ABI

Sing Along #TSJ

A rare morning start for me today as I wanted to be sure we were able to Skype Cam for his birthday. Janet was finishing her after breakfast bio break and was quite cheery about it all when I arrived. This is the first time in a while I have seen her early in the morning and was impressed with how bright she was and how well she was talking. Garrett said that was typical. I was also impressed with how straight she stood up in the Arjo type machine that Garrett was transferring her with. All she needed was skis and poles and away she’d go. We ended up Skypeing Cam from a slightly noisy gym but Janet managed to sing happy birthday to him. Even after about four perfect practice runs she still called him Andrew when it came time for the real thing but she is no longer singing Karaoke style. It’s all her.

Janet’s workout was actually pretty good including a real strong effort on the Shuttle. Janet set a personal best doing seventeen reps with one band with her right leg only. She got good extension most of the time and was visibly working hard. First time I’ve seen the effort in the face. A very welcomed sign. By the time we were done in the gym it was lunchtime and Janet ate well as expected after a good workout. I took her to the laundry room after lunch to transfer her clothes from the washer to the drier. She very confidently did that chore then we got ready for our appointments downtown.

The meeting went well but ended sooner than I thought it might so we had time to use up before our next appointment. We spent that time talking about Invue and looking at it from a block away. I used that time to check Janet’s vision a little. She for sure could see vehicles approaching us and crossing in front of us. She could see Invue and commented that there was a lot of big windows but couldn’t zero in on details like the large concrete pole running through all the west side balconies nor could she see the light pole kitty corner to us. I think this is all associated with her processing challenges and not an inability to actually see something. When we finally got into the building Janet had no recollection of having been there before but still said it’s pretty nice and she would like to live there. With the help of Courtney’s boyfriend, Mike, we are putting forward two proposed changes to the balcony door to the Strata Council. If they say no then we forget about Invue as it would not be fair to Janet to not be able to access her own balcony by herself.

Because Janet did so well in the gym this morning I allowed her to come home for dinner when usually she would be back in the gym for another workout. We had a little snack as we had been out for a while and we really had no clue what to get for a snack while out. Laurel got in on a Skype call and I had to keep coaching Janet through it as she was getting pretty tired. So much so that by the time I served dinner I thought she was going to fall asleep in it. After a few mouthfuls she seemed to gain enough energy to make it through the rest of the evening. As I was getting her ready for her after dinner bio break I could tell she was really full and when I got her onto the bed she commented, “are you OK with girls that eat too much?” The only proper answer was to laugh. I made sure we headed back to Connect in good time as I want Janet well rested for the weekend coming up. The drive back was the most fun one yet as Janet asked to listen to the XM channel that plays all these old sappy love songs. I placated her but asked her if she thought there was a channel that played songs you could sing along to easily. She immediately started singing to the song that was playing and continued for four or five more. They were all familiar songs of course but she still surprised me with her knowledge of the words and melody. I always hated the thought of family sing songs on car rides but this one made me smile.

Praying for a night of rest and healing, and an active day of recovery tomorrow.

Jumping the Gun #TSJ

I had an early start to the day today as I met with Janet’s GP this morning. She wanted to follow up on Janet’s seizures and increase the medication for that slightly. In my opinion Janet has rebounded very well from that day and is gaining cognitively quite well. Her doctor is confident in using Dilatin for Janet and has not experienced any real difficulties with that drug. She confirmed that she will remove the peg tube on Valentine’s Day and will talk to Janet’s GI before doing so just to make sure she does it right as this will be her first. Since Janet is eating real food now and trying to swallow her pills whole I asked if we could dump the horse pill sized multi vitamin she gets and the doc agreed. So once I check with Connie and she approves there will be no more crushing of meds for Janet. Yay! I enjoyed the chat with her doctor this morning and appreciated her calling me in to follow up on things. We will continue doing so rather than dragging Janet in when not necessary.

After doing some investigating on the condo we are looking into buying I made my way out to Connect. Janet was sitting on the couch in the living room with a big smile on her face watching TV. She seemed quite proud of herself for doing so and was in a great mood. She described her day so far as good and tried really hard to tell me she had pushed her pendant alarm for help in going to the bathroom. Garrett confirmed that she had done just that both for needing to go and when she was finished. High five! They had a reasonable workout in the gym and Garrett said he was pleased with the way her legs stretched out.

Janet and I made our way downtown for a meeting with a lawyer regarding Power of Attorney and when we informed the receptionist we were there I could see someone elses’ name in our time slot. Sure enough two minutes later that person came in. I quickly checked my calendar then the email I got from the lawyers office. Turns out my calendar app had synced a reminder from a calendar I no longer use and it appeared as an event for today when the actual meeting is tomorrow. Silly me. We used the extra time to do a little drive around downtown since we were there thinking we might see a building that looked interesting to live in. Knowing that there are few condos the size we want and most are in the complex we already looked at and didn’t like, the drive around confirmed that Invue has a lot going for it. I will take Janet there one more time before making a decision to try and buy there or not.

