Month: January 2013

Planning #TSJ

Janet was happily eating a bowl of what looked like soup to me when I arrived at Connect this afternoon. Turns out it was actually chicken pot pie, or at least it used to be. Hopefully we are nearing the end of the pureed diet. Mary Lou dropped by the table and gave a very positive report on Janet’s Speech session for the day. They have been working towards getting Janet to turn up the volume and part of that process is being able to string at least five words together on one breath. Janet is now doing that and Mary Lou is quite happy with her progress. Mary Lou was standing and talking to us on Janet’s right and I noticed a couple of times that Janet turned her head way to the right to look at Mary Lou. I have noticed Janet more aware of things on the right side lately but have not seen that extreme of a turn before and asked Mary Lou if she is noticing more right side awareness and she said yes. Good news. Janet seems to be responding well to Mary Lou and I think she’s got a good program in place for her. Once Janet was finished her “soup” I took her for a bathroom break before our meeting with Brian and team. The bathroom breaks have been going well lately, Lorne even took her for a successful one this morning.

Brian led us through the first of what will hopefully be a bimonthly team meeting. Janet’s ABI Coordinator, Terri was there along with Lorne and Jen, the house manager. It was a good chance to get to know each other a little, especially for Terri as we had only spoken on the phone previously. She won’t be as directly involved as Cathryn was during Janet’s stay at KGH but once we get closer to Janet moving home then Terri will become the key player. One priority for this meeting was to come up with a rough schedule for Janet’s day. That schedule will be built around meal times and a quiet time in the afternoon. We know that Janet likely will not sleep and will not want to go to bed during that time so Jen came up with a good idea of putting a lazy boy type chair in the living room and having Janet chill in it from two ish to three ish each day. Worth a try. We also agreed to let Janet try and sleep at night with no rails on her bed. Connect will procure a couple of fall mats and once in place the experiment will begin. I’m confident HouDieno will exit the bed at least once but I believe she is more aware of her surroundings now and will learn from any such fall. Janet says she doesn’t remember any of her previous escapes but accepts her nickname for what it’s worth. I can understand Connect being nervous about doing this but I really don’t see how else Janet will progress if we don’t give her the chance. There are a few things to discuss with Tez before finalizing Janet’s schedule and hopefully we can do that before the weekend. Brian says he has feelers out for a music therapist for Janet and has a couple nibbles. I’m really hopeful we can get something going that way as I believe Janet will respond very well to it. Today’s meeting was a good foundation builder and I am confident Janet has a good team looking after her.

After another successful bathroom break I took Janet to the gym for a good leg stretch and some work on the Shuttle. She set a personal best today going for thirty two reps at two bands of tension, then six reps with three bands and thirteen reps with one band using her right leg only. High five! She required a fair bit of encouragement during the routine as she keeps saying things like “it doesn’t matter” and “so what” when given the reason for doing something. I’m confident these responses are coming from a lack of confidence place rather than an unwillingness to get better place. She managed a big smile after doing the thirty two reps as I reminded her she only did sixteen the last time.

Dinner was fun tonight as Janet reluctantly chowed down on pureed Spaghetti and all the guys were BBQ’ing steaks and Leanne was making baked potatoes for them. The chatter was good and that helped Janet plow through her mush. We played a game of Chutes and Ladders before bed and Janet won easily. She had a lot of trouble spinning for her turn no matter where I placed the spinner. She said she could see it fine but couldn’t make her hand do it. I noticed a few times today that she was trying to get her right hand involved in things and she did try and lift it to spin a couple times. I want to think this is a sign of something coming back to her right arm but won’t go there yet. She asked if I would read some Slow Dance to her in bed and four pages into it she was snoring. It really is an interesting book, she was just played out from a busy day.

Praying for rest and healing tonight, a good workout in the morning and a bright and ready to swallow strong Janet for the afternoon.

