hydrotherapy

Lack of Movement. Tough day for Janet. #TSJ

Garrett was helping Janet off the toilet when I arrived at Connect this morning and toilet talk would dominate our day from that point on. On my way to Janet’s room Lorne informed me that they had noticed a little blood in Janet’s pad when they got her up this morning and then a little in the toilet when they put her on there first thing. They did a quick check and asked Jen to look as well and it was determined that it was something to keep watch of but not a huge concern right now. Janet was in good spirits and not complaining of any pain at all. Off to the pool we went with a plan to return to Connect as soon as possible so Tez could work with Janet at the parallel bars.

We always get changed in the only washroom in the KGH Rehab Pool area and I sit Janet on the toilet while I change her partly to give her a chance to pee before swimming. We got all changed and I waited for her to try and pee but it was a no go so I stood her up to pull up her shorts and noticed blood in the toilet along with a very small stool. Janet was feeling fine and had no idea what was happening, there was a drip of blood every ten seconds or so and nothing else. I cancelled swimming got her dressed and called her GP. She of course was booked solid all day and suggested a walk in clinic or the ER and since we were already at the hospital we went over to the ER. That turned out to be a good decision and five hours later we were out with a prescription for a stool softener, one that works apparently, and a jug of Peg-Lyte, a colon cleanser. The doctor that saw Janet had an abdominal X-ray done and that showed everything as it should be except for a lot of stool build up, hence the two parting gifts. He also ordered a colonoscopy as soon as possible as the blood is coming from inside somewhere. He gave no indication as to what may be wrong but at the same time didn’t seem overly concerned and said Janet can carry on with normal activities unless the bleeding increases. Then he would want to see her back in the ER.

Janet was a phenomenal patient today. Staying awake the whole time and not complaining at all. I kept giving her sips of water even though there are signs all over the ER saying no food or drink until you’ve seen the physician. We didn’t get any food at all though but I think I felt that one more than Janet did. Janet was asked her birthdate by a lady taking a blood sample from her and she said it loudly and correctly right off the bat. I was impressed by that and by a few comments she made along the way like, “you must be getting tired of waiting here” and “Isn’t the doctor supposed to come and talk to us now?” She is a real trooper.

At 5:15 we were in the car (no parking ticket surprisingly) and calling Connect to let them know we were on our way back. Bob had held off cooking Janet’s salmon so ten minutes after arriving she was eating a nice meal. A few minutes into it she asked to go to the bathroom and had her first of two small bowel movements of the evening. There was blood associated with both but not any that was constantly dripping and Janet is not in any pain at all. She finished her dinner and an orange then half ways agreed to go for a bike ride. I really insisted on trying that as she had been sitting all day and we missed the pool and the workout with Tez. I didn’t push her at all once on the bike as it was late and it had been a long day. She still managed sixteen minutes of pedalling at mostly thirteen rpm. High five!

Surprisingly she wanted to read before bed so out came Slow Dance and into lounging mode went Janet. I read while she sipped water and wound down. By the time I turned out the lights it was 9:45 and Janet was finally ready for sleep. That was a tough day but I’m confident we will now get some good answers as to what’s going on or not going on with Janet’s bowels and hopefully start on a path to improving that situation. Once again the staff at KGH could not have been better (a little quicker perhaps) and we continue to get good support from the team at Connect. Praying for a restful night for Janet giving her the awareness to drink her two cups of Peg-Lyte tomorrow morning and to have a much better day than today.

She’s a Real Stand Up Kind of Girl. A day of successes for Janet. #TSJ

Today was one of those days where everything seemed to go right for Janet. It started this morning in the gym with Tez, Joel and Lorne.

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That’s Lorne with Janet as she stands in the standing frame for the first time at Connect. Tez was pleasantly surprised at how well Janet can stand and weight bear through her legs. She is really improving in that area thanks to her hard work in the gym and the Botox. Tez even had Janet standing on her own, balancing herself with her butt up against the edge of the table mat. I’m really impressed by that one and will credit the work in the pool with helping her to figure out how to do that. Lorne took Janet for a walk outside in the standing frame so she wouldn’t get bored as Tez wanted her in there for twenty minutes or so. I remember seeing Fred and Chris use this apparatus and hoping Janet would get a chance one day. I didn’t expect it to be this soon.

