Janet was soundly sleeping when I returned and awoke just as I was ready to leave for my meeting with Dr. McCann. I took a few minutes to explain what was happening then off I went.

Dr. McCann surprised me by starting the meeting with “Before you say anything, I’m going to order a two week trial in rehab for Janet”. I think he felt I was coming in to get mad at him or something. I hid my excitement at his announcement and told him my concern about not all the information about Janet getting to him and others on the team and the fact that I spend more time than anyone with her but am not sure my voice is being heard. He agreed and listened to my list of recent accomplishments by Janet and summarized his feelings. He feels Janet deserves a chance at rehab and knows my concern about LTC and that I’m thinking of taking her home but wants to give her a shot before any of that happens. She’s not officially ready for rehab but he is hoping that the experience will trigger more progress for her. He hopes the routine and more active days will help bring her out of the fog more and spark more improvements. Dr. Miller talked to him this morning after seeing Janet, he’s the neuro psychologist and saw Janet very early this morning, and he feels Janet is showing signs of progress. Apparently she squeezed his hand this morning. Yippeee, welcome to the month of July Dr. Miller. Anyways, bottom line is Janet gets at least two weeks in rehab, more if she progresses, she will be put on “delay” for moving to LTC as soon as rehab accepts her onto their list which should be tomorrow. Janet could start in rehab in the next week or two. Dr. McCann is taking a risk here as Janet will be taking a bed from someone who truly qualifies and he will look bad if she doesn’t progress in the program but I feel he believes she has a chance at success and it would be worse if he didn’t give her a chance. I think Tom’s reports have been a big help in getting us here and in fact the whole team was excited today. Seems a little surreal but it is happening.

I told Janet the good news when I got back and I think she gets it. Dr. McCann said he would be up to see her right away and he showed up just after I told Janet to give him a big smile when he came in. She lifted her head and looked right at him and did give a little smile. High five! He chatted briefly and looked at each of her arms before leaving to write the order. It was getting kinda late so we headed out. Janet drove part way down the hall but it was pretty busy again so I took over. Wendy (social worker) met us a few feet from the elevators and talked to us as Janet pushed along. Janet nailed the elevator button with Wendy watching (secret high five) and did well driving on the main floor as Wendy continued her visit. Outside, Janet gave a great effort driving towards the beach but I took it easy on her and took over at the first big hill. The beach was beautiful today and we managed another nice tanning session. Janet drove quite a bit outside today and showed a real determination to move that chair especially when we got inside the Centennial Building. An unofficial speed record for down that big hallway and a real good attempt at that bump in the last doorway. Another direct hit on the elevator button and back to her room we went.

I let her get warm for a few minutes then started stretching her out for the night. She keeps wanting to bend that left leg up at the knee all the time and I got a little mad at her about it. Seemed to work as she kept it down the entire time we read Anne and watched some highlights of that ridiculous football game from last night. She still had it nice and straight when I said goodnight.

Thanking Jesus for all we have been blessed with and looking forward to an active day of learning tomorrow.

A warm welcome to the day as Janet was awake and smiling as I came into the room this morning. Her nurse was just about to clean her up and get her dressed so I stepped out to allow that to happen. May as well get our money’s worth. Janet seemed calm and well rested and we had a nice chat with me lying beside her on the bed. Tom came in to make sure OT had brought up The Rack, it arrived shortly after he did so I figured we better get Janet stretched out and ready. She was pretty tight this morning but loosened up nicely in about a half hour. The Rack is the same contraption Janet stood in down in OT last week. It now resides in her room so we can use it two or three times a week.

Tom returned just after nine with Leanne and they got Janet up and into The Rack. There is something about standing up that really appeals to Janet and she got up real nice and straight this morning with both feet flat on the ground. A first. The only time she was really bothered was when Leanne was working her right shoulder. Her vitals stayed steady and she was in good shape, even shifting her weight to her left leg a little, right to the end of the forty five minute session. We then went for an indoor wheelchair ride to see if she could keep going after a workout. Janet nailed the elevator button on command but I drove to the main floor then let her take over. She made it most of the way to the cafeteria before falling asleep. I put her to bed just before eleven after a very successful morning.

