News From Costa Rica 10/4
 

On Monday we traveled through the city of San Jose and its surrounding villages to the other side of the valley to a Waterfall Garden.  Our driver is a naturalist so we had an extra special experience.  He found frogs hiding in the folds of leaves and in the cups of flowers.  His knowledge of the birds and plant life was very strong and his commentaries were very interesting (thank goodness he was fluent in English). 

He also gave us a little history on Costa Rica and stopped at a great roadside coffee shop where we got latte and cappuccino for $1.50.  In the butterfly garden they had the chrysalises of several butterflies hanging up and we were able to witness the opening of a few amazing individuals.  It was sad that not every butterfly makes it through this stage.  It was even more sad when the naturalist told us that most butterflies only live for a few hours to a few days.  The elegant beauty of these creatures was so amazing  we had a hard time leaving this area. 

It was raining by the time we were at the waterfall area but is wasn't cold so we didn't mind the moisture.  It was overall a very pleasant day.  Our experience with the people has been so lovely.  The overall impression I get is that the people here recognize  that whatever you give out comes back to you.  Even in the crazy traffic situation and the horrible roads, there is a kind of respect and awareness of the other people who are walking or driving on the road too.

We have been enjoying the salsa music and have went out to dance a couple of times.  One evening when my friend (a nurse at the place we are staying) was too tired to dance with me a young couple came over and asked me to dance with them.  Later a group of two women and a  man came over and introduced themselves and said if we needed anything they could assist us.  I felt not only safe but genuinely cared for.  We also did  Karaoke at a Discotheque where the waiter and some of the dancers were 70+ years old.  Costa Rica es muy bueno!!

Regarding my physical progress, the last few days have been somewhat miraculous. I had the stem cells removed from my bone marrow last Monday.  Then they went to the lab where they were reproduced.  On Wednesday, they introduced 500 million stem cells into each side of the vascular artery.  Since then I have still experienced ups and downs but I feel that this is primarily caused by the meds I take and I will be better able to regulate this soon.  But the miraculous part is that I can see the repair happening on the outside of my body.  Two days ago I noticed that about one inch of a five inch scar had puffed up.  It wasn't like a swelling but like a white puffball. When I showed the nurse later that day she said that it looked like there had been some muscle damage there and that the stem cells were working to repair it.  I hoped that she was right when a white puffy spot appeared on my nose last night.

Today I awoke and the spot on my nose was gone but one eyelid was white a and puffy.  Then I noticed my hand. I have had some fairly aggressive warts on three of the fingers of my right hand.  Today, where the warts used to be are soft spots that the warts seem to have dissolved into. This event has me feeling certain that this treatment is working just as the doctors predicted it would. Needless to say, this day has been an emotional one.  Thanks to all of you for helping me pay back the loan I took out as it appears that it will be worth the risk physically

and financially.   I look forward to talking with you all soon. 

In joy

and gratitude,  Nancy