I had a good chat with Lorne, Jess, Tez, Brian and Joel when I arrived this afternoon and everyone seemed excited for Janet’s achievements with Tez wanting her to use the bike this evening as he believes she’s ready for that. He recommends keeping the pool sessions going and trying to get Janet into our hot tub as much as possible. They are two different types of therapy and Janet will benefit from both. To simplify our schedule I will see if we can change the Thursdays to Fridays so we can just go home from the pool. Jess said she put Janet to bed amidst much protest over an hour earlier so I quietly entered her room to see how she was and this is how I found her.

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Not exactly Houdieno but if she starts believing she can walk, watch out!

Janet was in a very good mood as she gave me her account of the day. She still downplays her achievements but not to the degree she has in the past. Tez stopped by to show me how well she can stand using a slightly different technique than I was using. It gives more responsiblity to Janet and Tez suggests doing it as an exercise a few times a day.

We made it outside for happy hour and a Skype chat with Mary Gaga. Garrett then suggested Janet go to the gym to try the bike before dinner and Janet accepted with no argument at all. There is a Keek of her first pedals, @larrylatour, and as you can see in this pic she was quite comfortable on the bike and had a really good first go at it.

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Ideally she’d be able to pedal without the arm assist but for this session and probably the next while she will need it. I reminded her it’s not that different from the elliptical machine she used to use but she says she doesn’t remember that. As well as she did on the bike Janet didn’t seem all that impressed with herself but hopefully her attitude will improve with some more successes.

After her bike ride Janet BBQ’d herself a couple pieces of steak for dinner and gobbled them up along with her first corn on the cob in over a year. She loved it of course. We then had a little Skype chat with Andrew before reading some Slow Dance while Janet lounged in her wheelchair. I turned the lights out on a very content Janet tonight and pray she has a good night’s sleep and is ready for an active day tomorrow.

Another hole in the head. Janet goes to the dentist. #TSJ

I let Janet sleep in today knowing she wouldn’t likely have time for a nap this afternoon. She was quite happy to snooze a little longer in the sun from when she woke up just after eight. Breakfast was nice and relaxed but we somehow ended up being a little rushed to get to KGH for swimming. The pool sessions were good today with Janet having more control of her right leg than on Thursday. That allowed her to do some decent “walking”, making it about one and a half lengths of the pool with assistance. Her floating wasn’t quite as good today but she allowed me to get her face underwater briefly a couple times and she didn’t panic at all. The confidence is growing. I noticed a big difference in her flexibility compared to the hot tub even though there’s only two degrees difference in temperature. Janet felt pretty good about her pool sessions today but says she liked the hot tub better because it’s warmer.

Before we left the house this morning we made sandwiches for lunch as we only had a half hour between swimming and the dentist. We sat in the car near the beach and enjoyed those then made our way to Creekside Dental. Janet was a little apprehensive about this appointment and was starting to fade a little but Collette, Tannis and Colin treated her like royalty and she stayed awake and cooperated very well the whole hour she was in the chair. The cavities she had before getting sick are still there unfortunately so she has to go back a couple more times over the next month or so to have those filled in. Colin assured me he didn’t see anything going on in Janet’s mouth that would indicate side effects from Dilantin and I was happy to hear that. With her new toothbrush and floss in hand we drove off to Connect.

By the time we arrived at Connect it was happy hour so we sat out in the sun while Janet ate an apple and drank some water. I think I was pretty good about not nagging her to drink today and pointed out the benefit of having the fluoride treatment at the dentist where you aren’t allowed to drink for half an hour afterwards. She was please I couldn’t nag her then. Janet ate her apple quickly giving us time to walk down the street to a little beach on Wood Lake. That walk and beach are not nearly as nice as around KGH but it’s what we have this summer and I am glad we have something. All those trips to the beach last summer were nice but I was never sure how much Janet was getting out of them. Today her face lit right up when we got to the beach and she constantly was looking around at all there was to see. She even followed and smiled at a couple of noisy Canada geese that flew by maybe twenty meters away from us. We watched a couple of boats that were playing on the lake and she agreed it looked like fun. Time to see if I can get her in and out of one so we can give it a try!

