hydrotherapy

Short. More memory and a baby. #TSJ

Sunday felt like another sleep in day and as nice as that would have been I wanted Janet to be a little more active than yesterday so I woke her up around 9:15 and we started our day. It’s amazing to me how quickly the time goes by when you plan to go somewhere. Yesterday, no plans, time didn’t matter much and it seemed to move as it should. Today, plan to leave for church by 10:40, we were eating breakfast by 9:45, lot’s of time right? Started the car at 10:47 and by the time we got to church our favorite spot was taken so we had to sit on the other side of aisle. Turned out to be fine and Janet enjoyed the service and the visits from Tim, Kiko, Karina and Rachel afterwards but the biggest smiles were for my former CedarCreek colleague Gord and his baby boy, Ben. Janet got to hold him and really enjoyed her time with the little guy. You can see a video clip on Keek, @larrylatour .

When I bought Janet’s anniversary ring there wasn’t enough time to size it so we went over to the mall after church to drop it off and have a Food Court lunch. As much as I dislike the mall I feel it is good for Janet to experience it once in a while and it was fun showing her all the food options and letting her pick which one to go to. She chose a Vietnamese place that was actually pretty decent. We sat near a family with babies and Janet was able to smile at them off and on in between mouth fulls. It was a worth while trip and set Janet up nicely for a stretch and a nap when we got home.

Her nap was inconsistent so I let her stay in bed until 5:30 to ensure she had enough energy for the evening. Not that we had any great plans, I just don’t like it when she crashes at eight o’clock or earlier. Janet chose salmon for dinner with vegetable fried rice and we watched a little of the Junos and The Voice with a Skype chat with Laurel thrown in between. It was good timing on the chat as it gave Janet a little energy boost and showed Laurel and I some more short term memory gains for Janet. Laurel asked her what she had done this weekend and without hesitation Janet said, “well, it was our anniversary…”. She knew we went out somewhere and that she got something but couldn’t name those things. She also talked about looking at Laurel and Raj’s wedding pictures and said she was sad she wasn’t there. Once again, a moment that would have brought a complete meltdown before but resulted in only a minor choke up this time. After the Skype session I praised Janet on her memory and that brought the tears. Seems realizing she can do these things now is upsetting to her. I guess she views them as simple everyday things that she ought to be able to do easily but I’m still going to give her positive feedback when I can.

Bedtime came after a bowl of ice cream and since Janet had lounged in her wheelchair for a couple hours tonight I didn’t put her through any stretching. Praying for a good rest tonight and lots of energy and flexibility for the pool tomorrow.

Chiming In. Janet talks a good story. #TSJ

Janet had been to the gym and was pretty much ready to go to the pool as I arrived at Connect this morning. I asked her what we were about to do and she couldn’t come up with the answer on her own but Jess said she got it during her morning routine. As we drove to KGH I sensed Janet’s energy level being a little low but she said she was fine.

The pool session went well with some good kicking and good standing. The “walking” was not as good this time and I really think one reason it was so good on Monday was Janet was in the water for an hour so was nice and warm and loose. Pool man Jim is away on vacation so I asked his relief, Jess (yes another one) if there were any people doing one hour sessions and could Janet join them. Turns out there is one person going for an hour at noon on Monday’s with the second half being just him in the water. Janet will join in starting Monday and we’ll go back to back sessions on Thursdays at noon as well. I’m excited about this as I think the pool is helping Janet a lot. I just hope pool lady Jess is on the ball and we can actually do this.

The City finally opened up the parking at Strathcona Beach to the public after holding it exclusively for Interior Health employees all winter. We parked there today so we could walk from swimming to singing. Stephani had Janet doing some cool things today including playing a hand chime which I thought had an amazing tone. Very pure and fun to make. Janet seemed to really enjoy that and I saw the concentration on her face as she tried chiming in on beat. You can see a little video of her playing by following me on Keek or Twitter, @larrylatour. She also played a shaker for one song. Her singing wasn’t the loudest ever but you could tell she was enjoying it all. Because of the change in the swimming schedule we’ll have to find another time for Stephani to do her thing but will try and fit it in somewhere as I think there is some benefit for Janet with more to come over time.

