7.59am Monday morning. When I left the hospital early this morning, she was still sleeping. She pulled (as usual, by now) the feeding tube, looked happy, and fell asleep. Today will be a busy day so I hope that yesterdays rest has meant she is ready.
5.14pm Monday afternoon. Today Jaan has been wake from 8.30am until 4.30pm. That is very very good. If she is sleeping all day it is hard to do necessary therapy. She walked a bit this morning (you have to understand that this is with very much assistance), ate a little bit and then did some balance exercises. Around noon she got a 1.5h manicure/pedicure and then it all started again in the afternoon. Later a few friends came for a visit and she stayed awake just until half an hour ago.
Feeding tube wise, there is still quite some effort which needs to be made before this can be taken away. I now, from talking to the doctors, don't think it will be removed until early next week. The problem is that she needs to get around 1,000cal/day, which translates to around 1l of yuckie fluid through the feeding tube. As soon as she can get this down on her own, the tube is gone. For this to happen, you need to be awake, so todays progress of being awake for 8h or so is great. More later
9.19pm Monday evening. I just returned from Gleneagles and I think Jaana has put a lot of effort into this day. She has been awake a lot and when I came there they wanted to feed her again. I had to wake her up (very difficult) and after a short stroll in the wheelchair, she managed to eat around 30ml soup. She was awake for another hour and when I left she was sleeping heavily. I hope she has sweet dreams and gets some good rest, 'cause it is all happening tomorrow again! Good work!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
30th of September
2.27am Sunday morning. Jaana is in a deep sleed. She pulled out the feeding tube again before knocking herself out, and I convinced the nurse to wait until 5am to put it back in again. That should give her one night's sleep without that much hated tube.
3.41pm. Sunday afternoon. Jaana was awake for around 3h this morning and ate quite a bit. I took the kids there and yet again, she was sleeping and did not really see them. As her prime time is more or less in the morning it is a bit tricky to catch her spots so she can see the kids. We will make a new attempt this evening. As I mentioned before, today there has been very little therapy since it is Sunday. Tomorrow it is back to be a working week for her, and I hope she will make significant progress.
Some other notes not immediately relating to Jaana's condition. Reverting back to thoughts made very early, I wish to find the silver lining in all of this. After I have talked to many of you in the past couple of weeks, and as many of yourselves are expats (if not, this will apply as well) there are a few things worth highlighting. Questions like 'What happens if both of us (parents) become incapacitated; the children, life in general, other assets?'. I have talked about this to many of you and again, this event might help some of you to organize your issues (which may vary a lot). If one starts digging, there are many implications which might not be so clear initially. Just some food for thoughts, but I try to see some positive things, in addition to Jaana's imminent recovery.
The night nurse needs another day off so, it will be a bit of logistic going to organize tonight. As soon as the feeding tube is removed, Jaana will not need 24/7 company during the night. Hopefully this will be mid next week.
3.41pm. Sunday afternoon. Jaana was awake for around 3h this morning and ate quite a bit. I took the kids there and yet again, she was sleeping and did not really see them. As her prime time is more or less in the morning it is a bit tricky to catch her spots so she can see the kids. We will make a new attempt this evening. As I mentioned before, today there has been very little therapy since it is Sunday. Tomorrow it is back to be a working week for her, and I hope she will make significant progress.
Some other notes not immediately relating to Jaana's condition. Reverting back to thoughts made very early, I wish to find the silver lining in all of this. After I have talked to many of you in the past couple of weeks, and as many of yourselves are expats (if not, this will apply as well) there are a few things worth highlighting. Questions like 'What happens if both of us (parents) become incapacitated; the children, life in general, other assets?'. I have talked about this to many of you and again, this event might help some of you to organize your issues (which may vary a lot). If one starts digging, there are many implications which might not be so clear initially. Just some food for thoughts, but I try to see some positive things, in addition to Jaana's imminent recovery.
The night nurse needs another day off so, it will be a bit of logistic going to organize tonight. As soon as the feeding tube is removed, Jaana will not need 24/7 company during the night. Hopefully this will be mid next week.
Friday, September 28, 2007
29th of September
7.45 Saturday morning. The night must have been quite since the night nurse did not call. I am off to the hospital in a few minutes.
On the culinary note, what should be avoided for Warfarin users is food with a lot of Vitamin K. That is green tea, brussel sprouts, coriander and quite a bit of healthy stuff. Maybe healthy is not the same for everyone...
11.41am Saturday morning. I just returned from the hospital. This morning Jaana was very tired and had a hard time to wake up. After some convincing, she finally opened her eyes to start the speech therapy and eating. She had a bit of scrambled eggs, watermelon and mango juice. She is doing much better swallowing now, so I think they might be able to remove the feeding tube mid next week. She needs to be able to 3 smaller meals per day to get enough energy (and medicine) in her body. But as you can only eat ans swallow when you are awake, this is an effort as well.
She later managed to walk (with much assistance) from her bed to the reception (15m) this got her tired so I put her in a wheelchair and we sent out for the first time. She seemed to enjoy getting some fresh air. Tomorrow will be a resting day with no therapist, so I will do some with her instead. I also will bring her outside again.
