Tropical Sprue

I have finally received a diagnosis of Tropical Sprue, I've had it since December 2009.
It was a parting gift from Jakarta lol.
I have just finished my first of six bottles of antibiotics, some lovely heavy duty Tetracyclines and are already feeling much improved.
An unfortunate condition of these mediations is sobriety......yes 3 whole months of sobriety is necessary.

Uni is back on as of this week, I have tacked on an extra unit to a full-time load...I'm going to be VERY busy for the next few 15 weeks!





Tropical Sprue

I have been slightly unwell for the last 16 months, nothing serious but debilitating. We are now close to finding the reason, a lovely persistent Indonesian bug or something else.
I have just found unread 4700 emails in gmail and 800 in yahoo.....looks like I am going to busy for the next few weeks!

One week until university exams.....and counting.

In 1.5 weeks time I will be free to blog, and read and relax.......until then, here is a little something.

Last time we went to Singapore, Chelsea fell over and had a suspected fractured arm.
This time she slipped and fell on her chin; these are photos of the slowly fading bruise.
Very surprisingly she was not in a lot of pain...
We had no idea it was so bad until we took the ice off.
Chelsea has previously managed to snap an adult tooth in half and I was so worried she had done some dental damage, but everything was fine.
Just over a week later it has just faded away completely.

Chelsea takes after GJ....his body is covered in scars from his childhood.

Dengue Fever in Jakarta

My middle little darling, Chelsea has Dengue Fever.
The Dr's at SOS clinic are looking after her very well; she is having daily blood tests to make sure that she does not develop any further complications.
Chelsea developed a fever as soon as she arrived in Sambolo, luckily we had some medicine with us and she was okay until we got back to Jakarta.
She is resting at home and is very bored, so she tells me lol.

Sickness in Jakarta

Just to break up the monotony of our fun adventures in Indonesia...

I have more sickness to report.

Both the girls came down with Cytomegalovirus last week.
This week Ben has Glandular fever
Quite a few kids are off school at the moment with one or the other.....We are at week 7.5 of a 10 week school term...School holidays are needed!

I think GJ has both!

I had both in my early twenties so should be fine. The girls are back at school and are on the mend. Georgia needed antibiotics for a very infected throat, but Chelsea has not needed any.

Ben is still contagious so is at home being my little shadow........
I think that this is what explains the temper tantrums from a few days ago!


I think that this photo is so precious, It was late at night and we were still at the clinic and the local dr wanted a second opinion with the Expat dr, so Georgia was taken back to the ER to lie down and wait. She is such a little princess like me..........so dramatic but soo cute. My sister saw this photo and wanted to jump on the first plane to comfort her.....
This is the exact opposite from Chelsea LOL, If she needs a blood test she just sticks out her arm and watches......Ben falls half way between the two extremes. This time his vein collapsed so he needed two goes and was quite ok with it all.

It is not until you move to a third world country that you realise how much you take for granted at home.
Australia's drinkable tap water, clean air, sanitary conditions, non polluted environment and access to safe foods makes it very easy to stay healthy.
Here it is a whole new ball game.


I have worked out how to take photos with my hand phone AND to download them......It makes it easy to take discrete photos.....

I am trying to sneak one this week to show the raw chicken handling procedures at the local expat supermarket....oh my you will be shocked!

Cough and start of term one at school.

I have just finished my second week back at school, it feels like we did NOT have a 6 week holiday at all LOL.

During the first week back, two kids came in with a cough…well it has spread like wildfire through teachers and kids……and guess what….of course I got it.

Ms K, one of the other friendly teachers who has also come down with the cough/flu and I are going off to find a detox centre, we have seen 2 in Kemang. Since the typhoid (K was one of the 1st ones to get it at school) time we have both caught every thing that has gone around. If any one even talks about a sickness we both seem to get it!

We think our immune systems are compromised and are going to fix them.

K has heard of an American plan that lasts for 10 days and apparently has excellent results. It will be 10 days of herbs, limited (imported) fruit and vegetables, brown rice and water and not a skerack of any thing else. There would also be massages and something I have no wish to even think of let alone contemplate.

They could be a variety of outcomes:-

• I keel over and die from all the toxins leaving my body

• I make it to day 2.5 and break the fast with a glass of wine and some strong pain killers

• GJ and the kids have me committed for being a raging lunatic while suffering the release of all toxins

• I survive 10 days on the plan and emerge glowing with health and vitality and in a dramatically slimmer body……

I think I have listed the options in the right order.

