hydrotherapy

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

Renovation Day 9. Cabinets are taking shape, blinds are ordered and I spent a lot of time discussing bathroom options with two experts. Conclusion? Not yet.

Janet called me just before noon wondering if Nancy was meeting her for lunch. I reminded her Nancy wasn’t due until around three. Janet was quite disappointed as I think she was hoping to use the visit as an excuse not to do the Standing Frame. As it turned out, she was in it when John arrived early for his singing session with her and stayed in it the whole session. My guess is she sang well as she said it was fun and her voice has been notably louder lately.

Nancy arrived as scheduled and Janet gave her a tour of Connect during which Nancy got introduced to a lot of the other residents. The two of them had a nice visit, looking at photos and chatting. Nancy reports she’s very impressed with Janet’s ability to comment correctly on a number of topics and was able to identify a lot of people in the photos they looked at. What was especially impressive was Janet navigating on their drive to our house. She called a number of correct turns especially the last two before arriving here. Very well done considering she’s only been to the house a few times.

After we gave Nancy a quick tour of the construction site we went down the street for a fabulous dinner at The Fixx Cafe. Janet ate very well and enjoyed a glass of Pinot Noir. I continue to be impressed by her neatness now. She really doesn’t need a shirt saver for most meals and is also better at cutting her food. The meal and conversation were most enjoyable tonight and tuckered Janet right out. She was asleep minutes after I started reading to her in bed at Connect which she chose to do as soon as we got there rather than watch The Voice. Good call I think.

Praying for a solid night of sleep and thanking Nancy for her friendship and support.

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

Renovation Day Eight. Construction has begun! The demolition phase has pretty much come to an end unless we decide on something major for the ensuite. Randy laid the bases for most of the kitchen today so now we can actually see what the layout will look like.BaseForKitchen
The first piece to go down of course was for what will be the wine “cellar” slash liquor cabinet.
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Priorities. Right?

Jess had Janet very busy all morning today with a full workout, Standing Frame, shower and a trip to the grocery store before lunch. By one o’clock Janet asked for a nap and was sleeping still when I got in at 2:45. Her cold is lingering but hasn’t affected her willingness to do things and she got up soon after my arrival.

We started our time together with back to back Skype chats with Heather and Leslie. Janet talked well to both and rather confidently asked to end the one with Leslie. She’s almost always been scared to end a call out of fear of upsetting the other person but today she knew she wanted to stop and she spoke up. Nice.

Since Janet’s cold was still affecting her I gave her the night off from the gym and we watched a little football after dinner with the fire as its harder for her to stay warm when she’s feeling sick. Once she got warm we read some SheLife materials and Janet impressed me with her improved reading skills. She still lacks confidence but when following a pen pointing to each word she was going a line and a half without breaking and that is a huge improvement. Jess said she has noticed Janet trying to read more on her own during down times now and that’s good. One chapter we read was titled “lost that loving feeling” and as soon as I “sang” a bit of the song, Janet jumped right in nice and loud singing practically the whole song. Cool.

Reading filled out the time until The Voice started and we watched that with Wes, his wife Roz and sometimes Kieran. Janet interacted with everyone well and also had quite a lively phone conversation with Cam. At med time I encouraged Janet to yell at Jess, who was in the kitchen, to get her meds for her. Janet responded with the loudest voice I’ve heard from her and Jess heard her loud and clear. Not bad for a sicko.

Praying for a good sleep tonight and a fun day tomorrow.

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

Renovation Day seven and Randy deservedly took the day off. I pulled more staples out of the floor this morning then cruised in the sunshine to watch football with Janet.

Waiting for me in the living room Janet greeted me with a big smile saying she had waited for me so we could have lunch and watch the game, and that’s what we did with our jerseys on and feeling excited for Laurel and Raj who were actually in Seattle at the game. Janet almost made it to half time before getting tired and needing a nap. Her cold is still with her enough to sap some of her energy and she slept for an hour and a half, waking in time to see the last few minutes of an ugly Seahawks victory.