6.22pm Saturday evening. Today was very much a repeat of yesterday, but the walk pushed a few meters further. I also brought her outside for a few minutes. I think she liked that, but one of the therapists interrupted and it was back to school again. In the afternoon she was awake until 4pm and has since then been resting/sleeping. She will try to eat one more meal of mashed potatoes today and will then have her evening sleep. I think the week in total has been very heavy for her, so I think she deserves a restful Sunday. It will be all on again Monday morning. The last times the kids have been at the hospital, she has been sleeping, so I think I will bring them early tomorrow morning instead to catch a few moments of her being awake. I will go back to the hospital around 9pm and spend the night there since the nurse has her day off. Report more later.
On the culinary note, what should be avoided for Warfarin users is food with a lot of Vitamin K. That is green tea, brussel sprouts, coriander and quite a bit of healthy stuff. Maybe healthy is not the same for everyone...
11.41am Saturday morning. I just returned from the hospital. This morning Jaana was very tired and had a hard time to wake up. After some convincing, she finally opened her eyes to start the speech therapy and eating. She had a bit of scrambled eggs, watermelon and mango juice. She is doing much better swallowing now, so I think they might be able to remove the feeding tube mid next week. She needs to be able to 3 smaller meals per day to get enough energy (and medicine) in her body. But as you can only eat ans swallow when you are awake, this is an effort as well.
She later managed to walk (with much assistance) from her bed to the reception (15m) this got her tired so I put her in a wheelchair and we sent out for the first time. She seemed to enjoy getting some fresh air. Tomorrow will be a resting day with no therapist, so I will do some with her instead. I also will bring her outside again.
6.22pm Saturday evening. Today was very much a repeat of yesterday, but the walk pushed a few meters further. I also brought her outside for a few minutes. I think she liked that, but one of the therapists interrupted and it was back to school again. In the afternoon she was awake until 4pm and has since then been resting/sleeping. She will try to eat one more meal of mashed potatoes today and will then have her evening sleep. I think the week in total has been very heavy for her, so I think she deserves a restful Sunday. It will be all on again Monday morning. The last times the kids have been at the hospital, she has been sleeping, so I think I will bring them early tomorrow morning instead to catch a few moments of her being awake. I will go back to the hospital around 9pm and spend the night there since the nurse has her day off. Report more later.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
28th of September
Noon Friday. I think Jaana is having a great Firday. It started of with some exercises with the speech/physio/occupational therapist. After that at 11am, the hair dresser came and after that she had her first shower in 14 days! With a big smile on her face she lay down on her bed and Hakan and Christina came by. Christina gave her an good foot massage, and she fell a sleep like a baby. She stayed awake for a good 4 hours and now needs to rest a bit. At 1.30pm the speech therapist will come and give her a strawberry smoothie which Parmi has made with fresh American strawberries, her favourite.
2.48pm Friday afternoon. Before reporting anything more about Jaana I would like to clarify a few points about Warfarin and Strawberries as some concern has been mentioned.
"Warfarin is a synthetic drug derived from the naturally occurring coumarins found in a wide variety of plant species worldwide. Coumarins are the parent organic compounds that work as natural pesticides in plants such as lavender, grasses like sweet clover, and food plants like strawberries and lemons"
It should be made clear that Jaana ate probably 2 strawberries in total and thus it should not be a problem. It is true that a huge amount of any food will alter your body minerals. And a massive amount of strawberries could potentially alter the effect of the Warfarin. Jaana's blood has not problem with Protein C or S.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warfarin
http://www.drgourmet.com/warfarin/warfarinrecipes.shtml (see the strawberry stuff)
http://www.lassesen.com/cfids/supplements/vitamin_k.htm
Furthermore, I take advise seriously so if you have them to give, please continue to do so. If there is a true danger, I hope you will call me +65-91170472 or +65-91170486 since I do not access the blog every hour.
4.06pm Friday afternoon. In addition to her strawberries, she also ate a lot of mashed potatoes and some mango juice. She really seem to appreciate some proper food. The speech therapist was happy with this and hopefully her progress can extend into the next couple of days. Early reports indicates that she was quite tired in the afternoon for the physio session, but still made good effort in some walk-abouts.
6.31pm Friday evening. She is in a deep sleep after todays activity. It is obvious that she needs a rest and will most likely do so until tomorrow morning. Hoever though, i can really detect that she is more alert and awake during the days. Also a good thing, since therapy is only useful if you are awake!
2.48pm Friday afternoon. Before reporting anything more about Jaana I would like to clarify a few points about Warfarin and Strawberries as some concern has been mentioned.
"Warfarin is a synthetic drug derived from the naturally occurring coumarins found in a wide variety of plant species worldwide. Coumarins are the parent organic compounds that work as natural pesticides in plants such as lavender, grasses like sweet clover, and food plants like strawberries and lemons"
It should be made clear that Jaana ate probably 2 strawberries in total and thus it should not be a problem. It is true that a huge amount of any food will alter your body minerals. And a massive amount of strawberries could potentially alter the effect of the Warfarin. Jaana's blood has not problem with Protein C or S.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warfarin
http://www.drgourmet.com/warfarin/warfarinrecipes.shtml (see the strawberry stuff)
http://www.lassesen.com/cfids/supplements/vitamin_k.htm
Furthermore, I take advise seriously so if you have them to give, please continue to do so. If there is a true danger, I hope you will call me +65-91170472 or +65-91170486 since I do not access the blog every hour.