With dinner done the next event was the usual argument about going to the gym. Janet capitulated eventually on the condition that I go too. Bob joined us and worked Janet’s legs while I did her right shoulder and arm. We both noticed nice improvements and Janet didn’t mind the workout at all. She wanted me to read some Slow Dance with her before bed and we had a good discussion about what we’d read afterwards with Janet remembering one of the topics we had read about. Considering the lack of a nap and the busyness of the day Janet did very well to stay up until nine but was happy to say goodnight. Praying for lots of rest and healing and a good day with a more regular routine tomorrow.

Gap Girl. Janet goes shopping. #TSJ

Another gorgeous day got off to a nice relaxing start as everyone pitched in to make a pancake breakfast. It wasn’t difficult to get Janet to eat seconds then thirds even after her fruit and yogurt starter. She seems to be more accepting of the cranberry juice we’ve been trying to give her and as long as she is reasonably awake she is drinking more water. With the nice weather comes the need to drink even more water unfortunately and that is proving to be a challenge so far. I think I just have to learn to stop pressuring her and make sure she always has some available to her and she’ll manage just fine.

With breakfast cleared all the girls gathered around the computer for an online shopping adventure. Not surprisingly Janet tired of it within a half hour and combined with the uncertainty of her size it was decided we’d hit the mall before Heather and Laurel started their journeys home. Turned out to be a pretty good idea as we got some good help at The Gap and Janet got some colorful shorts, pants and shirts, all in about twenty minutes. My kind of shopping. That left us enough time for lunch outside at Red Robin where we enjoyed some last minute visiting with Heather and Laurel who took off for the airport and the highway as soon as we were done. Their visit was way too short but we are thankful they are able to make the trip to visit as regularly as they do. We are blessed.

After trying on a few of the new clothes at home Janet took a nice long nap which seemed like a waste of good weather but she really needed to catch up on some sleep. I think with both girls here and the heightened state of activity she was overwhelmed at times and always seemed to be trying to process something rather than relaxing and enjoying. I think that increase in chatter and activity is good for her but she does need the down time too. After her long nap we enjoyed a nice dinner out on our balcony as the sun started to set then Janet agreed to have a hot tub so I could stretch her as we hadn’t done any of that today yet. Once again I got very good results in a short period of time with the left leg maybe being a little tighter than Friday. I straightened her right arm amazingly well and even opened her right hand easily in the thirty eight degree water. Janet’s attempts at doing some squats were nowhere near as strong as her right leg seemed to be doing it’s own thing again. Entering and exiting the tub went better than Friday as I refine my technique and I look forward to more frequent spa experiences with Janet.

To wind down the evening we watched The Voice and ended up staying up way too late for Janet, eleven o’clock by the time I turned her lights out. She lasted through all but the last ten minutes of the show and was asleep within seconds of the lights going out. I don’t like keeping her up that late but she was determined to watch the show and as long as she was engaged I let her stay.

So ends a very active weekend with good times spent with Laurel and Heather, a nice visit with Courtney, some fun in the sun, shopping, church, dinner out and dinner outside. Not to mention the hot tub. Praying for a restful night that restores Janet’s energy for a productive day tomorrow.

Hot Tubbing. Fun in the sun with the girls. #TSJJ

Unbeknownst to Janet, Heather and I drove out to Connect this morning so Heather could hang out with her mom before Laurel arrived. We got there as Janet was finishing breakfast and I sat with her for a minute then cued Heather for the surprise appearance. You can see the reunion on Keek. Janet seemed very bright and was talking well. She ended up going to the gym shortly after I left and had a solid workout with Lorne and Karl.

The girls all arrived home around one thirty with Janet all smiley and enjoying herself. She had quieted down quite a bit since the morning and seemed a little tired. It could be that she was a little overwhelmed having her two daughters all of a sudden here instead of just being talked about. She agreed to have a nap so she would be better able to enjoy the evening.