We decided to go home for a quick lunch which never turns out to be that quick. You’d think soup and a hot dog would be fast to make and eat and I guess a little over an hour from start to finish isn’t bad but it was 3:30 by the time Janet was done. That meant no nap as I wanted her back at Connect for a stretch before dinner. When she caught on to that idea she protested loudly and vigorously to the point of crying and being quite negative about it all. She thought she was spinning a good story in her favour but all she came up with was “I don’t like any of it”. I put the outburst down to her being tired and she slept a little as we drove back to Connect. To help her settle in I had her put away her laundry and help make the bed then Curtis came in with her dinner time meds. We had a good chat and Janet seemed to start to catch her second wind. Garrett joined us for a few minutes and got Janet laughing. When they left I asked her if she wanted to do dinner then gym or gym then dinner. She said dinner first so off we went. Janet made a sharp left out of her room and I reminded her the kitchen is right. She asked why I mentioned the kitchen so I told her she said she wanted to do dinner first. She sternly told me “no, I’m going to the gym now” and off she wheeled. I went down and told Curtis and he caught up to her and put her through a good workout.

Janet returned all smiley and bright and hungry, finishing off dinner with an orange in the living room with Chris and me followed by some jelly beans that were happily shared around. I was very impressed with how long Janet lasted today without a nap or her noontime dose of Ritalin. Today was the first day without that and she tolerated it with no problems that I saw but one day, especially today, is not a fair test. I’m not going to promote the lack of a nap either but it’s nice to know she can push through if needed. Bedtime came at a more reasonable 8:45 with no complaints from Janet at all.

Praying for a good night of rest with lots of energy for tomorrow and a continued building of Janet’s strength.

Walkies. Good day in the pool. #TSJ

No sleeping in today as we were up to get ready for swimming at KGH. We arrived in plenty of time and Janet was excited to get into the water. I think mostly because it’s so warm but she does enjoy floating around and trying to swim. I put her through the usual routine waiting for Tez to show up and coach us from his perspective. He thought we were in for an hour and turned up just as we were getting out. Thankfully he knows pool man Jim and asked if Janet could go in with the next group and it was an easy yes. Back in the water I showed Tez what I normally have Janet do and since she was all warmed up she performed rather well. Tez was happy with her kicking abilities (as a starting point) and was also impressed with her standing exercises. One new approach he showed us was to use a block so Janet’s right foot is on it with her left foot on the pool floor. This forces her to use her right leg to stand up. I felt the difference immediately. On a whim Tez asked how Janet’s walking in the water was. I hadn’t even thought to try before so took her over to the parallel bars to see what she could do. Janet actually was able to take a step but she seemed really awkward using the bars so I brought her out into the middle of the pool, stood in front of her and held her left hand and boom, she took multiple “steps”. It was very exciting and she had a huge smile on her face. I could still see doubt in her eyes but also some determination and focus. She was really thinking the moves through and managed to “walk” half the length of the pool. Huge high five! These are not her first “steps” as she did “walk” with Moira using the ceiling lift in Rehab but this is the most she’s “walked” on her own. All I did was balance her.

The back to back sessions in the pool were great and I kind of wish we had an hour each time as the thirty minutes just go by too fast. Janet worked up a good appetite for lunch at home and also was very tired afterwards and had a good long nap this afternoon. We got back to Connect in time for dinner which Janet ate heartily as well then went to the gym with Bob for some leg stretching. Bob said she did well especially with the exercises she’s to do on her own. Janet asked to watch TV when she got back and we caught the last forty five minutes of Willy Wonka which Janet enjoyed but she laughed out loud a number of times during the movie Big which came on after that. I didn’t let her stay up too late but it was ten o’clock by the time I turned her lights out and she wasn’t all that tired.

As impressed as I am with Janet in the pool I am a little concerned about her lack of power in standing to transfer from her wheelchair to the toilet or couch. She seems to have forgotten how to do it. Sometimes she can get some decent lift from her legs and other times there’s nothing there at all. She is getting upset by it now too so I’ll ask Dr. McCann about it tomorrow in hopes he has an answer. All in all it was an exciting day with Janet and she was feeling pretty happy as we said goodnight. Praying for lots of rest tonight and a productive day tomorrow.