4.06pm Friday afternoon. In addition to her strawberries, she also ate a lot of mashed potatoes and some mango juice. She really seem to appreciate some proper food. The speech therapist was happy with this and hopefully her progress can extend into the next couple of days. Early reports indicates that she was quite tired in the afternoon for the physio session, but still made good effort in some walk-abouts.
6.31pm Friday evening. She is in a deep sleep after todays activity. It is obvious that she needs a rest and will most likely do so until tomorrow morning. Hoever though, i can really detect that she is more alert and awake during the days. Also a good thing, since therapy is only useful if you are awake!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
27th of September
12.38pm Thursday afternoon. Oops, sorry for not writing earlier (I am starting to get worried phone calls!). Until now, Hakan had been sitting next to Jaana in the mornings and I always called him to write something before I left for school. Now, when there is a night nurse, I did not do the same. Anyway...
Jaana woke up around 8.45am when I got in here and stayed awake until noon-ish. She is less tired today, which is great news. She has had the physiotherapist in the morning and walked twice to the sofa again. The occupational therapist focus more on sitting down and trying to keep balance, memory issues etc. Jaana lacks a bit of balance and needs to practice this as much as possible. She was very willing to do all exercises this morning. We are now resting a bit and waiting for the afternoon sessions to start (~2pm). After she spoke to her mother for 15 minutes, she pulled out the feeding tube (again!), which was refitted and then went for her nap. You can really see that she gets less and less tired which is the result of stubbornly waking her up during the days.
I also took her for a stroll around the ward in a wheelchair so she could see something else. Tomorrow I have arranged for her hairdresser to come by around 11am and will try to get manicure/pedicure arranged for early next week. Trying to find out where she goes for all this stuff is the hardest part (as all men we never really listen when you tell us where you go for these things...). If anyone of you here in Singapore knows, please assist me!
6.26pm Thursday evening. Today was very much a repeat of yesterday with the same execises. Practicing balance by sitting on the edge of the bed and trying not to fall (she can manage 20 to 30 seconds when she is not tired) and rolling in bed from one side to the other, walking with the help of a support frame for around 7m. I think that today she got less tired of the exercises and that is one improvment. Remeber that she also need to practice to stay awake! That might seem simple to all of us, but her part of the brain which controls our awake state has been affected. We need to exercise another part of the brain to take over that. Right now a friend from the embassy is with her, then later I am back for a while and then the night nurse again. I brought some normal comfy clother for her so I thingk they will change to those later in the evening. When I got back to the hospital in the afternoon, she had managed to pull out (completly) the feeding tube! The nurses/doctors let it be for an hour or so, but need to put it back in. As well for the food as for the medicine. Right now, this is the last tube in use. She no longer has any IV or catheter.
8.42pm Thursday evening. The night nurse has arrived and will stay with Jaana until the morning. Many nurses suggest restraining her movment (so she does not remove the feeding tube, did it again), which I will have nothing of. Jaana might be stubborn, but so am I. I think it is for their convenience (as with the catheter), but it is true that the refitting process of the same is something I leave the room for (not pleasent). I hope and pray that her swollowing muscles get better soon. She looks at piece when I left and she is sound asleep.
Jaana woke up around 8.45am when I got in here and stayed awake until noon-ish. She is less tired today, which is great news. She has had the physiotherapist in the morning and walked twice to the sofa again. The occupational therapist focus more on sitting down and trying to keep balance, memory issues etc. Jaana lacks a bit of balance and needs to practice this as much as possible. She was very willing to do all exercises this morning. We are now resting a bit and waiting for the afternoon sessions to start (~2pm). After she spoke to her mother for 15 minutes, she pulled out the feeding tube (again!), which was refitted and then went for her nap. You can really see that she gets less and less tired which is the result of stubbornly waking her up during the days.
I also took her for a stroll around the ward in a wheelchair so she could see something else. Tomorrow I have arranged for her hairdresser to come by around 11am and will try to get manicure/pedicure arranged for early next week. Trying to find out where she goes for all this stuff is the hardest part (as all men we never really listen when you tell us where you go for these things...). If anyone of you here in Singapore knows, please assist me!
6.26pm Thursday evening. Today was very much a repeat of yesterday with the same execises. Practicing balance by sitting on the edge of the bed and trying not to fall (she can manage 20 to 30 seconds when she is not tired) and rolling in bed from one side to the other, walking with the help of a support frame for around 7m. I think that today she got less tired of the exercises and that is one improvment. Remeber that she also need to practice to stay awake! That might seem simple to all of us, but her part of the brain which controls our awake state has been affected. We need to exercise another part of the brain to take over that. Right now a friend from the embassy is with her, then later I am back for a while and then the night nurse again. I brought some normal comfy clother for her so I thingk they will change to those later in the evening. When I got back to the hospital in the afternoon, she had managed to pull out (completly) the feeding tube! The nurses/doctors let it be for an hour or so, but need to put it back in. As well for the food as for the medicine. Right now, this is the last tube in use. She no longer has any IV or catheter.
