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Lights, Camera,… Janet’s first video shoot. #TSJ

A showered and smiling Janet greeted me as I walked into Connect this morning. She knew we were going out to do something and guessed it was watch basketball. A good guess as that was in the plan for later but first up was a video shoot for the Easter service at Trinity. Lorne said she was off to a good start, drinking her water before and after breakfast but had a little cry during her shower. She said she forgot to ask about the bath so I reminded her to try that next time.

We arrived at Trinity and Jody, Kiko and Rebecca were just finishing setting up for the shoot. The idea behind this is for Janet and I to give about a ninety second glimpse at our story so far as Wayne teaches on three “walls” or “barriers” we can all hit in life. There are two other video stories in the sermon, one on Finances, one on Grief and then ours on Health. The underlying theme in each is the fact that there is still hope.

The first part of the shoot was for some cut away shots so no talking needed and that was a nice way to ease into things. All Janet had to do was sit under the lights and look cute.

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After a quick location change it was time for the talking bits. Thankfully for me Kiko set up a TelePrompTer which made my part much easier. Janet had trouble reading it though so I fed her the lines one at a time until she could say each one on her own. She wasn’t as loud as I had hoped but Jody said he could work with it and may add subtitles for the sake of clarity. The whole shoot was done in an hour and a half and Jody will now work his magic to make it all look and sound good.

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Janet had fun doing the video today and held her energy very well. As with all stars the groupies are always hovering nearby. Twyla and Wendy came out to see Janet in between shots and with a little prompting Janet remembered their names. She was genuinely pleased to see them and that added to the positive experience this was. I’m a little surprised at how well Janet is talking about what happened to her and I don’t think it’s because she doesn’t get it. I’m hoping by talking about it she’ll gain confidence to keep working hard at getting better.

Stars also hang out in restaurants so rather than go home for lunch we headed back to Original Joe’s, this time with Kiko and Rebecca. Janet enjoyed that as well and was very ready for a nap when we got home. Because nap time was later than normal, dinner was a little late. I had wanted her to help make pizzas but to save time I did most of it while she drank her water and watched basketball. Janet did build her own pizza after I had all the toppings ready and this was probably her best one yet. Looked better than mine!

Janet kept insisting she didn’t want to get ready for bed as the clock ticked past nine so I let her stay up to watch the end of the basketball game. That made it after ten before the lights went out so hopefully she doesn’t sleep too long tomorrow and we can get a few things done in the morning. Praying for rest and healing and for lots of energy tomorrow.

Just Floating Along. Janet goes “swimming”. #TSJ

What an exciting day! I knew today had potential and I couldn’t be more happy with how Janet was from start to finish. It wasn’t all ups but there were enough of them to make this a stellar day and judging by the big grin on Janet’s face as I said goodnight she is satisfied with what she did too.

I arrived in time to get her ready to go to KGH Rehab for her session in the pool. She was waiting for me in the living room with a big smile and I could sense she was a little nervous about the swimming thing. Excited but nervous. She took a while on the toilet before we left so instead of being all pool ready underneath her clothes we would have to get changed there. I should have expected the next delays as the hallway to the pool goes right by the rehab gym so Moira and Rob both came running over as soon as they saw Janet and the reunion was on. Janet kept saying she didn’t remember any of the area or the hospital as we approached but as soon as she saw Moira her face lit right up as it did for Rob. I think that gave her a nice confidence boost for the task at hand and she didn’t seem nervous about the pool at all after that. Moira guided us to a bathroom we could change in but it was locked then I remembered one in the other hall so we went there and donned the swimming attire. There are change rooms in the pool area but the only private one was in use and pool guy, Jim, was nowhere to be seen. He saw fit to chastise me for using the washroom we did and told me to make sure we stay in the pool area to change afterwards. He seemed nice when we talked on the phone but after encountering him in person today I think he’s a bored man that needs to find something more challenging to do. I transferred Janet into a waterproof wheelchair and we walked out onto what would become the water. There’s a biblical joke there somewhere. Anyone? Jim gave us a small inner tube so Janet could float and then lowered the floor. Janet started floating long before the floor maxed out and it was very exciting to see. She was smiling and laughing at the sensation and was very relaxed and “at home” the whole time.

