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The Team Save Janet Report is Out. #tsj #memory #standup #recovery

Janet greeted me in the living room of Connect this afternoon as she was half sleeping and half watching The View. She told me of her busy morning in the gym and how “terrible” it was then informed me that my haircut looked good. I often need to prompt her to notice things like that or even to ask me what I had done before coming out to see her so it was really nice to have her notice the hair. Brian joined us for a chat to catch up on things as he’d been away on a fishing trip. It was nice to hear his stories and see the picture of him with a large salmon he “caught”.

Our chatting session went through nap time so Janet and I went for a hot sunny walk around the neighborhood. She stayed very chatty throughout and I noticed was seeing things better too. We then had a few minutes before dinner to answer some emails. Janet typed one completely on her own to her mom and did a great job reading another back to me. I had her follow a pen that I pointed at each word and she got at least eighty percent of them. Of course she felt she did poorly but that’s not the case.

After dinner Janet and I had an hour long discussion on the importance of keeping on working hard while she’s at Connect. It started with her not wanting to go to the gym for the second time in a day. We covered every angle imaginable as to why it was important to do so and as we were talking about her time in the hospital the fog lifted a little. Janet started describing to me one of the rooms she was in at the hospital. She couldn’t tell me which hospital it was or what ward it was on or anything but from what she said I think it was her first room in Rehab at KGH. As she described it I could see her envisioning it and am confident she wasn’t making it up. The place she described had a hall with rooms that had four people in them but she was in a room with two people, her and another lady. I asked questions that wouldn’t put words in her mouth so am really confident she actually remembers that place and I plan on taking her to that room on Monday to see if she remembers it more. When her flashback was over she was no longer angry or upset about going to the gym and gave an outstanding effort on the Shuttle. Knowing she didn’t want to do the Standing Frame I had her stand on her own after getting off the Shuttle and with Garrett and Bob watching she stood for well over two minutes without grabbing me once. I’m not sure if the extra eyes made her try harder or if her confidence level has grown that much but it was very exciting and a huge improvement.

Because her morning had been so busy Janet never got to shower during the day so off she went for a bedtime shower. She wasn’t too happy about it at first, thinking she’d be cold but she was smiley and warm upon her return and enjoyed watching YouTube clips of Fat Albert before bed. That show came up in our dinner conversation some how so we had to check it out. We were both impressed at the many voices Bill Cosby did for that show.

I’m impressed with Janet today and am praying that she recognizes how well she’s doing and can resolve to keep working hard.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out. #tsj #bigbrother #swimming #realestate #rachellayne

Monday began with an early wake up call in order to be ready for Les, our realtor, being here at ten to have us sign the listing documents for the sale of our house. Janet’s night was a little restless but not bad and she was enthusiastic about the busy day ahead.

We had some time after breakfast to de-clutter the place a little as Les mentioned he would take pictures this morning as well. It’s surprising how messy things can look when you consider taking a picture of it as opposed to just living with it. Cleaning up seems to be a good one for Janet and she did a good job including packing our stuff for swimming. Les got us through the paperwork and Janet did an excellent job signing her name and initials over and over again.

Before we knew it it was time to head to KGH for swimming where we would meet Janet’s brother Mike who was flying in for a quick visit. This was the first session at KGH in a few weeks so I wasn’t sure what to expect from Janet. She did exceptionally well, walking numerous lengths of the parallel bars, swimming strong on her tummy and back and doing some good balancing. During the second session Janet was able to swim on her back five lengths without stopping and needing no help turning other than verbal cues from me. She had a massive smile on her face while doing this and I’m not sure if she was proud of herself or if Mike was making her laugh. He’s very good at that and although today’s visit was short, we enjoyed it and hope to see him again soon, especially if he buys lunch again.