Nash was hanging with us at Connect for the afternoon and before we went to Mark and Veronica’s for dinner we had to drop him off at the house. He really enjoys being at Connect and Humberto especially likes him. I wonder if Connect needs a mascot? The good part about having to go home for a bit was Janet got to see it again and we went for a little walk around the neighbourhood to get some fresh air. Janet still likes the place and I’m really looking forward to being able to bring her home for a weekend soon.

Janet did a great job being a dinner guest tonight. Nice confident greetings to everyone, chatted with the ladies in the kitchen and did awesome at introducing herself and saying what she was thankful for. We thoroughly enjoyed the food and conversation and Janet wants to do more of that sort of thing so once the house is ready some invites will be going out. These more public appearances are good therapy for her. We got back to Connect in time to get ready for bed and I pray Janet has an uninterrupted night of sleep that heals her of her cold and gives her lots of energy for an active Monday.

This evening was a reminder of how blessed we are to have friends willing to share their home, food and time with us. Janet and I are thankful to all of you who read this blog, cheer us on, visit us, cook for us and spend time with us. God continues to place the right people in our lives at the right time and we are most thankful for that.

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

Renovation Day 6 was another day of sanding, mudding and pulling staples. Progress none the less.

Janet had a busy first part of her day and was sleeping when I got to Connect this afternoon. Of course she woke up saying she wasn’t sleeping when I snuck into her room but she clearly had been and wasn’t quite ready to get up. When she did we went in search of countertops for the new house, a more difficult task than I imagined. I was counting on Janet to be relatively quick in picking a few colours she would be happy with but that proved a challenge without being in the house and having things like cabinets and flooring to match with. Then there’s the materiel and how much we want to spend. Oh well. We ended up with a few samples and ran into Connie at one store who told us they had just done their kitchen and found Quartz to be the best bang for the buck so we’ll look more at that.

Janet has a little bit of a cold and that did impede her ability to focus on colour matching but not her participation at church. Tim gave an excellent message that Janet picked up on fully. She hung in there real well as we picked up Nash then some sushi and went back to Connect. Even with her cold her appetite remains strong and she really enjoyed the sushi. We had a quiet night watching a little TV before getting Janet into bed.

Praying for a restful night that heals Janet from her cold and gives her lots of energy for the Seahawks game tomorrow and what promises to be a fabulous feast at Mark and Veronica’s house tomorrow night.

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

Renovation Day 5 was a dusty one as Randy was mudding and sanding drywall repairs from the electrical work we had done and the two walls that were removed. The best part of my day was pulling staples and nails from the floor in preparation for installation of the new one. Janet and I brought home a sample of the new floor to see what it looks like in its natural environment. Pretty cool,I think.

Jen from Connect delivered Janet to her doctor’s appointment this afternoon and I met them there. This was a routine check up and I didn’t even have a list of questions this time as medically Janet is doing fine right now. I let her discuss things with her doctor, only stepping in if she gave inaccurate info and that only happened a couple times. Janet is concerned about her perceived lack of sleeping at night and the doctor suggested trying to stay in a routine of going to bed at the same time each day and getting up at the same time each day. Apparently that helps regulate your Circadian Clock and may explain the difficulties Janet was having on Tuesdays when she was home on weekends until Monday night. She was going to bed way later and getting up way later than at Connect so when she does finally get a chance to come home I’ll make sure she stays in a more regular routine. This was a great visit to the doctor as Janet did most of the talking for once and handled herself very well. Afterwards she told me she likes her doctor as “she’s very approachable”.

Janet was a big help in choosing the colour for our new blinds today and also in picking out a kitchen faucet. We were quite picky about what we wanted as it has to be something Janet can comfortably use so the guy at Splashes really had to work to find the right thing. Good job!