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I only knew what Tez wanted me to do with Janet as far as exercise goes and Jim just said “float around, get used to it”. Janet was used to it in two minutes so I had her try kicking her legs. That was tough at first especially as her right leg was drifting over her left one which was bent back at the knee quite dramatically. The more time we spent in the pool the more Janet loosened up and for the last ten minutes she was kicking and propelling herself through the water. She instinctively started using her left arm to paddle as well and looked totally at home doing it. I tried standing with Janet a few times. Each attempt was better than the previous and involved her touching bottom with her left foot and me guiding her right to where I could step on both feet and hold her down. I then straightened her lower back slowly and could feel her hips and pelvis move in a way I’d not noticed before. Everything felt more relaxed and Janet said she felt good, no pain.

Our thirty minute session was over super fast and Jim showed us the correct change room to use. Janet was cold as soon as we were out of the pool so good thing I brought her large beach towel to wrap her in. On our way out we went through rehab and stopped at the nurses station where a gaggle of nurses marveled at how good Janet looks. One nurse who worked with Janet on 4b actually started crying when Janet smiled and loudly said hi to her. Awesome moment.

The pool experience deserved a reward and Janet agreed ” it would be nice” to go out for lunch so we went to Original Joe’s and had a very civilized long lunch date. That cut into Janet’s nap time which she protested all the way into bed but was snoring three minutes later. Unfortunately I had to wake her forty five minutes after so we could get to her doctor’s appointment. We made some minor changes to the Dilantin dosage, capsule form instead of liquid, and she has sent a referral into the neurologist. The constipation issue has obviously been resolved but I asked her to instruct us as to how much fluid Janet should be drinking in a day. She pointedly said to Janet, one cup before and after each meal at least. Try to get two more in there somewhere but at least those. I hope hearing it from her doctor will help motivate Janet a little more.

It was just us for dinner by the time we got back to Connect but Garrett and Bob hung around to chat a little then Jess and her little niece came by to encourage Janet to come up to ladies night. Bad timing today but hopefully next week. Janet happily put her laundry away and helped me make her bed after watching a little March Madness. She very contentedly lay down in bed a little earlier than the last few nights after a busy and fun day. This was the Janet of three weeks ago that had Mary Lou all excited about her speech potential. I think as long as the Dilantin levels don’t rise Janet has a good chance of really advancing from here. Praying for a good nights rest and an equally bright and energetic day tomorrow.

I Hate Dilantin. Rough day for Janet. #TSJ

I thought yesterday started early, today started at 5:45. Janet woke up in pain making small child birthing type noises. I thought maybe she was constipated so after she told me that’s where she hurt I focused on treating for that. No luck, not that there’s much I can do here for her but at least she was comfortable sitting on the toilet as opposed to laying down in bed. We made trips back and forth and by eight o’clock with Janet propped up to a sitting position on the bed she fell back asleep. I debated taking her to the hospital wondering if it was something other than constipation but each time I almost made that choice she would seem much better and I would stick to the needing to go but can’t go scenario. Her last real movement was Wednesday night and a little Thursday, questionable for most of us but pretty typical for her. I called Connect and spoke to Jess. She offered a suppository if I brought Janet back there and said it was my call whether we went to KGH or not. I didn’t want to go there if all Janet was suffering from was constipation as we could fix that at Connect.

Janet woke up a little after ten and in discomfort but not as severe as earlier. We tried the toilet again with no luck. I called Jess again and said we were on our way. While finishing getting Janet dressed I noticed she was acting very much like she was during the Dilantin overdose. Not speaking well, low energy, just seeming really out of it. As long as she was sitting up she said there was no pain and that made me wonder more about the constipation theory so I decided to head for KGH where we could at least see a doctor. On the way I remembered a walk in clinic close by that Janet had been to before so we went there thinking it would be faster. It was but unfortunately the doctor was unable to confirm any condition that Janet may have as he doesn’t have enough history on her and she is unable to communicate her symptoms. He ruled out another bleed or “anything weird like that” and suggested trying the suppository first to see if that reduces the symptoms. He also hinted at bladder infection and suggested getting a urine sample to the lab tomorrow.