At home and after she played with Nash, Janet and I enjoyed a cup of tea together. Can’t remember the last time we did that. We read a letter from some family friends of Janet’s in Ontario and prepared some cards for our World Vision kids. I also showed Janet some pictures of her new found old friend Karen. Janet definitely remembers her but doesn’t recognize her yet. She gobbled down a bowl of fruit and yogurt after complaining she was hungry then I could see her getting pretty tired. It was late in the day and she had not had anything close to a rest time so I got her into bed as she complained “why are you putting me here?” Fifteen minutes later she was snoring.

I got Janet up just before Kiko and Joel arrived with a boat load of sushi for dinner. Janet had regained some energy and an appetite eating probably more sushi than she would have before getting sick. I poured some wine for Kiko and I and Janet almost immediately asked for some. I was very tempted to let her but have been told alcohol is a big no no for ABI patients. I promised her I would talk to her doctor next time we see her and also Dr. Miller. I’m sure they will say no but maybe its a soft no and a little sip here and there won’t hurt her any. I hope so as it would be really nice to enjoy some wine with Janet again. Much more fun than tea.

Janet was tucked into bed at Connect pretty late tonight, full of sushi and ice cream. Before we left the house she asked me why we were spending all that money keeping her “there” and why couldn’t she stay “here”. She got quite upset about it all but resigned herself to the situation after agreeing that working with Brian, Tez, Mary Lou and all the others was best for her right now. She asked why she only did that “in little bits”. I reminded her how tired she gets if she works out too long or plays a game too long and she totally agreed and was fine after that. Janet continues to move into a higher state of awareness and has a greater ability to express her feelings than ever before.

Today was a busy and good day for Janet. Thanks again Joel and Kiko for your friendship and food. You made our evening very enjoyable. Praying for a night of rest and healing and a productive day tomorrow.

Good to See You #TSJ

Janet was very bright and cheery this morning when I arrived before taking her to the eye doctor. The dietician had already been and gone and Garrett reported that she had a little conversation with Janet and reviewed her chart and said all looked good, carry on. I was hoping to speak with her but maybe next time. Janet said she slept well and had a good breakfast. She knew we were going somewhere this morning but couldn’t remember where. I was encouraged by her responsiveness.

We had a good appointment with the eye doctor, spending an hour examining and chatting about Janet’s condition and he will prepare a detailed report for Connect over the next couple of days. From what I saw and from what he told me, Janet’s eyes are healthy, they are aligned almost perfectly with the left one maybe very slightly deviated but not nearly what it was a few months ago. There is a large floater in the right eye. This likely occurred at the time of the rupture or soon after and there is no treatment needed for it. Janet’s vision may or may not be affected by it and she may not even know it’s there. Janet is displaying some right side neglect and just how much will be determined when we do a vision field test next week. There was not enough time to do one today and the doctor wants Janet at her best and brightest to give the highest probability of success. Janet’s prescription is fine for now and her glasses are still good for distance as prescribed and she should not wear them for reading. With her glasses on Janet tested at 20/20 or close to it and she was able to read impressively well. As we have known for some time, she often gets stuck and repeats a word or number, she did that today a number of times during the exams and it was interesting to see the visual cues the doctor gave her to erase what she was stuck on and start fresh. Covering an eye briefly, looking up at the ceiling briefly or closing both eyes then re focusing. He would like us all to start teaching Janet some of these cues and feels she can regain a strong ability to read one day. She currently can go four to five words before stalling and that is impressive considering.

Home for a wintertime lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup was next on the agenda followed by an afternoon nap. Yes, Janet slept for over thirty minutes this afternoon and quite deeply too. I had to wake her up so we could get back to Connect in time for a workout before dinner. We managed to Skype with Mary/Gaga before leaving and enjoyed a good conversation with her. Janet was pretty loud and was able to answer some questions about what she had been doing. I’ve noticed a real improvement in that area lately. Earlier in the day I had read an email to Janet sent to me from an elementary school friend of hers who found this blog and wanted to get in touch. Her name didn’t register with Janet when I first read it to her then when I told Mary/Gaga who very clearly remembered her, Janet’s memory kicked in as well. Her and Karen were close friends in grades five through eight and we look forward to at least virtually reinstating that friendship.

