hope

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #smarts

A smiling Janet greeted me as I arrived at Connect late this afternoon. She had just gotten up from a nap where she actually slept and I could tell. She was very bright and spoke well as she excitedly told me she had done a big workout in the gym this morning. There was no arguing with me when I suggested she was only telling me that so I wouldn’t make her do more tonight. Janet truly did have a good session with Curtis and Garrett this morning doing everything except the Standing Frame. Curtis worked on free standing with Janet in an area no where near a transfer pole and Janet did very well. A couple of times lately I’ve noticed her free standing while pulling her pants up or down but I haven’t said anything to her as I don’t want her to be thinking about it. I love that she’s doing it and I feel she’s getting closer to taking an unassisted step. It may be using an undesirable technique but I sense it coming.

After a lively dinner Janet wanted to get the Standing Frame over with and stood for an hour quite comfortably. The rest of the night was hers and after checking her emails which gave her some reading practice she counted out some pennies to be rolled. Her math skills are excellent and as long as she takes her time she can count accurately as well. For each roll she laid out stacks of two pennies in a five by five grid confidently answering that there were fifty pennies there. She has rolled eleven rolls of pennies so far and quickly calculated that is $5.50. Sounds like enough for that Blizzard she owes me.

Last night as we were reading Janet complained that the light in her room was too bright for her while she’s laying there listening to me so I asked her to remind me next time and I’ll turn it off, to my surprise, tonight she did. She also knew right away that SheLife is tomorrow and there were a number of other intelligent comments and strong displays of short term memory tonight too. Fun times.

Praying for full and complete healing and a positive day tomorrow.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #guessinggame

I’m spending the first few days of this week bottling wine at CedarCreek Estate Winery so my time with Janet will start later in the day than usual. Today I got to Connect just as everyone was sitting down to dinner. Janet was excited to see me but I could tell wasn’t really missing me either, nor did I expect her to. I missed her though.

According to Janet she was in the gym “for a long time this morning”. As we talked it became apparent she had done the Shuttle and her mat exercises with Karl so that left the bike and standing frame for tonight. Something she was not pleased to hear. I was more concerned with what Janet had done in the afternoon and she exceeded my expectations greatly. I’ve often suggested to her that instead of watching daytime television she could work on her speech exercises or something like that. After lunch today she wheeled up to her desk and answered the questions on six or seven pages of work that Mary Lou had left in a binder for her to do as she pleased. I marked them for her, reading each question out loud and having her confirm her answer and found she scored as high as 100% and only as low as 80%. Nice work! She even did some very accurate underlining and some decent printing too.

Janet agreed to some one legged bike riding and I found her to be ineffective in trying to pull up using her right leg. Partly attitude and partly a result of the weekend maybe. Still good that she did it though. After a good session in the Standing Frame it was time to get ready for bed and to read Open which had Janet laughing out loud and listening intently for a good forty five minutes tonight. Fun.

Thanks to those of you that played the Where’s Janet game in her class photo yesterday. The consensus is third from the right, second row, but Janet still thinks she’s first on the left, front row. She is wavering a bit on that now and loved that people actually bothered to guess.

Praying for a night of deep and healing sleep that gives Janet lots of energy and a positive attitude and willingness to fully participate in whatever she’s asked to do tomorrow.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #Superbowl

Today ended up being Janet’s sleep in day and good thing. She never would have made it through the Superbowl without a nap otherwise. She managed to make her coffee and toast by herself before having a good Skype chat with Leslie. I noticed Janet correcting herself a little more now, saying no in answer to a question by default then switching to the correct answer seconds later. Good to see.

We continued our scrapbooking type work and finished off the one with all the greeting cards in it. The big project now is photographs and to start we are going to digitize them all and Janet was quite happy to sit by the scanner and place photos on it while I operated things on the computer end. The photos we did today were of school age Janet and it was fun trying to figure out how old she was in each picture as most are not dated. I think she guessed fairly accurately. One photo puzzled us more than others. Can you find her in this one? We have different opinions.Janet Pre School Class

Our strata had an information meeting in regards to a large landscaping project facing us and I wanted to go but Janet didn’t so I risked leaving her alone for forty five minutes and she was quite happy to do so. When I got back she was watching the Superbowl Pre-game show and had really enjoyed the interview with Denver head coach John Fox. She said he seems like a nice guy. I’m glad she was that tuned in while I was gone not just staring blankly. Apparently she even went to the bathroom on her own. I know she is capable of that so I believe she did. High five!

After a quick chat with the Calgary gang (plus Ottawa and Costa Mesa) it was time for some football. Janet had never been upset we weren’t going to a party or having anyone over to watch the game so she was ready but neither of us was ready for what we witnessed. Janet stayed interested throughout and made lots of intelligent comments along the way. It was nice to watch quietly with her.
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The return to Connect keeps getting more and more difficult, for both of us I think. Janet was a little crabby and just wanted to get ready for bed and read even though it was only 8:30. I didn’t expect going to the gym or anything but thought she could at least help set her calendar for the week. Nope, bed it was, and ten minutes into the read she was sleeping. It’s like she willed her way through the football game then crashed. It was a good day all around and I think she’ll have a solid week. Praying for full and complete healing and thanking Jesus for every minute I get to spend with my beautiful wife.
Janet School Gr12

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #homework

Most Saturdays at home with Janet start late as she takes a well deserved sleep in, not today. Awake at her normal Connect get up time, 7:45, our day started. Turned out to be a good thing as we got a lot done. Janet made herself toast and coffee and we mapped out our day before the weekly Skype chat with Mary/Gaga. Janet carried this chat really well and seemed quite on the ball.

