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Janet, A Success Story. June 5. #TSJ

Always able to surprise, Janet surprised again this morning by agreeing to go kayaking. She is registered with the CHRIS program who do adaptive hiking, biking and kayaking around the Okanagan. Janet was pressured into trying this somewhat and I’m glad she followed through. No surprise at all that she didn’t like it and doesn’t want to go again. I wasn’t able to be there and am awaiting pictures so you will have to settle for one of us and Big Country at the beach last night just before the pine cone fight.

Beasley Park, Wood Lake

Beasley Park, Wood Lake

Because of a number of appointments today and tomorrow Janet got to start her weekend today and instead of crossing off one appointment, another one was created. Janet has been complaining for a few weeks of a “plugged” left ear so we went to the doctor today. She has a lot of wax buildup in both ears and now has to go back Monday to get them flushed out. Good thing she mentioned it so we can remedy it before Ottawa.

I waited all day to get Janet home so we could watch the semi final tennis match between Genie Bouchard and Maria Sharapova. It was well worth the wait and Janet showed a much better awareness of what was happening than ever before. She could read the score easily each time I asked and she reacted appropriately to big plays as they happened. Fun to watch, Janet and the match.

The way the day was scheduled left no time for a nap so Janet was in bed asking me to read by 9:30 ish and was sleeping soundly by ten. Praying for a solid night of sleep and a productive Friday.

Janet, A Success Story. June 4. #TSJ

Today was team meeting day at Connect and Janet was waiting for everyone in the Den and feeling pretty good about it all. Mary Lou had arranged for Janet to be the first Connect Resident to start their own meeting and Janet read a list of her goals, challenges and strategies right at the top of the meeting. Janet read the typed notes as Mary Lou uncovered each line one by one and prompted Janet now and then. She was very confident in addressing the group and is slowly getting better with reading.

Improved reading is one of Janet’s goals and Mary Lou is confident Janet will get to the level she wants to get to. Reading the children’s stories has been great even to the point of Janet giving voices to the different characters. That level of reading will continue as it’s fun and is building Janet’s confidence.

Janet listed walking as another of her goals and the thought there is to continue walking at every opportunity and use the wheelchair as little as possible. Janet used it twice today, once to go to the bathroom after her nap and once when the house went for an evening walk to the beach. She did ask for her chair a few times during the day but is starting to get used to hearing no for an answer.

Doing more at home was another Janet goal and it lead perfectly into a discussion of a graduated return to home. Starting after the July long weekend, Janet will be home Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the balance of the summer. The team will come up with ideas for activities Janet can do on her own while at home including domestic chores, she mentioned laundry, reading and even listening to an audio book. The focus of that extra day at home will be to try and familiarize Janet with things she can do around the house for when I’m not there. Possibly come September, Janet would be home Mondays as well, up until the last few weeks before coming home full time, then we might try something like staying at home each night and driving out for therapies each morning for a half day. Once home full time Janet may get to participate in an outpatient program at KGH to take advantage of the fact she is still making significant gains on all fronts. That idea needs the approval of Dr. McCann and Brian will get that ball rolling soon.

Team meetings have always been productive for us even though they wear on Janet a bit. She had another meeting right afterwards with a lady doing research on the cognitive therapies Janet receives. That made lunch late but we enjoyed it together outside in the sunshine. Janet of course hadn’t had any exercise other than walking all day but that and the meeting wore her out enough that she had a good long nap late this afternoon waking up in time to get a bike ride in before dinner.

The evening was nice and sunny so Curtis and Chelsea offered everyone a chance to walk to the beach. Janet was surprisingly reluctant but went and really enjoyed it, especially the pine cone fight with Wes.

Happily in bed early, Janet read a little before I read a lot of Unbreak My Heart, a book Janet says she is really enjoying a lot now. Praying for a lot of sleep tonight and a positive attitude tomorrow.

Janet, A Success Story. June 1. #TSJ

This morning was more mellow than Saturday morning and Janet was able to get through breakfast well before the weekly Skype chat with her mom. In fact, we were able to watch Genie Bouchard win her fourth round match at the French Open before the mom call and Janet was pleased to be able to do so. She’s a fan.

From what I heard of the conversation with Mary/Gaga it went well and Janet even ended the call properly on her iPad, something I’ve been trying to teach her for a long time. After some suntanning time we drove out to see John and go for a walk with him. Janet noted he seemed a little down compared to last time so we left him with a promise to take him for lunch next Saturday in hopes that gives him something to look forward to. We were then able to eat our lunch outside before Janet’s nap time. Have to get her tanned up for the wedding you know.

After her nap we walked up to check out the pool. I wasn’t able to convince Janet to swim but she was all over going for a hot tub. As you can see in the picture the first step in is a doozy with the four others not much better. Janet made it in OK but getting out was no fun at all. I was over confident in what Janet is able to do and attempted to assist her in walking out. She just doesn’t have the strength to tackle large steps like that and if one of our neighbours wasn’t there to help me get Janet out, we might still be there. I’ll be carrying her out from now on. The pool steps are not as large so hopefully Janet can manage those ones better.
Janet Hot Tub

Janet’s conversation skills are certainly improving as evidenced by her striking up a chat with the lady in the hot tub (the one that ended up helping us) and then by having an excellent Skype chat with Andrew. Her speech and recall were outstanding today. There weren’t too many walking opportunities but she did make it up and down our ramp a few times.