Sing Sing Sing #TSJ

For the first time in a long while Janet was smiling at me as soon as I entered the house today. Typically when I arrive she doesn’t clue in until I’m a couple steps away from her but this time I saw her smile as soon as I cleared the door. She was holding a picture of her four kids and was proud to show me Andrew and Laurel but she couldn’t get Heather or Cam. Lorne told me he experienced the same thing earlier as he had been using the picture to have a little conversation with Janet. She would often get parts of questions right but not the whole thing. That’s been the more common result with Janet for a long time. We started playing match the Sesame Street characters when I realized it was time to Skype Mary/Gaga.

We got to Janet’s room just in time and Janet was all smiles throughout the conversation blowing her mom many kisses at the end. A call to the birthday girl, Leslie, was next. Janet is always happy when its her younger sister’s birthday as she catches up to her in age. Like Janet, Leslie is not the most technologically adept person so her husband Gavin has to set things up for her prior to each Skype call and we usually get to say hi to him as well. Many of you don’t know Gavin, or do you? I made sure to get his permission to release this photo of him as identified by Janet today.

20130122-223658.jpg Cute isn’t he.

The highlight of the call to Leslie came when Janet sang in loud voice the Happy Birthday song to her sister. It was kind of a karaoke thing as I played the song on my iPhone and Janet sang along. Pretty cool.

With the chit chatting done we went to the gym and I tried putting Janet on the Shuttle to start this time. Fail. All she did was complain how “everything hurts”. Off to the mat we went and had a good stretch. Bob joined us for part of it and reminded me of a couple things Tez wants Janet to do on her own while stretching. Both exercises involve Janet moving her legs individually and I’m really glad Bob got her doing them as she did really well. I’m impressed considering how tight everything seems. After a couple of goes at the stripper pole it was back to the Shuttle and this time Janet worked hard with only a minor breakdown. She managed thirty reps at one band, twelve at two bands and six with her right leg only and one band of tension all done at a nice controlled pace. Good workout.

Janet gobbled up her dinner then played a good game of match the Sesame Street characters. She is improving on naming them and matching. She was reluctant to do any sing along stuff but jumped right in as soon as I started playing the songs. She sang My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, Row Your Boat, You Are My Sunshine, Take Me Out to the Ball Game and Zippadee Do Dah nicely loud and clear and smiling all the time. Really fun to watch. To continue the singing theme we watched a little YouTube before shower time including Susan Boyle’s audition on Britain’s Got Talent. Janet really enjoyed it and was very surprised she sounded so good and even said she “remembers her winning”.

We had a little time after her shower before bed and Janet asked to watch something funny on YouTube so I found some clips from the Carol Burnett Show. One of which featured a young Robin Williams that Janet laughed out loud at a couple of times. We ended with Carol’s closing theme song and Janet had a huge smile on her face as she clearly remembered I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together. I’m glad for every minute I get with Janet and today’s were all positive. Praying for a restful night and a day full of recovery and learning tomorrow.

Back to Business #TSJ

According to Garrett, Janet had a great first half of the day eating a good breakfast then going with him to the gym for a workout on her right arm and shoulder. Garrett says that went really well with good range of motion from her arm and shoulder. Carl did some Speech with Janet and he says that went well for about twenty minutes then Janet seemed to get stuck repeating a couple of words and seeming tired. She did tell him she’s married to Larry and has daughters named Heather and Laurel and a son that starts with S. Two out of three ain’t bad. When I arrived this afternoon Janet had just fallen asleep in the living room watching tv with the staff. She woke up five minutes later, smiled and laughed that she was sleeping but agreed to go lay down in bed for a rest. By the time I got her to her room she was denying she agreed to rest and being quite defiant about it. I laid her down anyways and joined her, ten minutes later she was snoring and slept for an hour and a half. I think the busy weekend took a bit of a toll on her.

When Janet finally woke up we went to the gym and had a strong leg workout. Her tone in some ways seemed less today so maybe the day off yesterday helped? I spent a lot of time stretching and am using all standing transfers now so I didn’t have her stand at the stripper pole today. I did get her on the Shuttle and she did her best yet. Sixteen reps at two bands, five reps at three and ten reps with one band using her right leg only. She still got all upset at the end but seemed to quickly realize the good that machine is doing once I explained it to her.