Happy hour took place out on the deck and I managed to carry Janet down there reasonably easily. Laurel and Heather had gotten all the patio furniture washed up during nap time so Janet was able to sit in a patio chair like she always did and have a nice visit in the sun. We convinced her to try the hot tub kind of by bribing her saying if she did and got a good stretch in there we wouldn’t have to stretch in the house later. Not sure if that’s why she agreed or not but into our bathing suits we got. Lifting her into the spa was easier than I thought it would be and Janet settled in quite nicely. The pool at KGH is thirty six degrees and our hot tub is thirty eight and those two degrees made a big difference. I was able to stretch both her legs out better than ever before and Laurel got some decent range on her right shoulder. There is barely enough room for Janet to float straight out on her back and as she did I was able to let go of her for about three seconds without her sinking. As expected, getting out was a bigger challenge but we managed and before doing so Janet stood with me in the middle of the tub and did some squats. The deepest ones I’ve seen her do. Warm water is magical.

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Everyone pitched in to help make pizzas for dinner then we had a nice family chat with the last of the 2012 CedarCreek Riesling that had gone nicely with the pizzas. Janet was very tired but determined to stay up so that she didn’t miss anything. She finally agreed to go to bed and was snoring within seconds of the lights going out. Praying for lots of rest tonight and a bright and energetic tomorrow.

Keeping Score. Late night for Janet. #TSJ

Janet was surprised to see me this morning as she had forgotten about swimming. Jess reported that they tried to go to the gym but it was busy so the only activity Janet got this morning was Speech with Mary Lou. Apparently that went well with Janet talking nice and loud and clear as she practiced asking questions instead of answering them like she mostly does.

Our drive to KGH was chattier than usual but in the pool Janet seemed a little tired and had zero command over her right leg. I wish I knew why this happens and how to prevent or correct it as it was tough for Janet to do her standing and walking exercises in our first session. The second half hour was better though and I was able to let go of her as she floated on her back for a couple of seconds. Same thing with standing on her own. It took a long time to get there but she was able to stand for a good five seconds a couple of times. Walking continued to be a challenge as her right leg was largely unresponsive.

While walking back to the car we were stopped by Monica, the transition nurse from 4B. She was very excited to see Janet and amazed by her progress as she had not seen Janet for probably seven months now. Janet had no clue who she was but enjoyed the compliments. Monica mentioned to me how she and her husband had gotten their Power of Attorney done and updated their wills after watching what Janet and I have gone through without a POA in place. She even told the story to a colleague the other day and they are going to get theirs done now too. If any of you married folks reading this don’t have an Enduring Power of Attorney in place and up to date wills, get on it. You never know what’s going to happen and things can get really messy without that paperwork.

We deviated from our intended lunch destination choosing to support a local business that I spotted along the way, Deli City Cafe. Good thing too as while we were ordering we saw our friend Roger who was just finishing his lunch there. It was nice to see his big smile and to know things are going well for Carrie and he. I wanted to get Janet back to Connect in case we could see the wheelchair guy so we ate our lunch once we got back there but no wheelchair guy. That did allow for a late nap for a tired Janet and I got her laying down a little before four. What was planned as a quick siesta turned into a two hour nap as we both fell asleep until six o’clock. Not sure what that was all about for me but I must’ve needed it.

Bob took Janet to the gym after dinner and she actually went without arguing. Bob mentioned Janet’s lack of command of the right leg but said all else was good. Janet seemed pleased and was ready to watch some playoff basketball. It was a good thing she had that nap as the game was really good and she was actually able to stay up to watch it all as it ended around 10:15. For the first time Janet was able to repeatedly tell me the score of the game and she is starting to understand some of the rules again too. I had her lounging in her wheelchair the whole game and was able to get both legs quite straight and she was comfortable the whole time. I noticed when I put her to bed that her right leg was toasty warm just like her left one, often it is quite cold, even icy sometimes. She was able to move it on command quite well to put her PJ’s on too. Maybe the lounging helped?

As I said goodnight I reminded Janet that Laurel will pick her up around lunch time tomorrow and bring her home to see Heather and me. She said, “I hope I remember”. I’m sure she will. Praying for rest and healing and lots of energy for tomorrow and the weekend.