I made it home in time to meet with the guy from the mobility equipment company and I have to say I was underwhelmed. He is willing to work with me which is good but I don’t understand how you can be in that business and not be familiar with a product I found online easily and you even specialize in one of that company’s other products. Am I expecting too much from these people? I’m going to try another company while this guy does his homework. Janet’s nurse today has a son with Cerebral Palsy and they had an elevator put in their home. Two companies said it was impossible, the third did it without hesitation and after a number of years it still works great. I think I’ll give them a shot.

Praying for a productive meeting with Dr. McCann this afternoon and a continued bright day for Janet.

I really want to start this by talking about that crazy Monday Night Football game tonight but I won’t because this is a blog about Janet’s recovery.

Janet was snoozing when I returned and didn’t pop her eyes open till almost three. I could tell she was getting close to waking so I laid on the bed beside her and she put her arm around me and smiled and patted my shoulder for a bit. I’m getting lots of tender moments like this lately and I could not be happier about it.

I could have hung out like that for the entire afternoon but felt it was important to get Janet moving so a stretching we went then into the wheelchair for some sun and fresh air. The hallway on her ward was pretty chaotic so I drove quickly through there and let Janet drive on the main floor where she gave a solid performance. She was very impressive outside as she drove from the Strathcona entrance all the way to Abbott St. across from the beach. I had to help her over a few of the larger bumps and inclines, but still. High five! The beach was very quiet despite the nice warm day then we headed off for a short walk as I wanted to be back in time for dinner and the start of the football game. Janet drove a little more along Abbott St. and again on Long St. She is really gaining confidence with her wheelchair. She seemed uncomfortable once we got inside and refused to drive the long hallway but I convinced her to try the bump through the last doorway and from about twenty feet out she made an outstanding run at it. Her best attempt yet, making it about eighty percent of the way over. High five!

I just had time to get her into bed to relax and warm up a bit before starting her dinner feed then going down to the waiting room to watch a little football. I couldn’t tell if she really wanted to go or not but I put her Seahawks jersey on her and we headed down, feed pump and all. Once parked in front of the TV I asked her if she was ready for some football and she looked at me and smiled. She smiled again as the intro to the game started and it became very clear it was a Seahawks game we were watching. We stayed for the first quarter and I watched Janet from time to time and she was scanning the TV with her eyes and apparently trying to figure things out not just blankly sitting there like she would have been doing six weeks ago. Fun.

Back in the room it was time for me to get her all ready for bed before darkness set in and I thanked her repeatedly for going to the game with me. More smiles. As for the game. Holy crap! I’m really glad I saw it but NFL, please bring back the real refs. That was embarrassing.

Today was a really fun and encouraging day with Janet. She showed an ability to follow commands, determination to complete a task and a true awareness of things going on around her. Sets things up nicely for my chat with Dr. McCann tomorrow. Dr. Jones is the Hospitalist this week again and he stopped me in the hall to say he had been hearing good things about Janet and will talk to us tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

Praying for continued healing and a restful night for Janet as well as a fun and productive day tomorrow.

Janet was all nice and cleaned and dressed and awake when I arrived this morning. We had a nice little chat, I did all the talking again, then I got her to swab her mouth. This time she thought the swab was more a lolly pop and just held it in her mouth for a bit then pulled it out and had a look then put it back in and left it. At least she’s not scared of it anymore but she doesn’t like the taste of the Nystatin. I told her to start swallowing better then she wouldn’t need it. Simple.

Our morning stretch went well considering how tightly wound up Janet seemed. It took more than a half hour to get her limbered up. She had a brief nap after that which gave me time to go to OT and get new straps and sleeves for her splint as Janet had lost the top strap overnight and the sleeves were pretty tattered. I bumped into Cathryn while I was there and updated her on the home care situation and mentioned Tom’s idea of a trial run at rehab. She had received an email from Tom regarding that and from her body language I would say she’s not supportive and said that Tom should speak to Dr. McCann. There is a meeting in the works.