8.42pm Thursday evening. The night nurse has arrived and will stay with Jaana until the morning. Many nurses suggest restraining her movment (so she does not remove the feeding tube, did it again), which I will have nothing of. Jaana might be stubborn, but so am I. I think it is for their convenience (as with the catheter), but it is true that the refitting process of the same is something I leave the room for (not pleasent). I hope and pray that her swollowing muscles get better soon. She looks at piece when I left and she is sound asleep.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
26th of September
7.52am Wednesday morning. A very quite night. Jaana slept through the whole night, just woke up once or twice, looked around and fell asleep again.
3.57pm Wednesday afternoon. Jaana woke up around 9am and was very active for 2.5h. We practiced a lot of movements, then the occupational therapist, physio therapist and last the speech therapist came. After that she was absolutely exhausted and fell asleep for until 2pm. You should not worry that she get over-worked, since they take it easy on her if she is extremely sleepy, but it is also necessary for her to be awake during the days. It is only the easy way out to sleep all day, but not a lot will come out of it. We need to train her brain to be more awake, since the "sleeping" part of the brain was also quite affected.
When I left around 2.30, and Parmi was there, the occupational therapist came back. Parmi later called me to say that Jaana had walked with a 'rullator' minus wheels from her bed to the sofa and then back (2x3m)! HUGE thing.
As you can imagine there are plenty of moments of fear and minor setbacks (if you wonder why she is not running a marathon by now), but this is not the forum for that. I want to focus on all (any they are many) good improvements (and way out number setbacks).
I have been asked to come up with ideas to exercise Jaanas short and long term memory. Thus I have brought photos, her handbag and things like this for her to remember and talk about. I will put a sign on her door for visitors before entering her room declaring the following.
"
Dear Friends,
I would like to thank you for visiting Jaana! As a further favor to her, please join in the effort in restoring her long and short term memory. Do this by telling her a story, what you have done today etc and then ask her a few minutes later about what you told her. For the long term memory, bring photos, talk about trips, dinners, family and ask her what she remebers. All these tasks will actions will greatly improve her condition as she recovers. If come up with other ideas, this is obviously fine too as we should try to take each visit a small mental exercise as well.
"
Finally, her catheter was removed today so that is also one less thing bugging her. They have to monitor this closely since there might be issues with that being removed as well.
8.42pm Wednesday evening. This is first the night we have a private nurse for her. Her name is Anisha and used to take care of the patients in the ICU when Jaana was there. If Jaana would wake up early, Anisha will start with some light exercises to stimulate the muscles. I think things are calming down a bit and there is very much a plan in action for the rehabilitation. Jaana still have a light fever (37.4) but she is getting antibiotics for her urin infection and panadol for the fever, so it should not be an issue.
3.57pm Wednesday afternoon. Jaana woke up around 9am and was very active for 2.5h. We practiced a lot of movements, then the occupational therapist, physio therapist and last the speech therapist came. After that she was absolutely exhausted and fell asleep for until 2pm. You should not worry that she get over-worked, since they take it easy on her if she is extremely sleepy, but it is also necessary for her to be awake during the days. It is only the easy way out to sleep all day, but not a lot will come out of it. We need to train her brain to be more awake, since the "sleeping" part of the brain was also quite affected.
When I left around 2.30, and Parmi was there, the occupational therapist came back. Parmi later called me to say that Jaana had walked with a 'rullator' minus wheels from her bed to the sofa and then back (2x3m)! HUGE thing.
As you can imagine there are plenty of moments of fear and minor setbacks (if you wonder why she is not running a marathon by now), but this is not the forum for that. I want to focus on all (any they are many) good improvements (and way out number setbacks).
I have been asked to come up with ideas to exercise Jaanas short and long term memory. Thus I have brought photos, her handbag and things like this for her to remember and talk about. I will put a sign on her door for visitors before entering her room declaring the following.
"
Dear Friends,
I would like to thank you for visiting Jaana! As a further favor to her, please join in the effort in restoring her long and short term memory. Do this by telling her a story, what you have done today etc and then ask her a few minutes later about what you told her. For the long term memory, bring photos, talk about trips, dinners, family and ask her what she remebers. All these tasks will actions will greatly improve her condition as she recovers. If come up with other ideas, this is obviously fine too as we should try to take each visit a small mental exercise as well.
"
Finally, her catheter was removed today so that is also one less thing bugging her. They have to monitor this closely since there might be issues with that being removed as well.
8.42pm Wednesday evening. This is first the night we have a private nurse for her. Her name is Anisha and used to take care of the patients in the ICU when Jaana was there. If Jaana would wake up early, Anisha will start with some light exercises to stimulate the muscles. I think things are calming down a bit and there is very much a plan in action for the rehabilitation. Jaana still have a light fever (37.4) but she is getting antibiotics for her urin infection and panadol for the fever, so it should not be an issue.
Monday, September 24, 2007
25th of September
7.58 Tuesday morning. Jaana woke up during the night and did some exercises with Jari. She really posses the will poser for all physical rehabilitation exercises. As there were a lot of visitors in the evening she got tired and confused a few things, but this I do as well when I am tired. This morning after the nurses cleaned the bed, she managed to quickly pull out the tube through her mouth and the catheter, so I need to have a word with the doctors. They want to restrict her movements, but as you can imagine, I have refused that.
