I’m very excited to tell you all that at 10:42pm PDT today, Janet stood unassisted!
We had finished getting ready for bed and while transferring from wheelchair to bed I had her stand up nice and tall while I held onto her. This is a common end of the day thing and I try to see how much of her weight she can take. Tonight felt different right from the start and her feet looked to be planted firmly on the floor so I let go and could feel her trying to keep her balance. It took a couple of tries then she actually stood there all by herself for maybe two or three seconds. She repeated it twice then I gave her a rest so I could set up the iPad to record it in case I was dreaming. Here’s the video, not the best angle but what do you expect at this hour?
Another roller coaster week for Janet that started out really strong then took a huge dip in the middle with a nice bounce back to finish it off.
Last Thursday was a stellar day for Janet with strong workouts in the gym, good results from her Speech Therapy and a display of heightened awareness that had me excited about the progress she’s making. Curtis had her in the gym late in the morning and he generally puts Janet through a very thorough routine so when he says she did well, it means something. I saw proof of how well Janet was doing that night when she allowed me to take her onto The Shuttle. That dreaded machine from the past that used to produce nothing but tears and anger. This time Janet was totally focused on doing the best she could and her performance was record breaking for me and a really good demonstration as to how much stronger she’s gotten. Instead of blowing off my compliments she seemed to somewhat accept them this time. Janet followed up her Shuttle performance with a nice hour long session in the Standing Frame. One reason she was able to hang in there so long I believe was, she was totally engaged in a TV show called Criminal Minds. There was something about it that drew her in even to the point of knowing “they are trying to catch the Anthrax guys”. Brilliant. Another example of Janet’s increased awareness was demonstrated during a first time Skype chat with her friend from years ago, Dianne and her daughter Whitney. I could see the memory lights flashing in Janet’s eyes as the conversation progressed and there were lots of smiles and laughter on both sides of the screen.
So ended a real “up” part of the roller coaster ride as Friday started a big “down” turn. After weeks of chasing faxes around from office to office it was finally arranged to increase the dosage of Baclofen for Janet in hopes of alleviating some of the spasticity in her legs. There was to be a gradual increase to triple what she’s been on for about nine months now starting with a doubling of the dose Friday morning. Janet’s day started out quiet with some sit to stand exercises and a little Speech with Alana. I picked Janet up and took her swimming at KGH and her own evaluation of the sessions was “ok, but not as good as last time”. Pretty accurate as she seemed tired. We stopped for a few groceries on the way home and Janet was a big help in the store, enjoying picking out vegetables etc. By the time we got home it seemed too late for a nap so I agreed to let her try and push through thinking we could have an early night. As we started making pizzas it became quite clear she wasn’t going to make it. She couldn’t figure out for the life of her how to chop a mushroom, something she’s done routinely in the past. Off to bed she went and we tried again an hour later. The nap refreshed her enough to enjoy building her pizza and eating it outside in the sun. We watched The Voice afterwards and Janet spontaneously started singing to The Swon Brothers rendition of Danny’s Song. Cam called and had a nice chat with his mom then the roller coaster started downhill real fast. Seemingly out of nowhere Janet lost all that awareness that was so prevelant the last couple of days. The only way for me to describe it is she got stupid. There were lots of tears of frustration, lots of unrecognizable speech and it was very difficult for me to maintain any level of patience. Janet insisted on a hot tub before bed and I was happy to oblige her that and it relaxed her enough she could settle into bed and fall asleep just before ten. She woke up on her own around 9:30 Saturday and seemed ok. She managed a good breakfast but instead of the usual morning fog lifting as she ate, it seemed to grow thicker. Her speech deteriorated, her ability to drink from her glass dissappeared to where she couldn’t even suck water through a straw. It was too late to call off a scheduled visit from her friend Janet F. and when she arrived Janet perked up a little and enjoyed the visit but was very quiet. I took her out for a walk afterwards hoping the sun would energize her. We watched a little soccer at the neighbourhood school but Janet couldn’t “see” the teams we were watching despite their bright yellow and blue jerseys. Home we went and I was starting to get a little concerned. Janet ate a sandwich and happily went for a nap which ended up lasting six hours. During that time I read about every possible cause for her rapid decline and settled on an intolerance for Baclofen. That’s the only thing that changed recently so that had to be it. When Janet woke and only wanted a piece of toast for dinner I started wondering if there was anything else going on but since she had been eating well up until then and was toileting fine I decided to let her try and sleep it off some more. Sunday morning started comparatively well as Janet seemed more coherent and ate a good breakfast. Her speech was better but there was still a lot of gibberish there. She made it until 12:30 before crashing until four when I made her get up to have some water and hopefully some dinner. Her drinking ability had improved and she ate well at dinner. Overall I was less concerned even though she was nowhere near regular Janet. She was following commands well and eating and drinking and not showing any signs of serious illness. Janet was in bed by 8:30 and sleeping before I finished our goodnight prayer. Monday morning I phoned nurse Jen at Connect and she agreed to let me hold Janet’s morning dose of Baclofen. I also talked to Dr. McCann’s office and he later agreed to drop her prescription back to the level it had been at prior to the weekend. The roller coaster started an uphill climb almost immediately.