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It was going on four o’clock when we got home and Janet was showing signs that the busy day was getting to her a little. She was quite adamant that she wasn’t going to have a sleep but five minutes after hitting the pillow she was out and didn’t wake until 5:30. It was very hot and she was still a little groggy so we decided to delay dinner and sit outside with a drink before joining Kiko at Second Cup to watch our friend Rachel Layne sing. Of course it was freezing inside the coffee shop but Rachel performed well and with a hot decaf coffee in her hands and a sweater on, Janet enjoyed the evening very much.

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When we got back to Connect Janet surprised me by agreeing to do some Shuttle work and really showed her increasing strength. High five! She would’ve done the Standing Frame as well but it was too late I thought so we watched a few minutes of TV before bed with the lights going out at 10:30. A very solid day for Janet and I feel like she’s set for a good week ahead. Praying that Janet continues to work hard at all aspects of her recovery.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out. #tsj #smart #chores #blueberries #homealone

Today was a day off so to speak. Nothing scheduled except pick up the dog before noon. We both woke up way too early, 7:30, which is typical anytime you plan on sleeping in but we managed to correct that and not get up until ten. Janet’s night was pretty good and she was well rested to start the day.

The breakfast routine is going really well these days with Janet drinking an entire glass of water without nagging and taking her meds with minimal supervision. She was particularly alert this morning when it came time for toast. I defaulted to the store bought bread in the freezer and she remembered the fresh loaf that Barb greeted us with when we got home Saturday night. Sorry Barb. By the time breakfast was done it was getting a little late to be picking Nash up from the kennel so I did something I probably shouldn’t do. I took off to get the dog by myself leaving Janet home alone. That actually was the plan today all along but I thought I’d leave her chatting with someone on Skype while I took the fifteen minutes round trip. No one was available at the time so Janet sat with her toast and coffee and bravely waited. When I got back she was trying to put the TV on and all was well. My concern about leaving her isn’t so much that she would get into trouble it’s what if something happens to me and she can’t call for help. I may get a wrist slap for this one but its a good discussion point.

Making things up as we went along today we decided to pretend we were living in the unit at SOPA Square we are considering buying. We measured and placed furniture in our living space to mimic SOPA Square and decided the space would work fine. Neither of us is happy with the lack of natural light however and I think that’s a deal breaker. We both love the sun too much and to have the sunniest rooms in the house be the bedrooms doesn’t cut it with us. Janet did well studying the floor plan and comparing it to what we have now and seemed to remember the feel of being in my moms condo which is similar in size the one at SOPA. She was more happy to put the furniture back where it belongs though.

The forty seven and a half pounds of blueberries we brought home from Nanaimo needed to be bagged and put in the freezer so downstairs we went and Janet scooped while I held the bags.

20130812-010846.jpgEight full bags later we were done. It’ll be interesting to see how long these last. Continuing in a domestic chores theme I gave Janet the task of sorting and folding laundry which she did very deliberately and neatly for someone with one functional arm. We put the stuff away together and again I felt her enthusiasm and desire to contribute. That continued as we moved a few things upstairs to continue trying to shrink our living space to what we may be living in in the next house. Janet bravely tried lifting a flat of canned dog food. She’s strong but not that strong.

Janet agreed to some rest time late in the afternoon and helped get us ready for dinner by wiping down and setting the table outside. I look forward to her being able to do more of this in a house she get can around in by herself. Here, I have to wheel her through the carpeted bedroom and over the sill onto the balcony. Still, its great she’s involved. The after dinner hot tub was very relaxing and I got Janet’s legs into the extenders on her wheelchair as we watched AGT before going to bed.

Janet was pretty busy for a day off, I even got a little exercise into the mix. We did a few sessions of standing on her own and once when I forgot to bring the wheelchair in after a pee break, I helped her “walk” out to it. She certainly knows what she’d like to do when walking, there just isn’t enough control of that right leg yet. I loved hanging out with her today as she showed me repeatedly how much smarter and stronger she’s getting. Praying for a night of deep healing and rest in preparation for a busy day tomorrow.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out. #tsj #sailaway #roadtrip #blueberries #nanaimo #kelowna

In order to catch a ferry that would get us home in time for church tonight I actually had to set the alarm on my phone so we’d be up in time. It wasn’t too early, 7:30, and Janet was very good about it. We were able to enjoy a leisurely breakfast and take our time packing and we said goodbye to my mom at 9:15 and drove off to the ferry. Good thing we went early as that sailing was eighty percent full when we got there and totally full fifteen minutes later.