3.59pm Tuesday afternoon. Back from hospital/school. This morning Jaana was a bit sleepy again when I came in, but after 1h rest or so, it was all happening again. She pulled out the food tube a couple of time and one had to be quick. The doctors are saying that they will start tomorrow with a few teaspoons of drink/food to steady increase it so that we can remove the tube in a few days time. The IV with medicine will be removed tomorrow or at latest the day after. This will increase her mobility and make the rehabilitation easier.
Another huge thing happened today. She has indicated before that she wanted to get out of the bed. Today, I had a reclining chair brought over. As she swung her legs of the side of the bed getting ready to move over to the chair, I saw what she wanted. She put her arms around my neck and I told her to push. She stood! Without me supporting her weight at all, just assisting her with the balance. We also tried one very small step which she made with great effort. This required a huge amount of energy and she sat down again, laid down and fell asleep almost immidiatly. I could hear her crying silently (of joy) as she was standing leaning a bit on me. She realized she could stand!
This evening Jari is leaving Singapore to go back to Sweden. I take this opportunity to thank him for the best support possible! He is a very calm, analytical and caring person who has been invaluable. Thank You!
Tomorrow, I have arranged for a private nurse who worked in the ICU to come and watch over Jaana during the nights. As this is only from tomorrow, I will spend the night at the hospital before Hakan comes in the very early morning.
7.30pm Tuesday evening. Jari and I are off back to Gleneagles. An occupational theorapist has visited in the afternoon and Jari though she had some very interesting points. To train Jaanas short and long term memory, everyone who visits needs to help with exercises like telling stories and asking questions shortly after, showing old pictures and asking questions etc. I will put up some rough ideas as soon as I have spoken to her. I will post a guide on her door as well which visitors can read just before entering her room. Well, that is it for the time being.
9.08 Tuesday evening. The final information for the evening. Jaana is sound asleep and will hopefully be as such until tomorrow morning.
3.59pm Tuesday afternoon. Back from hospital/school. This morning Jaana was a bit sleepy again when I came in, but after 1h rest or so, it was all happening again. She pulled out the food tube a couple of time and one had to be quick. The doctors are saying that they will start tomorrow with a few teaspoons of drink/food to steady increase it so that we can remove the tube in a few days time. The IV with medicine will be removed tomorrow or at latest the day after. This will increase her mobility and make the rehabilitation easier.
Another huge thing happened today. She has indicated before that she wanted to get out of the bed. Today, I had a reclining chair brought over. As she swung her legs of the side of the bed getting ready to move over to the chair, I saw what she wanted. She put her arms around my neck and I told her to push. She stood! Without me supporting her weight at all, just assisting her with the balance. We also tried one very small step which she made with great effort. This required a huge amount of energy and she sat down again, laid down and fell asleep almost immidiatly. I could hear her crying silently (of joy) as she was standing leaning a bit on me. She realized she could stand!
This evening Jari is leaving Singapore to go back to Sweden. I take this opportunity to thank him for the best support possible! He is a very calm, analytical and caring person who has been invaluable. Thank You!
Tomorrow, I have arranged for a private nurse who worked in the ICU to come and watch over Jaana during the nights. As this is only from tomorrow, I will spend the night at the hospital before Hakan comes in the very early morning.
7.30pm Tuesday evening. Jari and I are off back to Gleneagles. An occupational theorapist has visited in the afternoon and Jari though she had some very interesting points. To train Jaanas short and long term memory, everyone who visits needs to help with exercises like telling stories and asking questions shortly after, showing old pictures and asking questions etc. I will put up some rough ideas as soon as I have spoken to her. I will post a guide on her door as well which visitors can read just before entering her room. Well, that is it for the time being.
9.08 Tuesday evening. The final information for the evening. Jaana is sound asleep and will hopefully be as such until tomorrow morning.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
24th of September
7.49am Monday morning. Jaana seem to have had a good nights sleep and has now woken up. I talked to her on the phone and told her kids are having breakfast and are off to school soon. Nothing special to report so far, but I will get back with more exciting stories later today.
4.25pm Monday afternoon. Just very quick since I need to shoot off and pick Totte up. I just returned from Gleneagles, and I happy to report that Jaana is now out of the ICU and in a private suite, having sunlight in her face, TV and a sofa bed, where we all can have a rest, eat dinners and be around her even more. She has been quite sleepy this morning, I woke her up (rather forcefully) around 10.30am, but then she was a wake until 1.30pm. Doing exercises, getting her hair washed (for the first time in 8 days) got her a bit tired. Hairdresser will be booked later in the week. Back later!
5.23 Monday afternoon. Many of you have requested Jaana's contact details. My fault, since it completely slipped my mind. Here it is: Jaana Molen, Suite 101 Gleneagles Hospital, 6A Napier Road, Singapore 258 500.
Additionally, I can say that when she made the move up from the ICU, they disconnected the drip so now she only gets her medicine (Heparin) through IV and food through a tube down her nose. They are slowly moving over to an orally drug (Heparin to Warfrin) and when this is taken up properly (takes up to a week) she will be able to get the other IV disconnected.
