hydrotherapy

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #tsj #home #Connect #Swimming #KGH

Another good nights’ sleep for Janet and a good start to the day this morning. She knew it was Monday and that we’d being going back to Connect later, she knew there was something else, just couldn’t get the word swimming out. We got to the pool in plenty of time and the first session was alright with Janet’s right leg doing its own thing instead of what she was trying to get it to do. Her walking was not as strong as last week partly because of that right leg or maybe totally because of it. Some days she just seems to be overly buoyant and today was one of them. Janet tried really hard to get her feet down to the pool floor from floating on her back but had a heck of a time today as they just wanted to stay near the surface. Tez joined us for session two and was happy with Janet’s sense of balance and her ability to swim. What he observed from her walking challenges confirmed the need to really go hard at making that right leg stronger. He reinforced that with Janet and will do the same with the Connect staff.

As we were leaving KGH I had Janet drive by what I thought was the room she described to me a week ago or so. No bells went off though and she didn’t even really remember telling me about a room before. I will have to strike sooner next time she does something like that.

Janet built herself a nice sandwich for lunch once we got home then agreed to try and have a nap. I should have bet her as she of course didn’t think she’d sleep but she did for a little bit and helped me start making dinner before having a late Skype chat with Andrew.

The return to Connect was smoother than I expected and Janet cooperated nicely in going on the Shuttle and into the Standing Frame. This was not her greatest Shuttle performance ever but considering the time of day I’ll take it. She tolerated the Standing Frame very well and we enjoyed some interesting conversation with Kieran, a new resident from North Vancouver who’s mom’s name is Janet so he calls Janet mom. He’s twenty four and very positive and Janet liked him as soon as they met. Janet stayed up a little late because of the Kieran conversation but that was a fun way to end a good day. Praying for rest that brings lots of energy and strength for tomorrow’s activities.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #moving #skype #hottub #botox

Janet seemed to have one of the best nights’ of sleep she’s had in a while last night. She was asleep before prayer time and I don’t recall her waking until around seven this morning and then she promptly fell back to sleep until nine thirty. Good for her, except that gets our day off to a late start but I’m happy she slept. That sleep probably gave her the good strong voice and brightness she displayed during our Skype chat with Leslie. Fun to listen to.

For work today we decided to finish off Laurel and Heathers’ old room which went quite smoothly as it was mostly a matter of bagging things and getting them out of there. That leaves two major rooms still to be purged, Cams’, which we’ll tackle when he’s home next week and the garage, which will wait till much closer to moving date.

After lunch we drove to what we think would be nice as our future neighborhood and went for a walk. It was nice to be out in the sun and fresh air and that set Janet up nicely for an afternoon nap. Heather was next on the Skype list and Janet was into it enough that I could leave them chat and start dinner. We finished in plenty of time for a relaxing hot tub followed by watching AGT with Janet’s legs in the extenders. With almost two months to go before the next round of Botox I’m a little concerned about the amount of tone in Janet’s legs. It seems like the effect is wearing off sooner this time or things are just different, I don’t know. Her functionality seems the same with a little more command of the right leg and that is good. The hamstrings however seem tighter than they should be at this point. I’m looking forward to Tez joining us at the pool tomorrow and getting his opinion on it all.

Praying for a restful and healing sleep and thankful for the relaxing sunny day we had today.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #purging #trinitykelowna #toast

After a pretty good nights’ sleep Janet got up fairly early for a Saturday and we enjoyed a pleasant breakfast time making sure we were all fueled up before tackling the day. Janet continues to gain confidence in her abilities and scared me a little this morning when she tried getting up from the table to walk to the other end of the kitchen and make herself some toast. I had left her sitting in a dining chair eating breakfast while I showered and by the time I got back she had spun around in it and was clearly trying to stand up. She was frustrated to realize she couldn’t do it but I love the attitude in initially thinking she could. One day.

We had a nice Skype chat with Mary/Gaga on our new computer then headed downstairs for more purging. Today was to be a final sweep of Laurel and Heathers’ old room and we didn’t quite get it finished as we had no idea there was that much stuff in there. A lot of it is garage sale material and in fact we sold their desks and dressers today just after cleaning them out. Good timing.