Day Off. Janet shuts it down for a day. #TSJ

We planned on a sleep in today but Janet was awake at seven. Thankfully she agreed to go back to sleep and we got up at 8:30. Not exactly what I had in mind but this isn’t my show. Her morning routine went well and the first course of breakfast was served while I got myself ready for the day. I then had Janet help make us some pancakes. She was very enthusiastic about it and happily mixed the dry ingredients together then stirred things up after I added the wet ones. Her pouring aim is a little off and I’ve noticed what may be a change in her vision. There seems to be more neglect slightly right of centre than I’ve noticed before but if I can get Janet to physically turn her head she seems to be fine. Three pancakes later a full Janet was happy to watch a little TV while I cleaned up then by noon she was asking for a rest time. Yes, asking. She didn’t seem overly tired or anything, I was happy with the energy she showed on her standing transfers to the toilet but she was kind of quiet this morning and didn’t want to make any decisions about what to do today. I lay down with her for a bit then let her sleep until 2:30.

Janet helped make herself some KD for a late lunch, then enjoyed a brief visit from Kiko as she dropped off what would be our dinner tonight. Lamb curry. Kiko is such a good friend I offered her Nash as compensation for all she’s done for us. She declined however and Janet says we have to keep him, “because he’s ours”. Maybe after a few more rude awakenings she’ll change her mind.

It had been a while since we were able to connect with Andrew so today’s Skype chat with him was welcomed. It’s still hard for Janet to initiate a conversation once past the greeting stage but she is getting more and more responsive to questions and comments even if she doesn’t make total sense all the time. That pattern continued through a chat with Laurel and Janet is truly excited to have her and Heather coming out to visit in three weeks.

The sun came out this afternoon and so did we. Janet enjoyed driving Nash around the neighbourhood and continues to keep good control of him, especially as we cross busy streets. Janet wasn’t sure about the lamb part of the curry dinner but liked it after the second bite and ate a huge plate of it. She must have been full as I really had to talk her into having some ice cream before bed.

Janet crashed pretty hard tonight and I didn’t expect that at all. Her energy level never really matched that of the last few days but she seemed happy throughout and managed to help quite a bit in the kitchen and enjoyed getting out into the sun. In fact she wanted the sun so bad she actually wheeled over to a window where it was streaming in and just sat there for a few minutes soaking it up. That’s my Janet.

Praying for a solid night of rest that provides lots of energy for swimming tomorrow morning.

Brain Gain. Janet smartening up. #TSJ

Garrett had Janet in the gym when I arrived at Connect this morning and they were just finishing a session on the Shuttle when I snuck up behind Janet. Garrett saw me and started asking Janet where she was going today and who with. She knew about swimming and she knew she was going with me, her “boyfriend”. I managed to stay out of her line of sight until she sat up on the Shuttle and I did the cover her eyes, guess who? trick. She knew it was me right away and had a good laugh saying “we were just talking about you”. Garrett said Janet’s legs were quite stiff this morning so we were hoping for some help from the nice warm pool to loosen things up.

During the drive to KGH Janet said she was sort of excited about swimming and sort of not. Once in the water I’d say she was quite happy to be there. We had a good session today although different from the previous visits. Janet seems to have widely varying conditions of flexibility and control over her legs. Today her kicking while on her back was not that strong but kicking while on her tummy was quite impressive. The standing exercises went well and I was able to try quite a few reps without holding onto her at all. I just kept her from falling backwards, something which she tended to do today a lot, but not so much on Monday. Tez will join us at the pool Monday morning and give us some pointers on how to get the best value out of our time there.

After getting dressed we stopped by the OT department and had a nice chat with Jess, Janet’s former OT. Janet spoke nice and loud and clear to Jess who was impressed with how good Janet looks and sounds. On the rehab unit we said hi to nurse Amy and head nurse Erica who had an encouraging chat with Janet. Dr. McCann was there too and I “warned” him about our appointment on Tuesday. He’s ready.

On our way home Janet helped me with a little grocery shopping at Save On where we also picked up some lunch that we enjoyed in the sunshine at home. I didn’t press Janet to have a nap today as by the time we were done lunch it was three o’clock and she was actually doing pretty good so we decided to have a little Skype chat with Heather before making our way back to Connect. We had some stops to make along the way and I explained all of them to Janet before we left the driveway. Surprisingly she got a couple of them right as we made our way to each one but once we hit the “open” road she closed her eyes for a little siesta.

