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Janet, A Success Story. March 21. #TSJ

Janet got off to an early and fast start today instead of sleeping in on her first day home. She woke up at 7:30 having to go to the bathroom. I’m noticing a bit of a trend in that direction lately as she seems more aware of the need to go. After a successful visit to the bathroom it was off to make breakfast. Janet managed on her own very nicely and we spent a sunny morning sending emails, text messages and phoning people. It was fun and its a good thing we were up early as we never would have gotten anything else done otherwise.

With some time before lunch we decided to go visit John at KGH with the intention of taking him outside for some fresh air. It was OK with his nurses and John but by the time he was ready it was lunch time for him and two other visitors had arrived and we could tell John was getting a little overwhelmed so we said goodbye with a promise of trying again soon.

Lunch was not the usual grilled cheese today as Janet accepted my suggestion of a turkey breast wrap. She helped build them and said grilled cheese was still her favourite but those were a nice change. We did a little setting up for our wine club meeting tonight before reading some The Artisan Soul at nap time.

You would think a two hour nap would set Janet up well for the rest of the day but she never seemed totally herself tonight. She was a little grumpy at dinner despite doing a good job helping to make it. As our guests arrived she perked up and was fine for most of the evening and said she had fun but seemed a little off to me. I thought she would quickly crash right afterwards but she wanted to clean up a little then have me read more before falling asleep.
Wine Club
There was not a lot of walking today for Janet but she was busy in many ways, interacting with lots of different people and I’m grateful we have so many friends willing to spend time with us. Praying for a big night of sleep and a fun weekend with Laurel who is now scheduled to fly in tomorrow morning.

Janet, A Success Story. March 20. #TSJ

First day of Spring? Tell that to the folks in Calgary, namely Laurel and Raj, who were supposed to drive to Kelowna today to visit us for the weekend. Blowing snow wisely kept them in Calgary much to our disappointment. I had promised Janet that as long as she worked hard during the day I would bring her home after dinner to maximize her visiting time. She held up her end of the bargain including a record setting bike ride followed by a Standing Frame session before dinner.

Eager to get home, Janet powered through dinner, got her meds and we were gone. Once settled she was happy to sit on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn and get all caught up on our singing competition shows. I did have her walk everywhere in the house when she needed to go somewhere so it wasn’t a totally work free night. Janet’s gait is unchanged but her stamina seems to be growing and she never once complained about having to walk anywhere, even to the bathroom at the end of the night. Her sit to stands from her wheelchair were very good today. Often I have to help keep her right leg close to her left one or she doesn’t seem able to activate it, not today. Hopefully that becomes a trend. While free standing Janet is commenting more that she feels like she’s falling even though she’s quite steady. I’m hoping that is from an increased body awareness and that soon she’ll be able to recognize when she’s standing straight and strong and when she’s not.

Janet is happy to be home and looking forward to the weekend and I’m praying that she maintains a positive attitude and continues to gain strength and confidence.

Janet, A Success Story. March 19. #TSJ

Jess put Janet through her paces this morning completing all her exercises before I arrived to take her to her doctor appointment. That made the rest of the day a bonus for Janet and she took full advantage of it.

This visit to the GP was for Janet’s first full physical since before her injury and she was a little nervous about it. She was all smiles afterward though saying “that went well”. It did, and she’s doing fine. There is some lab work to be done and we stopped on the way home to get her Dilantin levels checked. That is the med that changed dosage last week as Janet’s levels were too high. Today they are in the proper range but no explanation as to why someone who’s gained weight would need less of a drug than before. Oh well.

Once again Janet was pretty tired after a busy morning and happily flopped into our bed after lunch. She slept for a good two hours and when I went in to check on her she was sitting on the edge of the bed. Her reasoning was she had to go to the bathroom. She thought if she called me that she would get in trouble for not sleeping so she was just sitting there waiting for me. Seems Janet still has trouble interpreting elapsed time and hasn’t fully grasped the level of priority that going to the bathroom has.

With the sun beaming in we enjoyed a nice dinner together before I took the biggest risk I’ve taken with Janet yet. SheLife is on hiatus for a couple of weeks but the work to be done around the church never ends and I had made arrangements to help tonight. Janet was supposed to be watching the rest of The Sound of Music at Connect with Chelsea but those plans had to change due to staffing issues. That meant Janet had nothing to do at Connect and I didn’t want to give up my time at the church so I let Janet stay home alone for the two hours I would be away. I was way more nervous about it than she but I held myself to two phone calls to check on her and when I got home Janet was starting to wash the dishes after singing her way through the Carrie Underwood version of The Sound of Music. Turns out I had nothing to worry about.