A speech therapist attended to her today. His is important for two reasons. First the obvious one, to assist her in getting her speech back! Secondly, the same part of the brain controls the swallowing muscles. As soon as they can detect enough swallowing reflex muscles, she will be able to eat proper food and get the very irritating tube out of her nose. I expect both to take between 3-6 days, so she will have to hang in there for that.
8.12pm. I took all the kids and Parmi to the hospital where we ate pizza so we could spend some time with Jaana. Jari, a friend from the embassy and another friend of Jaana's were also there, so i think it was a bit much. She looked very tired. I will go back one more time with Jari to say good night and then she will need to rest until tomorrow. She start to use more power in her voice so it gets a bit easier to understand, even though most of it is still a bit foreign to me... Nothng to be stressed about, early days yet! Good night
4.25pm Monday afternoon. Just very quick since I need to shoot off and pick Totte up. I just returned from Gleneagles, and I happy to report that Jaana is now out of the ICU and in a private suite, having sunlight in her face, TV and a sofa bed, where we all can have a rest, eat dinners and be around her even more. She has been quite sleepy this morning, I woke her up (rather forcefully) around 10.30am, but then she was a wake until 1.30pm. Doing exercises, getting her hair washed (for the first time in 8 days) got her a bit tired. Hairdresser will be booked later in the week. Back later!
5.23 Monday afternoon. Many of you have requested Jaana's contact details. My fault, since it completely slipped my mind. Here it is: Jaana Molen, Suite 101 Gleneagles Hospital, 6A Napier Road, Singapore 258 500.
Additionally, I can say that when she made the move up from the ICU, they disconnected the drip so now she only gets her medicine (Heparin) through IV and food through a tube down her nose. They are slowly moving over to an orally drug (Heparin to Warfrin) and when this is taken up properly (takes up to a week) she will be able to get the other IV disconnected.
A speech therapist attended to her today. His is important for two reasons. First the obvious one, to assist her in getting her speech back! Secondly, the same part of the brain controls the swallowing muscles. As soon as they can detect enough swallowing reflex muscles, she will be able to eat proper food and get the very irritating tube out of her nose. I expect both to take between 3-6 days, so she will have to hang in there for that.
8.12pm. I took all the kids and Parmi to the hospital where we ate pizza so we could spend some time with Jaana. Jari, a friend from the embassy and another friend of Jaana's were also there, so i think it was a bit much. She looked very tired. I will go back one more time with Jari to say good night and then she will need to rest until tomorrow. She start to use more power in her voice so it gets a bit easier to understand, even though most of it is still a bit foreign to me... Nothng to be stressed about, early days yet! Good night
Saturday, September 22, 2007
23rd of September
8.03am Sunday morning. Again a very quite and calm night when she rested and had a good night sleep. In the morning, Hakan said her eyes were wide open (have until now been open 70% or so) and they practised some arm and leg movements. It seems like she has found the same day/night rythm like usual, falling a sleep around 8pm and waking up around 7am.
2.30pm Sunday afternoon. I just returned from the hospital where again friends from Hong Kong came a visited. And yet again, Jaana was very happy to see her pregnant friend and wanted to touch her belly. After some rest, Ludde came with Jari which made her very happy. As I wrote before, the most obvious area of improvement will be the speach. It will take some time, but it has only been just over a week now so there is certainly no immediate rush. Her mobility and coordination is practiced regularly with Jari holding up his fingers and Jaana trying to catch them and hold on.
In fact, two (out of five!) doctors came to me and suggested that she would already (!) be better of moving out of the ICU, since there are many other much sicker patients around. It might be that this transfer will take place tomorrow, and I am sure this will boost her confidence that she is on the right track.
9.35pm Sunday evening. Back from the hospital where Jari and I conducted a training session with her for 20 min or so. She followed all requests putting her lip balm from hand-to-hand, doing high fives, pushing up legs etc. She knows Jari will never let her off the hook, so she obeyed everything. My suggestions are met with a bit more scepticism, but that would be very normal! She has her humour fully intact as the doctor asked her to show her tongue and she did. And when asked to say something to her dear husband immediately after, I also got the tongue (and a big smile)! Made me laugh!
Good night from Singapore where progress is on track... another day tomorrow
2.30pm Sunday afternoon. I just returned from the hospital where again friends from Hong Kong came a visited. And yet again, Jaana was very happy to see her pregnant friend and wanted to touch her belly. After some rest, Ludde came with Jari which made her very happy. As I wrote before, the most obvious area of improvement will be the speach. It will take some time, but it has only been just over a week now so there is certainly no immediate rush. Her mobility and coordination is practiced regularly with Jari holding up his fingers and Jaana trying to catch them and hold on.
In fact, two (out of five!) doctors came to me and suggested that she would already (!) be better of moving out of the ICU, since there are many other much sicker patients around. It might be that this transfer will take place tomorrow, and I am sure this will boost her confidence that she is on the right track.
9.35pm Sunday evening. Back from the hospital where Jari and I conducted a training session with her for 20 min or so. She followed all requests putting her lip balm from hand-to-hand, doing high fives, pushing up legs etc. She knows Jari will never let her off the hook, so she obeyed everything. My suggestions are met with a bit more scepticism, but that would be very normal! She has her humour fully intact as the doctor asked her to show her tongue and she did. And when asked to say something to her dear husband immediately after, I also got the tongue (and a big smile)! Made me laugh!