After an almost three hour nap mid day Monday we headed off to see Janet’s GP who was pretty confident Janet’s “down” weekend was the result of the Baclofen increase. We aren’t calling this an overdose like the Dilantin episode as this time the drug doesn’t seem to agree with Janet as opposed to Janet having too much of it in her. By Monday evening Janet knew my name again and was starting to argue about going to the gym so I knew things were OK. She ate a little dinner, tolerated thirty minutes in the Standing Frame and knew when the TV show we were watching ended that it was time for her to get down. She was smiley and giggly as I put her to bed and I was very relieved.
For the first time since this all started I made a phone call to Janet. Tuesday was her birthday so I called when I knew she’d be eating breakfast to wish her happy birthday and also to assure myself she was alright. Her laughter and strong voice were all I needed to know this was going to be a good day. I arrived at Connect in time to observe some of Janet’s singing with John session and noticed there was more laughter than singing going on but that is very theraputic itself.
Janet agreed to have a nap after John left so she could be ready for all the birthday Skype sessions coming her way later in the day. We probably did a few too many back to back but it was funny to hear Janet wish everyone else a happy birthday as they said that to her. Janet and I enjoyed a nice dinner at a local Italian restaurant including a glass of wine and we gave her the night off from any gym related activities.
She was happy to watch a very entertaining basketball game before going to bed.
Today Janet was back to her regular self if not a little more than that. I gave her time to nap and when I finally went into her room she put on a huge smile and we chatted on her bed for half an hour with her talking really well and laughing lots too. As she was getting up, Brian stopped by to see some of her pole transfers and mentioned how impressed he was by her standing abilities. Janet has made a lot of progress in the last few weeks. From there she helped Curtis prep dinner and when it was ready devoured her portion along with an apple and a generous slice of a very delicious cheesecake Jess made for her birthday. Even after that large meal Janet managed a good session on The Shuttle and elected to use the Standing Frame rather than do some stretching. We used a different frame tonight which proved to be not as good as the usual one but it was worth a try. Janet has an appointment with Dr. Miller (neuropsychologist) early in the morning so I tried to encourage her to go to bed around 8:30 but she waved me off “saying” she’s watching the hockey game. I gave her a few more minutes and thankfully Chicago scored to end the game and off we went.
I know the roller coaster is not likely to end but I hope for Janet’s sake we don’t go on a ride like this past week again. I’d much prefer a steady climb upwards. I asked Janet to finish off the video tour of Connect but she wasn’t interested and instead wanted to say thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. After a great many takes this is the best we could get and I think it shows pretty clearly how hard Janet is trying. I’m praying that strong effort continues and that she is rewarded with ever increasing abilities.
It feels a little strange to be writing again after almost a week away from blogging. Thanks and welcome to all of you who have joined me on Twitter. That’s where you can now keep up to date with Janet on a daily basis.
This past week has seen Janet steadily moving ahead in a lot of areas, with Friday marking the beginning of the end of her BM challenges I hope. We finally got the medication started that Dr. Agnew said would work, and boy did it! Janet felt relieved afterwards and I still don’t understand how she never felt any pain or discomfort during the long period of time where she wasn’t going. That may be part of why she wasn’t going and hopefully while at her colonoscopy appointment, Dr. Nash will be able to explain what’s happening. As of today all is well in that department.