Back at Connect there was only time for a quick bio break before a salmon dinner. Janet said she didn’t like the salmon and I thought it might be because she had lunch so late but I tried it and it was very salty and fishy so I gave her my lasagna which she ate a little of along with her vegetables and lots of cantaloupe for dessert. I convinced her to go to the gym with Sousanne after dinner for a little leg stretch as it would be good for her and good for Sousanne who hasn’t worked with Janet much. Both were pleased with the results and Janet and I read some Slow Dance before getting an early start towards bed tonight as the lack of a nap caught up to Janet. She actually remained very bright right through saying goodnight even though she was tired. Her cognitive abilities have increased dramatically this week and I pray it continues. One good example from today is her reading an invitation she received to the Connect Spring Fling Brunch. Janet read me the card in its entirety except for the times listed on it, then chose to attend the event. You are supposed to rsvp through Christi who has a desk in the main lobby. I wrote “Janet will attend” on the card and sent Janet off to place it on Christi’s desk. I followed way behind Janet so she didn’t know I was there and I smiled the whole time as she wheeled confidently to the lobby, carefully put the card on top of Christi’s answering machine, spun around and came all the way back to her room. She only hit one wall and that was the last door she went through before her room. High five!

Praying for rest and healing tonight and a strong day tomorrow.

Devious? Janet planning to avoid the gym. #TSJ

I took my time going out to Connect today as I had an appointment to look at a Condo then get my haircut so I figured on arriving near the end of Janet’s nap time. She was waiting for me in the living room with a cup of juice in one hand and a big grin on her face. Former resident, Clint, was there to meet with his “worker” so it was nice to see him. Janet was not showing any signs of needing a nap so we hung out for a while chatting to Clint and Jess reported she had had a good day so far. Lorne had her in the gym “for a long time” and Mary Lou did some speech with her. She ate a large breakfast and lunch and hadn’t argued about drinking yet. She did argue about nap time though. After all the updates and chit chat we headed to Janet’s room for a bio break and were talking there afterwards when Garrett stopped by to ask Janet if she was going to have a nap or help prep dinner. In one of the quickest and surest responses ever, Janet loudly said “help with dinner” and was wheeling out the door immediately.

Dinner tonight was the roast chicken that Janet helped to spice up yesterday and she was given the task of chopping some asparagus and some potatoes to go with it. Using a rocker knife she needed no help with the asparagus and a little downward pressure from me on the potatoes. She then set the table and was visibly pleased to be doing these things, repeatedly asking in a loud voice if there was anything else she could do. Not sure where all this energy was coming from but I’ll take it.

We had to wait a while for the chicken to cook so I read some Slow Dance to Janet and once again there were a lot of similarities to note and this time they centered around rehab and the importance of Physio Therapy. Towards the end of dinner Janet was given the choice of going to the gym or the coffee house down the road to listen to some music. Normally she would reject a social activity like the coffee house but when it was placed against going to the gym the decision was easy. As we headed to the car I mentioned to her that this is the second night in a row where she hasn’t had to go to the gym. Janet said “ya, it’s great!” So much for what we read earlier, or maybe she remembered the part about rest being just as important? Garrett took Derick and Humberto and new staff member Keri (new to Janet’s house) and Janet and I followed in our car. Unfortunately when we got to the coffee house it was closed as they only do the live music thing on the first Wednesday of each month. The others went for a drive to Kelowna and Janet and I drove around Lake Country a bit since we are still rather unfamiliar with it. We managed to get up high on the hill to the east of town where there was a nice view looking down to where even Janet could see Connect. We also explored the area near Wood Lake and were disappointed at how inaccessible the waterfront is there. Most of the beach is privately owned and the one public area is not wheelchair friendly at all. Made me appreciate all those walks to the beach last summer at KGH even more.

I thought Janet would crash early tonight since she had no nap and she did fade a little during our drive but once back at Connect she wanted to play a game on the iPad. She chose the math game and did amazingly well for the first fifteen minutes or so, actually the best she’s done with me. Maybe it was the lollypop she was enjoying while we played or maybe she’s just getting smarter in her old age. I was impressed. That brain exercise did use up the last of her energy for the day and she very willingly got ready for bed but not until she was able to bite that lollypop into oblivion. It was quite difficult for her but when she finally did it she smiled with satisfaction.

Thankful for an enjoyable time with Janet today and the spark she had. Praying for rest and healing tonight and a successful session in the pool tomorrow with lots of energy for the rest of her day.