Janet was very sleepy while waiting for the doctor then snapped to life when he came in. She hung in there well for the first half of the ride to Connect then got uncomfortable and cried a little. By the time we got there she was fine and I was able to lay her on her bed so Jess could give her the suppository. She slept for over an hour after that but did not produce the desired result. She did however seem to be feeling much better. She almost angrily agreed to go get something to eat and devoured a sandwich and bowl of soup that Bob made her. A really good sign. She was quite bright for about two hours after waking, talking a little and drinking a cup of water as I nagged her along. By 6:30 she was ready for bed and I noticed more signs of a Dilantin overdose. Confusion, brushing her hair with her toothbrush as an example, and poor speech along with a rapid decent into sleep. The good news is she was able to go to sleep on her back, something she hadn’t been able to do all day.

As I look back on the day I am pretty confident that Janet’s Dilantin levels are out of whack still and the cause of her problems today, possibly enhanced by low water intake or a bladder infection or maybe a little cold. She is technically constipated but she pretty much always is and has never displayed symptoms like this before. Her BP and HR and temp have been fine all day so I’m not worried about anything major and the staff at Connect are checking on her hourly all night tonight. We “refused” the dose of Dilantin scheduled for tonight and if her doctor doesn’t like that, too bad. I expect an interesting conversation with her tomorrow.

Janet seemed the most comfortable she’d been all day when I left her tonight even giving me a nice smile as I kissed her goodnight. I pray for a night of deep rest and healing with lots of energy and answers tomorrow.

First Better Than Second. A day at home. #TSJ

The energy Janet had at last night’s dinner party carried over into this morning as she woke up way earlier than I expected. 7:30! I was fine with that as I was sort of up anyways in case I was able to connect with a friend who’s traveling in China right now. That didn’t work out but Janet and I got off to a good and early start.

Over a long breakfast we sorted through her massive mess of recipes in advance of our possible move. A lot of her collection were pages ripped from magazines that had never been looked at since the first time so it was easy to throw a lot of stuff out. I let her call the shots on all the books so we are keeping way more than I would have but we also found some recipes I had been looking for recently and some we had totally forgotten about. We now have a collection that can be organized and used as opposed to just taking up space. Janet was surprisingly determined to get this job done passing on a couple opportunities to take a break or do something else.

Between cookbook purging and all the usual morning tasks, noon arrived quickly and with obvious signs of a weather change I convinced Janet we should go for a walk then or we may not get a chance. It was not as nice as it was yesterday but still felt good to get some fresh air. Janet did a great job of “driving” Nash, having to reign him in on his leash a few times. Our lunchtime entertainment was some NCAA basketball then Janet was clearly ready for a nap.

Once again nap time was interrupted by the barking dog but only once and I think Janet had a good rest but as the day wore on I could see she wasn’t going to have the stamina she did yesterday. She was up in time to watch a pretty impressive hail storm outside that quickly made the pool cover white. It was fun to watch the transition and interesting to watch Janet take it all in. She was kind of groggy the rest of the evening, needing help to eat dinner and not talking very well. There was a nice burst of energy when she chose to make a play list of songs to sing with John. I was surprised she wanted to do that and as we sat at the computer with a glass of pop she smiled and sang along to quite a few songs that I will put on her iPod for John to play with her. Of course she had enough energy to eat some ice cream before bed but just barely as she was asleep before I laid her down once we had her pj’s on.

I suspect it took a while for the late night yesterday to catch up with her and I hope that is what’s behind the fast fade over the second half of the day. Praying for a solid night’s sleep that provides lots of energy for an active day tomorrow.

