#120

We got our wish from yesterday. Fred and Elaine finally got a great night of sleep. Around mid-morning, Staci and Brian came to pick up Nammie for lunch and some shopping.

The three of them went to Canaletto and enjoyed some pasta. They were carb loading for the serious shopping ahead of them. Brian was very attached to Elaine today. He absolutely insisted on holding "Nana's" hand everywhere they went.

He held her hand through the shoe department. He escorted her to the cosmetics counter. He was the hit of Neiman Marcus. Ladies came from across the store just tell him how cute he was.

At one point, he was a bit aggressive in his role as hand holder and nearly pulled Elaine right down on the ground! Thankfully, Staci was right there to grab the both of them before they hit the floor.

After the mall, they packed into the car and headed to Bristol Farms where Elaine baby-sat Brian while Staci picked up a few things. Then, they went to the Francois house to surprise Christi and Taylor. Everyone had a great time with Elaine and the girls were so excited to show off the garden and the growing strawberries, cucumbers, and squashes.

Fred came by a little later to pick up Elaine and they headed home for a quite night. We wish them two nights in a row of peaceful sleep.

#119

After a very restless night, Elaine (and Fred) woke up very tired. Elaine was able to catch a much needed short nap before lunch that allowed to build up some energy for a visit from the Staci, Ben, and the kids.

Before the visit, Staci and the kids headed over to the bookstore for a few games and mind-exercisers for Elaine. They brought over Sudoku, word games, and activity books all with the intent of stimulating Elaine's brain. Elaine has been so focused on physical therapy and now she is working on mind therapy to keep those neurons firing! The docs say it is crucial to her continued progress for her to work on her mind and body. Everyone got in on the action and played word games around the coffee table.

After playing games, we all went to the upstairs balcony to watch Fred come in on the 18th hole. While we were up there, we looked down and saw a wonderful sight on the patio. There was Elaine using Little Darlin' to tie her shoe. Fred told us another great story from the stem cell day. The nurse was having trouble getting a band aid after the IV came out. Elaine just reached over with her left hand and held the band aid without even thinking about it. Pretty remarkable progress from where she was not too long ago!

Fred and Elaine are enjoying a quiet take-out dinner at home. Hopefully, they get in bed early and stay asleep for the entire night.

#118

In what is becoming a somewhat regular occurrence, Elaine woke up this morning with giggles. Likely, she was dreaming about something so off the wall that we probably couldn't even print it here. After shaking off the morning giggle, Fred and Elaine made their way back to Newport.

Elaine got back and went right to work with Paul. She had a solid session that eventually wore her out. Then, the kids came by for their Nammie fix after missing her while she was in the desert. Most of the rest of the day was spent letting those stem cells swim around finding damaged tissue to repair or regrow.

It was an exciting and action-packed couple of days, and Elaine went to bed absolutely exhausted. We wish both Fred and Elaine a very restful and peaceful night of sleep! 

#117

Today was all about science and technology. Fred and Elaine checked in this morning at 8:30 at the California Stem Cell Treatment Center in Rancho Mirage. We were all excited and anxious to see what the day would bring.

Elaine went first. The docs at the clinic took her back to harvest stem cells from fat cells. They get the fat cells through a mini-liposuction process. Of course, they had a lot of trouble finding any fat on Elaine so it took a little more digging that anticipated. After they found enough fat, Elaine went back to the waiting room to hang with Fred while the scientists did their work.  They were in the back separating out the stem cells from the fat cells and preparing them to be intravenously injected back into her body. They were able to harvest over 200 million stem cells (which is 180 million more than they expected). The doctors explained that Elaine's stem cells were in perfect condition and ready to go back to work in her body. They attributed the condition of her cells to the healthy lifestyle she has maintained all of her life. The fact they were able to get so many stem cells is very exciting and leaves everyone very optimistic!

Once the stem cells were prepped, they brought Elaine back for the IV drip. As we mentioned, the stem cells were injected via IV directly into her bloodstream.  The strategy was to put the stem cells into a blood vessel in her right arm which would carry the cells into her brain so they could start rebuilding damaged tissue right away. The idea is that the stem cells can identify the damaged areas and attempt to regrow the tissue (arteries, etc). If the tissue is deemed irreparable by the stem cells, they may be able to find alternate pathways for blood and nerves.

Other stem cells that don't stop in the brain will continue on their path through Elaine's left arm into her hands and fingers, as well as into her left leg all the way down to her toes - finding and hopefully repairing damaged tissue on the way.

The doctors are optimistic that Elaine remains a good candidate for improvement from the procedure, and they were pleased with the sheer number of stem cells they were able to pull from her. If this works, there may be visible improvement in the next 3-6 weeks and even more progress in 10-12 weeks. It will be an anxious time for all of us, though we know that Elaine won't give up on her therapy waiting on this miracle. It is very important that she continue on with her therapy, they work together and the stem cells won't work without her continued hard work! For now, she is in some pain from all of the digging as they were searching her little body for fat.