I read Pastor Tim’s newspaper column to Janet as the basis of it was bear safety and Janet is an expert on that from her preschool days. She followed along intently and there were a few slight smiles along the way. It was getting a little late and Tom had not been by so I decided to get Janet up and going. I raised the bed to about thirty five degrees and brought her right leg over to the right side of the bed. I asked her to move her left leg each time I moved the right and she did so. Once both legs were over the side of the bed she automatically started pushing herself up with her left arm. It took all of her strength but she made it to a nice sitting position all on her own. High five! We did some back stretching and standing then Tom showed up and put her through some transfer exercises using the wooden sliding board. Janet held her posture well and followed Tom’s commands very well as long as what was being asked made sense and wasn’t scary. She is a little scared sitting on the board still but today was better. Janet did a lot of weight shifting and repositioning on her own which seemed to make Tom happy.

That was a busy morning of workouts so it was back into bed and time for a late lunch for Janet and for me to head home for mine which was a very nice bowl of pea soup made and delivered by the best neighbors anyone could have. Thanks Barb and Gary! Looking forward to the casserole tomorrow.

Praying for some fun in the sun this afternoon and continuation of the progress being made.

Janet was looking calm and rested and in pretty much the same position I left her in when I returned this afternoon. I guess I was only gone an hour and a half but it was like she never moved. She was a little warm as the sun was blasting in and is so low now that it hits her bed directly. Might have to close the blinds if she keeps getting too hot. A little stretch time and off we went to enjoy what is supposed to be the last “warm” day of the year. Janet did really well driving her chair down to the elevators and she nailed the elevator button on command with no assistance at all. High five! By the time we got to the beach she was sound asleep and I spent the next thirty minutes sitting beside her holding her head up as I wanted her to get some sun and fresh air. It paid off as when she awoke we went for a nice walk to Water St. and the highway then Janet set a speed record for driving down the Centennial Building hallway. High five!

Back in bed we read a chapter of Anne and watched some YouTube. I showed her the video Gangnam Style by Psy and I think she enjoyed it. Not sure how you can’t. I told her when she gets better we will learn that one. She definitely enjoyed the clip from Ellen where Psy comes out to teach Britney Spears the dance. Janet smiled twice during that! I tried a little iBlackboard with her but she was getting too tired to play. Not any less aware though as I told her she was cute after a large yawn and she raised her brow and I swear rolled her eyes at me like she would before all this happened if I complimented her and she wasn’t feeling it herself. Good to see.

While getting ready for bed Janet swabbed her mouth with the Nystatin and brushed her teeth with her new toothbrush. She managed to do the bottom molars on both sides this time so I think the new brush was worth the ninety nine cents. A pretty solid day leading into what could be a very interesting week. Praying for complete healing, restoration of the ability to communicate, wisdom in my decision making, strength and intelligence for me in this week’s meetings and wisdom and understanding for the medical team.

Janet popped her eyes open after I gave her a kiss on the forehead this morning. She seemed well rested from the night but clearly needed some time to fully wake up. Her nurses came in to clean her up and get her dressed and by the time they were done Janet was reasonably bright. We had a little chat then started stretching. I’m pretty happy with how that went and see more and more how her flexibility is related to her relative state of calmness. If she is bothered by anything it’s much tougher to stretch her out. I let her do the Nystatin this morning and she continues to improve her technique. We chatted some more as I wanted her relaxed and ready for lying on her tummy. She had a real moment of clarity when I was telling her how well she was doing and how I want her to just get better and take her home. I was kneeling beside the bed with my face right up close to her and she reached out and started patting my shoulder then rubbing my hair for a long time. It felt like she was telling me she knows what’s happening and she wants to get better too.

I rolled her onto her tummy but couldn’t seem to get her comfortable enough to last more than fifteen minutes. Still good for her though. Next was sitting and standing and she gave a real strong effort at those and even reached out and touched her nose on command while sitting. A first for me.

Not sure if her workouts are harder on her or me, I was sweating after this morning’s session, mostly because my back was in the sun the whole time I guess. Janet had a little power nap afterwards and is about to start lunch so I’ll head out for mine and hope to get her outside before the sun is too low.