Energizer Janet. Party all night long? # TSJ

When I arrived at Connect early this afternoon Janet was working on a bowl of chili for lunch. I had to help her speed up the process a little as we had an appointment downtown and I wanted to stop at the lab first for her Dilantin test. While she was slurping away, Karl’s puppy, Charlie, came to the table for a visit. I picked him up so Janet could pet him and I’ve not seen such a happy face on her for a while. She had a huge smile while Charlie kissed her and ate the bits of spilled chili off of her shirt saver. Apparently they have developed quite a relationship as a couple days ago Janet was sleeping in her comfy living room chair and Charlie was sleeping on her lap. Karl says he’s pretty hyper with everyone but Janet, he loves snuggling with her.

Our afternoon appointments went well and we even had time for a nice walk through City Park before going home. Janet didn’t remember being there before until we got right out to the lake where you can see the bridge. That was familiar to her. It was a beautiful day here and I’m glad we got out to enjoy some of it because when we got home it was nap time.

Janet didn’t resist the nap at all today and would have had a great one if she wasn’t woken up twice by Nash barking stupidly. I wasn’t sure how long she’d last tonight based on the sporadic sleep but it didn’t seem to phase her at all. In fact she set a record for staying up tonight and was very much engaged the whole evening.

Wayne and Brenda had invited us for dinner with Joel and Kiko and Ramona and Felis. I was confident Janet would enjoy the company but had no idea she would do as well as she did. She was smiling pretty much the whole time we were there and laughed loudly a few times and engaged in conversation a couple times too. She ate well and hardly spilled anything, she drank water, wine and coffee and gobbled up a delicious dessert. Brenda had kindly agreed to start the evening early for Janet’s benefit so we were all there by 6:30. I thought Janet would be good till maybe nine or so, it was 10:35 when we got in the car and we’d only done that because I didn’t bring her Dilantin thinking we wouldn’t be out that late. Janet was very chatty during the drive home, was in no hurry to go to sleep once we got there and in fact didn’t start snoring until about 12:30 which is why this post is so late. It was a really fun night with everyone and especially fun watching Janet enjoy herself so much.

Praying for a restful night of healing and a fun day tomorrow.

Memory Lane. Janet visits the old job site. #TSJ

Today was a more typical Janet day than the last few. I mean that in mostly a good way. She was waiting for me in the living room at Connect with a big smile and a laugh. Her first words through all that were “I haven’t really done much today”. I wonder if she was rehearsing that knowing I always ask her what she’s been doing. Hope so.

Wanting her awake for later in the day I decided it was nap time before we did anything else. Janet didn’t argue about it but didn’t really sleep much either. Lorne got her meds ready for me and we were off for the weekend. First stop was Sandrine’s. It had been too long since the two of them had seen each other and Janet felt good in the store saying she remembered some things about it. Sandrine let us try her new vanilla macaron and it is incredible.

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Seeing the smile on Janet’s face and the obvious familiarity of the place I will make a point of stopping by more often for her.

At home Janet had a long play time with Nash while I got most of dinner ready. She then helped make the salad and set the table. Well done considering the lack of a nap and the fact she is still coming down from the Dilantin OD. After dinner it was time to change finger nail color to St. Patrick’s Day green. That color was not cooperating with me tonight and the process took way longer than it should have, right past bedtime. Janet fell asleep in a hurry even while I was packing for our road trip to the coast tomorrow. We are really hoping we reach our destination this time and are looking forward to a good sushi dinner with Jim and Nancy tomorrow and a yummy birthday lunch with my mom Sunday. All in North Vancouver so it will be interesting to see if any memories are triggered there.

Praying that the peaceful sleep Janet is in now continues all night and we have a safe and enjoyable trip to North Van. tomorrow.

Suspicions Confirmed. A path to improvement. #TSJ

Janet was waiting in the Connect living room for me with a smile on her face. She knew we were going somewhere but wasn’t sure where. Jess told me they let Janet sleep in until after nine as the night staff reported Janet was awake at 2:30 and again just after five. Janet told me she ate a good breakfast and was ready to go.

