Greetings from Nanjing!

I am now in China, visiting friends in Nanjing and Hangzhou.

My very kind graft doctor allowed me to travel abroad, so I took the oportunity to visit my friends in China!

Here are some photos taken during the trip.

In Nanjing, we visited Niushousha temple (www.niushoushan.net) and Nanjing museum (www.njmuseum.com). I also took photos in Southeast university campus.We also had a boat trip on Xuanwu lake (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xuanwu_Lake).

In Hangzhu, I visited Yonghu temple, Taoguong temple, Lingyin temple (www.lingynsi.com), as well as the campus of Zheijian university (http://www.zju.edu.cn/english).

I also posted films, which can be seen at:

In the coming days, I will add more photos…

Next saturday, I will be on my way, back to France…

A few months ago, I mentioned that I was heading back to Earth, after turning around the Moon. I think that I can say now that I am orbiting around the Earth, waiting for the right time to land… It could be in a few months, when I will be free from the cyclosporine I am still taking every days…

I know that if I am “a big success”, medically speaking, it is due to the fantastic team at Saint Antoine hospital, in particular my graft doctor, to my wonderful stem cells donor, and to my family and friends. From the bottom of my heart, I thank them all :-)!

And please don’t forget to enjoy life!

Last dinner in Nanjing tonight: a series of “small dishes”: fish, duck, shrimp, tofou, vegetables, egg, duck blood soupe (good for me as I am a little short in red blood cells ah ah), dumplings,….

What we got for diner! Then it is cut in pieces…

Sweet and oily… but good ;-)!

 

It is not a “Saint Antoine” :-)!

The oldest tree on campus: 1000 years old (???)

Pomegranate tree…

 

A typical breakfast at the hotel…

Hello everybody! This time no big news to share with you! But I wanted to show you some photos taken during our short visit to northen Italy, lake of Garde. We met good friends from Boulder there!

We have had an unexpected nice weather: no rain, little clouds, but a lot of sunshine!

I also ate a lot of gellati ;-)! Are we in Italy or not!

Of course, I will never forget to thank the ones by whom I was able to travel: my doctors, my graft doctor, the nurses, and of course my stem cells donor And my family too!

I was lucky enough to find several “Saint Antoine” too!

Here are some photos for you to enjoy:

 

 

 

This week was an important week, as I have several apointments at my two favorite places: Tenon hospital and Saint Antoine hospital!

On monday morning, I had a photopheresis treatment: no big deal, as I already had more than twenty photopheresis. As a thank you for the fantastic nurses working there, I brought a carrot cake and a banana bread: big success!

Tuesday was the day! In the morning, I went to the Tenon hospital at the dermatology department to have the carcinoma treated. On arrival, the doctor put on it a cream containing a photosensitizer, and we had to wait for 3 hours, until the sensitizer could spread in the carcinoma. Then, using a strong IR lamp, the dynamic phototherapy was performed: very hot, but the skin is cooled down by spraying water (by the doctor of course since I cannot move!). It lasted 10mn, then I was expecting to be released…. Not! The doctor checked the whole body to be sure that nothing was left unexplored! Doctors are very carefull ;-)!

We took two buses to then go to my favorite spot in Paris: Saint Antoine hospital! I had a regular apointment with my graft doctor, the famous Doctor Yes! As I had no left signs of GvHc in the mouth and on the skin, I expected that she would lower the amount of cyclosporine I take each day. And yes! She told me that from now the amount of néoral I had to take would be twice 20 mg by day! Big victory! I am so grateful to her! I was looking forward to this great news from months :-)! She also gave me the blood analysis results: almost perfect, with just the red blood cells count being a little low.

She also told me that to stay on a safe side, we should not change at the same time the cyclosporine and the photopheresis. So I will continue my monthly visits to Marceline for the photopheresis!

I am now 22 months after the graft. Between the end of may and the begining of june, I will have several exams to check if everything is OK: it will be my second year anniversary!

I would like to take the oportunity to thank again and again and again my stem cells donor, the doctors at Saint Antoine, the nurses, my wonderful family: if I am here today it is because they did a fantastic job. I love them all!

Take care and enjoy life!