Our return to Connect was a bit of a downer for Janet but after a bit of reading she was ready for sleep and is looking forward to Laurel and Raj visiting tomorrow, mostly so she can have a long weekend at home.

Praying that Janet has lots of energy, a positive attitude and a willingness to work hard tomorrow and every day.

Janet, A Success Story. March 18. #TSJ

Today marked another visit with Dr. Miller at KGH and I met Janet and Jess there this morning. As usual, it was a very positive meeting with lots of affirming words sent Janet’s way from someone whom she will accept those words from more than she will from others. In summary, Janet continues to make notable progress cognitively and surprises Dr. Miller each time he sees her. He assured me that he will remain in the picture even after Janet comes home and that is good to know.

We took advantage of being at the hospital to pay John a visit and this time he was awake! He had just returned from his first shower in six weeks and was feeling very good about that. Janet shared some stories and teased him a little and if the weather holds we will try and take John outside on our next visit. He hasn’t done that since arriving at KGH.

More visiting took place on the way home for lunch and Janet was pretty tired after that busy morning so didn’t argue at all about a nap. In fact because she was home she actually smiled about it.

Knowing she had to do some exercise back at Connect Janet chose to ride the bike and agreed to do the Standing Frame after that. Her ride was excellent, almost setting a new distance record and for the first time rode without strapping her feet to the pedals. I’m hoping she is soon strong enough to use a simpler pedal which may mean we could get a bike for home. When we looked for a bike before, Janet needed a snowboard type binding to hold her foot on the pedal. That need may be disappearing.

The Standing Frame was made much more tolerable tonight as Chelsea put on The Sound of Music for Janet. As the first song started Janet jumped right in in full voice and drove Wes back to his room to hide from the “girly movie”. Here’s a little of what the last hour and a half of the evening sounded like. Janet will watch the second half tomorrow but I’ll spare you the video.


There was a little time left for reading before lights out and The Artisan Soul was very interesting tonight. I wished we had read it earlier in the evening as Janet had a lot to say about it but was too tired to really get into a conversation. Praying for a positive attitude and lots of energy for Wednesday.

Janet, A Success Story. March 17. #TSJ

Another roller coaster type of day from Janet. She had just rung for help in getting out of bed when I got to Connect. The sun was streaming through her window and the smile on her face matched that brightness. Even she said, “I’m in a better mood today”. We enjoyed talking to each other for over half an hour before going to the gym for a Shuttle session. Janet continues to get stronger, not necessarily with how much weight she can push but more along the lines of being able to push using a proper technique. I even caught her a few times bringing her right knee up towards her left one without prompting. High five!

It was Janet’s turn to set the dinner table tonight and she did so quickly without assistance giving herself time to sit in the sun for our first happy hour of the year. Faced with the prospect of some walking practice Janet’s mood shifted to that negative space she was in yesterday. Big Country heard her say she didn’t want to practice walking and chimed in right away with words of encouragement that Janet gave back to him with “what does it mean to you”. His response was perfect, “we are friends”. Janet didn’t have a comeback for that. She remained negative for almost an hour but our discussion was good in that she was talking instead of ranting and she was thinking things through. In the end she agreed to practice and we went up to the parallel bars where she could stand on the two scales. With minimum effort Janet was able to put pretty much equal weight on both legs and get a feel for what it is like to stand in a position that does that. She said she felt like she was falling and she was scared. Good feedback, and hopefully we can find a way of easing her fears. Walking down the hall from her room to the living room was really good with some strong moves from the right leg. After twenty minutes of rest I had her walk back and she did equally well. The break in between and realizing her exercises were done for the day snapped her out of her funk too.

While Janet was getting her meds one of the other residents asked if they could talk and pray with us as they were having some faith issues. Janet of course said yes and we spent forty five minutes talking, listing to music and praying with this person. Janet encouraged them as much as she could and enjoyed the experience saying “it was good we came back here when we did”. She is still a very caring person in spite of the things she says sometimes.

We had a good long reading session and by lights out time Janet was still wide awake. Well maybe not wide but awake enough to be a little upset that I was leaving. Tonight she expressed some sadness at her situation and I’m praying that doesn’t permeate her mind too much and she can focus on how much she has improved and keep working hard to improve more.

Janet, A Success Story. March 16. #TSJ

For a brief moment I thought today was going to be spectacular. Janet woke up at a reasonable time after a solid night of sleep and seemed quite happy. Before breakfast was done a real negative attitude started to take over her and I found myself considering taking her back to Connect early. I contributed somewhat to her attitude by getting quite mad at her for misjudging the need to go to the bathroom. Her lapses in this area have really frustrated me lately because she was doing so well for so long. To help rectify the situation I told (not asked) Janet we were walking to KGH to visit John. I knew if I asked the answer would be no and figured the fresh air would do us both good as would doing something for someone else.