Her doctor and I were both shocked at the high level of Dilantin in her system and the doctor is very confident that all the symptoms I brought to her attention are from the excess of Dilantin. Good news I guess. My suspicion is that there was a mix up in the conversion from liquid to pills and instead of the moderate increase the doctor ordered last time Janet actually got a fifty percent increase. Not sure if the error was with the pharmacy or in the doctor’s orders but something went wrong somewhere. To be safe, I agreed to have Janet go back on the liquid form until we get the right dosage then we can talk carefully about what that looks like in pill form.

Janet was quite drowsy today, even nodding off in the doctor’s office. After that appointment we had a quick lunch next door then met our realtor to look at a couple condos in the same building as the doctor’s office. Neither were to our liking but it was good to have a look.

I offered Janet the choice of a nap at Connect or home, she chose home and went down for a two hour snooze as soon as we got there. All that sleeping meant we only had time for a quick dinner then it was back to Connect for bedtime.

Everyone I’ve spoken to today is confident Janet will snap out of this pretty quick now that we know she was overdosed on the Dilantin. I expect a much improved Janet after a good nights sleep tonight and am praying for such.

Sick Day. Janet still under the weather. #TSJ

Janet had a good sleep last night only waking once that I know of and that was with a smile. Same thing happened this morning but she didn’t want to get out of bed. I convinced her to sit up and drink some water and take her meds. That went well then she went back to sleep for an hour or so.

After that little nap she seemed to have a more energy and managed to sit by the fire and eat half a bagel with jam and drink a cup of water. She started nodding off an hour later and I put her back to bed. That’s pretty much the way the day went. Sleep for a bit, wake up for a bit, sit by the fire then go back to bed. All in about one hour rotations. At times her speech was reasonable and at times it was complete Klingon and she seemed to know that but couldn’t do anything about it. I tried to always ask questions that only required a one or two word response as sentences were pretty much impossible. Throughout the day she ate and drank well considering the way she was feeling and she was really good about taking her meds. I didn’t push the toileting routine on her today and she didn’t seem to want to bother with it. Not much happening there anyways.

By late afternoon Janet had perked up enough to sit and have popcorn with me while watching some basketball and a little while after that she gobbled down a couple pancakes while we watched The Princess Diaries. She didn’t make it through the whole movie but that was her longest awake stretch of the day.

On the drive back to Connect I actually got a smile from Janet and a little singing to The Most Beautiful Girl in the World by Charlie Rich and she stayed awake the whole trip. Things deteriorated rapidly once there though. Last week we switched her Dilatin to pills from a liquid and apparently the pharmacy can only do her dosage in five separate pills. It has been a battle to get Janet to swallow that many pills at bedtime and tonight was the ultimate. With her not feeling well and being tired and with me not at the top of my game things broke down in a hurry. What to me should take less than a minute took twenty complete with tears from Janet and impatience from me. I’ve requested a change back to liquid so as to avoid a repeat of tonight.

This weekend has taught me a lot. Janet and I were disappointed we didn’t make it to Calgary Friday but even she appreciated being sick at home as opposed to a hotel room somewhere. Today there was a blizzard in Calgary and who knows what the drive out of there would have been like. We were clearly meant to be here this weekend.

Today was difficult for me as there wasn’t much I could accomplish. At least that’s how I was feeling and when it came time to drop Janet off at Connect I was thinking ahead to what I could get done upon my return home. When Janet had trouble taking her meds the delay angered me and I blamed her. She did nothing wrong. She’s sick, she’s tired, she just wanted to go to bed. There was no way to avoid the pills tonight but there was certainly a way I could have helped her, by remembering that Jesus is in control here, not me. I am merely His servant living out the commitment I made to Janet almost ten years ago. By hitting bottom a little bit tonight I realized that the enemy is constantly trying to get at us and I won’t allow that.

With the help of some yogurt Janet got the pills down and was finally able to lay down for the night. I had my jacket on, ready to leave, but felt prompted to stay so asked her if she wanted me to lay beside her for a bit. I heard the sweetest “yes” I’d heard in a long time and watched her fall asleep through watery eyes.

