1st of December

7.12am Saturday morning. Not much to write about this early in the morning for this day, but yesterday evening her brother came to town. It will be fun for her when they both wake up to meet again; second time since she turned sick.
It is getting busier here around the house. Last month in Singapore has started. On the 10th of December the movers come in to start packing. At that time we will all move to a hotel/serviced apartment, so this blog might be a bit delayed then for a day or so.

30th of November

7.40am Friday morning. Not much to report this early in the morning other than the night was quite and that the physio/speech is coming later this afternoon. Yesterday afternoon, she also sat outside the house for a short while (it is a bit warm and humid) just to get some 'fresh' air. As they have started the Christmas lighting on Orchard Road here in Singapore, the doctor thought it would be nice to take her for a ride in the car to see it all. Planing for this during the weekend, should she so desire.

29th of November

8.01am Thursday morning. Yesterday she put in a lot of effort in all rehabilitation sessions. In the evening she was a bit tired, slept well last night and today there is a bit less going on. Blood tests made on Tuesday, confirmed current dosage of medication. The dietitian will put forward a menu for her which will improve her intake of probiotics, vitamins, energy and all other good stuff in the least amount of food quantity. Nothing much else to report, than small recovery steps.
4.40pm Thursday afternoon. Today one of the doctors who has been seeing Jaana from the start came by for a home visit. He gladly acknowledged her recent progress and confirmed to her that she will walk again, if she keeps up all the exercises. Jaana has been in a good mood all day and some of her friends from the embassy came by to celebrate a birthday with her.

28th of November

8.05am Wednesday morning. Jaana had a good night sleep and is doing fine. A dietician is coming around today to talk about Jaanas intake needs and what we can do to increase her energy etc. In the afternoon, John the physiotherapist, is doing his magic and we all hope we get some of that 0.5% progress we aim for. more later

27th of November

3.39pm Tuesday afternoon. Today Jaana is in a great mood. She was smiling a lot when I came back from the dentist, having three wisdom teeth removed, and my speech in a worse shape than she did. We laught together and when the speech therapist came, we both joined in. Anyway, no fever, good mood and tomorrow the physio guy is back again, whome for which I have a lot of respect. Last time around, Jaana stood up (again with support, don't get me wrong) for over 20 minutes. She is ready to test the walking frame again.
I took the final decision not to send Jaana to Humlegarden in December. This was done considering her own wishes (indicated through her foot) and what I think is appropriate at the current stage for her. Right now, she needs a lot of one-to-one attention getting enough fluid/energy intake. At this stage she is still very much scheduled to go there in January. However though, everything in life is changing everyday, but one has to have plans anyway, and this is the one in focus right now.
To friends living in Singapore, it should be noted that we leave Singapore on the 20th of December. We will obviously want to see as much as possible of all of you, but main priority has to be on Jaana's recovery. Hence, I will from time to time, reject requests of visits. This is naturally not done ill willingly, but rather in consideration for my dear wife. So please continue to call me if you want to visit her, but don't get disappointed if you have to reschedule. I know you all understand that and concure with my thoughts.

26th of November

9.43am Monday morning. In a bit better spirit today. She drank a bit for breakfast and ate some scramble eggs. Her food intake as of late has not been to massive so it is good to get that up some what. She is now being given a bath by the nurse, and will soon start to have lunch. As feeding her takes a massive amount of time, one has to start rather early. Jaana also gets vitamin and probiotics supplements as well as her normal medicine. I hate to pile it on, but I would not be surprised if she contracted a common cold as well as she is for the most part not moving. As much as you want to turn the air condition off, it is not possible in Singapore for a long period of time, if you do not have a good breeze.
Later today, I will get results from my mycoplasma test. Should I have the same, all the children will (only Camille today) get the same antibiotics. We don't want Jaana to get it again when she had gotten rid of it.

25th of November

6.23pm Sunday afternoon. Today Jaana had a bit of fever again in the morning, and was a bit sad. I take this as a sign that she is alert and aware and thus get a bit down when she thinks about her situation. What I try to tell her is that we all think of her and that if she just get a fraction of a percent better each day, she will be fantastic in a year or so. She realize this (answer with her foot), but of course she also realize it will not be an easy journey and then get some tears in her eyes. All in all, she is holding up quite good and is doing much better than I would.