New Years Eve 2007 to 2008

I sort of missed it……

I mentioned before that I wasn’t feeling too good after Christmas, I was worried that Typhoid had returned. But luckily it hadn’t!
I was a tiny bit taken aback when the Dr chuckled and started to joke about how many different types of bacteria I was playing host to. So yet another course of antibiotics were needed, this time I have found some pro-biotics and multi vitamins to assist in my recovery.

I can’t not remember ever being as sick and in pain as often as I have since Sept 1st (broken ankle day).
It is lucky we love living in Indonesia and can easily forgive all the health atrocities it has inflicted.

So New Years Eve…….I missed out on a ring side seat to a magnificent fireworks display, great company, nice food and quite a few bottles of Moet champagne………
I stayed at home…with four kids (GJ had a great time at the party next door but forgot that 4 kids can’t look after themselves). Don’t worry, he is not in trouble for wrongly assuming that those 4 kids (age 4 to 9) would just go to bed unassisted like he told them to do at 10pm………Ben finally agreed to get into bed with me at 11.30 so I could sleep (no idea what those 3 girls did…LOL).

So 2008 started with a fizzle for me , LOL. But I have high expectations for the rest of 2008.

I am looking forward to Bali in mid January, Sydney and Brisbane in March, and one other exotic new adventure in the summer holidays.

I have reduced my working to two days a week this year and hope to pick up a few courses at JICC just for me. Cooking, painting, languages, things that are creative and fun.

I am still contemplating going back to uni and completing a teaching degree ( I am a work place trainer ie adult educator, plus I have speech therapy background which I use at the kids school in return for fee relief). None of my diplomas are recognized as credit points for teaching so it would mean 4 years full time long distance education, which I don’t know that I want to commit to. This might be a 2009 project.

So 2008.…..bring it on!

I can’t wait to learn more of the language of Indonesia ands explore some of the other islands.

Blogging will resume today

I have been told by numerous sources that blogging HAS to recommence ASAP!

Today I will.

Do not expect greatness as the dreaded Typhoid has returned.
Silver lining......I have now lost 7kg (15.4 lb). Hope it stays lost.

I also need quiet a few hours to sort through the nearly 2000 photos I took in December!
Expect photos...many, MANY photos

Family sun protection policy

We have a strict family policy on sun exposure......it is basically

no unprotected skin in the sun EVER

We all wear hats (I am very disappointed that my kids and about 2 others are the only kids that wear hats at school play times) and we all apply sunscreen every day after cleaning teeth. The kids even know to apply sunscreen on their ears and necks.
We also live in the tropics, the sun is strong 365 days a year. There is so much light around us we don't have to worry about lack of vitamin D either.
We have all fair skin....Chelsea and GJ are the fairest. Chelsea is an almost blueish white. We don't tan, we just go lobster red then peel. GJ and I have already started the "cut out the skin cancers from your youth" routine......I don't want the kids to have to go through this.
So this makes me so mad......
Georgia went on an end of year school excursion to a water park. With sunscreen on and in her bag.........but no reminders to reapply+ she "forgot".....Her face is red raw, she is in pain and will probably blister and peel.
I hope she learns why we are so insistent on sunblock and that this never happens again.


more health updates........

Georgia went back to school on Monday. She has been complaining of intermittent pains on her RHS as well as depositing her dinner over GJ and I and the floors and walls the other night........so back to the doctors.
We decided to go back to the tried and tested SOS clinic instead of the new convenient Global doctors clinic. At least this time the nurse was able to get the blood sample from Georgia with out incident. The last attempt needed two stabs and the nurse sucking the blood out by pulling on the syringe over about 18 minutes.
We are both on the mend, Georgia has no active Typhiod left and is fine. I'm improving except I now have a kidney and toe infection as well......
The upside, I have lost 4kgs (8.8lb)!
So we are both improving well.

Funny bit
Georgia has grown up with a camera in her face, she smiles and poses like a professional. Yet this morning when I was trying to get a shot of her face it took 16 shots to get one with her eyes open! We were all laughing so hard!

More Typhoid Fever.....

I haven't been feeling that good the last few days, actually I have been going downhill since last weeks diagnoses.
Fortunately Georgia is doing great and should be fine for school next week.
We went back to the Doctors today and I had another blood test, my typhoid levels have actually risen. I have a resistant strain of typhoid and now need to begin a new course of stronger antibiotics. My liver something or other is too high as well which is adding to the pain and misery.