The ride across was pleasant and uneventful and after a stop for pizza and a salad in Caulfeild we hit the road.

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Janet did a great job eating in the car and we made good time for our pit stop in Hope. Our timing there was great. The gas pumps were super busy so I took Janet inside for a pee break surprised to find the washroom empty and by the time we were back outside there was no wait to gas up. I wish all pit stops were that smooth. Janet slept on and off the rest of the way taking one last pee break at the Tourist Info Centre just before West Kelowna.

We arrived at church five minutes before service time and are really glad we went. This weekend, instead of a message taught by one of our talented pastors, Jason Hildebrand acted out the story of the Prodigal Son. It was brilliant. Here’s a link to a YouTube clip that gives you an idea of the experience. If you ever get a chance to see him do the whole thing, do it.

Janet and I decided on Boston Pizza for dinner and I’ve never seen Janet eat so much. All but one slice of her Mediterranean pizza plus most of the Santa Fe Salad we shared and she still had room for ice cream later. That’s my girl.

Once home it was into the hot tub then the PJs to watch SYTYCD before bed. Janet’s ability to travel has definitely improved since our first roadtrip and we are also figuring out how to do things better as well. This adventure was a good one and we look forward to a day off tomorrow. Thanks again to the Nielsen’s and my mom for helping with the blueberries. Praying for lots of rest tonight and a fun day tomorrow.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out. #TSJ # Nanaimo # blueberries #roadtrip

Day two of our Nanaimo blueberry roadtrip began after a decent nights’ sleep despite the never ending squawking of seagulls. Janet was nice and bright and looking forward to the day.

The blueberry farm is south of Nanaimo in an area called Yellowpoint and is home to some of the oldest blueberry bushes in the province. We arrived around 10:30 and got right to work. Our family friends, Wendy, Tove and Neils Nielsen were recruited by my mom to help us out. Good thing too, as by noon we (they) had picked 47.5 pounds of blueberries!

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Janet did a great job picking, getting nearly a bucketful in the time we were there.

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She had a little trouble in the quality control department and surprisingly I had to remind her occasionally she was allowed to eat a few as she picked. Overall I think it was a great experience for Janet as no one was watching over her shoulder while she did something. She was on her own with me checking for quality and quantity once in a while.

The group decided to go for lunch at Cherry Point Estate Wines, a winery in Cobble Hill. It was well worth the drive as we enjoyed a nice meal, conversation and sunshine together. Can’t say I’d recommend the wine we had with lunch (Pinot Gris) but their Sparkling Rose was quite good. The food was good and very nicely presented. This was Janet’s salad and yes the flower is edible.

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After being out in the sun most of the day, Janet welcomed a little rest time when we got back to mom’s. that recharged her for a long walk around the neighborhood where we saw up close, two young eagles and two bunny rabbits along with lots of very expensive motor yachts from the USA. Janet and I tried to convince mom to go for dinner on the docks where we’ve heard the fish tacos are amazing but seniority ruled and we enjoyed a nice home cooked meal. My cousin Brent and his partner Kaj dropped in for a visit all the way from Port Alberni. Super nice to see them and we were reminded of how good the Alberni crew is. Hope to see the rest of you soon.

Tomorrow is sail away day and the drive back to Kelowna to start freezing blueberries. Praying for a solid rest tonight and a safe, enjoyable journey home.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out. #TSJ #Nanaimo #roadtrip #blueberries #traffic

Ok, going to try old school blogging on a daily basis again as staying up late to write each Wednesday isn’t working for me.