When I first met Janet she was challenging herself to become more assertive. As the years went by she learned to make sure her voice was heard very well. I’m starting to see a return of that strong personality now as she voices her opinion on things and has taken a few verbal shots at me. The funniest one being last night while watching basketball. I had been nagging Janet all afternoon about drinking water but hadn’t said anything for a while. Since it was nearing bedtime I casually suggested she needed to drink more water. She very quickly and sharply (smiling though) said “why don’t you drink more water”. Bob and I both laughed out loud along with Janet who promptly had a few big sips of water. I like what I’m seeing from her this way and although she still lacks confidence in her physical abilities she is clearly gaining a better understanding of her situation and the moment she is living in.
Speaking of physical abilities, Janet continues to impress not only me but her therapists as well. I’m praying she soon recognizes herself how well she is doing. Friday’s sessions at the KGH pool were strong with Janet doing some good balancing and “walking”. In our pool on Monday Janet “swam” on her back for ten seconds on two separate occasions. I’m calling it swimming because she continued kicking her legs and moving her left arm to keep her face out of the water. There was some propulsion but hard to measure in such a short period of time and I was so excited I kept thinking how I could get video of it all. No luck with that yet. Janet was pleased I was excited but doubtful she had done anything that exciting. The hot tub continues to work its magic on Janet’s stretchability and she looks forward to those relaxing sessions now. If we could get her that interested in the Connect gym we’d be set. Janet is performing well there but still argues against going each time. The staff and I keep emphasizing the benefits she is seeing from all her hard work and I think we’re gaining ground there. Should be easy to do as Janet is getting measurably better on the bike, the standing frame and the parallel bars almost daily. On Monday she set a personal best riding the bike for thirty minutes and traveling .82 miles. Janet is tolerating the standing frame for forty minutes to an hour now and it’s so weird having her standing tall I can’t sit beside her when she’s in the frame as I’m not used to looking up at her.
Meal prep and household type chores are something Janet strangely enjoys. She eagerly puts her laundry away and helps me make her bed. I still have to prompt her to look at the labels on her drawers to see where something goes and she needs a lot of guidance with kitchen duties but her willingness to try is cool and she really does concentrate fully when given a task.
Janet and I went for a nice long walk Monday evening to explore the neighborhood. We saw a nice development with some single level homes for sale but decided we don’t want to live in Lake Country. I tested Janet’s vision while we were out by asking her to read signs and find certain objects. She can see things for sure, her challenge is in sorting out what she’s looking at and zeroing in on the key thing. It was a fun walk and Janet seemed to enjoy the challenge of finding things to look at, kind of like eye spy.
The following is the first in what could be a weekly feature of the blog. This interview was shot this afternoon and its purpose is to allow you all to see and hear Janet for yourselves instead of just reading my words. We hope you enjoy.
Praying for continued improvement and acceptance by Janet in how well she’s doing.
My day with Janet began early, twice. I woke up around 1:30am freaking out that she wasn’t beside me in bed. I spent at least five minutes searching the main floor of the house and yelling for her before I realized she was sleeping soundly at Connect. Must’ve been the nachos.
The day started for real with a Team Meeting at Connect at the more civilized hour of 9am. It was a good discussion, mostly about the positive gains Janet is making in all areas. The only real concern is her bowel movements but there is a plan in place. In brief, Tez is working towards independent transfers with Janet and is reluctant to try and predict whether or not she’ll walk one day. I believe she will. Mary Lou is seeing improvement weekly in Janet’s verbal skills and her vision and says Janet is getting pretty good with the iPad. I mentioned I tried having Janet go briefless at home without success and the team is supportive of trying to wean Janet off of the briefs during her awake hours. We are still waiting for the chance to meet with the neurologist Dr. Adams and the neuropsycologist Dr. Miller. Soon hopefully.
Jess got Janet into the standing frame after the meeting and about twenty minutes in Janet announced she had to go to the bathroom and boy did she. Finally a bowel movement and credit to the increase in physical activity for her and maybe the Peg-Lyte. Janet felt a lot better after that and went to the gym for a little bike ride and a good stretch. We went for a walk to the hot dog stand across the street for lunch but the guy wasn’t around so back to Connect we went and Janet BBQ’d us a couple of smokies. She was pretty tired after lunch and had a good long nap with no resistance at all. I think the last few days finally caught up to her. Unfortunately she slept through a chance to work with Tez at the parallel bars but he agreed to come in tomorrow morning and work with Janet before swimming. While we sat outside for happy hour I noticed how loose her right arm was and decided to see how much I could move it around. As you can see I was able to get in a position it hasn’t been in for a long time. Impressive.