Poker Queen. Janet cleans up at Poker Night. #TSJ

With the idea of trying to figure out why Janet complained of a sore throat the last two nights after taking her Dilantin, I stopped by for a chat with her doctor before going out to Connect today. Without seeing Janet and being able to examine her throat it’s hard to say for sure what’s going on but based on the fact Janet seems fine the rest of the time and is not bothered by trying to swallow any food or drink her doctor suggested trying to flush the capsules down with a good portion of water. When I reminded her how hard it is to get Janet to drink anything she suggested yogurt or something like that. Depending on what the capsules are coated with it is possible they would cause some irritation if not completely swallowed. The doctor was surprised to hear that the neurologist has not contacted me yet and will follow up on that as she feels it’s important Janet sees him soon.

Janet had just finished her sing along session with John and was having a bio break when I arrived. She smiled then started crying complaining that “I don’t belong here, there’s no way I’m going to go”. Realizing she was talking about going to the bathroom I told her it’s a good thing to try before nap time and I walked over to her desk and back. By the time I got back she was peeing and laughing about it. She was having a good day so far. Jess said she showered well and toileted well this morning then had a really good workout in the gym. Janet said it was fun singing with John, even singing the Titanic song. Glad I wasn’t there for that one. I had to lay down with her for a few minutes until she fell asleep then I went to talk to nurse Jen and Tez.

I filled Jen in on the sore throat thing and she agreed the water and yogurt would be good things to try. Tez was pleased with my report on Janet’s pool experiences and will come with us next Thursday to see for himself and give me some pointers on how to improve the routine. He says it’s important to work on the big things like kicking and floating and standing as opposed to little things like range of motion stuff. Just prior to speaking with Tez I got a surprise call from Dr. McCann’s office. There is a spot open next week where he could Botox Janet’s legs! I am still in the process of trying to reduce our Pharmacare premiums so I was worried that if we did the Botox now we might be paying too much if Pharmacare changes in our favor. I asked Tez for his opinion and he feels that although there is no guarantee Botox will work for Janet the window of opportunity for having success with it is closing so the sooner the better. Her actual appointment is July 10th and that is too long to wait by passing up next week’s chance. I called Pharmacare and they said they would reimburse any difference after the review of my application is complete. So Janet will go next Tuesday for another round of Botox in her legs and then the focus of her PT routines will be on stretching them as much as possible.

After her nap I told her the good news about the Botox and she immediately started to cry. Seems she remembers all the needles that treatment requires and does not want to go through that again. It took about a half hour to get her calmed down enough to have the scheduled Skype chat with her mom. Mary/Gaga was a big help in giving Janet a sense of relief about the Botox and as the evening wore on I had Janet share the positive news with everyone she saw so as to build it up as a good thing. By dinner time she could talk about it without crying.

Setting the table and helping to make mushroom gravy built Janet’s confidence tonight and her and Garrett seasoned a chicken for roasting tomorrow as well. That kept her focused for half an hour and feeling useful. Maybe she was too confident as both Garrett and I failed to convince her to go to the gym tonight. She caught on to the fact that if she agreed to play poker she wouldn’t have to go to the gym so that’s what she chose to do. And a good call it was. Janet has no clue how to play the game and with all the chatter going on around the table and a new dealer who didn’t really know what she was doing it was not the night to try and learn. But it was fun as I helped her along. Each time she won a hand she got a massive smile on her face and by the end of the night it was down to her and Brandon left in the game with Janet holding at least twice as many chips as him. Because of the time we agreed to play one hand all in and Brandon won so he got to chose from the prize box but Janet couldn’t have cared less as she was still playing with the colorful chips. She helped me put them away and I think she enjoyed stacking them in separate colors as much as she did playing the game. That was a fun and different experience for her.

With water and yogurt ready I gave Janet her Dilantin before she started her nightime routine thinking the longer before she lays down the better too. There were no problems tonight at all. She took the capsules first try each time and drank a good amount of water along with a few spoons full of yogurt. No complaints or coughing or anything.

Praying for a restful night and an active day tomorrow.

Madness Monday. Nice comeback by Janet. #TSJ

For the first time in a while we had to use an alarm to wake up this morning. I wanted to make sure we had lots of time to get to the KGH pool and wasn’t sure how Janet would be feeling today. I showered and got dressed then woke her up. She was not totally pleased with me but gathered herself and got on with it. I didn’t even have to nag her about drinking her water as she was sipping regularly as soon as I served it. Janet took her morning meds well and we were out the door on time.