Today is day one of a little roadtrip to Nanaimo to visit my mom and pick some of BC’s best blueberries. Janet’s day started with a not so busy morning as the staff were quite busy, so after a shower and breakfast it wasn’t until 11:30 that Jess got her into the gym. They managed to get through a good routine and when I walked in at 12:20 Janet had just finished her lunch and I watched her clean up her dishes. I love spying on her and it was really cute how she looks at something like a garbage can and expects it to automatically open. She’ll also put a cup or something under a water faucet and expect water to magically start pouring out. I guess our new house will have to have motion activated everything. As soon as she’d put her plate away she headed for the patio to get warm. Wheeling right passed me she clearly was on a mission and when the doors wouldn’t open just because she was there she did try and push one side open. That was too tough so Jess helped her and I followed undetected. Janet saw the car and became suspicious then turned her head enough to see me. It was nice to watch her try and do so much on her own as opposed to sitting there waiting for something to happen.

We hit the road on another hot Okanagan summer day, the type of day that makes it hard to leave but knowing it was nice on the coast too I looked forward to the drive. Silly me. I’ve made the trip to Horseshoe Bay a number of times in less than four hours so today, since we planned on catching a ferry out of Tsawwassen I allowed an extra forty five minutes. Should have been plenty but was no where close. We missed our ferry by an additional forty five minutes but drove straight onto one sailing to Victoria.

Janet slept most of the drive down, waking for a pee stop in Hope where for once it was sunny, then the traffic hit. I knew we were doomed when we were barely doing the speed limit passing Chilliwack. When we came to a complete stop two kilometers from the George Massey Tunnel it was officially game over. Not all was lost though as the ferry ride to Victoria was beautiful and went by quite quickly.

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We had a decent dinner with a great view. A good practice run for a real cruise.

Once on the Island I figured it’d be clear sailing to mom’s. Not today, as at 8:30 at night the main highway was reduced to single lane alternating traffic in the middle of a Provincial Park. Only in BC.

Nine hours after leaving Kelowna we pulled up to my mom’s place in Nanaimo and went straight to the hot tub as it was “closing” in minutes. The stretch was really good for Janet after sitting so much this afternoon and the Fresca on the balcony afterwards was gone in record time. We are looking forward to a fun day in the sun tomorrow.

Footnote. Just after leaving Connect we saw John wheeling along the road and stopped to say hi. He hasn’t been able to do his sing along stuff with Janet for a few weeks as he’s having trouble with one of his meds. Please pray for him, he’s in good spirits as always but clearly suffering.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out. #phonecalls #cleaninghouse #chicago

Well here we are again, one week after the last update, so much for my plan to be more prolific with this.

In a lot of ways this was a fairly quiet week for Janet. No weddings, no road trips, no huge signs of progress that warranted an immediate blog update. When I look back at my notes though, its clear it was a good week.

Janet continues to show massive improvement in her cognitive abilities, especially with short term memory. She more frequently knows my name now although this week I’ve been Dennis, Bert, Julie, Ralph and Ted but mostly Larry. When asked now, I see Janet thinking before speaking rather than blurting out the first thing that pops into her head. A few times she’s even said “I forget” instead of calling me something she knows is wrong. We can now talk about events that took place in the morning with Janet able to describe a little bit about them and if the event was big enough she can even talk about something a day or two before hand. Her memory is not yet filing things in chronological order as evidenced by an emotional outburst one day when she thought for sure Laurel and or Heather were to be visiting her. She was so sure of it she called Laurel and me wondering why no one was there with her. She wasn’t able to reach Laurel but the call to me consisted of lots of tears of confusion and frustration. On the flip side, when asked what she wanted to do one morning, she remembered without prompting that she wanted to reply to an email sent from her friend Annette a couple days earlier. For some reason, probably old memory, Janet insisted on hand writing a letter so I gave her a blank greeting card and a pen and left her to it. Twenty minutes later she’d managed a decent note. I could read about a third of the words she wrote which is really good considering I couldn’t read much more of Janet’s writing even before she got sick. Janet has always had a strong sense of commitment and loyalty and so the obligation to reply stuck with her. She’s not great at filling a page yet but always has a good idea of what she wants to say and is improving her typing skills each time. I’ve noticed her vision is better the more awake she is and have noticed that applies to me too. The glasses are on now.