We were late for dinner on account of the workout and had the table to ourselves. Janet ate well and was happy to head back to her room afterward to play the Sesame Street matching game. I put the cars on the easel Brian had brought for her and that seemed to improve Janet’s ability to see them. She did very well, getting through about two thirds of the deck before tiring out. We then listened to a Stuart McLean story which brought us to bedtime.

A solid day for Janet and good for her to get back to a little routine around Connect. Praying for an active day of learning tomorrow and restful and healing night tonight.

Sleep? #TSJ

I spent the first part of today watching Janet sleep as I had done most of the night and despite the ticking clock I had no intention of waking her. I was surprised how well she slept last night. She only woke up briefly a few times, once trying to grab the bedrail but of course she was grabbing me. I was awake a ton of times as I was in “mother mode” concerned all night that she was OK. I helped her turn onto her side a couple of times and other than that she had a peaceful nights sleep.

I was all set to make her eggs for breakfast, it would be a first as Janet didn’t like eggs before so I was kind of looking forward to it, but she chose fruit and yogurt instead and very excitedly accepted an offer to have her first toast and peanut butter. She even drank a glass of orange juice, something she never liked before. We got the warm clothes on and raced off to church. A nice surprise in today’s service was a brief wedding ceremony. A young couple with a story of overcoming addictions and bouncing around foster homes were married during the service as they had no means of getting married themselves and no family support and no real friends to witness the marriage. All 1,200 congregants acted as witnesses as the church rallied to support them in their new lives. Janet loved seeing the bride walk right past her at the start and then walk by again with her husband at the end. She even had a little tear in her eye when Wayne announced them as husband and wife. It was a nice moment and a solid demonstration of our faith community coming alongside people needing love, guidance and support. No mention from Janet that things were too long today. I think she enjoyed the whole thing.

Lunch was a bit of a rush as we had a two o’clock appointment to view a condo in a very interesting building. Joel and Kiko joined us as they live nearby and have been curious to see inside the place too. We all really liked it and I will investigate further to see if we should put in an offer. Janet liked it so much that when we were chatting with the realtor in the suite, she nodded off. I asked her if she felt so much at home she could sleep and she said yes. The place is called Invue and if any of you know anyone that owns a place there I’d love to talk to them.

We had a nice Skype chat with Andrew before dinner with Janet talking fairly well but still getting her words mixed up a little. She was surprised it was dinner time already but still ate it all including ice cream and the last Christmas brownie in the house. I carried a very full Janet out to the car for the drive back to Connect and once there got her settled in to bed where I’m sure she will sleep well without me. I gave Bob the weekend food report and was able to see that Janet’s vitals have been tracking really well the last while. I miss seeing those taken everyday but her numbers are in a good range so there is no need for that anymore.

Praying for rest and healing and thanking Jesus for the community we get to be a part of.

Sleepover #TSJ

My day with Janet began with a good workout in the gym. At least the first part was good with lots of good stretching. When it came time to pole dance Janet started getting all emotional and lacking confidence again. I talked her into trying to stand three times and each time she gave a good effort and by the end of the third try I think there was a glimmer of belief in her eyes. I got her over to the Shuttle after that and she strongly did thirty reps with one band of tension. No emotion. Yet. She managed four reps at two bands then broke down completely. The loudest cries I’ve heard from her. All based I believe on a lack of confidence. One band is really quite easy for her and two requires some effort but not what should be an overwhelming amount. Next time we’ll try fewer reps with one band and see if that helps and maybe we’ll start on the Shuttle so she’s not as tired.

In chatting with Christa on the way out of the gym I told her I was taking Janet home for the rest of the day. She asked why not overnight. I didn’t think we were allowed to do that yet but Lorne confirmed we are so as I write this at 11:08 pm, Janet is sleeping in our bed right beside me. First time in over eight months!