Fred also went through a similar digging process. They were able to extract 90 million stem cells during the harvest. He had a different procedure to get his stem cells back into his damaged knee. They separated the stem cells, then spun them together with his blood trying get the right vehicle for the stem cells to ride into his knee. Then, they took a large needle and injected the mixture right into his damaged knee. His expected timeline is the same as Elaine's - about 10-12 weeks for full effect.

It was quite a day on the cutting edge of medicine for the Smith family. We remain optimistic that today will lead to great progress for Elaine and great relief for Fred. Thank you to everyone who called, texted, or gave their support in person. Everyone one of us had tons of well wishers over the past couple days! Special thanks to Fred and Elaine's visitors today. Pat came over to spend the day with the Elaine while Fred was in his procedure and brought her lunch. Mary came by to sit with Elaine this afternoon as well. Rockee also stopped by to check on Elaine. Thanks again for all of the love and support!

Fred and Elaine were certainly beat after their long day of get poked and prodded. Fred stopped by Mama Gina's for take-out and they were enjoying a quiet dinner at home before heading to bed to dream about the miracles of modern medicine! They are heading back to the beach in the morning because Elaine has therapy with Paul at 12:00! She never stops! Hopefully the cars all get out of the way for Fred and the carpool lane remains free of cars for the entire drive home.

#116

Over the past few months, you have likely noticed that we are an optimistic bunch. We are always looking forward to tomorrow because we know that tomorrow brings continued progress and takes Elaine one day closer to normalcy. That said, we also focus on today because it is today's hard work that makes tomorrow's progress possible.

However, today is a little different. Almost all of today has been a focus on tomorrow. Today Fred and Elaine drove to the desert because tomorrow they are both undergoing the stem cell treatment we wrote about previously. We are thinking a lot about tomorrow, but it doesn't mean that we think it will be a miracle. We are realistic that there could be some benefit, and then again, there may not be. But Elaine hasn't made miraculous progress because she is pessimistic. 

So, she is going into tomorrow with hopes high but eyes wide open. This is a great time for all of you to send more great thoughts and prayers Elaine's way! We will provide a detailed run down of tomorrow's events  . . . tomorrow. 

Tonight they enjoyed a wonderful dinner and lots of laughs with MJ, Bud, Larry, and Barb! They are so lucky to be blessed with such wonderful friends! Tonight was just what the doctor ordered! 

#115

Elaine continues to achieve new milestones! Today she walked up their flight of stairs at home without help or holding on to the rails! This is very impressive and really helped Elaine build confidence. It wasn't long ago that she got "stuck" upstairs and had to wait until Fred could help her down. Here she is walking unassisted!




After therapy, Fred and Elaine went to see her doctor. He was so thrilled with her progress. An even bigger surprise, her neurologist, who is quite tight lipped, had called him to talk about how incredibly well she is doing and what a fighter she is. That made us all smile! She truly is incredible. A funny story. They were checking out and scheduled her next appointment:

The nurse said, "ok July 6th, you are in the book."
Elaine said, "now wait, what day of the week is that?'
Fred burst into laughter and said, "Elaine are you busy that day? Why does it matter what day of the week it is?"

A glimpse into the daily laughs of Fred and Elaine:)

They came over to the Francois house for dinner. Its always  an argument as to who gets to sit by Nammie and Ampa. We had a nice dinner and enjoyed the company, as always and are so grateful we are so close and get to see each other daily.

They are heading to the desert tomorrow. Their stem cell treatment was moved up to first thing in the morning Wednesday. We continue to hear great things about the results and are very excited. The doctor put Elaine at ease today, reassuring her that everything will be fine. She is the perfect candidate for the procedure. We are optimistic for both Fred and Elaine! They both deserve it great results!

#114

Elaine was exhausted after a busy Saturday. That didn't stop her from doing therapy though. Paul came over and they had a great session. He even had her playing badminton. She isn't comfortable with it, yet, but she will be. She rested a little this afternoon and then Staci, Ben and the kids came over before we all went to dinner together.

Elaine was exited to wear jeans for the first time since her stroke tonight. She looked adorable. She dreads wearing anything other than her workout clothes because she has to wear tennis shoes. Elaine has always preferred style to comfort, and was willing to sacrifice at any measure. After last New Years Eve, she couldn't walk for 2 days and had to call for an "emergency" foot massage because her feet hurt so badly.

Elaine is looking beautiful and anxious for the stem cell treatment Wednesday. She is a little nervous about bleeding because they don't want to take her off the Coumadin, but it isn't a huge concern. She is going to see her Physician tomorrow for final clearance.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner together and the kids all fight to hold Nammie's hand. Staci helped Elaine get ready for dinner tonight and is always amazed to see what Elaine goes through to get ready and how difficult it is for her to simply get dressed. We put on her shirt tonight and realized she needed a tank top under and it. Again, the things we take for granted but for Elaine, not only is it difficult to put a shirt on but also extremely painful moving Little Darlin' around. She is so amazing and didn't complain once. She is pushing herself every day to get better, and she is accomplishing that goal!  She is our walking miracle!