As I was getting Janet up from her nap I mentioned I wanted to tell her what happened to me last night but would wait till she was totally up. Fifteen minutes later she asked “what about the story you were going to tell me?” This was one of many super bright moments Janet had today as she continues to gain cognitively. After dinner we had quite a serious discussion about “my problem”, with Janet asking lots of questions about herself and Connect. There were tears of course as I didn’t sugar coat anything. She asked, I answered and I think this is great progress. That level of brightness was only with her for about an hour or so and as she tired towards the end of the night her speech got a little garbled again. She did manage to lounge for a good while and watched some basketball before lights out in readiness for a busy day tomorrow.
This post is the last daily update I plan on writing as I find too many days are pretty routine and don’t require the effort it takes to produce an update. I will publish at least every Wednesday evening from now on and as events warrant. Those of you who wish to stay totally plugged in can follow me on Twitter @larrylatour where I will post daily with photos and or video.
Praying for a restful night that provides lots of energy for tomorrow.
Janet was at it early this morning working out with Tez doing some standing and walking at the parallel bars. Janet still says it’s difficult but she isn’t quite as emotional about it all as before. She still has not had a BM even with the Peg-Lyte so nurse Jen recommended a trip back to ER and that was suggested by Janet’s GP as well. I had hoped to delay the return until tomorrow in part because today is the one year anniversary of Janet’s aneurysm and the last place I wanted her to be was the hospital. However it was the right thing to do.
Lorne took Janet from Connect to KGH and I met them there, saving me a trip out there and back. Janet was in good spirits and seemed OK with the idea and prepared to wait. The ER wasn’t nearly as busy today so I had high hopes we’d be in and out pretty quick. Last time was five hours, today two and a half. Dr. Eppler saw Janet today and he confirmed that it was good we brought Janet back in but at the same time he wasn’t ready to bring out the dynamite yet. He consulted with Dr. Agnew, the GI, and he recommended a drug that Dr. Eppler had never heard of and the KGH pharmacy didn’t have in stock. He seemed super confident in it though and also ordered Janet to be on a slightly different formulation of the Peg-Lyte she’s been drinking and that should help Janet stay regular once she gets cleared out. He gave Janet a dose of it as we left and she drank it quickly on the way back to Connect. The plan now is to try this new drug along with the new Peg-Lyte and if there’s no result soon Janet will go back to the ER for the dynamite treatment.
It was dinner time when we got to Connect and Janet ate heartily. Not sure where all the food is going but she seems fine. Garrett negotiated a bike ride from Janet afterwards and she performed her best ever. The deal was more than twenty minutes but less than thirty. I went in to see how she was doing and she just eclipsed the twenty five minute mark. I didn’t let her know I was there and she continued until she went over twenty eight minutes. Garrett and I showered her with praise hoping it sinks in that she is improving. The praise continued as Janet took a much needed bio break and produced a very small BM. Something is better than nothing and I credit the long bike ride with moving things along a little.
Janet was quite insistent that the rest of the evening be fun and she elected to lounge while watching basketball in the living room. That was a perfect way to end another busy yet productive day for her.
I thought about a lot of different ways to acknowledge this anniversary. A video timeline or a re posting of key events along the way. A photo montage showing the very obvious progress Janet has made or having her say stuff on camera today. As I thought about it and talked about it with her it became clear that celebrating this day would be inappropriate. Janet still gets very emotional thinking about the past year and even though she doesn’t remember much it still brings tears. I don’t want to generate more tears. I also realized that the anniversary probably means more to those of us who have been alongside Janet during this journey than it does to her. So in that regard I want to thank all of Team Save Janet for your continued prayers, visits, virtual visits, care packages and words of encouragement. Janet and I would not have managed to get this far this well without all of you. Looking back at how much has changed in the last year I have nothing but optomism for what the next year holds. God continues to place the right people in our lives at the right time and through His grace all will be well.