We arrived home to an overexcited Nash then had a nice Skype chat with Heather and Allan. An unauthorized lunch followed as we watched a little tv before Skypeing Leslie. Janet was showing signs of tiring so with no pressure to do anything or be anywhere she agreed to lay down for a bit. That helped a lot as she had a nice burst of energy for the evening and ate two servings of a delicious manicotti that Kiko made for us. Instead of desert Janet elected to have chips and pop while we watched some Aussie Open tennis. I saw a lot of old Janet tonight as she very stubbornly stayed up until just after ten. She helped me in the kitchen before we went to bed and I saw some signs of confusion as she tried putting some things away. I can’t blame it on the drugs though as I think she was like this before and I’m just hoping for more improvement.

Janet is very happy to be home tonight and actually found it a little surprising that we were going to sleep in the same bed. Looking forward to waking up with her in the morning and praying for rest and healing. Thanking Jesus for my beautiful wife. Even as she snores.

Yes and No #TSJ

So now my name is Roger according to Janet. Not sure how I got that one but the only Roger I know I like so that’s cool. Christa mentioned to me that Janet refused lunch so after our little what’s my name chat I asked her if she wanted something to eat. She proceeded to eat a whole can of beans! I’m sure she’ll be able to eat more exciting things this time next week as her swallow X-ray has been booked for Thursday. Thanks again Connie! I met with Janet’s eye doctor this morning and he agreed to do an exam with Janet on the 29th. The value of the exam will be to give her therapists an accurate account of Janet’s field of vision. It is unlikely that whatever deficiencies she has can be corrected or healed but she may gain functionality through rehab once her exact condition is known.

After her late lunch I took Janet up to get weighed. She lost a little bit this week and we had a good talk with the staff and agreed to up her meal portions a little and offer her snacks in between meals as well. One contributing factor to her loss could be the increased activity in the gym and in general. Standing takes a lot of energy and her workouts have been rather intense so I think she’s likely burning more calories now than before.

Janet struggled a little with putting away her laundry today but did a great job of helping me make the bed. Before heading to the gym Janet took a pee break and for the first time did a standing transfer from the wheelchair to the toilet. She had to stand for quite a while as I haven’t perfected my technique for a one handed pant removal or replacement. She was very strong and worked hard to stay up long enough for me. We took Christa and Suzanne to the gym with us as they had not been trained on Janet’s routine yet. Janet was very patient and cooperative as the three of us stretched her out. Janet did very well at the stripper pole today, needing only a slight boost to get started then getting up pretty good herself after that. She still gets very emotional doing this but today she did not pee, hopefully because she went before going to the gym. Janet managed one set of thirty on the Shuttle with one band of tension and when I suggested thirty more with two bands like she did yesterday she very sternly told me no way. She had been through a lot by that then with no nap time so I relented and said we’d do more in the morning.

Dinner was more of Suzanne’s stew and we only shared the table with Chris tonight. I don’t ask the other residents what their deal is and some have offered little bits of their story but this was the first time Chris said anything other than he was in an accident. Turns out it was a motocross accident almost nine years ago. He was in a coma for seven months and has not walked until just a couple of weeks ago. The smile on his face as he told us that was really something to see and I’m glad Janet heard it first hand as that is a true story of hope. It made an impact on Janet as I included Chris in our goodnight prayer she asked me about his story again. I gave her a recap and she seemed genuinely touched and impressed.

When I asked Janet if this was a good day she said “yes and no”. She couldn’t defend her no response at all and agreed to all my yes suggestions so the final answer was a big smiley yes. Praying for rest and healing tonight and recovery and learning tomorrow.

Hopefull #TSJ

Janet was sitting in one of the comfy chairs in the living room when I arrived this afternoon. She saw me as I came in but didn’t react much until I got right up to her on her left side. She said she saw me then wasn’t sure if it was me. Thankfully she knew my name today though! Her recap of the day was a little garbled and not as detailed as yesterday but she had had a good day so far.