In the gym today we had only a small battle about working on the Shuttle. Janet gave in a worked hard with some good results. It helped to have Phil getting his first workout at the same time as the therapists encouraging him could be heard easily by Janet. Phil was with us at KGH Rehab and is doing really well. Glad to have him at Connect. Janet’s legs are quite tight, maybe tighter than the last time I worked with her but I still managed some pretty good range and she was able to do lots of movement in both herself. She gave two strong attempts at the stripper pole but was pretty tired so was not that successful. All of the transfers I did with her today were standing, except for the car, and she did very well with most of them.

Dinner was another beautiful Rikki creation followed by a nice warm shower, some reading of Slow Dance and a Janet initiated prayer. She was very tired and only managed “thank God for Andrew and his…” The rest was Klingon but I’m sure God understood. We prayed as always for rest, healing, restoration of the ability to walk, use of her right arm and hand, complete restoration of her vision and ability to talk loud all the time. Looking forward to a fun day of recovery tomorrow and a nice sushi dinner at home with Joel and Kiko. Thanking God for them and all the other cool people in our life.

Don’t Let Anything Stop You #TSJ

When I arrived at Connect this afternoon Janet was cruising around the kitchen area with a family picture in her hand. She had just finished a glass of water and had been working with Garrett on identifying the people in the picture. She did pretty good the first time around but then everyone turned into Andrew and we don’t want that do we? I helped her for a little while and eventually she got everyone back to who they really are and hopefully we can stay that way. Janet was in a good mood and Garrett reported she had a pretty good day although she balked at going to the gym with him this morning and when they finally got there she made a minimal effort and refused to work on the Shuttle. I think she may have been tired from the weekend so we’ll see how she does tomorrow.

I spent a lot of time talking with Janet trying to get her to recount her day so far and what she had done over the weekend. Laurel sent a nice email to read to her and Janet actually started crying as I read it. I also read her the post from Nick Vincent that I shared earlier today and she was moved by his story. When I asked her what she thought the similarities are between his story and hers she responded with “don’t let anything stop you”. I was blown away by that answer as it came totally from her. I didn’t summarize what I had read to her or anything. She took it all in and made a connection. Brilliant!

Taking advantage of that awareness I got Janet down to the gym with the promise of a little leg stretching then a routine on the Shuttle. She was fine until she started on the Shuttle. Four reps in, the tears started. I convinced her to keep going and she made it to thirty three. Then she totally lost it, having the most demonstrative hissy fit yet. After lots of talking she finished her routine with a respectable result but I am getting a little concerned about her attitude. Every chance I got the rest of the night I reinforced how well she is doing and how important it is she keeps working hard. There were moments where she seemed to truly buy in and there were moments where I got the shoulder shrug and a bit of an eye roll. After the second successful standing transfer to the toilet she seemed to gain a little confidence and off to dinner we went.

Spaghetti sounded really boring to her and she was a little upset that that was what she was getting but ended up eating two servings of it very happily. Fluid intake was a little lower than at home mostly because she wasn’t offered anything other than water all day. The dietician is coming in tomorrow and will see Janet and hopefully me first thing so we can discuss food, drink and peg tube. Nurse Jen confirmed that as long as Janet is hydrating well the peg tube can be removed in two weeks. The staff are logging Janet’s fluid intake daily and I’m to keep track when she is away from Connect. So far so good.

The rest of our night was spent talking and reading Slow Dance. In the book they were describing an MRI experience and Janet commented that “I didn’t have anything like that”. Right she is and she seems much more aware that something has happened to her and even a little accepting of it. When I was done reading and told her it was time to get ready for bed she listed off all the things she needed to do to get ready and told me she needed help with all of them. I expected tears to follow but she just stated them matter of factily and we got started. Janet has to get up a little early tomorrow so we can get to the eye doctor so we tried to turn out the lights a little early tonight but that didn’t really happen as she was quite chatty all the way through her bedtime routine.

Praying for a restful night an informative visit to the eye doctor tomorrow and a positive, hard working Janet tomorrow.

Loud #TSJ

Update from Laurel:

I was very anxious to see Mom this morning, and was happy to see her working away in the gym when I arrived at Connect with Larry. She spent a lot of time on the shuttle and on the mats, and I noticed significantly more movement out of her right leg than the last time I was here. A much looser looking right arm, as well, and a few attempts by her to use it later in the day (e.g., her left hand pulling her right hand up towards her food at lunch). After the workout I spent some time catching up with Mom in her room, and was really happy to hear a pretty loud voice and some nice involvement in conversation. According to Larry, Mom’s voice is noticeably different (in a good way) today.

