Doctor's Visit on Nov. 17, 2009

I realize that I am a little delayed in posting this - perhaps because there was not much to report.

Skeet's first doctor's visit was just 13 days after the implantation. Basically the neurologist stated that there were no positive changes ("yet" - my words, not his). It was noted, however, that when Skeet's blood pressure dropped upon standing, it did recover a bit more quickly than previously.

Skeeter did not seem to suffer from the muscle aches and pains that were experienced by both Steve and Eddie following their return trip home. I am not sure if this can be attributed to the fact that Skeet and family traveled very lightly. Because they were stand-by both ways, they all just took carry-on bags; therefore, no big luggage to haul around. HOWEVER, after returning home, Skeet was extremely fatigued. In the words of our sister, "The bad thing is the extreme exhaustion Skeeter feels. He just is not recovering from the trip."

I also think that Skeet may be suffering from some depression at this point in time. He seems to be angry, frustrated, impatient; almost as though he expected things to improve immediately. (He may be upset with me for posting this but I feel that I must for anyone else who is following his progress. You just never know if others may experience the same feelings and, perhaps, come to realize that it may be a normal part of the whole process.) I do know that he was very excited to read Steve's most recent post in which he was aware of some improvement - 2-1/2 months after his procedure. Along with this, I tried to encourage Skeet to remain optimistic and patient and to let the miracle stem cells have a chance to grow and do their thing.

And there is something that I have noticed that is a huge source of encouragement for me. Skeet and I have "talked" solely through e-mail and/or text messaging. Prior to the stem cell treatment, I could barely make out what he was trying to say - words were greatly misspelled and/or just a bunch of extra letters in almost every word. The last 2 or 3 messages from him have been greatly improved and I was able to read them quickly and easily. I pointed this out to him and his response was that he just took the time to take out the extra letters - I feel that he may be regaining some of his brain-to-muscle memory and am very thankful for even this minor improvement.

I, personally had a question as to whether all 6 million stem cells were actually implanted which Skeet did not know for certain. So I am going to contact the XCell Center and will report back with their response.