Garrett and Jen, the House Manager, joined us for a little chat so Jen could get to know Janet as this is her first day back from vacation. I gave them the heads up that Janet’s swallow X-ray should finally happen next week. I called her GP again this morning and was told that the doctor wasn’t sure which test to order for Janet and hoped to find out in a couple of weeks. When Janet and I met with her doctor two weeks ago she assured me she knew exactly what I was talking about and it wouldn’t be a problem. I was furious and told the receptionist I would get the info and call her right back. I called Connie who graciously offered to call the doctor’s office herself and instruct them on what to do. Connie called me back this afternoon to say she now had the order and would try and book Janet in next week. If she had not stepped in we could be waiting another two weeks for the test and to me that is unacceptable. I am going to see Janet’s old doctor tomorrow to see if he’ll take her back as at least I know his office will act promptly and correctly in producing referrals which is primarily all Janet is going to need from a GP.

After our chat with Garrett and Jen, Janet chose to play some iPad games and she did reasonably well at naming things but struggled with the math questions this time and I noticed her vision seemed to be giving her problems. I am going to talk to our eye doctor tomorrow in hopes of confirming what Janet is seeing and then figuring out if there is anything that can be done to correct it. When it came to the singing game Janet was hesitant when I mentioned it but started signing as soon as the first song came on. She sang about six songs in total and really enjoyed them all. I’m not having any luck finding a Music Therapist that can work with Janet so if any of you know someone in the area please let me know.

There was a noticeable drop in Janet’s energy level as we played iPad games so when she agreed to a bathroom break I suggested she stay laying on her bed for a few minutes of rest. She slept for forty five minutes and was in no hurry to get up after waking either so we read some Slow Dance until dinner time. Curtis had blended up some of Suzanne’s stew for Janet and I added some carrots and broccoli for color a la Rikki, and Janet ate a good meal. We planned on going to the gym afterwards as she hadn’t had her leg workout yet but to give her time to digest I had her put away her laundry. She did much better this time, noticing right away that there are two pieces of furniture her clothes go in and she knew that she had checked all the dresser drawers when looking for her pj drawer so they must go in the wardrobe. I think the nap helped with that.

Curtis and I took Janet to the gym and gave her a pretty good workout. I suggested to Curtis that her legs should probably get the morning time slot instead of the arms as going all night in bed then all day in her wheelchair is too much without a stretch. He agreed and will pass that on to Tez. Janet did very well standing at the stripper pole and on the Shuttle. Still a little doubt in her mind as to what she can do but she worked hard tonight and even asked for a bathroom break after the standing attempts. In the interest of speed I carried her to the closest bathroom which meant she had to “stand” to get her pants down. She did it just fine and repeated it when she was done. It’s not easy as she really has to work to stay up and of course I have to work to hold her and pull the pants so I don’t think we’ll do this on a regular basis yet but I will for sure do more standing transfers with her.

Part of the old Janet made an appearance tonight once we were back in her room. I was telling her how well she had done and she started making comments like “so what” and “who cares”. I explained to her how much she is loved by me and so many other people and she repeatedly said she didn’t believe me about all the other people. She was fine with family caring but not anyone else. In some ways it was good to hear her saying these things as that is very much an old Janet thing to say but I was a little concerned. She didn’t believe me about all the people following this Blog so I showed her the list and read all the names. It was interesting to see her reaction when I read names of people that have recently visited or she had seen at church etc. It was like she had forgotten then suddenly remembered. Our night ended with some laughs and big smiles and for the night at least I think she will have positive thoughts after we highlighted all the good things she did today.

Praying for rest and healing and a productive day full of positive news tomorrow.

