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Saturday 6th March: Arrived on Thursday afternoon after what could best be described as the worst journey ever, tired and hungry. Word of advice, if you can help it dont travel via Beijing, terrible airport. Anyway, arrived and unpacked, said a big hello to Shel and the kids, and headed over to McDonalds for a quick burger to fill the gaping holes in our stomachs. We tried to fight the jet lag the first night, so after 30hrs on the go we hit the hay. Our cunning plan didnt pay off though, and wide awake at 5:30 Friday morning. Cody told me she was going to be very brave as the nurses came to take a blood sample, and true to her word she was, wee mite cried a bit but done well, such a change from last time when she fought the bit out when it came to bloods. We bummed about most of Friday still getting the body clocks sorted and after again stupidly thinking jet lag had been beaten went to bed last night. Cody had different ideas though and woke at 2am, her wee mouth still hasnt closed as I type this and its now 10:07 am. We are defo not hanging around the hospital today, so its time to consider what we can get up to.

Went across the road and had a walk around a truely massive shopping center. Was a building site the last we were here but all finished now, and it puts anything we have at home to shame. Even has its own fun fair inside, with a rollercoaster which goes all around the middle of the place. Pics to follow.

Went to dinner downtown, was really nice and had a great time catching up with some old friends. Came back up and crashed about half an hour afterwards. Hope Cody sleeps tonight.

Monday 8th March: We have been struck down with the cold from hell, with noses running like rivers at flood time. Yesterday we all went down to the Jimo Market, forgot just how busy it gets on a Sunday. But it was a good day out and a break from the hospital. Today though we have confined ourselves to the room so as not to spread this cold about. Made the suggestion that rather than take Cody to the IV room with one of us coughing and sneezing everywhere that maybe it should be done in our own room. Apparently it wasnt as good an idea as we thought and up she goes for the first treatment. Will update when she comes back down.

Went spot on, no hassles at all. In fact Cody fell asleep in our room before it all, and continued to sleep all the way through, only waking about 10 mins after it was all over. She woke and asked when she was going for her stem cells, and when i told her they were all done she didnt believe me. Took 15 mins of explaining she had slept right through. Rest of the day was uneventful, punctuated only with the blowing of noses and coughing.

Tuesday 9th March: Because we opted for no additional stuff (physio, accupuncture etc) we only have a Monday and Friday treatment to plan around, so a run back down to the Jimo Market today for no other reason than we wanted out of the hospital. The day started out well, bright and sunny, although still cold, after a 45 min trip downtown though it was snowing and colder than cold should be. Done the rounds in Jimo, and got the driver to head to Mary's store for some western food. After stocking up on decent chocolate and pancake mix, we asked Charlie (the Chinese driver) to take us to Pizza Hut, language barriers what they are though we ended up at a place called Lisa's. Due to us being so hungry, rather than complain we went in for something, what can i say? Anyone coming to Qingdao should get themselves to Lisa's at least once. Food was fantastic, service was great, and music was good too. Was a great end to a cold and snowy day out in downtown Qingdao. We all came back to the hospital and cody decided she wanted to watch 24, so daddy, being the gift that he is sat in the room with her while the whole ward sat on the sofa's and had a beer. Cody owes me bigtime as i was spitting feathers last night and would have murdered a beer.

Saturday 13th March: Spent Wednesday and Thursday out and about, went down to the pier at May 4th Square (the massive red sculpture in the pics), then had a walk around Crown Plaza and Jusco. Friday was another treatment day. Smooth sailing again, and Cody took it all in her stride without any drama's at all. We had the nurses take the canula out early and the majority of the ward went down to the Holiday inn for their American themed dinner. Everyone was well fed and watered and a good night had by all.

Went to the zoo yesterday morning but i think the less said about that the better, got as far as the monkey house and had seen enough. The rumours and stories about China's animal rights are spot on. While at the zoo Wilma, Jake, Macie and Easton went on the cable cars to the viewpoint. Pics below. After they finally managed to make their way back down we headed off to the Tsingtao brewery for some Daddy time. We all really enjoyed it, especially the end part with the beer tasting...... yum.

Monday 15th March: Not a lot to report really. Third treatment went all good. No drama at all. IV line went in first time with minimal of tears and stem cells drip dripped their way in. Nothing else exciting to report really, things are going smoothly here the past few days.

Sunday 21st March: Been a quiet week for us. Fridays treatment went best so far, line went in with no hassle again, and up she went to the IV room and talked non stop as is her usual form. Noticing a few subtle changes already, but its a lot harder this time round to tell. Last time she could see light and dark only, so when she started to actually see things we could tell straight off. Weather has been "undecided" the past few days, sun comes out but its blowing a gale, wind goes away but it starts raining, it just doesnt know what it wants to do. I think today we will go to Underwater World as Jake wants to go badly and i think we all fancy a trip out of the hospital. Pics will be added later i suspect.

Home: Due to the backup file on the laptop getting somehow corrupted, i couldnt update while we were there for the last week. Everything went smoothly anyway, and there wasnt really much to say. Last two treatments went without a hitch, and still noticing subtle changes in Cody's vision. Things seem to be a lot clearer for her, with distance increasing also. We waved goodbye to some old and new friends in the last week, but will continue to keep in touch with them all. The flight home was a lot better than the flight there, all on time. We got home about 9:30pm and first thing was lift the phone and get a proper Northern Irish Chinese. Will be keeping the normal blog updated with anything that is relevant. Other than that its now time to knuckle down and get the loan paid....... great fun that.