Janet must’ve known it was Monday as she was in no hurry to get up this morning which normally would be OK but we had an appointment before swimming today so up she had to get. Her right leg on the other hand stayed asleep most of the day. In the pool it was doing its own thing most of the time despite a real effort from Janet. She did manage some good balancing and floating and over all both pool sessions were worth the trip. Even more worth the trip was a reunion with nurse R J as we passed by the Rehab nurses station. He was very excited to see Janet and could not believe she was talking to him. He was as excited as a little kid on Christmas morning and Janet thought the whole thing quite funny.
Unsure of what to do for lunch and with Janet announcing she had to go to the bathroom once we were in the car, I decided to take her home for the bathroom break and a quick lunch. I really need to stop referring to meals as quick with Janet as they never are. It was three o’clock by the time we were done and Janet was clearly getting quite tired. She would have nothing to do with the idea of a nap either at Connect or home but I offered to lay down with her and she accepted that. Asleep within five minutes and still sleeping at 4:30 I called Connect to say we’d be back after dinner. When she woke up after five Janet was refreshed and totally up for a hot tub. That warm water worked its magic on Janet again as I was able to get excellent stretches on both legs and some good work on her right arm and shoulder. With the cooler air temperature and the fact we weren’t in the overheated pool before going to the hot tub we were both able to stay in longer than yesterday and Janet was very relaxed when we got out. Her right leg seemed a little more responsive towards the end of the session and while doing some squats I could feel that leg working a little. Janet later executed some really strong standing transfers that I think even she was happy with.
No longer rushing to get back to Connect we had a good Skype chat with Andrew then a decent dinner before making the half hour drive to Lake Country. Bob had a good basketball game on when we got there so we stayed up too late and watched that but Janet wasn’t really that tired until the end. Regulation time ended at around 9:15 or so and I tried to fool her saying the game was over but she knew it was going into overtime and so she got to watch the whole thing.
Lots of time in the water today, a fun reunion with R J, a nice chat with Andrew and an extended stay at home made for a fun day for Janet. Praying for a good night of sleep and healing and a productive day tomorrow.
All reports this morning had Janet feeling good and not bleeding. She showered and ate breakfast and seemed ready for action. Apparently Connect has a policy whereby they cannot administer anything to a resident without a doctor’s prescription or order. The Peg-Lyte I was given at KGH yesterday did not come with any paperwork so the staff were unable to get Janet started on it this morning. Lorne volunteered to take Janet to the nearby walk in clinic to get a doctor’s note and over two hours later they returned. Successful but only after waiting a ridiculous amount of time for something as silly as that. In the last two days Janet has spent over seven hours waiting and it clearly affected her. She was hungry when she got back to Connect and devoured an apple as it was too close to dinner for anything else. Happy hour consisted of her first 480ml glass of Peg-Lyte and I have to praise her for drinking it as fast as she did. There were lots of funny faces but she was persistent and had an empty glass a half hour after starting. High five!
There was no immediate effect from the Peg-Lyte except for a boost in hydration. I don’t think Janet’s ever drank that much of anything that fast. It may have affected her head as well because she agreed to go to the gym and ride the bike before dinner. When we got there she was surprised that she was getting on “that bike”, she said her bike “is out there somewhere”, pointing outside. I got her set up and she ended up doing about twenty two minutes with a few stops along the way. Considering the day she was having I thought she did very well.
It’s Derek’s birthday today and he requested a roast beef dinner complete with Yorkshire Pudding for dinner tonight. The Yorkshire Pudding was a challenge for the staff but they pulled together and got it done. Janet enjoyed it as much as Derek did but the highlight was the cake Jess made. Yummy. I’ve been asking Janet if she wanted to try standing at the parallel bars for a while now, always getting a no. Tonight she agreed as long as I did it with her so up to the second floor we went. I demonstrated what I wanted her to do, which is pull up perpendicular to the bars, plant her feet, scoot forward in her chair and use her left arm to pull herself up to a standing position. She needed a couple of attempts and a kick start from me but on the third try she was able to stand pretty tall and with me barely touching her to keep her from falling backwards. I could really sense the effort in her legs that time and for once she didn’t cry when she accomplished something. I’m going to try and do this everyday with her now.