Courtney came by for a visit and joined us for a late lunch. It was nice to catch up with her and really nice to have her go through her stuff and lessen some of the clutter. Janet and I stopped work in time to do a drive by of a couple houses on the way to church. One looked promising but we decided against the neighborhood, the other was the one that’s not listed yet and we keep trying to catch the owner at home. No luck. The church was happy to receive some of the spoils of our purging today and we enjoyed the worship experience and being able to visit some of the Team Save Janet crew.

It was dinner and a movie at home night following church and we are 0 for 2 in recent movie choices. Don’t bother with I Give it a Year. We usually do well with British comedies and there were a few very funny moments but not worth recommending. Janet stayed awake the whole time so it couldn’t have been that bad I guess. We started getting ready for bed as soon as the movie ended and Janet was sleeping before prayer time. Praying for a full night of sleep that provides lots of energy for tomorrow.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #sold #home #preschool

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The SOLD sign went up at our house today! The Subjects are removed and we are headed for a September 26th closing date and September 30th possession. Now we just need to figure out where we are moving to. Suggestions?

Janet was very excited to see me this afternoon saying she didn’t want to be watching anymore silly television. She’d had a pretty good day so far with a good Shuttle routine and Standing Frame session but she was more than ready to go home for the weekend.

Once at home and after a brief chat with our realtor, Les, we got busy sorting out the remaining boxes from under the stairs. Janet was a little tired but determined to see this through. There were a couple more boxes that triggered some sad thoughts about never being a pre school teacher again but those were alleviated today by realizing how much work was needed to be a good one. Janet worked extremely hard as a teacher for very little reward the last few years and she remembers that and so is able to part with that stuff. We aim to find a worthy pre school to donate all the toys and supplies to. Naturally we had to keep some things for future grand kids and Janet instantly exclaimed that was what the Barbie stuff and Duplo stuff is for. That was the last of the really tedious purging expeditions so I think the priority for the remainder of this weekend will be to find somewhere to move to.

Just before we finished with that load of boxes we stopped for dinner and Janet was very helpful in building our BBQ chicken pizzas. With work all done and before watching SYTYCD we went for a hot tub. The weather is noticeably cooler in the evenings now and I wonder how Janet will manage hot tubbing in the winter if we are fortunate enough to have one still. I have my doubts about her out in the cold but we’ll try because the benefits remain huge. I thought Janet would fade quickly while watching TV tonight but she was quite interested in all of the routines on SYTYCD tonight and didn’t fade until she hit the pillow a couple hours later.

Praying for deep and healing sleep and stronger legs. Sending a special prayer to Barb and Gary as they drive to Powell River tomorrow for a month. Enjoy kids!

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #LaurelandRaj #lunch #standing

As expected, Janet got up fairly early this morning knowing she could visit Laurel and Raj. Her night was somewhat restless with a good start and a not so good middle. The morning with Laurel and Raj was good though and Janet seemed quite bright and happy the whole time. Laurel went through some of the memorabilia we had found and shared a lot of it with Janet and that produced a lot of laughs. Laurel and Raj treated us to a nice lunch at Joey’s before they started their drive to the coast. Janet got quiet at the restaurant as the lack of sleep caught up with her. It was still a nice time and Janet ate well saying “that’s way better than what I get at school”. Connect has been referred to as school a lot lately and I guess that’s ok.

Once back at Connect a very tired Janet hung in there for our meeting with wheelchair guy. I think we’ve finally started the final bit of test driving and should have something to buy in the next few weeks after one more modification. Sounds like Janet has selected the color of the chair already, pink. She very willingly headed to bed for a nap right after the meeting and slept for a short while then was awake more than sleeping for the next hour. That gave her enough energy to say “let’s get done what I have to get done”. Meaning, lets go to the gym. With a much better attitude and me not distracted by my phone, Janet had a great Shuttle workout, followed by a good little standing session and some good stretching with Garrett. After dinner she said she wanted to do the Standing Frame so she could be done and she handled almost an hour in it nicely. That left us a little time for a walk and some YouTube before the tiredness crept back up on Janet.

