Hey everyone, I know I've been promising more pictures of China for awhile now, but because there are so many of them I couldn't put them directly on the website.  I put them up on a photo sharing site called flickr, here is the link that will hopefully take you to them:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lexisfirstsight/

Hopefully this works, if not I'll keep trying!  Things are going pretty well for us, we are just enjoying our summer.  Lexi is having fun with her friends and family that is she is busy spending lots of time with.  Talk to everyone later, Thank you!! Heather

Hey everyone, we finally got the results from Lexi's eye doctor- and it's good!!  I am just going to copy the paragraph that is in the letter for you rather than trying to put it in my own words so here it is:

Alexys historically has been able to perceive light without perception.  Today, Alexys was able to appreciate light perception from a distance of 10 inches from her face using a pen light. 

This is from Dr. Anderson of Pediatric Ophthalmology and strabismus, Inc. Surgical Associates, Lexi loved her, she was very nice and encouraging, we also really like Dr. Hughes but she was booked.  We go back to the eye doctor every 3 months, but I will continue to try and monitor her and let you all know what's going on as I find out.  Thank you again for all of your support- without it none of this would have been possible!  Heather

We had Lexi's first eye appointment on Wednesday- I don't really have any new information just yet.  We saw a new doctor, so she needs to read the other doctors report and compare her findings then she will send us out a letter that I will pass on to all of you.  I did notice that Lexi is able to tell which direction a pen light is shining from much better than she was able to before the treatments.  I'm hoping to have the results soon, maybe next week.  In the mean time I'm going to try and start posting more pictures for everyone of our time in China.  Again, Thank you so much for your support!

Lexi, Gram and Pap Pap have finally arrived home!  They got in last night around 10pm, they were supposed to have come home on Tuesday night but they ended up stuck on the runway in Hangzhou so they missed their flight in Beijing!  When mom called and told me I could hear their disappointment- I know how badly they wanted to come home!  Air China put them up in a hotel in Beijing and they had to arrive early at the airport to make sure they were able to get a seat on yesterday's flight.  So after quite the ordeal they have made it!  Lexi is doing great, she slept all night last night and is now playing with a very happy little sister!  Lexi does look a little tired, I know it took me a couple days to adjust to the time difference so I expect the same for her, although she wouldn't ever complain about it! 
Lexi ended up receiving 6 Stem Cell treatments total- 2 IV and 4 Lumbar treatments, I really happy we were able to have an extra treatment while we were there.  We are noticing some results, she is more sensitive to light and noticing toys that have lights that she never noticed before.  We have a check up at the doctors on Monday  and an appointment with the eye doctor on Wednesday so hopefully they will notice some results that I will be able to get to all of you.  Before she left China the doctors there noticed that her pupils were dilated more quickly than they did when we first arrived.  I will keep you all posted!  Thank you again for all of your support, Heather

Hey everyone sorry I haven't posted in a few days!  Well, I'm home!! Back in the good old United States, my dad has taken my place over in China with Lexi and my mom so that I was able to come back home and take care of Lexi's little sister Emma.  It is so great to be back here, although I do miss Lexi, but I know she is in great hands over there!  Lexi had her fourth treatment on Monday- unfortunately she ended up having a reaction to the treatment and was sick all day on Tuesday.  She is doing much better now though and hopefully she won't have anymore problems.  Lexi is scheduled to have what was supposed to be her 5th and final treatment on Friday, but we have decided to get her one more IV stemcell treatment on Monday before they come home on Tuesday so she will be getting a total of 6 treatments now- 4 Spinals and 2 IV's.  Lexi is in great spirits and is really happy that she is getting an extra dose- even though it requires yet another "pinch", but she says needles are not a problem anymore- she's used to them!  They really haven't been doing much, there is a lot of down time over there so boredom is an issue- we have watched so many movies!  I think we'd do pretty well at Disney Trivial Pursuit at this point!  Lexi's new favorite past time though is light tag!  This is something she was never able to do before and it involves us turning out the lights in the room and using a penlight to shine a light on the wall- Lexi then finds the light with her eyes on the wall and touches the spot!  This is amazing progress and something we never would have imagined her doing before this treatment!  The doctors have again reminded us that it will take 6 to 12 months to see the full effect of the treatment, but this is definitely a start. 
Thank you so much to all of you who have sent your support either through the guest book or by emailing us, I know they love to hear from all of us at home!  Lexi will be coming home around 10:00pm Tuesday, July 8th so only 4 more days to go!  Thank you again for all of your care and support, Heather