The goals for this week are; ensure that Dilatin is the right anticonvulsant drug for Janet and is not producing negative side effects. If Dilatin is ok then confirm Janet is on the right dose. Discover the cause of the reappearance of Klingon. Confirm Janet has a “cold”.

Truly praying for a restful night of healing and a bright day of recovery tomorrow.

A Reason for Everything. Janet under the weather. #TSJ

Our day started off great. Janet slept well last night and was pretty chipper this morning enjoying our breakfast time together. She enthusiastically helped start the purge of her closet for our morning activity and had a good chuckle over some of the things we found. Some things I’ve never seen her wear before and I’m glad of that. She was able to say goodbye to a lot of stuff and we only did one half the closet.

Lunchtime came and Janet was starting to fade. Even at the height of her chipperness this morning I noticed her speech was mostly in Klingon. She was fine with one or two words but when she tried to put a sentence together it came out a real mess. Not scrambled words at all but unidentifiable ones. I am a little concerned about this as I’ve noticed it happening throughout this past week.

Janet did not fade too rapidly and agreed to go for a walk as it was quite the nice warm day here. We were out for over an hour enjoying the sun and mild temperatures. Really nice to be doing that again.

That was about it for Janet today. As planned, it was nap time after our walk, 3:00, and after the usual “why are you putting me to shelter?” complaint (shelter is not the usual word) she was asleep in minutes and stayed that way till after five. In fact she is still in bed as I write this and I suspect will be for the night. She says she’s not feeling well but has no specific complaint. She wakes up a couple times an hour and each time her speech is better. She’s managed some water and her dinner time meds so I’m thinking the sleep and rest is all good healing and tomorrow she will stay chipper all day. I’m glad she is doing this at home rather than a Calgary hotel room so there’s one silver lining from yesterday’s adventure.

Despite the enormous rest she’s already had I’m still praying for a restful night as Janet clearly needs it. Also praying for a bright and chipper day tomorrow.

The Best Laid Plans. Avalanche! #TSJ

Today started out great and ended great, it just wasn’t that great in the middle.

I arrived at Connect just before ten after dropping Nash off at the kennel and Janet was pretty much ready to go. Our plan was to drive to Calgary to surprise Cam for his final college basketball game of his career tomorrow and things started off just fine. The weather was decent in Kelowna and was forecast to be quite mild in Calgary as well. I was a little nervous taking Janet on such a long drive but knew there were plenty of places to stop along the way if needed and we were in no hurry. She happily sang along to a few songs for the first while then near Armstrong she was nodding off now and then. It’s really hard to talk to Janet in the car as she has yet to get her volume level up where it needs to be so I felt a little awkward driving in mostly silence but she seemed content.

Every time we came near a gas station I asked her if she needed a bathroom break and she said no every time. We made it to Revelstoke and our planned lunch break by 12:30 despite some slow traffic and a delay for avalanche control. Speaking of avalanches the potential for such was extreme today in many parts of BC and that caused the powers that be to close the highway between Revelstoke and Golden ten minutes before we got there. So instead of a four hour drive from there to Calgary we faced a twelve hour one through the Kootenays or wait for the highway to open. The ETO was for eight or ten tonight and as I write this they are estimating eastbound traffic to start moving at 10:30. That would have gotten us in at around 3:30 local time which is likely the same as if we’d have driven through Nelson etc.

I was not interested in subjecting Janet to that amount of time in the car and with no hotel rooms available in Revelstoke we made the call to head for home. By the time we got there we should have been in Calgary and I got a really good look at Janet’s tolerance level for car travel. Next trip to Calgary will be by plane. Janet was uncomfortable on the way back and found it hard to sleep. She would have made it to Calgary but it would not have been pleasant. I think she’d be fine with the four hours to Vancouver but seven is too much. Good to know.

Nash was extremely happy we decided to go home and Barb made our decision seem right when she had Gary bring over two warm pieces of fresh baked apple pie soon after we got home. Mmmmm.

Janet was pretty out of it tonight but ate a good dinner and was happy to get to bed. I’m praying for a good nights sleep that recharges her for a fun day tomorrow.