In the nice warm water, Janet loosened up quickly and after a while got some decent leg kicking action going while I held her afloat. Her best skill in the pool today was standing by far. She was able to go up and down, using her left leg mostly, the farthest I’ve seen yet. I’m still not convinced we are doing things right but we make the best of it. Janet also excelled at floating on her back today. She’s either gaining more confidence in the water or more trust in me and allowing herself to relax more. At one point her head was back almost covering her ears with water and her eyes were closed and I barely had to support her. Not sure if there’s any physical therapy to be gained there but it was nice to see her so relaxed. She didn’t list to the right as much as last time either. No idea why.

Music Therapy with Stephani was next and Janet seemed pleased to see her and didn’t hesitate to get started. The best task I’ve seen so far from Stephani is when she has Janet play some sort of instrument. There are drums and shakers etc. and Janet really enjoys all of those and keeps a pretty strong beat going.

I took Janet home for lunch since we were so close and decided to let her nap there as well. She gave the usual mad battle against the nap with the usual two hour sleep to follow. I actually had to wake her so we could get to Connect in time for dinner. Janet seemed perfectly happy to be back there and was warmly greeted by everyone. Dinner was timed really well as Janet finished just as the basketball game was about to tip. What a great game it was! Janet missed halftime and the first twelve minutes of the second half as Curtis took her to the gym. We talked about going during the first half of the game and Janet laughed sometimes and got mad about it sometimes. Then when it came time to go she completely gave in and “happily” went. I suggested only a fifteen minute stretch but Curtis put her through a full workout and Janet never complained about it. She did say afterwards that it was “terrible” but she said it with a smile.

We watched the end of the game with Janet asking to stay and watch the trophy presentations afterwards so bedtime was later than usual. Her nightime routine went well until minutes after taking her Dilantin she once again tearfully complained of a sore tongue/throat. The pain subsided ten minutes later and she was relaxed and sleepy as I said goodnight. I will talk to nurse Jen and Janet’s doctor about this tomorrow as I have no idea what’s causing the discomfort.

Praying for a night of rest and healing, to know why Janet’s throat was sore and for an energetic day tomorrow.

Lack of Sun Day. Restless night gets the better of Janet. #TSJ

After a great day yesterday today was a downer right from the start. Janet went to sleep last night just before ten, happy with the day’s events and accomplishments. When I went to bed right around midnight, she was awake and couldn’t get back to sleep until after 2am and we have no idea why. She was giggly but in a way that suggested frustration, she was tired but unable to settle down for more than a few minutes at a time. Once, she was so determined to get up that she actually got herself about eighty percent sitting up in the middle of the bed. She was quite proud of herself but I convinced her to lay back down. She finally did fall asleep after I racked my brain to see if we had done anything out of the ordinary to trigger this restlessness. I can’t think of a thing.

Wanting to let her sleep but also wanting to go to church today I got up and started getting ready as best I could without waking Janet. She woke up around 9:30 and seemed ready for the day. Breakfast went well and out the door we went. Janet was dialed in during the service and I thought we’d have a pretty good day. Then we got home and the slide began. It was an ugly day here, cool, cloudy, rainy. These days never had a good affect on either of us and with both of us being tired the effect is greater. Lunch was delayed as I helped a gentleman get our bike rack that his sister bought from us into his car then even after choosing to have bacon and eggs Janet decided she doesn’t like eggs. She helped make herself a half a quesadilla and ate most of that but was losing energy fast. It was three o’clock by this time so down she went for a nap that I had to wake her from at 5:45 or things would just be going too late tonight. They did anyways.

Janet never had much energy today and her speech was poor for most of it. She did help with dinner and ate all she was given. There just wasn’t a lot coming back from her as I tried to talk to her or get her to do things. She did play ball with the dog so that was a good diversion for fifteen minutes. I struggled all day to get water into her and that may have played a role in all this. Her transfers were fine for the most part but not as strong as yesterday. We watched The Voice together this evening and she enjoyed that and reacted well to some of the contestants and laughed at the coaches when appropriate. Janet did share with me a frustration at not being able to remember things from earlier in the day. I asked her what we were doing after she finished her glass of water and she said “going to church”. When I told her we went this morning she got upset that she couldn’t remember that. I recapped the last two days with her and it seemed like she remembered some events from Saturday but nothing much from Sunday at all.