Today was finally time to put Janet’s memorabilia into scrapbook type things and we both enjoyed looking through some of the stuff and remembering things from early on in our relationship. It was a little emotional at times and a good exercise for Janet to go through. It also validated my policy of getting all this stuff into a useful medium as opposed to stuffed in a box in a place no one goes. I don’t want Janet or anyone living in the past but boy there are some powerful things to be learned there like what an awesome mother she is, what a talented drawer and story teller she was. Hopefully some confidence was built today.

We worked steadily until well past lunchtime when I helped Janet make her grilled cheese sandwich. I need to have her practice operating the cooktop more as when she gains that skill she’ll be able to make lunch completely on her own.

There was no arguing about nap time today as it was a busy first part of the day for Janet that even included some free standing. Janet awoke in time for us to meet Suzanne at church and enjoy an excellent worship experience. Janet propelled herself, transferred, stood and sang well tonight. The only thing she didn’t really do well at was using her chopsticks while out for sushi dinner. Maybe it was the sake she finally agreed to try, I don’t know but this was a messy one. Still a very enjoyable evening, thanks for making it so, Suzanne.

Janet and I enjoyed fresh baked cookies from our neighbour, Betty, when we got home and were able to read a lot of Open before Janet went to bed. I’m glad we chose to read while Janet was awake enough to understand what I was reading as it was pretty deep and interesting stuff tonight. Fun to read and discuss with her.

Praying for a night of deep and healing sleep and lots of energy for a fun tomorrow. Go ‘hawks!

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #dinnerout

Janet had just laid down for her afternoon nap and was not yet sleeping when I got to Connect this afternoon so I scooped her up and took her home so she could nap there before our dinner date tonight. She had done a decent amount of exercise during the morning and seemed quite bright and excited about going out for dinner. For a few months now our realtor, Les, has been trying to get us out for dinner with him and his wife, Dianne, as a closing present for us. The hook was that another couple would join us, his boss, Cliff, and his wife Barb who was in rehab at KGH with Janet almost the entire time Janet was there. Tonight was finally the night we could all connect at Bouchons. Janet was concerned with what she could wear as the shoes she needs to wear with her AFO are rather ugly and unfortunately I never thought of just using the ankle brace until it was too late. That meant no dress for Janet and both pairs of dress pants are too small for her now so she had to settle for regular pants and a nice shirt with a little bling. She looked fabulous of course as we headed out with Janet saying “I hope these people like me”. She knows Les of course but was having a hard time remembering Cliff and Barb and I assured her they remember her and always liked her a lot. As soon as Barb walked into the restaurant Janet’s face lit up as she remembered Barb from the countless unpleasant hospital meals they shared. Tonight was the polar opposite of that with both ladies demonstrating amazing recoveries. It was a very very enjoyable evening that tuckered Janet out to the point that when we got home she just wanted to get ready for bed and have me read to her. I did and she fell asleep within ten minutes then woke up and begged me to read more, I did and she fell asleep within three minutes then woke again saying read more. I did until she fell asleep for what I pray will be a night of re-energizing sleep so we can enjoy a productive Saturday.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #hectic

A cold but smiling Janet was waiting for me at the pool this morning just wanting to get “this swimming thing over with”. She was in a good mood in spite of not wanting to be there and as usual broke into a big smile and actual laughter as she started to swim her first length. She said she was laughing because it was cold and it was a little on the chill side today for sure. I kept her moving as much as possible and Janet swam strong today with nice rolls from tummy to back and a few fun attempts at treading water. Instead of being all frustrated, she laughed about spinning around in a circle because of her one arm. The kiddie pool was a welcome relief from the cold and Janet did some good knee bends and balancing before getting a really good stretch in the hot tub, the place she would like to start and finish and probably stay at forever.

Janet had another fun appointment to look forward to this afternoon, the dentist. She needed one small cavity filled and afterwards said it was an interesting visit. The folks there are very friendly and fun and Janet felt at ease and welcome and said it didn’t hurt at all. She couldn’t wait to get into bed for a nap as soon as we got home though and had a good little rest before the next event.

We met Suzanne for dinner tonight at Routes Grill which is near Connect. Janet and I had been once before and Suzanne never before so it was a good place to catch up with her. Janet says “its always fun with her” and it was. The menu is a little limited so Janet ended up with a seafood linguine that I try and have her avoid when we are out as its a messy eat. She did OK though and conversed well with Suzanne.

Today was a very full day for Janet and she held up very well. I found her memory to be slightly improved and her transfers excellent. I had her try and answer some emails before bed but she only managed a couple as I think she had just had enough for the day by then. Andre Agassi managed to get a few belly laughs from her as we read Open before saying goodnight. Praying for a solid night of sleep and a great Friday.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #social

I caught Janet napping again this afternoon which is good as she really does function a lot better in the evening if she is rested. She wasn’t able to give me much detail about what she did with the first part of the day and I trusted her when she told me she did lots in the gym or “downstairs” as she calls it sometimes.

Our drive to the pre SheLife dinner was quite chatty for a car ride as Janet continued to try and tell me about her day. She struggled with details and getting the right word out and seems to be telling herself she can’t remember way too fast. I wonder if writing a note about each task as she completes it would help her remember it longer. Might try that soon.

Janet wheeled herself into her SheLife session tonight with me spying on her just to make sure she found the right table. She seemed more than happy to go off on her own. The session went quite long and Janet said the video they watched was too long but all the remaining ones are half the length so it should be fine. She said she was able to contribute to the discussion and enjoyed the evening. During the drive back to Connect Janet gave me a pretty good run down on what they discussed, much better than her earlier report on the days events.

Once back at Connect it was get ready for bed, read and say goodnight. Praying for a night of deep and healing sleep that provides lots of energy for a busy tomorrow. Thanking Jesus for the community of friends we are able to do life with.