home

Loud #TSJ

Update from Laurel:

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

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

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

Sleep? #TSJ

I spent the first part of today watching Janet sleep as I had done most of the night and despite the ticking clock I had no intention of waking her. I was surprised how well she slept last night. She only woke up briefly a few times, once trying to grab the bedrail but of course she was grabbing me. I was awake a ton of times as I was in “mother mode” concerned all night that she was OK. I helped her turn onto her side a couple of times and other than that she had a peaceful nights sleep.

I was all set to make her eggs for breakfast, it would be a first as Janet didn’t like eggs before so I was kind of looking forward to it, but she chose fruit and yogurt instead and very excitedly accepted an offer to have her first toast and peanut butter. She even drank a glass of orange juice, something she never liked before. We got the warm clothes on and raced off to church. A nice surprise in today’s service was a brief wedding ceremony. A young couple with a story of overcoming addictions and bouncing around foster homes were married during the service as they had no means of getting married themselves and no family support and no real friends to witness the marriage. All 1,200 congregants acted as witnesses as the church rallied to support them in their new lives. Janet loved seeing the bride walk right past her at the start and then walk by again with her husband at the end. She even had a little tear in her eye when Wayne announced them as husband and wife. It was a nice moment and a solid demonstration of our faith community coming alongside people needing love, guidance and support. No mention from Janet that things were too long today. I think she enjoyed the whole thing.

Lunch was a bit of a rush as we had a two o’clock appointment to view a condo in a very interesting building. Joel and Kiko joined us as they live nearby and have been curious to see inside the place too. We all really liked it and I will investigate further to see if we should put in an offer. Janet liked it so much that when we were chatting with the realtor in the suite, she nodded off. I asked her if she felt so much at home she could sleep and she said yes. The place is called Invue and if any of you know anyone that owns a place there I’d love to talk to them.

We had a nice Skype chat with Andrew before dinner with Janet talking fairly well but still getting her words mixed up a little. She was surprised it was dinner time already but still ate it all including ice cream and the last Christmas brownie in the house. I carried a very full Janet out to the car for the drive back to Connect and once there got her settled in to bed where I’m sure she will sleep well without me. I gave Bob the weekend food report and was able to see that Janet’s vitals have been tracking really well the last while. I miss seeing those taken everyday but her numbers are in a good range so there is no need for that anymore.

Praying for rest and healing and thanking Jesus for the community we get to be a part of.

Sleepover #TSJ

My day with Janet began with a good workout in the gym. At least the first part was good with lots of good stretching. When it came time to pole dance Janet started getting all emotional and lacking confidence again. I talked her into trying to stand three times and each time she gave a good effort and by the end of the third try I think there was a glimmer of belief in her eyes. I got her over to the Shuttle after that and she strongly did thirty reps with one band of tension. No emotion. Yet. She managed four reps at two bands then broke down completely. The loudest cries I’ve heard from her. All based I believe on a lack of confidence. One band is really quite easy for her and two requires some effort but not what should be an overwhelming amount. Next time we’ll try fewer reps with one band and see if that helps and maybe we’ll start on the Shuttle so she’s not as tired.

In chatting with Christa on the way out of the gym I told her I was taking Janet home for the rest of the day. She asked why not overnight. I didn’t think we were allowed to do that yet but Lorne confirmed we are so as I write this at 11:08 pm, Janet is sleeping in our bed right beside me. First time in over eight months!

We arrived home to an overexcited Nash then had a nice Skype chat with Heather and Allan. An unauthorized lunch followed as we watched a little tv before Skypeing Leslie. Janet was showing signs of tiring so with no pressure to do anything or be anywhere she agreed to lay down for a bit. That helped a lot as she had a nice burst of energy for the evening and ate two servings of a delicious manicotti that Kiko made for us. Instead of desert Janet elected to have chips and pop while we watched some Aussie Open tennis. I saw a lot of old Janet tonight as she very stubbornly stayed up until just after ten. She helped me in the kitchen before we went to bed and I saw some signs of confusion as she tried putting some things away. I can’t blame it on the drugs though as I think she was like this before and I’m just hoping for more improvement.

Janet is very happy to be home tonight and actually found it a little surprising that we were going to sleep in the same bed. Looking forward to waking up with her in the morning and praying for rest and healing. Thanking Jesus for my beautiful wife. Even as she snores.