Thankful for the progress being made.

Since I arrived for my afternoon shift early so I could go to church tonight Janet decided to sleep until almost three! Boring. That does help to explain the state she was in this morning, she must’ve been awake very early. Not a lot of energy even after she woke, hard to get a smile out of her but we went out for a walk anyways and that seemed to get her going and by the time we were back inside she was willing to drive her wheelchair down the big hallway and did so quite determinedly. Not much else to report as I left for church then stupidstore after getting her back into bed at 5:15.

Praying for a restful and healing night and an active day tomorrow.

Houdieno had a big smile for me this morning when I walked into the room and had she ever been in action. One pillow on the floor, one strap off of her splint, one bed sheet completely off of her and kicked down to the foot of the bed and her blanket covering her hips and nothing else. She was lying on her right side trying to release the right upper bed rail but wasn’t able to pull up hard enough.

I managed to get her stretched out pretty well then gave her the chance to scrub her tongue with the Nystatin. She did really well, treating it more like a toothbrush and smiling too much while she did it but it was good. I would be interested to see how she did with swishing some of the liquid around in her mouth as she seems to know what it’s for now.

Knowing it was bath time around 10:30, I got her sitting up to do some exercises. She did really well leaning forward to touch her shins then getting herself back up, leaning back to almost forty five degrees and getting herself back up, leaning on her left arm way past forty five degrees and getting herself back up and leaning on her right arm to maybe twenty degrees and getting herself back up. We did a whole bunch of these moves and it was a good workout and she was clearly getting tired so I laid her down for a few minutes then the nurses came in to get her to the bath. Last time Janet sat in a shower chair that freaked her out and she was uncomfortable the whole time so this week we tried a bath chair that has nice padding on it and she did really really well. Came back all clean and smelling fresh and even gave a little smile as she came into the room. Ten minutes later she was sound asleep and I was off for my break.

Thanking Jesus for all we have been blessed with and looking forward to a fun afternoon.

Janet was ready for action when I returned and after a little stretch I got her shoes on and sat her on the edge of the bed. As mentioned before, Janet takes a little while to loosen up and I noticed she was quite crooked when she sat up despite being very awake. One remedy I’ve found is by kneeling before her so I can stabilize her legs, putting one hand just above her chest and the other on the small of her back and pulling that hand toward me to straighten her back. That seems to help relax her everywhere else and she really perks up too. She got almost too perky as she put on a large mischievous smile the third or fourth time and attempted to pull my shirt right over my head. She thought it was hilarious and would not stop trying, each time with a large tooth filled grin. I didn’t let her go too far as that would be wrong. Wouldn’t it?

I finally got her into the wheelchair and off we drove to the beach. Interestingly she refused her eye glasses again today but happily put her sunglasses on as we went outside. I wonder if as she is becoming more aware she is realizing the deficiencies of her vision and that the glasses don’t help. Maybe they even make it worse? It was a little windy at the beach again, this time with some notable coolness to it. Things are changing dang it. We walked the sunniest route I could find stopping to let Janet touch flowers, grape vines and other plants. We saw two little dogs that came right up to Janet’s feet but they wouldn’t stop to let her pet them. She did notice them though and I think that’s a first. The farthest we got from KGH today was the corner of Water St. and Harvey. The traffic and noise did not seem to bother Janet at all and I thought it might be good to get a little jolt of the bustle of the city. Back in the Centennial lobby she battled me in not wanting to drive her wheelchair. I asked her if anything hurt and to show me where if so. She continued to hold onto her left pant leg so I massaged that leg a little and insisted she needs the exercise and it’s good practice for rehab. After the massage she agreed to drive and made it all the way down the hall with a really big push to get most of the way over this silly bump at the last doorway. I usually help her over that one but she did most of it herself today. She knew that was as far as she had to go and stopped immediately and shot me a look. I praised her and gave her a high five.

