7th of September, 2010

5.58pm Tuesday afternoon. Jaana has had her first rehab session at humlegarden today. I spoke very briefly with Giselle, her Barbadian therapist and it was more of a get together and evaluate sessions, so I will write more when I know.
Meanwhile, Jonathan, Camille and I have arrived safely in Barbados a few hours ago. It was clearly the right decision for Jaana to stay 5 weeks in Sweden as it is stinking hot over here. In a few months it will start to cool down, but know we are all gasping for air.
More later...

5th of September, 2010

3.05pm Sunday afternoon. Jaana is now showing improvements already. Her left side of her body, which has been very stiff and let her almost unable to lower and control her arm, is now back. She can raise her arm, extend it and more importantly, afterwards relax it. What is needed now is a intense, massive amount of therapy and hard work. In addition, she has not been crying at all and her mood seen far better than before. Balance is marginally better but is showing improvement. The next 2 months are critical for her improvement.
For all her coming visitors, please play memory games, always let her answer with words, show old pictures and so on. Enjoy her company as I am sure she will enjoy to meet all friends again. Tell fun, nice things and minimize depressing ones, as it is the least thing she needs. Visit her, bring new borns which will make her happy. Very important is that you only visit her if you are in good health as she does not need an infection after her operation.

4th of September, 2010

6.13pm Saturday afternoon. Jaana is back in the hotel! After two days at the hospital, she is back resting in the hotel. She as been a bit dozy after the operation, but is now back to the same level of consciousness as prior to the operation. Now it is time to change the status quo and for the improvements to start. I spoke again to the surgeon and he is very happy about the operation and her recovery. Jaanas therpist form Barbados is here now and has been with with Jaana in hospital all the time since she woke up. I will report before we leave Dusseldorf for Sweden. My next profession is going to be travel agent...
To all of you sending messages, emails, writing on the blog or phoning (not so many, thanks for that!), Jaana and I would like to express our deepest gratitude. Fantastic to see all support for us. Thanks!

2nd of September, 2010

Noon Thursday. Jaanas operation is done! She came out of the operating room 10.05am CET and is now and for the next 24h in the ICU. This to monitor her state so nothing goes wrong and there is no bleeding.

Jaana, my dear wife, you are a true beacon of life spirit, values and bravery. When we kissed 'so long' just before your operation, I know you were full of fear. As we shared some tears, I know we both had the same thought. With this fear, you still went ahead and completed your treatment. This takes bravery to a level I hope I one day will have. You are an amazing wife, my best friend and the best person throughout I ever met. I want you to know that as you are recovering.
Now, the difficult and dangerous part is over. It is now time for hard work again with as much training as you can. I have no doubt, that with this behind us, you will excel in your recovery. Your own stem cells will now start to do their magic and let's hope for a lot of it. Happy 1th anniversary my dear Jaana.

Parmi, you know that you are part of our family. I told you so many times, and I mean it now more than ever. Without you, both Jaana and me, would not have coped the way we have. You are fantastic! I hope you know how much you mean for all of us. I wish you a nice holiday and look forward to welcome you home soon again.

31st of August, 2010

5.13pm Tuesday afternoon. Time for a short update. Today was a rather busy day. First Jaana had some blood draw for normal blood test etc, then bone marrow from both her hips were drawn. Different from last time, this was a bit pain full, but extra marrow was drawn to make sure there would be enough good stem cells for the surgery on Thursday. After this, she rested a bit and then there was a meeting with both the anesthesiologist and then the neuro surgeon. Both of them described in detail the agenda for Thursday. Now we are back in the hotel for her to rest. Tomorrow it is back to the hospital for MRI scans to assist the surgeon on Thursday so the can do this with the highest accuracy possible. I will keep you updated on Thursday after the operation which is scheduled for 9.30am CET.

27th of August

9.07am Friday morning. As we are packing up for the summer and preparing our departure, I will not write anything more for a week. Therefore I would like to communicate the next scheduled events concerning Jaanas stem cell treatment.
On Monday the 30th of August, Jaana, Parmi and me fly to Dusseldorf. On Tuesday bone marrow from Jaanas hip will be extracted. On Wednesday there will be MRI, PET and CT scans and the stem cells will be separated from within the bone marrow. Thursday is the critical day. The stem cells will be put back into Jaans brain through neuro endoscopy. This is done under full anesthesia and even though it is done regularly and weekly at the center, it is not a small thing. To my understaning, the general idea is to be as quick as possible and be as non-intrusive as one can. The operation should not take longer than 20-30 min if everything goes well. So for all of you, Thursday is time for thoughts and prayer for Jaana. I will write as soon as possible after she wakes up. Her occupational therapist, Giselle, will come from Barbados and talk to the center about special training after the operation. I will be in Lugano on Friday to help Ludwig in this new school and will take Camille and Jonathan to Dusseldorf on Saturday. Jaana will be in the hospital until Saturday when she will be at our hotel for 2 nights. On Monday we fly to Sweden where she will undergo intense therapy at Humlegarden. Giselle will come up to Sweden to instruct the center about Jaana, what she has been doing for the past 24 months, how to treat after the operation and be close to her. Jonathan, Camille and I will fly home to Barbados on Monday/Tuesday where they will be a few days late for school.
Now, I think that is as much as I can tell you right now. So, for Thursday the 2nd of September, which is Jaanas and mine 15th anniversary as well, she will be needing everyones thoughts. Not the present I had in mind, but I hope it will be the best one I ever gave her.

9th of Auagust, 2010

3.11pm Monday afternoon. This has been the longest break between postings! Reason being, there has not been to much to report. However though, now I would like to announce that Jaanas is doing her second, and a bit larger, stem cell treatment in Dusseldorf at the end of August. As Parmi is going to Indonesia for a month and Jaana needs a lot of therapy, stimulation and attention immediately after the treatment, she will be heading to Humlegarden rehabilitation center in Sigtuna, Sweden. There are other more prominent, and maybe better centers in the world, but she will not be close to friends. The social aspect, I have found, is even more important for her than anything else. Not having her children and husband close, will have an impact, but it will far less if all friends (not having a cold etc) will visit her as much as possible. should be able to do so, talk to her and let her answer with words, play a card game, play memory, ask questions, sudokos etc etc. Do anything which will stimulate her brain. It is very very important after her treatment to cease the opportunity when the new cells try to grow and reconnect damaged areas.
To coordinate visits and ask for best timings, please contact Jaanas mother Ritva Koistinen to make sure Jaana does not have scheduled therapy when you come as it will waste your time and she needs to concentrate fully on the task of getting better. However though, go and visit her! I will get back to you with more details before she arrives in Sweden.
The children are doing fine! Ludwig will start boarding school in Lugano Swizerland in September. Jonathan, Camille and me will return to Barbados just after getting Jaana to Humlegarden. Next year, we will most likely move to Lugano and spend the weekends at our home in Italy.
Anyway, need to go but all of you, take care and visit my wife in Sweden should you get chance!