Janet was a big help in getting our house and yard cleaned up for a showing this past Saturday. For the first time she was able to vacuum on carpet and did a great job dusting some areas down for us. A sense of purpose is huge for Janet and I love seeing her eagerness to help with projects like that. Lorne had her vacuuming the living room at Connect this morning and said Janet had a smile on her face the whole time. I wish there was more I could get her to do. Yard work is great as long as Janet can reach what she’s to be working on and unfortunately most of our weeds don’t grow that tall. During the showing we went for a long walk along a route we hadn’t taken since Janet got sick. She remembered a lot of it and loved looking at all the nice homes. Nash was having trouble with the heat and distance and Janet was quite concerned about him. Thankfully he drank water from the lid of her water bottle and that comforted Janet. The thought of selling our house is dominating our time together and Janet both enjoys thinking of what the next house will be like and is somewhat reluctant to see the current one go. She’s very astute at recognizing how it doesn’t make sense to stay here much longer. My body thanks her for that.

Janet’s reading skills are improving as well. Laurel and Raj sent a thank you note following their wedding and Janet read most of it to me unassisted. I could especially understand the parts she read without crying. She’s had some real emotional moments lately, I think from a greater awareness of her situation. I sense a little bit of her feeling she needs to contribute more or be able to do more for her family and doesn’t fully understand the kids are all grown up and out doing their own thing. A few times when driving home and I ask her what she wants to do she’ll respond with “whatever everyone else is doing”. She doesn’t get upset when I tell her its just her and me but for a moment I think she was back in time and there were kids living with us. Janet is living more and more in the present though and confirmed that today when I allowed her to answer a stupid call from her bank. They asked why she hadn’t reviewed her banking needs with them for over a year and if something had happened to cause that. She told them flat out, ” something big happened with my health”. The guy on the other end heard that and repeated it but couldn’t deduce that maybe that was why he had been having trouble hearing Janet for the duration of the call. She was conversing very well with him just not very loudly. Hopefully it was enough to prevent another call.

The gym remains Janet’s nemesis and best tool at the same time. Her strength is gaining noticeably, especially on the Shuttle. Garret suggested a slightly different position for Janet’s legs on the Shuttle and it allows for a much longer extension, now up to thirteen inches, and Janet is able to push more weight too. She absolutely hates the Standing Frame but I think has resigned to knowing she’s got two sessions a day in it and as long as she feels she’s in control of how long she in it for she’s ok. There hasn’t been a lot of swimming lately but what Janet’s done has been good. The hot tub continues to be a happy place for her and the time when I get the best stretch of her legs and right arm. Noticing some nice improvement in her right shoulder and the Botox is working well with her finger flexors. We went to see Julie at the hand clinic for a follow up visit and she was surprised at how nicely Janet’s hand is doing. Julie did not expect to be able to adjust the splint yet but with Janet tolerating it well and her hand being nice and open, she was able to mold the splint to allow an even more relaxed position for Janet’s hand and said we don’t need to come back to see her unless something is wrong. Good news.

Team Save Janet has expanded into the Windy City!

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Thanks Brenda for carrying the colors there and if anyone else has a picture wearing your gear in a far away place I’d love to see them.

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Praying for Janet to keep getting stronger, especially her right leg. Praying for restoration of the use of her right arm and hand and complete restoration of her vision. Thanking our Lord and Savior for the healing he has brought and for all of you who continue to pray and support Janet and I.

#TSJ Breaking News. Janet stands unassisted.

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?

Freedom 55. Janet gets hungover before her party. #TSJ

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.

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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.

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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.