By the time our shopping was done it was time to get Nash and figure out dinner. Janet wanted pizza so we decided to try Papa Murphy’s and were pleased we did. Janet helped bake the pizzas at Connect for us and both kinds we tried were yummy. There was lots of chatter going on in the dining area tonight and Janet enjoyed the activity while we ate then she helped me clean up by wiping the table and putting stuff away. She was getting very tired but her drive to be productive kept her going until 8:40 when she called bedtime thinking I would read to her for half an hour. She lasted five minutes before snoring.

Praying for a good night’s sleep and lots of energy for tomorrow.

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

Renovation Day 4. Electrical work complete, all carpet removed. That means I’m now sleeping on plywood but have light to see the plywood with. Progress.

I met Janet at the Kelowna Family Y this morning to help her with her wet suit. I wasn’t going to swim with her but changed my mind once I got there and am glad I did. The wet suit donning went much better than the first time and Janet said she was quite comfortable in it. Here she is just before getting wet. Sorry about the closed eyes.Janet Wet Suit
Initially Janet complained of being cold and that water is cold at first. After a few minutes she seemed to warm up although she wasn’t admitting it. After ten minutes or so she was fine and swimming around just like the KGH pool. Janet tolerated the big pool for a good forty five minutes and said it was fine, she even tried some of the Aqua Zoomba that was going on but got frustrated at her inability to do the leg work.Janet Me in Pool
She was getting cold near the end and asked to go to the hot tub where she warmed up nicely and I was able to get some good stretching done. In taking off Janet’s wet suit I can totally see how you wouldn’t want to try putting one on wet. Sticky. Overall this trip to the pool was a success and I look forward now to a session with Tez there to get some appropriate exercises going.

I went back to the house for the afternoon and Janet went back to Connect on their cool shuttle bus.Garrett loading Janet
Curtis had her in the Standing Frame for almost an hour and a half after lunch with no complaints. Not surprisingly, Janet had a little nap after that. Dinner was almost ready when I arrived with my homemade soup from one of our kind new neighbours. Watch out Barb and Gary, you have competition. Janet was in a good mood and really following the conversation at the table. Still not initializing but she’s much better at reacting and responding. We had a nice after dinner Skype chat with a clean shaven Andrew then did a little Shuttle work before watching X Factor. After a little dessert, Janet called her own bedtime and wanted me to read to her before I left. It was really nice to lay on a bed for twenty minutes so I’m happy to read to her anytime.

Praying for a night of uninterrupted sleep and lots of energy for tomorrow.

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

Renovation Day Three saw walls come down, wiring pulled and final decisions made on placement of appliances etc. Here’s a look at where we are at now.
New House Day 3S

New House Day 3N

Janet was waiting for me in anticipation of going to her She Life group at the church tonight. First stop though was Diving Dynamics to try on a wet suit they brought in for her. It was a little challenging to put on but once it was on it fit well and looks good on her. The guys at the dive shop are confident it will keep Janet warm enough to enjoy the public pool and we will give it a go tomorrow morning. Next stop was home so Janet could see for herself what’s been happening. She admitted there is so much happening its hard for her to keep up.

Earlier in the day Janet helped Jess make cereal squares and Janet brought a pan of them to the church with her. She was quite excited about them and they were really good. The She Life session went quite long tonight but Janet was still smiling at the end and was able to tell me a pretty good recap of what happened. I notice a different sparkle in her eyes when she’s there and am really glad she’s enjoying it.

After downing her meds once we got back to Connect Janet was quick to say she wanted to get ready for bed then was sleeping before our prayers were done. Praying for a night of uninterrupted sleep and lots of energy for a good day tomorrow especially at the pool.

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

Day two of renovations was productive and we now have internet at the new house. I felt naked without it.