Back in the room she undid her seat belt as soon as I asked her and removed her hat as soon as I asked her and as I got ready to lift her into bed she would not let me until she had placed the seat belt well out of the way. No hesitation in laying down and she did so with a very relieved look on her face. She doesn’t seem uncomfortable in the wheelchair or in pain other than the leg moment. I wish she could tell me what’s bugging her.

We read a chapter of Anne after I started her dinner feed. We are real close to the end now and it was hard for me to stop at one chapter but it’s best for Janet to spread it out I think. We talked a little and I told her how Nash played in the hose while I was home this afternoon. That actually brought a smile to her face. First time for a stated fact like that I think. All other smiles have come from me greeting her or teasing her a little or a response to some laughter somewhere. Combine that with the self produced smile as she took my shirt off and I’d say Janet has reached a higher level of awareness. She was even aware enough to watch a sermon podcast on Goodness from Wayne on her iPad. You had her the whole time Wayne and she even smiled at the end when I told her all the ways she has demonstrated Goodness over the years.

I got her all set for bed and let her try to brush her teeth. She did fairly well but had a hard time turning the brush to hit all the different angles. She ended by pulling the brush out to study it then chomping on it and leaving it hanging from the left side of her mouth. She smiled as I laughed. She definitely gets the concept and I’m sure will get better at it with practice. She seemed a little anxious or bothered as I was about to leave and it’s difficult for me to deal with when she can’t tell me what the issue is. I told her I would be thinking of her tonight and how she tried to pull my shirt off. She smiled and that was a good cue to leave.

Praying for a restful and healing night, a restoration of the ability to talk and a fun day tomorrow.

A slow start to the day as Janet slept till about nine and took a while to build energy after opening her eyes. She seemed well rested and calm though which is nice. We did a little stretching and I tried hunting down her nurses at the same time as I noticed Janet’s PJ top was gone and I could tell where a bunch of formula had been spilled overnight. The ward has been very busy the last couple days with lots of new admissions and thankfully others moving out. There are a few people in the hallway which makes me feel bad that Janet has her massive room all to herself. A case could be made for needing it though as I can really see the benefit of sleeping for her. I finally found Lesa and she told me Janet’s PJ top had been washed and was hanging in the bathroom. It was indeed. Lesa had no knowledge of how things got so messy. I let Janet try and scrub her tongue with the Nystatin swab and she did really well with it. Dr. Nodekopp gave permission to try a real toothbrush tonight. Yay!

The stretching went well with the left leg being as tight as ever. Tom stopped by to say he likely would not make it in to see Janet today as he had to work in the ER. We had a very interesting talk. He has requested an all department meeting regarding Janet and her outlook for rehab. He mentioned there are differing opinions out there as to her current state and potential for recovery. I agreed and told him I have a meeting with Dr. McCann Tuesday afternoon as I am concerned that not all information about Janet is getting to the right people. Tom said that Dr. McCann was apparently in to see Janet on the 18th and I gathered Tom didn’t agree with whatever Dr. McCann reported. I wasn’t aware of that visit and Tom may have it mixed up with last week’s visit. Bottom line is Tom is happy with Janet’s progress and is aiming for a trial in rehab as soon as possible. He is pleased with the way she handled the two sessions down there this week and feels she needs a more active approach to her recovery. He is not at all happy with the results from the Botox injections saying Janet should not be able to move her left leg at all and we should easily be able to manipulate it any way we want. We can’t and she can and does. Not that long ago I was thinking it was time to change from Tom. I may have been wrong. Should be an interesting coming week.

After Tom’s visit I rolled Janet over onto her tummy for half an hour. There is some soreness in her right shoulder that Tom says is normal for her condition and as long as we don’t force it into an extreme position Janet will be fine. Her legs stretched out really well and she was lifting and lowering her left lower leg on command repeatedly. After a short rest I had her sit herself up on the right side of the bed, she needed a little help, then we did some standing. She was very impressive with that today and I swear even asked me to do it again. She put her left hand on my shoulder and looked at me like “let’s go” and I could see her tense up ready to be lifted so up she went again and she stood probably the straightest yet.

Because the nurses were so busy I started Janet’s lunch feed just before noon then headed home for my lunch. Praying for some fun in the sun on this last official day of summer.