24th of November

10.33am Saturday morning. Today there is a bit more to write about anyway. Yesterday, after the physiotherapist had had his afternoon session with Jaana, he came to me and informed me that he was pleased to announce that she is making progress again. This is fantastic, since lately things have gone a bit downhill with her mycoplasma doing its damage. He said that on Monday he will bring back the walking frame again for Jaana to make an attempt to some heavier exercises. Yesterday when I watched him work, Jaana was leaning her thighs towards a desk and with the therapist supporting her back, she bent her knees and had to push to stand up. She managed 5 times which is a good start.
This morning, she also squeezed my hand again with some strength. This is also something which she has not done for 3 weeks. She also has started to make some sounds again, so you can say that it is very good news today.
The process of her recovery is not and will not be a easy straight line recovery. This has been proven all to true, but I think that right now, we are on the improving track.
Yesterday, I took Camille with me to the doctor and she has come down with an ear infection and I have some throat infection. They also did a mycoplasma blood test and we will get the result on Monday. Rather than waiting for the result, we are already eating medication for both infections, just to reduce the risk of handing it back to Jaana later.

23rd of November

7.48am Friday morning. Jaana slept through night very well and is now having breakfast. There has not been anything new to report, but things are settling down to a bit of a routine with her making small progress everyday.
After asking her what she wants to do before Christmas and due to her some what rather slow eating/drinking, I have decided that it is most likely better for her to stay with us in Singapore until we all leave for France. She would still as planed attend rehabilitation after Christmas as scheduled, should nothing new develop. During the time of packing she would be either cared for in the hospital or being with us in the hotel. Either or, the care and nurses would be the same.

21th of November

8.05pm Wednesday evening. the mycoplasma lever is now almost back to normal, and it shows in her attitude, awareness and general condition. Today she managed to hold her own weight standing up (with two persons controlling her balance) for 10 minutes. Her legs are stronger than her arms. She can squeeze her hands lightly, but is getting better.

20th of November

7.36am Tuesday morning. Jaana had a good night sleep,so let us see what today brings. They will come around to make a blood test today to verify medicine dosage.

19th of November

10.49am Monday morning. Good night sleep, a bit of cough, but nothing serious. Fever has gone done quite a bit and this morning it was almost nothing left of it. Her movements are still rather weak, but her spirit and conciousness is very good. I think this is due to her rather limited food intake,which we now can work on when the mycoplasma level is getting lower. Today we have some friends coming in from Australia to say hello to her before we leave. Report more later.

5.46pm Monday afternoon. Some good news! For the first time in 4 weeks, Jaana participated a lot in the physiotherapy session! She stood up for quite some time! This has not happened for a long time and I am very pleased with this. The antibiotics against the mycoplasma is kicking in! There will be another blood test done tomorrow. It will take a good month to get rid of it, but it is making such a difference to her well being. Just wanted to report some happy news in the afternoon, but please be patient since this very small bacteria is difficult to fend off.

18th of November

4.04pm Sunday afternoon. No major breakthroughs today, but instead a slow recover from the mycoplasma. Jaana is now again constantly drinking around 800-1000ml / day, even though this is done through some very impressive patience from the nurse, Parmi and to a much smaller extent me. She is not eating so much at the moment, but I am under the impression that she also has some lighter pain in her throat when swallowing. Anyway, stead as she goes, one step at a time, one foot in front of the other, she is progressing.
Today I took the kids ice skating here in Singapore. It was Camille's first time and she was a bit scared as well as amused. When she got home, she told Jaana about it and refused to confess her frightful face when entering the ice rink. Jonathan is quite descent for not having skated so much and seem to enjoy it.

17th of November

7.28pm Saturday evening. Another day where I think the medicine is doing it's work. Slowly but surely, Jaana is recovering from the mycoplasma. As it can have severe muscle impact, this is something to grab some hope to. It will take more time before we can see just how much the impact of this is to her, but is likely to be quite a bit. Today, again without me to verify, Jaana said 'ok' and a weak 'good morning'. Even though weak, this is steps in the right direction. In addition to that we use blinking, pressing with the foot and extending the tongue to say 'yes' or 'no'.

16th of November

7.37pm Friday evening. I think the antibiotics are kicking in slowly, but she is definitely more alert today. As her mycoplastma levels were so high, I think it will take longer than normal for these very small bacteria to disappear. Normally, this can be very difficult anyway, but for Jaana it will be even more so. However though, she shook her head definitely for the first time in a while so I hope this is the sign I have been waiting for. Drinking is still slow, but is picking up. The last 3-4 days, she has been managing around 900ml which is fine.
A friend of Jaana's highlighted the need for probiotics as the antibiotics is killing all the good bacteria as well. I have received some information about this, and will order some highly concentrated bifidus for her to take with her food. This will make it easier for her to defend herself from new infections and improve digestion.
I will report tomorrow midday and hope that in the next days to come, I will be able to relay some happy news.

15th of November

11.04am Thursday morning. Today it is two months since Jaana turned ill. It has been a roller-coaster, but we can easily see that even if we are not at the peak at the moment, we have been very much lower as well.