By the time I kissed her goodnight tonight it was after eleven, mostly because she was enjoying The Voice so we watch both episodes I had recorded then after all the routine nighttime stuff Janet complained and got quite upset that her throat was sore. She couldn’t tell me exactly what was going on but my feeling is she’s getting a cold. I tried water, no improvement, then a little honey, no improvement but enough of a reaction to calm down and go to sleep. She is snoring loudly now as I write this and hopefully stays that way till we have to get up to get ready for swimming.

Praying for healing and rest tonight and lots of energy to fully participate in tomorrow’s activities.

Endurance. Janet gets through a busy day. #TSJ

Jess had Janet all set to go this morning and Janet seemed quite enthusiastic about the day ahead. We arrived at the KGH pool in plenty of time, in fact while we were waiting after getting changed Janet complained that we were “doing nothing”. She agreed it was better to be early than scrambling around at the last minute and I reminded her the pool won’t wait for us. Right on time, Jim arrived and into the water we went.

The sensation of floating still brings a smile to Janet’s face and a calm feeling to her in general. She’s happy to try all the exercises I’ve been given for her although I think she’d be OK with just floating around in the warm water for as long as she wanted. We started on her back trying to get the legs kicking with me supporting her instead of the inner tube. Janet started slow but got it going alright after a few minutes. With the inner tube she really got her left leg going crazy. The most range and fastest movement I’ve seen from it ever. Unfortunately the right leg was nowhere close to keeping up but I could see and feel her trying. We tried a couple variations of standing exercises and Janet did well intermittently with both. I need more coaching on those for sure. For something new, I had Janet try floating on her tummy. She didn’t mind being in that position but I found it hard to keep her face out of the water while keeping her legs in a place where she could try kicking or straightening them. Again, more coaching needed or at least a pool noodle. Overall today’s session was better than last week but the thirty minutes seemed like five. Very glad we are going twice a week starting Monday.

On our way out of KGH we did our now usual lap through rehab saying hi to a couple of familiar nurses and having a nice chat with Connie. Janet is trying really hard to have meaningful conversations with people but still echoes and has trouble remembering short term things. The effort to converse is way better though and that played well into being ready for Music Therapy with Stephani. Conveniently she lives only a few blocks from the hospital so we arrived there in plenty of time as well and Janet and her got started right away. I sat out of the room they were working in but I could hear everything and could tell Janet was enjoying it. There is a little more purpose to Stephani’s session than with John and I think today was a good first go at it. I was concerned Janet would be tired or hungry but she was just fine and sounded pretty good at times.

First day music therapy

First day music therapy


Next up was a much needed haircut with Chelsea after a quick stop at the dentist to make an appointment for Janet. She had not been to that office since the day of her aneurysm and thankfully does not remember the place at all. She was warmly welcomed by Collette and Colin, both of whom make it as much fun as possible to go to the dentist. By the time we arrived at the salon Chelsea was ready for Janet who gave her a nice big smile after I carried her into the shop. Apparently Janet has a history of falling asleep during haircuts and today was no exception. About ten minutes in with Chelsea working on the back of Janet’s head, I noticed her eyes closed, only for a minute or so until the blow drier came out, but she was nodding off. Janet powered through and allowed Chelsea to set her up for a pretty nice look in the future as her hair grows in just a little more. Janet was pleased with the results and we headed home for a late lunch.

It was well past nap time and we were just eating lunch but Janet was doing fine. She even had a reasonable Skype chat with her mom afterwards, talking fairly loud at times. Before we knew it it was time to get back to Connect and when we arrived Janet elected to put away laundry and make her bed instead of eat like everyone else was. She did a good job helping make the bed but needed a fair amount of cuing to find the right drawers for her clothes. I’ll put that down to the long day without a nap. She managed a good dinner and a little chat with Bob and Dwight then at 7:30 said she was ready for bed. Her nighttime routine went better than this morning as she knew not to brush her hair with the toothbrush and got the toothpaste open herself and did a really good job rinsing her mouth and taking her meds.

Lights out came early after a busy but fun day. Janet seemed pleased with her day, questioning how well she did but acknowledging she did a lot. Praying for a good rest tonight and a strong workout in the gym tomorrow and fun at Fred’s going away party.