Our arrival back at Connect tonight was later than usual as we lingered over dinner, America’s Got Talent, and ice cream before making the trek. Janet says she doesn’t mind it when she gets there its more the thought of having to go back that bugs her. This is a short week for her though as she gets to come home Thursday and stay for the weekend on account of a few appointments Thursday and Friday. She’s happy about that.

Praying for a restful night of sleep, lots of energy all week and a willingness to work hard.

LarryJanet Hot Tub

Janet, A Success Story. May 31. #TSJ

Being up late last night didn’t deter Janet from getting up early this morning which was surprising to me but I’m glad she did. Mostly because the landscaping committee rang the doorbell at 9:30 and Janet got a say in where some new plants went. Shortly after that we got a call about something we are selling then we walked over to the pool to help clean and set up the furniture and stuff for it as today was opening day. Janet helped me put some stuff away from Wine Club when we got home and by the time noon rolled around it had been a very productive day which meant we could spend the afternoon in the sun.

I tried to convince Janet to go for a swim but she wasn’t buying it despite the air and water temps being right in her range. Hopefully tomorrow. She did do good work on her tan before nap time though.

Our outing to church this evening was Janet’s first without her wheelchair which meant she even walked down the ramp in our garage for the first time. She was a little scared at first but handled it very well. Guess its time for a hand rail.

Pizza, a movie and ice cream rounded out the night and Janet was in bed snoring at a much more reasonable hour. Praying for a long night of sleep that gives Janet lots of energy for a fun Sunday.

Janet, A Success Story. May 30. #TSJ

Friday is Janet’s favourite day of the week. She was excited about it Thursday night and after a brief greeting this afternoon at Connect, her first words to me were “can we go now?” Since all her therapies were done for the day it was only a matter of packing a few things and we were gone.

Tonight was another meeting of our wine club and Janet helped me start to get ready for that when we got home then went for a good long nap. She took a while to fully wake up afterwards and I left her home alone while I went to pick up sushi for dinner. When I got back fifteen minutes later she was sipping on her water and singing along to the music I left on for her. Janet enjoyed what I think was her cleanest sushi dinner ever. That can be a messy meal but not tonight. By the time our guests arrived Janet seemed ready for a fun night.

I don’t spend much time with Janet at these gatherings. It’s a nice chance for her to talk with other people. I did notice she got a little quiet after a hour or so as there was a large group tonight which can be a little overwhelming but in the end Janet really enjoyed the evening.

Knowing Janet would want ice cream before bed I asked, and she quickly agreed and also asked if we could watch So You Think You Can Dance. We did, and stayed up too late but isn’t that what Fridays are for? Because of the party atmosphere there wasn’t a lot of walking going on but what Janet did was good and I noticed her memory was very sharp tonight as was her overall awareness, she knew the day, date and year without hesitation twice tonight.

Praying Janet sleeps well tonight and is ready for some fun in the sun tomorrow.

Janet, A Success Story. May 25. #TSJ

Mornings are becoming pretty routine around the house as Janet gets more familiar with things. She’s doing more of her dressing and personal grooming and I didn’t have to coach her on breakfast at all today. At lunch she turned the oven on with no assistance. The cooktop is still a challenge as its hard for Janet to see the controls while sitting in her wheelchair so as soon as she’s more confident with standing and walking we’ll get her working that more.

Janet eagerly practiced her reading this morning and read out loud to me using a bit of expression. Nice to hear! The Skype chat with Mary/Gaga seemed fine and brought the good news that Keith is home from the hospital and “doing well”. We seem to have sent our nice weather out to them for the day so Janet and I had to come up with inside activities today and she chose scanning old photos. That was a good call on her part as we are a long ways from being done and hadn’t worked on it for a while. Its not a lot of fun but we are both glad we are making progress and can see it will be cool when we are finished.

After a long and late nap Janet re hydrated herself while I made dinner. She was in no mood to return to Connect and took me up on every offer that kept her home a little while longer. Including watching the second half of a basketball game and then a little French Open tennis. I made sure the music was playing as we drove to Connect so at least the ride was happy and by freestyle walking all the way to her room Janet was too tired to be sad at being back.

Walking attempts were few today but of high quality and there was no mention of the sore right foot. Praying Janet gets lots of sleep tonight and is willing and able to fully participate in tomorrow’s activities.

Janet, A Success Story. May 24. #TSJ

During breakfast this morning Janet remembered that Mary Lou had asked her to bring in a children’s book to practice reading with. Janet was excited to look through our collection and wasn’t at all upset by the thought of reading a kids book, until she tried reading one. She is still figuring out how to compensate for her right side impairment so when she reads a long line of text she misses the last three or four words. Being able to read a children’s book well enough to present it to a Pre School class is Janet’s goal and the book she has chosen is The Hallo-wiener. We will try and find a Pre School that will let Janet come in and read and with five months before Halloween she should have enough time to get to that level. I love that she set that goal.