Gourmet Puréed #TSJ

When I got to Connect this afternoon I asked Janet how her day was so far. She was happy to report that she “got up this morning”, had a smoothy for breakfast and did not go to the gym. I thought that was pretty good reporting on her part. Turns out she did go to the gym but shortly after arriving a new resident with some behavioral issues came in and disrupted things enough that Janet started crying so Garrett took her back to the “house”. She had some Speech therapy before Rikki made her a colorful lunch of green beans, carrots, cottage cheese and pork. I was surprised to hear about the cottage cheese as Janet had thought it pretty disgusting at KGH but apparently lapped it up today.

Our chat took place in the living room while waiting for Brian to come and meet with us. We talked to him in detail about the wheelchair and now have a plan in place to get Janet’s chair set up ideally for her so I can actually buy the darn thing. Brian offered a few accessories intended to make Janet’s day to day routine easier. Most of them I found to be too compensating and Brian agreed that we need to have Janet learning and re-learning to do things rather than having something do it for her. One useful item is a short easel that sits on top of her desk at an adjustable angle and allows a book or the iPad to be positioned in a more useful way for her. Some of the items were food related and we agreed to leave food prep out of Janet’s itinerary until she is cleared to eat real food. That brought up the question of the swallow X-ray. Connie had emailed today saying KGH has yet to receive the doctor’s order. I phoned her the doctor’s office right away and was told she had some things to do to it before sending it off. Translation, she forgot about it. Grrrr. We had a good long talk with Brian and Janet was very patient throughout and near the end she went off to explore the living room a little. She returned with a pillow on her lap so I invited her to a pillow fight. She thought that was great.

20130116-220839.jpg

Janet went for a shower before dinner and we hung out in her room for the few minutes we had before heading down to eat. Rikki made another colorful plate for Janet, carrots, mashed potatoes with a little yam in them, cottage cheese and chicken. The best looking meal Janet has had at Connect and apparently a tasty one too.

Since Janet missed out on the gym this morning I took her in for some leg stretching and got her on the Shuttle as well. I wasn’t able to set it up as well as Tez had it but Janet still got a decent go at it. She was reluctant to try standing so I tricked her a little bit into doing a standing pivot off the Shuttle. She did really well once I got her started towards standing.

Bob was leading a bunch of the residents in a poker game tonight and Janet enjoyed watching for a little while. She didn’t understand the game of course but liked the loud action. She also really enjoyed watching some YouTube before bed and after being tucked in agreed that today was a good day.

Praying for rest and healing and a productive day tomorrow with positive news about the swallow X-ray.

Month Eight #TSJ

Day 246 was a good one for Janet. Lorne and Garrett worked with her this morning in the gym and with some Speech. She didn’t fall out of bed or her wheelchair and ate well. When I arrived she was waiting in the living room to go back to the gym with Tez. The guys were updating Janet’s chart and agreed that she needs to be on a regular toileting program. I talked to nurse Jen about that later on and she will develop a routine so Janet gets plenty of opportunities to go to the bathroom. Today was much better in that regard. Lorne and Garrett also started making up a bunch of side dishes for Janet to eat so she gets more vegetables and then the only thing that needs to be cooked at meal time is the protein. Food has been a challenge and will continue to be until Janet passes that swallow X-ray. No word yet as to when she gets a chance but the word has been put out to Connie to see what’s happening.

Janet failed the “who am I” test again but caught on quicker today for sure. We played an expanded version of it at bedtime and she did really well naming family members except her own kids. Usually she nails those easily but tonight it was everyone but. Still waiting for Tez we played a naming game on the iPad and Janet did reasonably well after getting two or three clues. She definitely knows things once she sees the word the problem is in pulling that word out of her memory bank on its own.

Tez was finally ready for Janet around three o’clock and he worked her pretty hard again. This was another training opportunity for the staff and Tez wanted to add some more hand, arm and shoulder exercises so there is a solid routine for those in the mornings and one for legs later in the day. Janet’s right arm continues to be nice and loose and Tez got some good range from it and even though Janet cried you could see improvement from last week. Tez got Janet to hold her right hand with her left and intertwine her fingers then lift her arms up high. Janet was straining hard to touch Tez’s hand about a foot and a half above her chest but she did it!