After all that it was time for lounging to watch some basketball. Janet’s right leg remains nice and loose but I sense an increase in the tightness of her left leg. Could just be the lack of activity the last few days so hopefully we can hot tub at home and hit the pool on Monday to get her going strong again. All the talk around Connect is about the Spring Fling tomorrow but Janet is still not sure about the whole thing. Jess promised to put her to work helping with pancakes in the morning and I know Janet will like that. Praying for a good sleep tonight and lots of energy tomorrow.
Janet was surprised to see me this morning as she had forgotten about swimming. Jess reported that they tried to go to the gym but it was busy so the only activity Janet got this morning was Speech with Mary Lou. Apparently that went well with Janet talking nice and loud and clear as she practiced asking questions instead of answering them like she mostly does.
Our drive to KGH was chattier than usual but in the pool Janet seemed a little tired and had zero command over her right leg. I wish I knew why this happens and how to prevent or correct it as it was tough for Janet to do her standing and walking exercises in our first session. The second half hour was better though and I was able to let go of her as she floated on her back for a couple of seconds. Same thing with standing on her own. It took a long time to get there but she was able to stand for a good five seconds a couple of times. Walking continued to be a challenge as her right leg was largely unresponsive.
While walking back to the car we were stopped by Monica, the transition nurse from 4B. She was very excited to see Janet and amazed by her progress as she had not seen Janet for probably seven months now. Janet had no clue who she was but enjoyed the compliments. Monica mentioned to me how she and her husband had gotten their Power of Attorney done and updated their wills after watching what Janet and I have gone through without a POA in place. She even told the story to a colleague the other day and they are going to get theirs done now too. If any of you married folks reading this don’t have an Enduring Power of Attorney in place and up to date wills, get on it. You never know what’s going to happen and things can get really messy without that paperwork.
We deviated from our intended lunch destination choosing to support a local business that I spotted along the way, Deli City Cafe. Good thing too as while we were ordering we saw our friend Roger who was just finishing his lunch there. It was nice to see his big smile and to know things are going well for Carrie and he. I wanted to get Janet back to Connect in case we could see the wheelchair guy so we ate our lunch once we got back there but no wheelchair guy. That did allow for a late nap for a tired Janet and I got her laying down a little before four. What was planned as a quick siesta turned into a two hour nap as we both fell asleep until six o’clock. Not sure what that was all about for me but I must’ve needed it.
Bob took Janet to the gym after dinner and she actually went without arguing. Bob mentioned Janet’s lack of command of the right leg but said all else was good. Janet seemed pleased and was ready to watch some playoff basketball. It was a good thing she had that nap as the game was really good and she was actually able to stay up to watch it all as it ended around 10:15. For the first time Janet was able to repeatedly tell me the score of the game and she is starting to understand some of the rules again too. I had her lounging in her wheelchair the whole game and was able to get both legs quite straight and she was comfortable the whole time. I noticed when I put her to bed that her right leg was toasty warm just like her left one, often it is quite cold, even icy sometimes. She was able to move it on command quite well to put her PJ’s on too. Maybe the lounging helped?
As I said goodnight I reminded Janet that Laurel will pick her up around lunch time tomorrow and bring her home to see Heather and me. She said, “I hope I remember”. I’m sure she will. Praying for rest and healing and lots of energy for tomorrow and the weekend.
While bathed in the morning sun I woke Janet up around 8:30 this morning so we didn’t have to rush through breakfast before going to church. It has been well over a week since Janet’s last BM and with no action overnight I decided I’d really try and get her more physically active today in hopes that would get her going. With that in mind I had her do as much of her morning routine herself as possible. That included a few standing attempts with her pulling up or pushing down her pants. She excelled at that again today. As Janet finished her breakfast she turned to me and asked, “if it’s OK with you I’d like to go to the bathroom?” How could I say no? That turned into her most successful bathroom trip in over a week and I gave her a standing ovation. Not even sure if I gave my kids one back in the day so Janet’s pretty special.
The morning success paved the way for a positive and enjoyable Sunday. There was singing and laughing at Trinity with Tim’s talk being on sex and Janet thinking that was pretty funny. I finally got her to sign her passport renewal form so after church we went to the dreaded mall to get some pictures taken. It wasn’t that hard for Janet not to smile for the camera but it was super hard for her to control her blinking. Thank goodness for digital cameras. She did a great job and took the best passport picture I’ve ever seen. We stayed there for lunch then went home for a really good stretch and a nap. I got both of Janet’s legs the straightest I can remember after working them for a good twenty minutes. The left leg especially still seems quite tight but once you get it going a bit it loosens right up. Janet didn’t argue about her nap today but did say that she doesn’t sleep during her naps or snore. I told her I would record some video of her sleeping and snoring during this nap if she would believe me then. She agreed, fell asleep for two hours but only snored a couple times so no video. Next time, and it’ll get Keeked.