Another solid day with signs of improvement. Praying for an active and productive tomorrow.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #LaurelandRaj #home #purging #meltdown

Jess reports Janet had a very busy first part of her day, doing lots of work in the gym, Speech with Mary Lou and helping Jess make biscuits for tonight’s dinner. Tez mentioned he wants Janet’s work on the Shuttle to focus on her right leg as she really needs to build strength in it. She did the full workout as well as lots of sit to stand exercises. Janet said she didn’t help much with the biscuits but it sounds like Speech was incorporated into the process as she did say she read the recipe out loud. There hasn’t been much change in Janet’s volume level but the memory keeps improving even if she struggles to find the right words. Tonight she retold the story of the lunatics at the London Drugs parking lot on Monday correctly stating “we were only in there ten minutes…” then carrying on with a somewhat jumbled but accurate description of the encounter. Pretty impressive I think.

I snuck up on Janet as she wheeled from the living room and followed her to the kitchen sink and almost out the door to the patio after I got to Connect. She couldn’t quite get the door open herself but gave it a good try. We had a nice talk in the sun for a bit and since she had just gotten out of the Standing Frame decided to do a Shuttle session then hit the road for home as Laurel and Raj were coming in tonight for a brief visit. I didn’t get the sense that Janet was particularly tired prior to getting to the gym, that sure changed in a hurry though. My original thought was for her to have a rest, dinner, gym then go home. Should’ve stuck to that as Janet had enough of a meltdown in the gym to warrant a time out for an hour after Garrett managed a little stretching with her. She definitely was tired as she slept for almost an hour but I’ll take some blame for the meltdown for not being focused on her when she was on the Shuttle. I need to ignore my phone when working with her like that.

Janet made a nice recovery after her nap. She of course said she wouldn’t sleep and when I checked her after thirty minutes she was right out. We stopped at Save On and got a bunch of groceries on the way home then built our own sandwiches for dinner. I’m having to help Janet less and less with this sort of thing as long as we can take the time needed for her to figure things out. I’ve never had her try the squeeze bottle of mayo before but she quickly figured out how to open it, she just isn’t strong enough to do it completely. Before Laurel and Raj arrived we had time to sort through a few more boxes from under the stairs and these made Janet a little sad. Most were filled with stuff she was saving for the possibility of her opening her own pre school one day. She repeatedly said “I guess I’ll never be a pre school teacher again”. No tears but close and I really felt for her but I also know its really good she acknowledges things like that and it reminds me of the need to keep her contributing to our life and hers at Connect. She needs to feel useful.

Laurel and Raj arrived just after nine and we enjoyed a nice visit before bed. They are on their way to the coast for a wedding so we’ll see them for half the day tomorrow before its back to work for Janet. There were lots of positives today even with the little meltdown and Janet of course was very excited to see Laurel and Raj. Praying for lots of rest tonight and a fun day tomorrow.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #workout #moving

I snuck into Janet’s room this afternoon and managed to not wake her as she enjoyed a well deserved afternoon nap. Her morning had been busy with the usual Tuesday routine followed by singing with John. Not quite as tiring as swimming but enough to warrant a nap. We had a nice chat when she woke up around 3:30 and then sat in the sun on the patio and talked some more. Janet’s memory is really improving and a good example of that today was when she spontaneously told me that Garrett was changing shifts so he’d be working days starting next week. She had been told that earlier in the day and it stuck. She pretty much always gets the day of the week right with me now and usually knows roughly what she is doing that day as well. Her attitude towards the gym has shifted from hating and fighting against going to disliking but going anyways and given the choice of when to go today she chose before dinner.

The Shuttle is working well for Janet and she had another strong workout on it this afternoon, some of her best sets to date. Garrett came in after a while and gave Janet a good stretch, something we need to do more consistently. Standing on her own for over three minutes, Janet did a great job shifting her weight between her right and left leg. She’s still quite nervous about falling but gaining confidence for sure.

Our after dinner walk was nice and sunny but with the temperature in the low twenties and a breeze blowing, Janet had goose bumps when we were out of the sun and with the shorter days its getting harder to stay in the sun. Might have to switch to before dinner walks soon.

It was Andrew’s birthday today so we had a little Skype chat with him. Janet talked very well and nicely updated Andrew on our house sale situation. The Standing Frame rounded out the night with Janet correctly announcing when it was time to get down.

Today was a solid day for Janet with good workouts, good conversations and clear signs of improvement. Praying for deep and healing sleep tonight and lots of energy for tomorrow.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #swimming #walking #house4sale #standingframe

Janet felt her quality of sleep Sunday night was “terrible” but I think it was actually pretty good. She woke up a few times but seemed to go back to sleep quickly each time and when it came to getting up for real she was very bright. Knew my name, what day it was and most of what we were doing today.