Janet called me around four to ask when I’d be there to visit her. She sounded like she was having a good day and when I arrived around five thirty she was all smiles and about to have dinner. She was quick to tell me she didn’t sleep “at all” last night and Curtis confirmed she was awake at four thirty. I feel she must have slept at some point because she was way too awake and bright otherwise. She very confidently told me of her morning and the “class” she went to that turned out to be some sort of residents meeting. Janet told me she spoke about our new car, selling our house and buying a new one. Pretty good! There was no arguing about the gym tonight and her Shuttle session was excellent. I keep trying to impress her with statistics but she doesn’t always buy into it. Her improvement is noticeable especially with the amount of extension she is able to get now. Janet was a little tired by the time we attempted some free standing so that wasn’t her best tonight. The Standing Frame was good tonight as well with a nice straight upper body but we still need to work on the leg positioning. Curtis will consult Tez tomorrow on that one.

Our plan was for me to read to Janet for a while before bed and Janet did a great job of getting herself ready. A page and a half into the read she was sound asleep. Good thing we were re reading for tomorrows She Life session and hopefully this means she will have a good sleep tonight.

With our good Internet connection restored I was finally able to upload the video tour of the new house. Check it. http://youtu.be/f8mj1SNXwbU

Praying for increasing strength and flexibility and lots of energy tomorrow.

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

Day one of the renovation project at our new house was definitely a day of demolition. Randy wasted no time in taking apart the main closet. I thought that was a reasonable goal for today but he also got the kitchen dismantled as well! Here’s what it looked like by 5pm.

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I got to Connect as everyone was eating dinner and having Nash with me brought out the “ahh’s” and “he’s so cute” from most. I’m not ready to leave him in the new house yet so he’ll be travelling to Connect each day for the next while.

Janet was in a good mood until the word gym was mentioned. She fought long and hard against going but ended up making a real nice effort on the Shuttle and doing some nice free standing. I wasn’t going to upset her again so didn’t push the Standing Frame. We sat on the couch together and watched The Voice. Neither of us has been blown away by any of the talent yet but Janet still loves the show.

Tomorrow promises to be busy for me so I’m praying Janet has lots of energy and a willingness to work hard so she has a productive day.

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

From our new house!

No longer at my secret location, this post is coming to you from the new house on Lanfranco Road. It doesn’t look or feel like ours right now but we start work on that tomorrow.

Janet was up early for a Sunday and I can only guess it was the anticipation of the Seahawks game that did it. At least that was her answer when I asked her what the big event of the day was. Love her. We watched most of the first half before meeting Les to get the keys to the new place.

Janet was excited and a little overwhelmed trying to piece everything together. After checking a few things out with Les I toured her around and could tell it was difficult for her to sense that it’s our home. She agreed she won’t recognize it in a few weeks and once our stuff is here it’ll seem more ours. I did shoot a video tour today but am unable to upload it. I’ll try tomorrow.

Our neighborhood is full of cool places to eat and shop so to kick things off I took Janet to lunch at Urban Fare. It was really nice to sit in a cozy space with live music and good food. Hardly felt like a grocery store at all. It was really nice to see a lot of Sandrine’s product available there too! For regular groceries it’s a little expensive so after a quick stop at Save On it was back to the house where Janet became first to sleep in it.
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I was able to inventory some of the stuff we’ll try and sell out of here while Janet was napping. Of course that wasn’t the best nap ever but it recharged her enough to enjoy another great experience at Joey Kelowna. We tried going there last night but faced with a twenty five minute wait we employed plan B. The hostess remembered us tonight, told the manager and he bought us a glass of wine! Unreal.

Back at Connect I packed the rest of my stuff while Janet put away laundry and got her meds. I could feel the sadness knowing the amount of time I get to spend with her will be far less during this renovation time and I really had to work to keep the conversation from going there. I helped Janet respond to some overdue correspondence then read to her in bed before lights out. Janet was appreciative of the day off from exercise and ought to be ready to hit it hard tomorrow. I’m certainly praying for that and continued healing.