Not wanting to hog all the sun to ourselves today we drove out to see John and as soon as he saw us he asked if we were going outside, even before he said hello. He seems much more with it today and we enjoyed a long leisurely stroll where he was able to tell us a bit of his life story. John has always been a great talker and he got on a roll with us today.

We arrived at church with enough time to allow Janet to walk freestyle most of the way through the lobby. She tired out close to the door we enter the auditorium by and that’s where I was going to start helping her anyways as the floor slopes from there. I noticed Janet’s pace was slower during this walk partly because she was distracted by the other people milling about. Solid effort though.

Planning seemed to be the theme of the day as we set tentative dates for a number of activities we hope to do this summer. Janet agreed that there’s no point in having an idea if you don’t take any action on it, so we did and the calendar is filling up fast.

Praying for a happy Sunday.

Janet, A Success Story. May 23. #TSJ

Garrett knew Janet wanted to leave for home as soon as possible today so he had her working hard in the gym all morning long and even into the afternoon. Janet was really happy to get everything done and was in a great mood while finishing off the Standing Frame as I got to Connect. Its great to have the kind of help Garrett provides as he always seems to keep Janet talking while exercising which distracts her from the drudgery of some of the things she needs to do.

We made our escape and got home so Janet could nap before our Small Group meeting tonight. After helping make dinner she had a quick chat with Heather about some wedding thats coming up soon. The excitement is building.

Our Small Group was very small tonight with only one other couple showing up but we had a good conversation and Janet likes how honest and real they are. We had both been waiting all week to watch the finale of The Voice and Janet insisted we stay up and do so tonight, hence the lateness of this post. Janet really enjoyed and sang along to a lot of the last performance show but was too tired to really enjoy any of the results show so we pretty much skipped right to the results and were in agreement on the winner. No Blizzards owed by anyone this time but So You Think You Can Dance starts soon and the bet will be on.

There was a lot of sitting going on tonight but Janet did get in a few freestyle walking trips and did very well. She even transferred herself from wheelchair to sitting on the bed twice all by herself which I think is pretty big as that involves a lot of turning and backing up. Her confidence continues to grow and I can see her walking around the house soon without me hovering near, maybe Sunday?

Praying for a night of deep and healing sleep and a positive attitude for tomorrow.

Janet, A Success Story. May 18. #TSJ

Janet’s day started with a couple of Skype chats back to back. First up was Leslie followed by Mary/Gaga. Both conversations went well with Janet needing minimal help along the way. Because we got up so late, shower time had to be after the Skype sessions so by 12:30 we were ready to start our day. On a whim I had Janet try walking freestyle from the bed to the dining table and she did it with only one pause to hold onto me briefly. That’s thirty feet all on her own folks! She repeated that a couple times during the day then bested it by ten feet going all the way to the bathroom. There was no mention of a sore foot until after dinner tonight and Janet walked a lot today so I think the couple days of minimal walking did her some good and the problem could be just new things being used a little too much. Janet complained a little tonight at Connect but not as much as before.

That was the highlight of the day except for Janet doing a nice job helping to make dinner. She was bright and cheery and talkative all day, showing no signs of having too much Dilantin in her now. I hope she has enough.

The ride back to Connect happened too soon again but it didn’t take long for Janet to settle in. Jess was working tonight and talked with Janet for a fair bit as soon as we arrived and that really helped. Praying that Janet has a restful night of sleep and wakes up with a positive attitude and lots of energy and no soreness tomorrow.

Janet, A Success Story. May 17. #TSJ

Today you could really sense the rhythm of Janet being at home for an extended period. Our morning was relaxed and talkative with no urgency to do anything in particular. We continued to discuss the movie Heaven Is For Real and watched YouTube clips of the real people plus a young artist who painted an image of Jesus around the time the real events of the movie were happening and the little boy from the movie said that was the Jesus he saw. Janet was fascinated by it all.

We went downtown to pick up a book we had ordered, One Hundred Years of Solitude, and cruised through “the store we never buy anything at”, just in case there was something to spend the gift card we’ve had for three years on. Nope. If any of you have legitimate use of a $100 Lakehouse gift card, it’s yours.

The only physical workout Janet got today was walking from the car to her seat at church and back out again. On the way in there was no mention of a sore foot but it did come up on the way out without impeding her performance though. There was no mention of it the few times she walked at home.

It was sushi and movie night at home and after rejecting Her thirty minutes into it we both enjoyed August: Osage County. There was not one happy person in the entire film but somehow we enjoyed it anyways. Janet understood it and gave a good recap after and did the same for the day as well even as she was falling asleep. Her memory is improving and I suspect the Dilantin situation has improved, allowing her some cognitive gain.

Praying for a long night of healing sleep and an energetic Sunday.