Our morning went by at a nice pace and before we knew it we were driving to KGH for swimming. Janet had a strong day today and in her first session she swam on her back continuously for a good five minutes. I didn’t suggest in anyway that she do that, she just started, got a big smile on her face and kept going. Since she’s doing so well standing on her own out of water I was curious to see what she could do in the water. She surprised me by easily standing without using her arm to stabilize herself and she was able to “walk” for about fifteen feet with me well out of reach. Her walking was more like hopping as she was unable to get her right foot down to the bottom of the pool unless it was well behind her. She seemed pleased to be able to do this but is very aware and a little upset that her right leg doesn’t function the way she wants it to. The second session was not as exciting as the water was much deeper so the focus had to be on swimming and Janet was getting tired. She did manage some excellent rolls from back to tummy while swimming and felt pretty good about it too. As we were waiting for the change room, Moira came over to say that her daughter had seen Janet in Hope last weekend. We stopped for gas and a pee break on our way back from Nanaimo and Emma was doing similar. She had done a bring your kid to work thing with Moira way back when and remembered Janet. I told Janet she is pretty memorable but she wasn’t buying it.

We had to be out of our house this afternoon from two till five as the home inspection was taking place so after swimming we just had time to stop at the store and race home to get Nash before the inspector arrived. He was early of course so I got to meet him and Janet got to meet the buyer’s realtor as he came by to get the key for the inspector. They both seem to be very nice and if anything bothersome is found I’m sure we can work with them to resolve it.

Janet knew she had work to do at Connect so right after a late lunch she wanted to get to the gym to get it over with. Her Shuttle session was alright as I could tell she was getting tired not having had a nap. The Standing Frame was well tolerated and she even went over her target of forty five minutes without getting upset. After dinner we took Nash for a nice long walk and Janet faded rapidly after that, going to bed just before nine. She worked hard today, impressing me in the pool, willingly doing some of her workout routine and pushing through a busy day without a nap. Praying for a long night of deep sleep for Janet that gives her lots of energy for tomorrow’s activities.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #house4sale #hottub #nash #purging #showing #panting #rant

Janet had a much better sleep Saturday night and since it was Sunday today and we had nothing scheduled until the afternoon I let her totally sleep in to try and catch up on what she’d missed the two previous nights. She woke up on her own at almost ten and was looking refreshed.

After a leisurely breakfast it was time to get to work as there was a showing scheduled for two. After some minor clean up Janet started vacuuming. This time I only needed to get her started and position her a couple times otherwise she was good to go for the whole hardwood living area. Her comment once she was done, about twenty minutes later was, “I’m exhausted”. It is pretty hard work for her especially considering she has to propel her wheelchair as well as operate the vacuum. Good job!

We made our escape before the showing along with Nash and stopped to get a few things at London Drugs before going to check out a neighborhood we are interested in. We parked in the VIP parking right by the doors and left all the windows down for Nash. As we approached the checkout area ten minutes later there was a page for the owner of a car with our license plate number. Customer Service told me they’d had a complaint about the dog “panting” in the car. I politely explained we had been in the store ten minutes and were on our way out, the dog is fine. Then we got in line to pay and were able to see out to our car. There was a women and a guy looking at it and they were both acting like they’d just seen a murder. He whipped out his phone and she came inside to Customer Service who pointed us out in the line up. Thanks. This lunatic approached us explaining she was the one who complained. Duh. Without going into detail, I didn’t handle this in a very Christ like way but I didn’t make it personal, I ended it telling her to mind her own business. Fully expecting to be assaulted when we got to our car I elected to not engage the freak on his phone and focus on getting Janet in the car and Nash a drink of water as normal. I’m not sure who he was talking to but he really wanted me hung. I hope it wasn’t 911 because if someone with a legitimate emergency couldn’t get through that would be a real crime. We had planned on grabbing some Wrap Zone while we were there but decided to get out before the Sheriff arrived so we headed for what would be a nice new neighborhood for us. Nash was happy to walk through Guisachan Park with us despite all his panting and even survived a walk of about three blocks around the neighborhood, panting all the way. One lady even slowed her car down to smile at him as he was panting. I kept hoping the do gooders had followed us but no luck.