I want everyone to pray that she recovers quickly from this mycoplasma. Should she not improve within the next two weeks, the initial rehabilitation visit in Sweden will need to be cancelled. It is my hope that we can proceed as planed with this, but it is of no use for her to do rehabilitation, if she is not participating. i will keep you posted at always.

14th of November

11.17am Wednesday morning. Jaana had a good nights sleep, but had rather high fever in the morning. After panadol, all other medicines she is eating and breakfast, she is now having a nap. The speech and physiotherapist are coming later this afternoon to do their job.
On the move front, things are getting put in place. The movers are starting packing on the 10th od December. Half the house is going to Barbados and the other to Italy. Parmi, our invaluable housekeeper, is helping me a lot and keeping the household in order while I run around and fix all things. She will join us to Europe for Christmas, and I think she is quite excited about it even though she is a bit worried about the 'cold' south of France...

13th of November

10.43am Tuesday morning. Sorry everyone, but I did write 2 posts and they seem to have disappeared. I used to be a good programmer, but have since obviously degraded to not being able to even post these things reliably. Again, my apologies.
Anyway, back to the matter in hand, Jaana. I was quite worried there for a while that I had to take her back to the hospital for rehydration. She has since picked up drinking a bit, but it goes slow. It can take up to 45min to feed her 100ml, so one has to understand that if she is sleeping a lot, it gets a bit difficult. That is why her awareness is so important. Anyway, a few of her friends came by this morning and she was feeling very joyful. It was nice for us all to see her smile and enjoy their company.
A hospital nurse came by yesterday to verify her INR value and test for microplasma. The INR value came back in line with expectations (so no need to change the Warfarin dosage) and the other tests are coming back today.

6.10pm Tuesday afternoon. Blood test made yesterday reviled that Jaana has mycoplasma. You can read more about this on the Internet, and since my last attempt to supply you with links explaining Strawberries/VitaminK was met with scepticism, I will leave the research up to each one of you. The cure seem to be antibiotics, which she has already been issued today. This is something we all should check out (specially here in Singapore with a lot of it going around). It can take many forms and pop up when ever. Everyone of you who know Jaana well, would know that she falls a sleep early every evening and mycoplasma is also called 'Chronic Fatigue Disease'. She could have had this for some time, without knowing. Anyway, with a bit of luck (it sure is Jaana turn now) this could have caused her late physical deterioration. Let's pray, wait and see...

10th of November

9.07am Saturday morning. Jaana slept weel through the night, but is quite wobbly in her movements. We showered her this morning and now she is eating breakfast in bed. She has a little bit of fever, which might be the case that she has not been drinking enough. Anyway, the doctors will take blood test on Monday for INR, so I will ask them to analyse the urine as well. Her mind set is a bit better today, even though she is very weak.

9th of November

6.42pm Friday evening. Jaana is in a little bit of a low point in her mood and needs a lot encouragement at the moment. As she is totally aware of her situation, she get a little bit depressed when she realize things are not moving as fast as she would like. I will have a word with the doctors again to see what they think. We are trying to stimulate her in all sorts of way, but for the moment she is quite closed to herself. I do not mean to worry you all, as I am sure this is quite normal to feel depressed. However though, as her muscles are now very weak she most probably think she will not get better. This is of course not true, but from her side, laying in bed, having ample of time to think, it is a natural thought. We all do a lot to stimulate her to do her therapy, but it is her will to participate which is lacking a bit lately. I hope I can provide you with more encouraging new shortly.

8th of November

8.42am Thursday morning. The day started rather early, with Jaana headed for the ladies room around just before 6. She rested a bit more, had a shower and is now eating a bit of breakfast. Today the kids have a day of school so i will take them to the movies, since it is raining heavily.

7th of November

7.01am Wednesday morning. First night at home was all good. She fell asleep around 8pm and woke u[p around 5.30am or so. The day nurse is on her way and will be here from 8am, so just when I leave to drop the kids off. It certainly got even a bit more hectic around the house, but in a while the routines will settle in and it will get easier.
She did not drink so much yesterday, but I think it was more to her being tired from the move from the hospital to the house. We will try to get more fluid in her today.

4.03pm Wednesday afternoon. The occupational therapist came home today and did some practising with Jaana. The last week or so Jaana has been a bit less interested in participating. This is normal, people has explained to me, but as an observer and novice in neuroscience, one tends to get nervous. Anyway, I hope her change in the move home will help her to re energize and increase the effort shortly.

6th of November

6.48am Tuesday morning. As Jaana was a bit sad yesterday, I stayed with her during the night and have just returned. Hopefully, this is just the right time to bring her home. She has gotten very fed up with the hospital and I hope this re energize the batteries a bit. The therapy will continue at home tomorrow. I will report more later.