The walk was pleasant with Janet mildly complaining it was cold, I think more out of habit than really feeling cold. Thirty minutes after leaving our house Janet was wheeling down the long hallway at KGH that served as her wheelchair training ground during her 4B and Rehab days. What used to take her more than fifteen minutes took her maybe one and the large threshold at the end that always used to beat her was conquered today with a strong effort. Janet didn’t remember any of it of course but I sure do. As would happen, John was sound asleep when we peaked into his room so we left him a note and a happy face lollypop. Janet called her own successful bathroom break before we left the building and I felt things were getting better.

Our walk home took us a more pleasant way, close to the lake and Janet says some of it was familiar to her. She remembered the house she went to for some singing lessons last summer and knew where we were in relation to our house most of the time. Overall it was a very pleasant outing and Janet’s attitude improved a hundred percent. Mine too.

I read some of The Artisan Soul to her during lunch then insisted on a nap so she could be alert for the St. Patrick’s Day potluck dinner in our clubhouse this evening. We enjoyed the conversation and food and were happy to have the chance to get to know some neighbours better. There are some good cooks in our neighbourhood!

Janet declined the chance to wear green finger nails for St. Patrick’s Day and just wanted to read before sleep time. She lasted a good forty five minutes and answered my questions well as we read. Nice to be reading something she is tuned into again. Praying for lots of energy and a positive attitude for tomorrow.

Janet, A Success Story. March 15. #TSJ

It was late when we went to bed last night but I was still shocked when I looked at the time when we woke this morning, 9:47! What a sleep in! Janet was quite happy about it, giving one her patented fist pumps saying “yay, I slept!” She obviously had and was bright and full of energy which enabled her to get her own breakfast with a minimum of coaching. Since it was practically lunch time as we were eating breakfast I decided we better answer some emails so we could say we got something done. Janet surprised me by remembering how to activate the speech to text feature of gmail and she quickly knew what she wanted to say for each email so it was a quick and painless task.

In discussing last night’s talk by Erwin McManus and checking the schedule for today at the Levite Summit, Kiko confirmed there was another session with Erwin this afternoon. I sort of had to drag Janet there as she was intent on chilling and watching The Voice. I knew the summit would be a better experience and I was right. Janet confidently took her seat then stood and sang for the entire worship set before Wayne came up to introduce communion. Normally people bring the elements to everyone at their seats but today we were asked to walk to the front of the stage and get them ourselves. To my surprise Janet agreed to walk up there with me. It was about fifteen feet one way and on a bit of a sloped floor and Janet handled it impressively. I was a little concerned while we headed back to our seats as I now had only one hand available to her as I held our elements in the other. Janet was strong and deliberate in each step and thanks to the patience of those around us, made it back safe and sound. Huge high five! Janet listened intently to Erwin’s talk and at the end, with a big smile said, “that was great, well worth coming to”. Indeed it was.

Janet went for a nap after a late lunch and slept through our regular church time. She didn’t really want to go as that would’ve been three times in two days so I let her sleep. We were content to have sushi and watch The Voice during dinner before starting to read The Artisan Soul. Janet tired before we could really get into the book but I think she will find it a good reinforcer of what we experienced this weekend.

Praying for full and complete healing and an always positive attitude.

Janet, A Success Story. March 14. #TSJ

As soon as Janet was done lunch today we headed for home so she could get a nap in before going to Trinity for the Levite Summit this evening. Her morning was routine and she felt pretty good about the gym session she had.

The sun was shining and that made it hard to sleep this afternoon so after maybe a half hour of shut eye, Janet was up helping get our early dinner ready. We ate it while watching Crave: The Documentary, by Erwin McManus whom we were going to hear speak tonight. The film was shot in Vancouver and centres around Erwin asking people for a positive or negative answer to certain words like, religion, God, Jesus, spirituality. The responses and subsequent interviews are intriguing and provide an insightful look at humanity and the role of the “church”. Janet loved it and that set her up well for the event tonight. It was a concert like atmosphere to start the evening off and Janet stood, smiled and sang along for a long time. She even let go for a few seconds to try and clap along at one point. She found Erwin’s talk to be “really good” and “interesting”. We bought his new book, The Artisan Soul, and look forward to hearing more about how we were all created to create.

