplies to our room and helped to get Jerry's wheelchair
fixed, praise God his wheelchair is now back in operation.
I needed to go to
the mall to get some food supplies for our room so I arranged for the hospital
van to take us. The mall is walking distance however the walk is not wheelchair
accessible the sidewalks are very bad if any at all so unfortunately we will not be able to walk
the neighborhood to explore. We were given 2 hours to get our shopping done
before the van returned to pick us up. We unloaded went through several
obstacles just to get into the mall, it sure makes you appreciate the ADA compliancy of the US. Once in the mall Jerry's chair malfunctioned resulting in
the joy stick operations program being completely erased, I don't know if this
was a result of the trauma the chair experienced at the airport or what, I just
knew that now the chair was non-operational and yet again I was faced with a
situation. Thank God I thought to bring the programmer to Thailand however it was not going to do me any good at the moment it was back at the hospital. I'm thankful to be blessed with the gift of problem solving, it
comes in handy, lol. The only alternative was to push the chair manually which
is doable but with Jerry in it, it does weigh almost 550 lbs. I managed but boy
was I tired after pushing that chair around for 2 hours. Jerry was not happy
with all the obstacles we faced and vowed he will not leave the hospital again, we need to work on his patience and tolerance.
The hope that we will be able to do some site-seeing on Sundays is slowly
diminishing. The hospital customer coordinator said the train is not accessible
in this area because you have to climb several flights of stairs to get to it
and there are no elevators. There are no taxi or handicap accessible vehicles
to transport Jerry, only the hospital van which is likely not an option, I put
in a request we will see what happens. I'm a little sad to think our first time
overseas and we are confined to the
hospital. :(
I forgot to mention our room is awesome... big bedroom with
two queen beds, nice bathroom with roll-in shower, a living room/ kitchenette.
Wednesday was Jerry's first day with a full schedule
starting with breakfast at 8am. The therapies all last an hour each with the first
therapy OT starting at 9, then acupuncture at 10, break for lunch and
hyperbaric chamber at 1 ending with PT (physical therapy) at 2:30. The hyperbaric
chamber is a new therapy that was just added to the hospital. Jerry was the
first patient to use it, so it was a very big deal for everyone here, it was so
cute, all the staff were taking pictures and so happy, everybody
was getting in the pictures and there was at least 10 camera's, every picture
had to be snapped with every camera, lol. I need to do a little research and
learn a little more about the benefits of the hyperbaric chamber, I'll let you
know when I've learned a little more about it.
Jerry received his first
injection of stem cells at 7 pm Wednesday evening, which were administered by
IV. The most common adverse reactions are head ache and fever and luckily
Jerry didn't experience either. We waited so long and worked so hard for this moment, I hope and pray it will improve the quality of Jerry's life.
Friday Jerry had aquatic therapy at 9 am, it was nice for
him to get in the pool. I need to find out a little more about the pool I think
the water is specially treated with minerals or something, the nurse was trying
to explain but it was very difficult to understand. Jerry had hyperbaric
treatment at 1, PT at 2:00 and acupuncture at 3. Jerry is done for the day and
resting in bed, he's pretty exhausted. So far Jerry is very excited about all the
treatment he's getting and his hopes and spirits are high.
All for now
Katie