Good night from Singapore where progress is on track... another day tomorrow
Friday, September 21, 2007
22nd of September
8am , Saturday morning. An early report from the hospital indicates that Jaana has been very calm during the night and morning, sleeping most of the time. Resting after a very busy day. I will back later with more details.
During the morning hours when I got to the hospital, she had been sleeping. I woke her up a bit (something which needs to be done for exercises) and she was very active for an hour. During this time we counted fingers, talked about things we remembered and she had a quick first phone call with her mother, Ritva. She made a big smile when she heard her voice. If you asked her to squeeze her hand, stretch her left or right leg, open her eyes she did so, even though with some effort.
I did some exercises with her and just as I finished, the physiotherapist came again and wanted to start all over... She just nodded and did it all again.
After that, a great friend of ours who is 8.25 months pregnant (who flew in from Hong Kong yesterday to visit!!!) came by. Jaana recognised her immediately and smiled. We were talked about her difficulties convincing doctors/immigration officers that she could fly and enter Singapore. Jaana nodded and smiled when we concluded that 'you do NOT mess around and tell an 8 month pregnant woman what to do'. She when lifted her hand and lay it gently on the tummy to feel the baby. BIG smile!
9.40pm, Saturday evening. Sorry for not having gotten back with any new updates during the day, but since midday, when I left the hospital, friends from the Swedish Embassy in Singapore have had supervised over Jaana. I returned to the hospital with Camille around 6pm and left around 9pm again when Jari came.
Again, I woke her up when Camille and I came to the hospital. Before, Camille was a bit hesitant of spending a lot of time since I think she felt sorry for her mother and being a bit scared. Today, Jaana asked (with her lips) for a kiss and received the same from a very happy and willing Camille! What a blessing to see. I had tears in my eyes for the rest of the evening.
During the day, the doctors (who did not see all this activity) wanted to do another CT scan to make sure the medicine did not cause any bleeding in the brain. This was done around 2pm and was immediately analysed with the conclusion that this was not the case. Sometimes when the activity slows down and the pules decreases (below 50 bps) this could be an indication of such an event. Her pulse has never been below 63 and never above 100. As she suffered a slight fever (37.3) today, her pulse right now tend to be a bit higher (~85).
As a conclusion, the day has brought many smiles and happy tears to many soles. The major hurdles will be to practise the speaking. Mobility wise, she will come back over time as good as before. She is holding up strong.
I would like to thank you ALL for your support! What an amazing feeling! Coming from from Australia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Hong Kong, USA, Barbados, India, China... the whole world! Just amazing!
Jaana and I will never forget these weeks in our lives.
God Bless you all!
During the morning hours when I got to the hospital, she had been sleeping. I woke her up a bit (something which needs to be done for exercises) and she was very active for an hour. During this time we counted fingers, talked about things we remembered and she had a quick first phone call with her mother, Ritva. She made a big smile when she heard her voice. If you asked her to squeeze her hand, stretch her left or right leg, open her eyes she did so, even though with some effort.
I did some exercises with her and just as I finished, the physiotherapist came again and wanted to start all over... She just nodded and did it all again.
After that, a great friend of ours who is 8.25 months pregnant (who flew in from Hong Kong yesterday to visit!!!) came by. Jaana recognised her immediately and smiled. We were talked about her difficulties convincing doctors/immigration officers that she could fly and enter Singapore. Jaana nodded and smiled when we concluded that 'you do NOT mess around and tell an 8 month pregnant woman what to do'. She when lifted her hand and lay it gently on the tummy to feel the baby. BIG smile!
9.40pm, Saturday evening. Sorry for not having gotten back with any new updates during the day, but since midday, when I left the hospital, friends from the Swedish Embassy in Singapore have had supervised over Jaana. I returned to the hospital with Camille around 6pm and left around 9pm again when Jari came.
Again, I woke her up when Camille and I came to the hospital. Before, Camille was a bit hesitant of spending a lot of time since I think she felt sorry for her mother and being a bit scared. Today, Jaana asked (with her lips) for a kiss and received the same from a very happy and willing Camille! What a blessing to see. I had tears in my eyes for the rest of the evening.
During the day, the doctors (who did not see all this activity) wanted to do another CT scan to make sure the medicine did not cause any bleeding in the brain. This was done around 2pm and was immediately analysed with the conclusion that this was not the case. Sometimes when the activity slows down and the pules decreases (below 50 bps) this could be an indication of such an event. Her pulse has never been below 63 and never above 100. As she suffered a slight fever (37.3) today, her pulse right now tend to be a bit higher (~85).
As a conclusion, the day has brought many smiles and happy tears to many soles. The major hurdles will be to practise the speaking. Mobility wise, she will come back over time as good as before. She is holding up strong.
I would like to thank you ALL for your support! What an amazing feeling! Coming from from Australia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Hong Kong, USA, Barbados, India, China... the whole world! Just amazing!
Jaana and I will never forget these weeks in our lives.
God Bless you all!