Keeping Up With the Jones’s. Good day in the pool. #TSJ

Janet slept so well last night I had to wake her up this morning so we could enjoy breakfast and not be rushed to get to the pool. She seemed bright and energetic and was ready for action once in the water. My goal for her today was to get more confident in the water and to gain more spacial awareness. After warming and loosening up I tried to get her floating on her own and she almost made it and I think that if she can gain control of her right leg she’d be there. That right leg was her biggest impediment today by far as it was doing it’s own thing most of the time. Quite the mystery to me as every day is different and every hour can be different. Last night she couldn’t move her right leg to save her life, while getting dressed this morning she moved it almost as well as her left leg. Janet is as aware of not being able to get that leg to do what she wants it to do as she is her right arm and for the most part handles that awareness very well. Hopefully she keeps trying to get them both to work. The session continued with some walking and standing exercises with Janet trying very hard to accomplish both. During our second half hour I focused on the walking and standing and Janet stood on her own for about three seconds a couple of times. Again, that right leg prevented her from doing better but she quickly learned how to save herself from falling to the right and even got herself to fall towards me a few times and she doesn’t seem as afraid of getting her face in the water as previous. I’m hopeful I can get her standing on her own soon.

We made our usual exit through the Rehab Unit and had a nice chat with Nicole, a Speech Therapist that worked with Janet while she was in rehab. Nicole was so surprised to hear Janet speaking so clearly. That visit was a nice confidence booster for Janet even though she didn’t really remember Nicole. I noticed Dr. Jones at the nurses station and went in to tell him someone wanted to see him. He immediately put a huge smile on his face and headed out to see Janet who flashed him the biggest smile of recognition I’ve seen her give anybody. She remembered Dr. Jones and he was totally thrilled to see her. Had I known the reunion was going to be that dramatic I would have had the camera rolling. Dr. Jones is very impressed by the progress Janet has made and said she’s come farther faster than he thought she would. Amen.

Seems everywhere we go these days someone knows Janet and as expected at the passport office we saw Todd, a super guy that has done a lot of landscaping work for us. Janet wasn’t sure who I was talking about going in but recognized him as soon as she saw him. Janet still says no when I ask her if she wants to say hi to someone but when she actual does it she is very happy so I’m not going to ask anymore.

There was time for a short nap before dinner at Connect then time for a quick stretch before a Skype chat with Andrew. The stretching seemed to give Janet a little energy boost and enable her to have a decent conversation with Andrew. She was pretty much ready for bed then but asked if I would read a little Slow Dance to her first. Once again lots of similarities to Janet’s experience and she is more accepting of them now too. Her bedtime routine went really well, no significant confusion, and she was happy to wrap up in the blankets and call it a day. Praying for lots of rest and healing tonight so that Janet is prepared for an active day tomorrow.

Almost. Janet just about makes it without a nap. #TSJ

Garrett and Lorne had Janet in the gym when I arrived at Connect this morning. Garrett was stretching her legs and asking her the name that family member questions. Janet was mostly laughing and calling everyone Allison. Apparently she had done well earlier with those questions and had a really good workout. She was pretty tired as we headed off to the pool at KGH and I was a little concerned as to how much energy she’d have for swimming. Once in the water she was fine. Each time we go is very different and today Janet really excelled at floating on her back. There were a couple of moments where I was balancing her right side with just one finger and letting go briefly and she would float. Trouble is as soon as she realized I wasn’t holding her she’d panic a little and sink. She was much more aware of her body in the water today and took some strong steps when we tried walking. Janet didn’t have the stamina to go the full length of the pool today but managed more than half a couple times. Her right leg was swinging pretty freely today and she didn’t seem as able to control it as last time. During our second half hour, where we had the pool to ourselves, I put a weight on her right ankle and that seemed to help a little when walking but made no difference in any of the standing exercises. For the most part I focused on trying to let Janet get more comfortable in the water and figure out for herself what she needs to do to stay afloat. I think we made some progress.

On our way out of Rehab we had a nice chat with Cathryn, Janet’s former ABI Coordinator. I also got a quick question in with Dr. McCann who happened by. I asked if the reappearance of the occasional incident of clonus in Janet’s right leg was a good sign or a bad one. He said it’s not likely anything to worry about but keep and eye on it. So far it is occasional and Janet laughs when it happens and says it doesn’t hurt.

We got home for lunch and Janet helped make herself a wrap then asked to look at pictures of “our” trip to California in 2001. We had talked about Disneyland the other day and she remembered me telling her she’d been there with me, my parents and my kids before we got married. She couldn’t remember the trip at all but remembered to ask to see the pictures. High five! There are no digital photos that I could find of the trip but we do have a DVD that has a few shots of Cam and a glimpse of Janet’s head and Laurel as well. I’ll have to dig around to find some prints to show her as she didn’t remember anything from the video as it’s ninety nine percent my kids. Little did I know then.