Janet was such a big help with dinner yesterday I wanted to make something today she could help out with as well. Cinco de Mayo is coming up and we were discussing what to do for it and decided to warm up for it by making enchiladas. Janet chopped an onion, opened cans, poured, stirred and scooped and was very willing to help in anyway she could. Cooking this way is actually becoming fun and I hope we can keep it that way. You can see her scooping with a smile on her face on Keek, @larrylatour.
After dinner we watched a little basketball and halftime came just at the right time for a quick stretch. This one wasn’t as good as Janet was getting tired so I took it easy on her wanting our evening to be fun. She had a little problem with the Dilantin tonight in that I neglected to get her to drink a lot of water after taking the pills. I thought since we were sitting watching TV she’d sip on her Fresca enough to get them all the way down. Wasn’t the case and she started complaining her throat hurt. Turned out to be nothing more Fresca and a little ice cream couldn’t cure then it was a bowl of popcorn and The Voice before bed. Janet actually called her own bedtime tonight. The Voice ended about 9:40 and she started wheeling away mumbling something that turned out to mean she was ready for sleep.
Praying that Janet has a restful night that brings lots more healing to her legs and right arm and provides her with energy and strength for tomorrow.
Even with house guests Janet managed a nice sleep in this morning. Katie and Sarah took off for Calgary at 8 o’clock Connah(Katie’s last name)time which is 8:25 to the rest of us. Janet and I wish them well on their adventure.
Our morning was relaxing and stress free with Janet eating a big breakfast, Skypeing with Heather and doing a little online house hunting with me. We even managed a pretty good stretching session. During which we talked about how we could get her in and out of the pool and hot tub and I made a brief attempt at carrying Janet from her wheelchair down to the floor of our bedroom and quickly saw that there is no way I’m doing that because even if I got her down I’m not convinced I could get her back up. We read in Slow Dance where the lady was sliding out of her chair and landing on the floor butt first. Janet is not there yet and even if she was the getting back up part is still there. I’m open to suggestions y’all.
After polishing off a hamburger for lunch Janet fought me a little about going for a nap despite the fact she was falling asleep in her wheelchair. For the first time ever that I can remember Janet verbally threatened me. She said, “this will cost you a lot of money” as I was laying her down on the bed. She explained that if I loved her I would let her stay up. I got mad at her for the threat then laid beside for literally two minutes until she was sound asleep. Janet uttered another negative comment during the chat with Heather expressing her lack of confidence in her ability to stand. That one was familiar to former Janet and it could be that she is becoming more understanding of her situation. We got to keep focusing on the positives.
I woke Janet up a couple hours later and she was refreshed and recharged enough to play with Nash, drink half a glass of water then help me make dinner. We decided on linguine and clam sauce and Janet was the biggest help to me in the kitchen to date. With minimal supervision she chopped an onion, opened cans of tomatoes and clams, poured those in the pan for me. Added all the spices to the sauce, chopped peppers, tore lettuce and very casually broke snap peas in half with her thumb. She was very happy with her contribution and to celebrate we enjoyed a 2008 CedarCreek Pinot Noir which also motivated her to drink her water.
During a bio break after dinner I was having a tough time getting Janet’s pants down as she had gotten a little sweaty sitting in the sun. With no prompting she let go of my shoulder and reached down to push the left side of her pants over her hips. High five! That was a huge help and as she played it down I reinforced it as proof the visits to the gym and the stretching are paying off as she could not have done that if her legs weren’t so strong. At bedtime she did it again but in reverse as she helped pull her pants up. Very cool.
As we watched The Voice tonight Janet lounged in her wheelchair which gave a good stretch on her legs while she ate ice cream. Today was not an active day physically but I think Janet’s brain got a decent work out as did her fine motor skills. Praying for lots of rest tonight and a bright day tomorrow.
Janet, a Success Story 