Progress

The above picture is of a sign for the construction going on all around Delhi for the Commonwealth Games. It applies to Gavin too.
Yesterday we went on another crazy adventure to get a SPECT scan on Gavin's brain. After some uncomfortable injections and a lot of waiting, the test results showed most of the lesions on his brain have shrunk!!!!!! Only a small part of his brain is affected now, where before it was most of his brain. We were both so excited to hear the results. We knew he was feeling better but it's a whole other feeling when you have documented evidence on paper saying you are recovering! It was an amazing day and Gavin has been all smiles. It's only going to get better.

Today he has two physiotherapy appointments so he should be standing longer and getting much stronger. He's doing great and looking even better!

Epidural Procedure

Yesterday, we headed to Guantam Nagar which is the other hospital, for an epidural procedure. He had to lay still on his back for 5 hours after the procedure so we had a lot of time to talk about nothing. We had a great time and Gavin did amazing. He said he could feel the cells working in his feet, legs, thighs and lots of pressure in his brain. Heavy doses of stem cells tend to make him a little delirious so, as always, he was talking nonsense and I was overly amused. At one point he thought I was Dog the Bounty Hunter trying to straighten out his legs. I was flattered.

The picture above is of the gentlemen getting him ready for the Operation Theatre (which may be the best name. I'm thinking about starting a band called that.) The doctors are all barefoot while they preform the surgeries. Kind of bizarre.

There is a pig slaughterhouse and a schoolyard right next to the hospital which I found to be interesting. In such a close proximity there was so much death and so much life happening. This hospital giving people hope & life with stem cells and a schoolyard with children playing & laughing while these poor little piggies are being killed. No one seemed to think it was as weird as me. Maybe I had too much time to think about it.

Gavin was so happy to see the girls who took care of him the last two times he came to India. They all live at Gauntam Nagar and mostly work over there as well. They absolutely love him and were so excited to see him again.

Today he was a little tired but still managed to stand for 5 minutes total in the parallel bars. So awesome!!! He's still having trouble getting adjusted to the time change so his energy during the day isn't quite 100%. There was a lovely thunder & lightning storm around 4:30am so he at least had something to enjoy while he laid in bed.

All in all, things are going very well. I can see him getting stronger by the day and his skin & eyes are incredibly bright. So much life! It's only going to get better.

Today Gavin had Physiotherapy and stood for a few minutes on his own. He is definitely getting stronger but is still fatigued from jet lag. As soon as he starts sleeping through the night he will have a lot more energy and strength.

After physio he received an IV of stem cells straight to the blood stream. He's feeling great but very tired from the cells working overtime in his body. It's a beautiful thing to watch his body repairing itself in before my eyes.

Yesterday was Sunday so Gavin had the day off. We took a stroll into town and hung out with the dogs and did some grocery shopping. We also went to Deer Park and to some beautiful ruins that are down the street from the hospital. Beautiful.

Feeling good!

Gavin with his new mustache. He fits in perfect with the rest of the men.

Standing tall!

Gav standing in his calipers. It's amazing how tall he is compared to the staff. And most of India.

Another beautiful day at Nu Tech

Here's a video of Gavin in Physiotherapy. Vishnu is the kind gentleman who is manhandling him. They are all extremely nice but a bit rough. Gavin is such a good sport, he doesn't mind at all unless they completely drop him. Even then he doesn't really mind.

Gav stood for about 5 minutes in the parallel bars after this video was taken. I accidentally took the video sideways so I'll post another one tomorrow.

Love,

G & K