First Day! (Translation of Maiken's post)

The sun is shining into the room and we are still sleeping even though it is time for Tobin's first appointment: blood test. Rob takes off with Tobin and in a short time Tobin's screaming can be heard throughout the entire twentieth floor. As a worried mother I rush into the room and find four excited nurses, a sweaty father, and a fighting baby against the hands that are trying to hold him. In the end, all head off to the children's ward for more expert hands. All the hospital employee's are very sweet to Tobin. From afar the nurses start calling "Bebiii! Bebiii!" and he is then cuddled and kissed (like everywhere in the world). On the street he draws the attention of young and old alike, Bike riders stop and turn around to come have a look and Tobin laughs and kicks at each one. I think I like this land and its people!

And now back to the important info. Our day goes on with questions from doctor "Mary" and we had another examination with the physical therapist scheduled but I had it postponed until tomorrow. Generally we are happy with our situation, but the amount of information we received before our arrival leaves something to be desired. We would like to provide now some information for others who may be coming to Hangzhou for stem cell therapy: Beike Switzerland, our European contact with the hospital, either withheld information, answered us falsely, or completely left things out. They didn't tell us certain things about our stay and our possibilities in the hospital, like if you pay more money you can have a bigger, "VIP" room, that all bed sheets are included and washed twice a week, and that twice a day the "translators" come and can order food for you, including McDonalds and KFC, which you then have to pay for upon delivery. And concerning the treatment, Doctor Mary let us know that after the first two infusions, Tobin will be evaluated to see how many further shot he should receive, and we are not set at a fixed four shots.

On our floor, which is only for foriegners recieving stem cell treatment, there are three other babies. We are already in contact with one mother who is here with her husband and their one and a half month old baby Christopher. This is their second time here and they are satisfied with the results. Their son also has cerebral palsy and has shown improvements like open hands and relaxed muscles. This time it seems he is making progress with his speech development. There are also many adult patients from all over the world: India, Canada, England, Scotland, Italy, Hungary, Romania, American, and Tobin who is the first patient from Germany in this hospital. The atmosphere here is very warm and familial, and you wouldn't notice it was a hospital at all if it wasn't for the ton of nurses running around.

Now something about our host city: here are the GPS coordinates for all you Google Earth nerds: 11'10.89"N 120°16'29.06"E. The hospital is not, as we hoped, close to the Marco Polo admired West Lake, but in a huge part of town where blinking advertisements, skyscrapers, and housing projects dominate. Luckily taxis are dirt cheap!

Our next important appointment is the first stem cell infusion at 2:30pm on Monday! Cross your fingers for us!