Janet was pretty tired as we drove to the doctor’s office as there wasn’t enough time for a nap today. We had a good chat with her doctor who promised to find out what the deal is with getting in to see the neurologist. Janet’s Dilantin levels are a little higher than last time but nicely in the therapeutic range and I believe these numbers are more accurate than previous as Janet is taking the capsules now instead of the liquid, a much more accurate dose. I told the doctor that it’s still a battle getting Janet to drink water and she advised not to make it a big issue. As long as Janet is peeing frequently and the volume seems fine leave it at that. There are more important things to get Janet doing. Good advice.

Dinner was ready when we got to Connect and Janet was hanging in there pretty well after a few minutes of shut eye in the car. We went to Music Night after dinner to listen to Brian and Kevin play guitar and sing. Janet really enjoyed singing along to some of the songs and said “it was more fun than I thought it would be”. There’s a video on Keek. @larrylatour . She asked to read for a little before bed then did a really good job with her nighttime routine. I thought we’d go out on our usual happy note but Janet got all upset about not having had a BM for a while and getting some help with that in the morning. No matter what I said she just got super upset and she was really over tired by this time. I ended up laying in bed with her for a good half an hour before she calmed down and went to sleep. Some of the things she said during this meltdown were old Janet things for sure and I haven’t seen them since this started. Not sure if it’s good or bad but gives me another reason to chat with the neuro psych team soon.

Praying for a peaceful sleep tonight and a bright day tomorrow.

Flipping Out. Janet BBQ’s and gets mad about the gym. #TSJ

Even Janet was upset this afternoon as I arrived to find her sitting in the living room saying “I’m trying to have a nap”. She knew she was supposed to be napping before I said anything and that’s a really good sign. Why she wasn’t, I don’t know as all the staff were in a meeting and I never saw the day shift folks at all. We need to develop a strategy that gets Janet some afternoon rest without me being there to put her to bed. We especially need to at least put her in lounging mode if she’s going to be sitting in the living room. She was not again today and because I was unable to see the daytime crew I have no idea how her morning went.

We had a lot happening starting with a visit from Courtney so I gave Janet a choice of trying to power through or have a power nap before things got started, she said it’s probably best to have a nap. I laid her down and left her for forty five minutes and when I returned she was awake but I think she slept a little. We made our way down to the living room and Courtney arrived to a big smile from Janet. Just before our scheduled Skype chat with Leslie a little while later, Connie stopped by wanting to observe Janet taking her meds with only water to see if she can do it. Of course she can and Janet also demonstrated her prowess at drinking with a straw. Those accomplishments mean Janet no longer has restrictions on her diet other than to not be alone when eating and to watch the amount of food she puts in her mouth. Connie spent over half an hour with Janet catching up on things then Brian came by to chat about the new wheelchair. I’m pretty happy with it and Janet seems to be as well. We will try a few minor adjustments over the next week or so then probably buy one. I think we get a choice of colors! At one point during this impromptu meeting we had Connie, Brian, Garrett, Courtney and Chris all visiting Janet at the same time. What a celeb. Chris was more visiting Courtney as he swims at the rec centre pool that Courtney guards at and has been hoping to meet her for a long time. Unfortunately because of all that we missed the chat with Leslie but at least there will be more to talk about when we do connect. Once all the commotion ended we were able to have a more private chat with Courtney and she gave us the official word that she and Mike are getting married this summer. When Courtney told me she was coming out to talk to us I asked Janet what she thought she wanted and she said “she’s getting married”. Such a mom. We are excited about this news and if we still have our house in August look forward to hosting a small ceremony there.

The dinner menu tonight included BBQ steak and Garrett coached Janet through putting some spices and BBQ sauce on hers. He then took her out to the BBQ and had her grill her own steak. She did amazingly well and the steak turned out perfect. There’s a video of Janet flipping at the grill on Keek if you interested. @larrylatour

The flipping didn’t end after the steak as Janet totally flipped out about going to the gym. She was tired from not napping but I didn’t think she was that tired. I tried every motivational tact I could without success and finally just turned her over to Garrett and said see you in a bit. Other than being tired I can’t explain the tantrum Janet had tonight. She never gives any constructive reason for not wanting to go to the gym and gets herself so worked up it just drains her. By the time Garrett took her she had calmed down and ended up doing a good full workout and sneaking up on me all happy upon her return. One common thread in our discussions is she doesn’t give herself much credit for achieving anything and thinks the stuff she can do is “no big deal”. I think it’s time for a chat with the neuropsych team.