21st of September
Wow, what a difference a day makes! When I arrived at the hospital this morning, after having dropped the kids of at school, Hakan told me that she had been very active just before communicating with the doctors and with him. After such a period she could easily have to rest for quite a few hours. But instead, she rested for 30 min and was later focusing her eyes looking at me for almost an hour, after which she had a longer rest again. Her speech will take a bit longer to come back since that is where the main impact of the stroke was. This part of the brain also controls the swallowing muscles, so she will need to keep her tube for eating for a few weeks. This is obviously a bit irritating for her, but rather necessary.
When I left the hospital just a few moments ago, she was resting. She has attracted a very mild fever (37.6) and urine infection which are both very common when you lay still in the ICU. Those conditions are being treated and managed so they should not impose any further implications.
All in all, this has been a great day with a lot of progress. I will return with more info later tonight if something transpires, otherwise tomorrow.
Last but not least, I would like to specially thank three people. I know that ALL of you care very much about Jaana and would like to be next to her for comfort, so no ranking of friends here. However though, Jari (Jaana's brother) and Hakan (a great friend of mine) have been sitting the night shift (10pm to 9am) for almost a week and Parmi (our household commander-in-chief) assists me at home, letting the kids have an as normal time as possible. This let's me drive the kids to school and spend the day with Jaana. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!
Just came back from the hospital (9pm Singapore time) after saying good night to her. She is now sleeping and resting for another day of hard recovery work tomorrow.
Updating you all fully, the doctor has suggested that if there are no other implications and the immediate recovery process proceeds in the coming days, she should be able to leave the ICU for a nice private room at the end of next week. This would obviously be great but will not be done until her situation has improved a bit more.
As promised, I read all postings to date for her this morning when she was awake.
When I left the hospital just a few moments ago, she was resting. She has attracted a very mild fever (37.6) and urine infection which are both very common when you lay still in the ICU. Those conditions are being treated and managed so they should not impose any further implications.
All in all, this has been a great day with a lot of progress. I will return with more info later tonight if something transpires, otherwise tomorrow.
Last but not least, I would like to specially thank three people. I know that ALL of you care very much about Jaana and would like to be next to her for comfort, so no ranking of friends here. However though, Jari (Jaana's brother) and Hakan (a great friend of mine) have been sitting the night shift (10pm to 9am) for almost a week and Parmi (our household commander-in-chief) assists me at home, letting the kids have an as normal time as possible. This let's me drive the kids to school and spend the day with Jaana. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!
Just came back from the hospital (9pm Singapore time) after saying good night to her. She is now sleeping and resting for another day of hard recovery work tomorrow.
Updating you all fully, the doctor has suggested that if there are no other implications and the immediate recovery process proceeds in the coming days, she should be able to leave the ICU for a nice private room at the end of next week. This would obviously be great but will not be done until her situation has improved a bit more.
As promised, I read all postings to date for her this morning when she was awake.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
20th of September
Today Jaana opened her eyes for the second time in 5 days! It takes a lot of effort for here to do that, but she managed for 45 minutes or so. During this period she also answered some questions by the doctors and said 'God morgon' even though not so strongly. After the massive amount of energy this takes, she needed to rest a bit and did so until early evening. At this time, the nurses wanted to take a blood test, and Jaana kindly reminded them not to forget to put on the plaster! Small things which makes my day...
Dear Family and Friends,
As many of you know, Jaana suffered an extended stroke early Saturday morning the 15th of September 2007. The devastation with which this has struck us all is indescribable. How can a healthy woman who just turned 40, does not smoke, hardly drinks, eats well and exercise regularly suffer such a terrible tragedy? As every cloud has a silver lining, we need to find it!
What seemed so important just a few days ago, has very much less meaning today; and that not so important smile or phone call is very much missed right now. We can not completely change our way of life, but hopefully this event brings some thoughts out in all of us to cherish every moment!
Jaana is currently still in the ICU at Gleneagles Hospital in Singapore. She will remain there for at least a week or so, and will then be transfered to a private ward where extended rehabilitation will commence. As she is the strongest woman on the planet, I am sure she will do well, but she needs encouragement. Therefore, this blogg has been created where I will post a daily summery of her progress and I would very much like ALL of you to post your greetings, thoughts and prayers.
With Great Love To My Dear Wife
Jorgen Molen
As many of you know, Jaana suffered an extended stroke early Saturday morning the 15th of September 2007. The devastation with which this has struck us all is indescribable. How can a healthy woman who just turned 40, does not smoke, hardly drinks, eats well and exercise regularly suffer such a terrible tragedy? As every cloud has a silver lining, we need to find it!
What seemed so important just a few days ago, has very much less meaning today; and that not so important smile or phone call is very much missed right now. We can not completely change our way of life, but hopefully this event brings some thoughts out in all of us to cherish every moment!
Jaana is currently still in the ICU at Gleneagles Hospital in Singapore. She will remain there for at least a week or so, and will then be transfered to a private ward where extended rehabilitation will commence. As she is the strongest woman on the planet, I am sure she will do well, but she needs encouragement. Therefore, this blogg has been created where I will post a daily summery of her progress and I would very much like ALL of you to post your greetings, thoughts and prayers.
With Great Love To My Dear Wife
Jorgen Molen
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