Erwin McManus at Trinity

Erwin McManus at Trinity


On a down note Janet has been reluctant lately to interrupt an activity to go to the bathroom and that happened tonight. I’m concerned at how often this is happening as she was doing so well for such a long time. This feels like a set back but maybe its just a blip.

We got home late but Janet wanted ice cream and to watch The Voice so after more singing along in between spoonfuls I got her into bed where she quickly fell asleep. I’m very grateful Janet can participate and enjoy events like the one we attended tonight and love that she can make sense of it all too. Praying for an energetic Janet and a productive Saturday.

Janet, A Success Story. March 13. #TSJ

My phone call to Janet today found her just getting back to Connect from a walk to the beach with Wes, Curtis, Garrett and Humberto. She seemed quite excited about it and a little concerned that she had to use Wes’s wheelchair as the footrest for hers was in our car. Oh well, it added to the adventure.

Cam and I met Janet later in the day as she was singing and grating carrots in preparation for a dinner she was not going to eat. She wasn’t complaining though. Curtis informed us that he was practicing sit to stands with Janet today and having her not use her arm at all. He said she did very well as long as she followed him very closely. I’ll have to get him to demonstrate so Janet can practice with me.

It was a little early for dinner when Janet was done with the carrots so we went for a little walk around the neighbourhood. Nice to be in the sun again. I chose to take us to Ric’s Grill near the airport as we could easily drop Cam at the airport afterwards. Bad choice. Terrible service, it took forever for our food to arrive and the quality was mediocre, especially considering the prices. Don’t bother. Janet and I were kind of excited about going there as a Connect resident recently was hired as First Cook. We asked the hostess if he was working as soon as we arrived and never heard from her again until we were leaving. She acted all surprised that the cook never came out to see us. Whatever. We enjoyed our time with Cam and that was the main point.

Things went downhill a little further upon our return to Connect. Janet did a great job with the Standing Frame after being a little grumpy going into it. She then went on her own to get her meds and brought them back to the living room to take them. I normally just watch to make sure she gets all four pills and think nothing of it. This time though, I noticed a different pill in the package. I pulled them away from Janet and went to the med room to ask Chelsea to help figure out what was going on. Turns out Janet’s doctor changed her prescription as a result of the blood test Janet went for yesterday but no one told me or the staff that hands out the meds. The change is in a good direction and could have been a positive event, but for me it was a little scary and a lot maddening to discover it after Janet had opened the package. I will follow up tomorrow.

The med issue didn’t concern Janet at all and she happily got ready for bed so I could read to her and she lasted right to 10:30. In fact she was still quite awake when I left so I’m praying she gets a good night’s sleep, has lots of energy and a positive attitude for tomorrow.

Janet, A Success Story. March 11. #TSJ

Tuesday seems to be the most intensive day of the week for Janet. By the time I arrived at Connect late in the afternoon she had been on the Shuttle, done her stretching exercises, walked a lot at the parallel bars, worked with Wendy her memory coach, had a shower, completed about ten Speech Therapy worksheets and had a nap. It’s all working too!

By the time she was up and ready it was too close to dinner time to do anything so Janet accepted that she would ride the bike and do the Standing Frame after. Not thrilled with the meal she was a little grumpy and confused about the bike ride until she saw the bike. I think she equated it to the Shuttle initially. Under protest she started to pedal, complaining for the first five minutes that it was too hard. By the end she had gone almost three miles at level four and sang for most of it. Too hard?

Wendy and Curtis have developed a “game night” for some of the residents designed to promote cognitive rehab. Janet was invited tonight and after the usual resistance she headed off upstairs to the pool room on her own. I was not invited. She returned an hour and a half later laughing loudly and saying “it was fun”. Curtis said Janet did well playing Family Feud and a look at the pictures, name the commonality game. She answered about a third of the questions correctly and often knew the answer but just couldn’t get the word out. That will come. It was so fun to hear her laugh and to see how an activity like that can get her all fired up. Her brain was really working well after that as we discussed tomorrow’s SheLife session. The group was asked to be prepared to share something a little abstract that we were having trouble with until Janet blurted out the perfect example taken from her life before she got sick. I’m not sharing it with you as it is personal but I am telling you this part because I think it’s amazing she thought of it. More improvement and as a little reward Janet was excused from the Standing Frame tonight.

Before starting her night routine we checked over some of the worksheets Janet had done today and her scores were very high this time on questions where she had to identify the category the examples belonged to. Also, her accuracy in circling the answers was much improved too.

We took another suggestion from the audience and started reading “Let’s pretend this never happened“, so far a humorous memoir with a lot of swearing. We’ll see how it goes and are still welcoming suggestions.

Praying for a restful night and lots of enthusiasm for tomorrow.