We arrived back home at three thinking the folks looking at the house would be gone but they weren’t, so with Nash still panting we went for a little walk on our street. Cam called so we sat and chatted with him and watched for the people to leave, Nash panted the whole time and was really showing signs of relaxing. Finally, an hour after they had gotten there and almost two hours after their appointment time, the lookers left and we got to go home. Nash panted all around the house and yard as he could smell that someone had been there. Janet wanted to go for a swim but the water was too cold, so hot tub it was. We still hadn’t done much exercise this weekend so I was glad to get a good stretch on her legs and right shoulder. Nash hung out on the deck with us, panting most of the time.

Our PC finally died so I get to shop for a new computer. Janet has no interest in that at all so I brought up some boxes from under the stairs and had her sort through the stuff while I shopped. Most of what I brought up was old stuff from when the kids were in school and Janet did a great job sorting things into piles for each kid. Rather than us deciding what to keep and what to throw out, the kids can do that once we have it all sorted. I’m sure Cam will want to hang on to all his report cards. Nash laid on the floor beside us panting except when he was sleeping. He was only sleeping, not dead, we could tell because every few minutes he would open his eyes, lift his head and pant a little.

We enjoyed a nice dinner outside then did a little more purging before watching The Secret Millionaire. We used to watch this show together a lot and would often end up in tears after each episode. No tears tonight as I think Janet was a little too tired to really get into it. She’s having a little challenge getting to sleep right now but I’m confident it’ll be a good night. Nash is sleeping on the floor beside Janet, no longer panting, because he’s sleeping.

Praying for rest and healing. Praying for wisdom in dealing with lunatics and thanking God for everything He’s blessed us with.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #house4sale #realestate #trinitykelowna #Godatwork

It was another one of those restless nights for Janet Friday and when she woke around eight o’clock Saturday morning I could tell she wasn’t really awake despite her saying she was ready to get up. Minutes later she was snoring away and did so until 9:30. Once up she was very bright and had a good conversation with her mom on Skype after breakfast. I laced her fruit and yogurt with some Peg 3350 to help with the BM situation and it was very successful. Janet agreed that was a much better way to take the Peg than drinking it.

Getting up late made the wait for our realtor to arrive more bearable and Janet was noticeably excited when Les drove up a little ahead of schedule. The offer he brought with him was from the family that took a long second look at our house yesterday and we quickly came to an agreement with only the usual subjects. Janet was beaming as we accepted the offer and gave a big fist shake and a YES as Les left to get the documents to the other realtor. Now the work to find somewhere to live gets serious.

After lunch Janet and I went out into the yard to work as I had to cut the lawn to be ready for a showing tomorrow and Janet really wanted to help. Yes, we will still show the house even with the accepted offer as its not a done deal until the money’s in the bank. Janet cut back some flowers that had finished blooming while I cut the grass in the front then moved to the back with me and pulled a bunch of weeds. She didn’t think she helped much but every little bit helps. It is better if I can work alongside her though so maybe we’ll do some of that tomorrow. While we were working in the back we got a surprise visit from Jim and Nancy’s daughter Laura and her husband David. They presented us with a massive box of awesome cherries. It’s good to know people in the business. Thanks you guys!

Today is the 50th wedding anniversary of our neighbors Barb and Gary. Their six children and families are gathered here from around the country and Janet and I were able to join the celebration after a quick costume change. It was nice to finally meet the entire family and to see Barb even happier than usual. We couldn’t stay long but we did reassure Barb that when we move she’ll be one of the first to know our new address so she can keep delivering her delicious homemade bread.

Janet I enjoyed the worship experience at Trinity tonight and feel blessed to be part of that faith community. On the way home we did a drive by of a couple potential places to live, one a complete no go and the other a very exciting possibility but it has to get on the market first. Are you listening Brian? Sushi and a movie made up the rest of the night, don’t bother watching The Big Wedding, and I managed to get Janet into bed at a decent hour and the early indications are this should be a better nights sleep for her.

That was quite a day, not a lot of physical activity but a lot of mental exercise and Janet powered through it quite well. Every activity she engages in I see a real effort to do well and her desire to contribute was emphasized numerous times today. We have a busy bunch of weeks ahead of us and I think Janet will navigate them very well.

Trusting God that He is at work in our lives and has a plan, and praying for rest, healing and continued improvement for Janet.