After a nice lunch together and a game of Sesame Street Memory, Mom decided it would be a good time to use the recliner that had been set up in the living room for her afternoon “rest.” She wheeled out of her room and asked a staff member, “Do you have chairs for us?” – a nice attempt at trying to spontaneously communicate what she was wanting. Mom at first appeared extremely tense as she lay back in the chair (which is pretty much how she would have looked even before this all happened), but she quickly settled in and really seemed to enjoy the chair, with her eyes almost closing at times. Really nice to see the staff tailoring things so that the “rest” can be achieved despite Mom’s resistance to being in bed during the day.

Larry returned at the end of the afternoon and we all headed out for an early dinner of Thai food and a trip to UBC-O for the women’s basketball game. Mom seemed to enjoy the game, but admitted to being tired by the end of it and ready to head back to begin her weekend at home. Despite being tired, she was up for playing with Nash and enjoying some weekend junkfood and a Fresca once back at home. She continued to be chatty and had both Larry and I laughing numerous times, not heading to bed until 10pm. It continues to be amazing to watch her progress forward, and I am very excited to see what a weekend at home has in store for her.

Eating #TSJ

Our steak fajita dinner went well with Janet eating two fajitas in a surprisingly neat fashion. She didn’t hurry through the meal at all and with the exception of trying to dip her tater tot into the bowl of shredded cheese she displayed some very nice table etiquette. Overall she seemed very bright and with it tonight, asking really good questions, helping to get ready for dinner and to clean up as well as keeping our annoying dog entertained and out of my way. Janet chose ice cream for dessert and when I asked her why she keeps choosing pralines and cream all the time she said ” I like the flavor and it tastes good and I like the name”. Solid answer.

There really wasn’t much time for anything other than dinner so once it was cleaned up we made our way back to Connect. Connie was there and congratulated Janet on the success of her swallow X- ray. She wanted to explain to Janet what had happened and what it all means but Janet kinda wasn’t tuned in as she had heard it all from me already and it was approaching nine o’clock which is past her usual bedtime. Once tucked in I could tell she was very much ready for sleep so I said goodnight with the promise of seeing her in the morning with Laurel. That brought a smile to her face as she closed her eyes.

Today was a milestone day for sure. We are grateful to Connie for pushing things along so well at KGH. The next target is the peg tube and I’ve set a goal of two weeks to get rid of that thing. Praying that Janet has a restful night that brings a day of learning, recovery and fun.

Swallowing #TSJ

Janet and I are home for the evening and I’m sure a lot of you are interested to hear the results of her swallow X-ray so here is an update on the day so far.

Lorne took Janet to the gym after breakfast and got her on the Shuttle after some stretching. He reports that she did very well, doing thirty reps with one band and sixteen with two. She only had one melt down during the entire session and it was minor. When I arrived at 11:30 Janet was finishing making her bed and “looking for some after school type work to do”. Since we had to go soon I got her what I hoped would be her last mushy meal for lunch and she ate that quickly while we had a brief chat with Tez. I asked him about Janet being home on weekends and missing a day in the gym. He feels the different therapy experienced being away from Connect is just as valuable as being in the gym and having the weekend off would not be detrimental to her treatment. In light of that Janet will be home Friday and Saturday nights from now on. As to my concern about Janet’s leg work being done in the mornings we agreed to leave it up to the staff as to which workout they could do best with the time available. Tez feels there is no measurable difference between working the legs in the morning as opposed to the afternoon.

We raced off to KGH and despite the expected parking challenges arrived on time for Janet’s swallow X-Ray. She was in and out in twenty minutes with the Speech Pathologist (not Connie) seeming to make a real effort at qualifying Janet for as unrestricted a diet as possible. After the test she couldn’t tell me anything specific as she wanted to review the video recording and as it turns out Connie would review it as well. Janet and I visited the old gang at Rehab which brought out lots of big smiles from Janet and everyone who saw her including Moira, Cathryn, Dr. Miller, lots familiar nurses and especially our long time table mate Barb who is now walking with a cane! The visit there was very good therapy for Janet as she was reminded of how many people love and care for her.

As soon as we got home Connie called with her results from the swallow X-ray. Janet’s diet has officially been elevated to “Easy Chew, Thin Liquids”. Translated that means pretty much anything Janet wants to eat with the exception of tough meats or hard vegetables and fruit. Raw carrots was mentioned as a no no but when I told Connie how much Janet loves baby carrots she agreed to allow those and anything similar including sliced apples. The main precaution with Janet’s eating now is to ensure someone is always with her and to monitor the pace with which she eats. There is still a little bit of residue in Janet’s throat when she swallows but it’s not nearly what it was during the last X-ray and clears with a second swallow. One thing she failed at was using a straw but that’s no big deal. Connie will go to Connect tonight and give them the written instructions so that Janet can start eating real food there tomorrow. For her first authorized meal she has chosen steak fajitas which we are going to start making now.

Praising God for all the good people in our life and for the success of today so far.

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.