I read some of Slow Dance to Janet before bed and even through her yawns she managed a laugh and some acknowledgements of similarities to her situation. She even was still coming up with well thought out comments and statements in between her bouts of Klingon which started to appear as she grew more tired. She was quite confused during teeth brushing time and was virtually asleep before I could turn the lights out. Tomorrow may be a repeat of today as there will not be time for an afternoon nap between swimming and a doctor appointment. It is music night at Connect tomorrow so if Janet does well in the pool and is tired like tonight I may let her skip the gym. Don’t tell her that.

Praying for lots of rest tonight and lots of energy tomorrow.

Walking Tall. Janet continues to improve. #TSJ

We all know how much easier it is to get up when it’s sunny outside and it was interesting to see how that played on Janet this morning. She wasn’t too excited about getting up and let me shower so she could lay in bed a while longer and enjoy the sun shining on her. If it had been cloudy I’m sure she would have gone back to sleep. With the new swimming time we were able to have a more leisurely breakfast and even make sandwiches to eat in the car for lunch so we could get to Connect at a decent time for her nap this afternoon.

Today was the first day of the official one hour pool sessions and I checked the list as soon as we got to the pool to make sure Janet`s name was there. It was, then Jess arrived and into the water we went. Because we had so much time I was able to let Janet get totally warm and relaxed before doing any real exercises. That seemed to work well for her as when I did ask her to kick her legs she was getting two or three toes out of the water on her left foot. She had done that before but not consistently and not first thing like that either. We tried “walking” with me in front balancing her and she made it an entire length of the pool! I’m guessing twenty feet. Janet was all concentration as she stepped with her left leg then mostly dragged the right one along. She did put a little weight on that right leg and later on got it going more during some standing exercises. Jess lifted the pool to allow the others out and two new people in for the next session and once we were back in the water I let Janet warm up again but this time I intentionally held her as little as possible. The more I let go the more she started using her arm and legs to stay afloat and at one point I only had one finger under her right shoulder preventing her from listing. That’s the closest she’s been to floating on her own. I did let her go completely a little while late but she panicked as soon as her face went under. Work in progress. During the second session she completed another length of the pool “walking” and did some strong standing exercises.

The drive to Connect after swimming was pleasant with the sunroof open and sandwiches being eaten. We had one stop to make along the way and that was to the lab to get her Dilantin levels checked. We’ll get the results at a doctor’s appointment Thursday and hopefully get an idea of when we can see the neurologist.

Janet was very much ready for a nap as we arrived at Connect later than I had hoped but she managed a decent rest before happy hour in the sun. Dinner went well but Janet had a meltdown over drinking water and was the most defiant with me she’s been. It only lasted fifteen minutes or so and she ended up drinking enough water but was not happy about it. Bob took her to the gym this evening and surprisingly there was no protest about that other than a little complaint that Bob “doesn’t know what he’s doing”. I assured her it would be just a leg stretching routine and made sure Bob understood that. Janet and Bob returned with news of a good workout and Janet even said “it wasn’t terrible”.

There was more evidence of short term memory gain as we chatted with Andrew on Skype. When asked about the weekend Janet explained that it was our anniversary and we went out and she got something. She was still unable to fill in the details but the main points were there without prompting. She did get some detail correct as she talked about swimming today. I prompted her to say what her main achievement was in the pool today and Janet responded without hesitation, “my main achievement was walking the whole way…”. She was confused as to how to say length of the pool so came up with a few weird variations but she knew what she was talking about and accepted my praise better this time too.

As the day wore on I noticed changes in Janet’s speech, almost as though her tongue got swollen. She remained bright and responsive but as she tired, a little Klingon appeared from time to time so it will be interesting to see what the Dilantin levels are and I’m curious as to how hydration affects that drug and it’s side effects. There may be more reason for Janet to drink lots of water. Just a thought.

Praying for a restful night that provides lots of energy for an active and fun day tomorrow.