Back in Edmonton

That week went by way too fast! We are back in Edmonton now, and thankfully, we seem to have brought the warm weather with us.

Kimberly and I would like to thank everyone for their warm wishes this week. To this point, we have not seen the dramatic improvements we saw in India last August. However, oddly enough, her vision has improved! She had to make an Optometrist appointment to have her prescription changed. We are still hopeful that we will see other improvements over time. Part of the issue is that many muscles she has not used in months (or years) need to be retrained, even if the nervous impulses to them have improved.

Many people have asked what clinic we had the procedure performed at. This work was done at the Synergy Health Concepts facility in Costa Mesa, California (http://www.synergyhealthconcepts.com/). They are a very professional group. One of their doctors, Dr. Josheph Hewett, was in Edmonton several weeks ago to discuss their services in more detail. You can view that series of videos at http://www.youtube.com/ccsviedmonton.

L.A. Freeways

People who complain about the Henday or Whitemud traffic have nothing to complain about. We spent about 2 hours on the freeways here today. Miles and miles of concrete, 12 lanes wide, at 65 mph! It amazes me that there are not more accidents.
We spent the better part of the day at Universal Studios. Being a Friday, the place was quiet, and we never really stood in line long. Our favourite was the Simpsons ride. Too funny.
I must say that Kimberly did very well today. Was she weak? Yes, but she walked easily twice as far as Wednesday; and she is still awake now!
Just one more day in Sunny California. I think we will take it easy tomorrow with a little shopping.

Sidetrip to San Diego

We started the day by heading to the beach! It was much cooler today. It was only 65F (18C) when we got to the water, and there was quite a bit of fog rolling in from the ocean. We visited Crystal Cove State Park. It was once a private cabin community, but was donated to the State in 1979. All the cabins are being restored. After a few hours, the sun finally broke through, and we now see tonight that we managed to get a bit of a sunburn. We even saw some dolphins jumping out of the water! (and hundreds of pelicans).
After a nice picnic on a seaside table, we headed off south. We stopped for a quick snack just south of Carlsbad, and were impressed by the miles of beautiful beaches (and surfers).
We finally made it through San Diego, and turned back north just 10 miles short of the Mexican border.
For Dinner, we stopped in La Jolla and shared a California Pizza Kitchen pizza (yum). Kimberly took a moment to poke the tip of the Mormon church.
Kimberly is doing well, but still finds she tires quickly. At least she is feeling different muscles, and could even feel the sand between her toes. The doctor told us yesterday that her right jugular would like remain mainly obstructed. Can I say she is only in half of her right mind?

Follow up today

We have our follow up today with Dr. Arata. Kimberly is still a bit tired today. The heat is making us lazy too. It is over 90F here today (32C). I'm not going to complain about that.
No big improvements have been seen yet, but it is still early.
We spent a few hours at Downtown Disney this morning. We even had time to enter the Disney Vaults. We never found any non-remastered copies of Cinderella though. :)

Resting Back at the Hotel

The procedure has gone well. Dr. Arata(sp?) treated both jugulars and the azygous, in roughly 45 minutes.
We are back in our hotel room now, and she is resting.
Everything appears fine, but she is still too groggy (she says stoned) to comment on any improvements.

Procedure Underway

I'm sitting in the waiting room, while Kimberly undergoes her procedure. If all goes as planned, she should be in Recovery by 9:30 PST. We should be back at our hotel by Noon. I will report back later with her progress/improvements.
We had a nice birthday dinner last night, at PF Changs, overlooking the ocean.
The picture here is of the surgical section of the medical centre.

Kimberly's Birthday

We took a VERY quick detour down to Laguna Beach today, while waiting for our doctor to finish with his previous patient. 
Everything is a go for tomorrow's procedure. We head in early, at 7:30. 
We both think this makes a very fitting birthday gift, even if it is a day late. Time for a good dinner and birthday drink tonight, then in bed early.

Flying to Los Angeles This Morning

The morning has arrived! We are off to L.A. In an hour. It is supposed to be 29 there today. That will be a nice change from the low temps here in Edmonton. We will have the afternoon to relax (and find our hotel). Tomorrow we check into the clinic to begin the pre-procedure tests.