Someone in Mexico knew my name (Part I)

(...besides this big mouth....)

Hailee came down the stairs directing me to look at her laptop screen and declared she had found it. "It" referred to a stem cell clinic in Cancun, Mexico with the prominent testimonial being that of a scleroderma patient. I hadn't really realized she had been searching for "it," and so I was surprised and maybe even a little humbled that she had taken it upon herself to research in my behalf. Motivated by my frustration that this disease that had so rudely invaded my body over 6 years ago was still progressing and that my doctors could give me no real hope for improvement or cessation, I decided to follow up. I sent two separate emails but got no response. Disappointed but not surprised, I told Hailee it appeared to be another dead end. A day later I received a response email from the World Stem Cell clinic with the reply,

Dear Hailee,

I would be happy to call and speak to you today. Please let me know what times are optimal for you and or your mom.

Where did you find the e-mail address, for news ? We have never used that e-mail to the best of my knowledge and I apologize as I never received your request.

Thanks for your perseverance and look forward to our conversation.

In Health,"

Apparently my daughter was not willing to accept my "dead end" response and had done some emailing of her own. Bless her heart.

That was in August. At the end of October we found ourselves traveling to Cancun so I could receive stem cell therapy targeted at treating scleroderma. Everything had just seemed to fall into place. It all felt so divinely orchestrated that I was filled with hope for the outcome. (The result for the other scleroderma patient had been nothing short of miraculous). The night before we left, Jordan came across a link for a new scleroderma study being conducted in the US. He wondered if we were maybe approaching this from the wrong direction. Suddenly, I was filled with doubts and fears. I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that we had promised the boys a little prelim vacation before I started treatment. There was no way we were not going. We got on the plane at midnight with so many thoughts gripping my brain. I recorded some of them in my journal....

It was 1:30 in the morning, I was on my way to Cancun, Mexico for controversial medical treatment for scleroderma-a disease I 'd battled for almost 6 years, and my only fear now was that there was no stem cell clinic in Mexico and we were victims of some cruel scheme. Jordan had had an interesting experience earlier that day trying to transfer the money to the clinic. A seed of doubt had been planted. The more excited and comfortable I became about the actual treatment, the more nervous I was that it wasn't real. I began to go over every conversation and email I'd shared with the doctor affiliated with the clinic, questioning some things and feeling assured by others. I was told that all I had to do was to go on line, create my own account with the clinic's web page, enter my flight and hotel information, and somebody would be at the airport to pick us up. I told myself that if we got to Cancun and there was no one there, we would know that we had been scammed. I prayed a good portion of that night that somebody would be waiting for us.
After a miserable,sleepless, painful night, and a long lay-over in Atlanta, we arrived at our destination. The boys had been troopers but I knew that the night had been rough for them as well. Jordan is a seasoned traveler and was the only one that looked somewhat rested, but each of us was anxious to get to our hotel. After passing through customs and then immigration we moved through a set of doors to an area filled with people holding signs with names of their appointed passengers. None held my name. We moved through another set of doors to an area filled with time-share salesmen and saleswomen and-gratefully-none there held my name either. Now outside, we were met with another group of drivers with signs. I scanned the crowd but even before seeing a sign, I heard someone shout, "Lori!" Do you remember the end of the movie, "The Testaments" when the Savior searches Helam out of the crowd and acknowledges him with his name? How sweet it was to hear the sound of my name and to see two men, one holding a clipboard with "Lori Radman," printed in big block letters. In the van, we were offered juices and water and Rudy welcomed us to Cancun. Assuring me that the hardest part of our stay here-the flight-was now over. He waited until we were checked in to the hotel, translating when he felt it was necessary, and then left us with a folder full of brochures and pamphlets on the clinic, and tourist attractions, and a cell phone with his number, and the clinic's doctors entered into speed dial.
We spent the rest of the day exploring the mall across from our hotel, eating tacos, trying to find me a swimsuit (who forgets to pack a swimsuit for the beach in Mexico?), visiting the aquarium to see the dolphin show. The weather was overcast and chilly, but we were in Cancun, my boys were with me and giddy with enthusiasm, I had an opportunity for healing on the horizon. Friends and family had offered prayers and love in my behalf, and someone in Mexico knew my name.

I captured the trip with my trusty iphone..

K-nex at the shopping center across from the hotel.

Jordan signed them all up to "swim with the dolphins." I'm pretty sure he was able to run home after and cross that off his bucket list.

We visited Chichen Itza with Helaman from Helaman tours. Honestly the highlight of the whole trip.

Gabe is a history buff. He kept following our guide around asking him questions. He recited a lot of Mayan history the rest of the trip.

Christian grew a tree out of his head. You can also make out the head of a snake- Kukulkan -at the base of the stairs. The body runs alongside.

This is another natural wonder: a floral arrangement made from fruits.

The tour ended with a trip to a cenote-a natural well. It was unbelievably beautiful.

Actually the tour ended with this...

Another day, another quesadilla and mexican coke. Can't beat it.

As the boys prepared to leave, the weather prepared to surprise us.

The day before I started treatment, I put my boys on a plane back home-by themselves. With a layover. I was questioning my sanity and mothering instincts. Jordan assured me they would be "fine." And they were.

I prepared for the unknown the following day. Jordan assured me everything would be "fine..." And it was.