5th of November

3.22pm Monday afternoon. Again another day of physiotherapy and so on, with nothing special going on. Her muscle weakness is noticeable and I hope it will improve over time. As she needs her rest as well, the therapist discourage more intensive rehab for mentioned reason. However though, I think with her coming home, going to Sweden for some weeks will do her just good. One has to be patient and one could easily estimate her recovery to take quite some, but that we have.
She has been clear by both her doctors (neurosurgeon and neurologist) and the Singapore Airlines doctor for her travel. Today I bought with help from Hakan some genius (to me!) simple strap with a secure shoulder band for me, so I can easily care her whole weight and guide her around. This will make it possible for me to bring her to/from the airplane better. It is all being put in place, one piece at a time.

4th of November

6.58pm Sunday afternoon. Not a whole lot to report today other than that Jaana ate a good lunch and was in a rather good mood. Doctors have again confirmed that she is good to go on Tuesday afternoon. She will do her Monday and Tuesday as usual and then on Wednesday, all therapist will come to our home instead. The night nurse will become a day nurse and help out from 8am to 8pm when both wither me, Parmi, Catherine or some one else will be home as well. There are many people in Singapore having the cough so I hope Jaana will be spared since she already have had that kind of flue.

3rd of November

12.05. Saturday noon. As I was out running this morning and passing the hospital, I managed to catch her just as she was finishing up breakfast. She ate and drunk a lot and was ready to get a quick nap before the rehab started again. Her muscles are getting a bit stiffer, but we are all trying hard for her to work them all the time. Who knows, when she comes home next week, she might be able (with two assistants of course) to take a quick dip in the pool. It might be abit easier to move some muscles there. The current plan is for her to come home on Tuesday afternoon. She is only on Warfarin now and is drinking enough for this to happen. Later today, I will go with her for a walk in the Botanic Garden with the kids. Report will follow

2nd of November

8.20pm Friday evening. I have not been able to post anything earlier than this, sorry. Jaana has been a bit more tired the last 48h, but this afternoon she is 'back' again. Her motivation for rehabilitation deteriorated a little bit, but when I told her again (and she now understand it is true) that first we are having a walk in Botanic Garden tomorrow and thatn I will bring her home on Monday/Tuesday she shun up. She is very much looking forward sleeping in at home, being around the kids, eating with us and just being back to the one happy family life. I have told her about all the immediate plans, and she seem very happy. Her spirit is in good form and I trust all will be well in the end.

Please read the 'Contact Info' note posted yesterday

Contact Info

I will update this post with contact details in the future for all of you:

Between 4th of December 21st of December and 5th of January - 25th of January:
Jaana Molen
Stiftelsen Humlegården
Box 36,
193 21 Sigtuna
Tel: +46-8-505 553 00
Web: http://www.humlegarden.a.se/
Visits are allowed according to the rules of Humlegarden.
Important though in winter times, that one does NOT visit if one has ANY kind of cold/flu since Jaana can not take that. The set backs are enormous if that happens, so PLEASE honour that and think of her first and yourself second!

Between 21st of December - 5th of January:
Jaana, Jorgen, Ludwig, Jonathan and Camille Molen
401 Chemin de val Martin
06??? Valbonne
France
Tel: +33-4-93 12 17 29

From 5th of January:
Jaana, Jorgen, Ludwig, Jonathan and Camille Molen
Mangrove Plantation
St. Peter
Barbados, West Indies
Email: jaana@molenonline.com, jorgen@molenonline.com,
ludde@molenonline.com, totte@molenonline.com, camille@molenonline.com
Tel: +1-246-422 0537 or +1-246-422 5476
Fax: +1-246-419 0035
Jorgen Mobile: +1-246-234 8932
Jaana Mobile: +1-246-234 8934
Ludde Mobile: +1-246-234 8936
Totte Mobile: +1-246-234 8949
Parmi Mobile: +1-246-234 8950
Kids school: http://www.codrington.edu.bb/cs/public/default.asp

1st of November

4.36pm Thursday afternoon. I have been running around today and have not had any chance to write until now. Jaana is a bit more tired the last 48h than just earlier. As with all of us, we have great days and days where we would rather curl up and watch a movie instead. Anywau, she is doing ok and the doctors ordered a routine check up with the MRI just for confirmation all is going well. I will head over there in a a few hours with quesadillas. I have booked Jaanas flight back to Europe and will go with her to Stockholm arriving around late morning on the 3rd of December.
Weather in Singapore is warm but rather cloudy. As we are approaching the monsoon season, it tends to rain a bit more. We were spared all of smog from Indonesia this year so that is good.