Getting Janet on her tummy was a challenge today as she was pretty worn out from the arm workout she had. Tez only kept her there long enough to get her doing some pushing back with her legs as he applied resistance. From there we got Janet on her knees again and she really seemed thrilled once she got there. It took a tremendous effort on her part as Tez had everyone back off on supporting her so she was doing almost all of it herself. Excellent effort.

The next stage in transferring for Janet is going to be using a circular pivot board that Janet will stand on, spin, then sit. We tried it a couple times and its still really hard for Janet to do on a regular basis but will be incorporated into her workout.

Finally Janet got to try the Shuttle Machine. This is a piece of equipment I noticed as something Janet could maybe use when we first toured Connect. As you can see from the video she caught on real fast. Using this regularly will really help Janet build some strength in her legs.

After all that it was time for a bathroom break followed by a Skype session with Mary/Gaga and Keith. Janet was able to converse reasonably well and I think enjoyed the chance to see and talk to them both. Dinner was a massive bowl of puréed spaghetti and meat sauce. It looked disgusting but Janet gobbled it up then enjoyed a desert of “yummy” pears.

It is truly amazing to think back eight months and see just how much progress Janet has made. Seeing her “kneeling” and “standing”, working on that Shuttle Machine, talking, laughing and eating well is truly a blessing. Thank you Lord for every minute I get to spend with her and for the healing you are bringing to her. Thanks to all of you for the prayers, love and support. #Team Save Janet

Mixed Monday #TSJ

Janet’s day started strong with a good breakfast followed by a full body workout in the gym with Danielle. Her right arm and shoulder continue to loosen and her legs continue to be pretty tight. Garrett took Janet to the clinic for a blood test to measure the level of Dilatin in her so Janet got to go out today as well. When I got in Janet was watching TV in the living room. I gave her the “who am I” quiz and she failed miserably calling me everything but Larry. She only clued in after she got her name right but she did name all her kids correctly and I think that’s the first time she’s done that without assistance. We played match the Sesame Street characters and Janet did better than yesterday but you could see her struggling near the end. Lunch was a bowl of soup and some canned peaches, unauthorized apparently but no one was watching. I left for a while after lunch to finish selling Cam’s car and Janet was going to hang out in the living room with some of the others until I got back.

While I was away Janet decided she wanted to sit on the couch so without any assistance she proceeded to do so. Of course she missed the couch and ended up on the floor. Danielle said she was fine, a little scared but mostly smiling. She tried again later but Bob was watching this time and prevented her from getting too far. I like the determination.

I came back to find her watching TV again so we had a little chat about her couch surfing and she seemed to get the fact she needs help. The staff of Connect had planned a fire drill for this afternoon so we all had to go to our respective rooms and wait for that to happen. The alarm is quite loud and annoying but it was good to see them all go through the exercise and from what I saw they have a pretty good plan in place should a real fire occur. I took Janet for a little leg stretch n the gym before dinner and managed a decent result. Once again she doubted her ability to stand then proceeded to do quite well at it. Didn’t quite have the stamina today but still a strong effort. She was very hungry at dinner, eating a massive bowl of left over chicken and rice from Suzanne that I brought in just in case. Bob was making a stir fry but it would have to be pureed so he let me feed her the chicken and rice without him looking. Cool.

We had a nice Skype session with Laurel after dinner in which Janet was very loud and clear although sometimes speaking nonsense and other times completely off topic. She must have used all her energy during that conversation because thirty minutes later she was pretty much asleep and it was only 8:15. I don’t remember a more rapid decent into sleep mode. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised considering she had no rest time this afternoon at all and was pretty active all day.

Today was not a good bathroom day for Janet. She often asked me if she could go but it was always too late by the time she asked and she seemed to pee a lot today. Each time I’ve had her standing she had peed as well but this time she actually said she had to go just as she finished her second stand. Hopefully today was a blip but I will attempt to set up a proper schedule for the staff to toilet her in the future.

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