Hi there,

Tori has successfully completed her first week here at the Xiaoshan Hospital in Hangzhou, China!! Only three more weeks left at this point and we'll probably start to count the days as we are really beginning to miss Whitney, Brendan, Grandpa Paul, Grandma Sandy and our dog, Tinker's the Yorkie... Even though we speak with them and see them through Skype video phone conferencing multiple times per day, it's just not quite enough. We also have a camera set up at home so we can watch all of the activity in the family room and kitchen. Grandma?? We have noticed Brendan sneaking into the fridge for snacks quite often - you are so busted buddy!! ;-)

Alright, now on to Tori who is making great improvements on the PT (Physical Therapy) front. In watching James aggressively massage and stretch Tori for an hour and half each day I realize that we have not done nearly enough for Tori in this area... The flexibility improvements we have seen in Tori's arms, wrists, fingers, knees and ankles have been very impressive and that is only after a week's worth of effort by James who we might just try to sneak out of the country and take home with us. Just kidding on that one but boy do I wish!! :-) Maria and I are admittedly far too passive when we perform PT on Tori because it's very hard for us to cause her the pain that is needed for progression and it unfortunately shows in the deterioration of Tori's body... We are truly sorry Tori. It is certainly not an issue for James though who clearly knows how to push her to the pain threshold then ease nicely back again. Tori often grimaces and at times will cry out at the top of her lungs!! We tell Tori she can hit James whenever she wishes and I swear at times that right arm is headed his way but it needs a little more control and velocity to be effective :-) James mentioned that Tori and Michael, who was just here as well, are the only two that have made him really sweat during a PT session because each of them is so strong and it takes great effort to move various parts of their bodies. James will also be rearranging Tori's PT schedule next week so he can have even more time with her. Thank you James.

Tori relaxed and lying on her side while getting another awesome massage from James!! :-)

Tori holding her new monkey while in her Cheeky Monkey shirt :-)

For now, Tori says "Hello" by touching her thumb to anyone else's close by. We're hoping for her to actually say "Hello" in the very near future.

Here is an actual image of the primary reason we are in Hangzhou, China. This is Tori's first IV dose of Umbilical Stem Cells and Nerve Growth Factor. There are close to 5 million Stem Cells pictured here and the other 5 million went into Tori's spinal canal.

Tori watching movies after her Stem Cell Treatment. She had to remain flat on her back for a minimum of 6 hours so we rigged the DVD player so she would be entertained :-)

Hello again,

During Tuesday Tori had more PT (Physical Therapy), Acupuncture and EMS (Electronic Muscle Stimulation) and at 4:45pm Wednesday afternoon, she went into a sterile surgical room for her first stem cell treatment. It went very smoothly as Tori was given some Valium once she entered the room and the procedure was done after about 45 minutes. She then had to lie flat on her back for at least 6 hours and to accomplish this we positioned her DVD player right above her so she watched movies while looking up towards the ceiling :-)

Now that Tori has officially received her first stem cells and NGF (Nerve Growth Factor) via intrathecal injection into the spinal canal and intravenously as well, I believe it is time for some biological and scientific detail on exactly what she is receiving. Below is an accurate summary and you can select the hyperlinked words for additional detail on them. In highly over simplified terms, we are attempting to build new brain matter in Tori to replace the damaged or dead brain matter that currently exists so that overall, Tori will have more brain matter to work and heal with.

Tori has received Umbilical Cord Stem Cells known as CD34+, CD133 and Mesenchymal stem cells. CD34+ and CD133 have been shown in numerous studies to be prone towards becoming white matter which is what neural stem cells and myelin are made of. Mesenchymals have been found to be inclined to be become numerous types of cells including but not limited to chondrocytes (a type of cell critical to tissue renewal particularly cartilage), liver cells, Kidney and neurons. Lab tests have also indicated that when Mesenchymal stem cells are combined with other cells such as CD34+ and CD133 they will boost the process of the transformation of other types of stem cells into becoming what they already have a tendency for such as white matter. These Mesenchymals also appear to be able to conduct repairs in relation to vascular disorders within the brain, ocular areas and throughout the body including but not limited to the heart, Kidney and pancreas.

At one time after her injury, we had Tori sitting up by herself. We want to return to that once more.

This one went much better than the first with the help of a little Xanax beforehand :-)

Tori's first round of acupuncture didn't go very smoothly... :-(