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Spring Fling. A fun in and out of the sun day. #TSJ

Today was Spring Fling day at Connect, the brain child of staff member Jess, and what a great idea it was. Technically it is Spring but we continue to enjoy summer like weather here, so much so I’ve had to resurrect Janet’s sun hat from last year. She still looks cute in it. She was also cute with her shirt saver on and a flipper in her hand as she helped Jess make pancakes for brunch this morning. For some reason she didn’t think I was coming to see her today and I’m not sure that she was upset about that at all. She seemed to be having lots of fun without me. Jess does a great job with Janet, always making sure she’s busy.

The staff set tables up in the parking lot and hired a guy to play guitar and sing while everyone enjoyed the sun and food. It was really nice to have all the residents and staff together with friends and family in a really positive environment. The highlights for Janet besides making pancakes were meeting Brian’s baby daughter Olivia and playing ladderball with me. There’s a Keek of her excellent throwing abilities. @larrylatour

By the time the Fling was over it was after one which meant either a nap then shopping and stuff or shopping and stuff then a nap. Janet of course chose the latter hoping to avoid the nap all together. She actually nodded off a little in the car on the way to the mall. Yes, the mall again. I realized we should have bought her a few more shorts when the girls were here as she doesn’t have any at home and I also wanted her to have a pair of sandals. After quick and successful stops at The Gap and Urban Trail we were headed home for a quick nap. I would have been happy with Janet resting for an hour or so then getting up for Church and a sushi dinner. She exceeded expectations and slept for over two hours which meant no Church and no sushi. We BBQ’d salmon instead, enjoying it outside then I got Janet into lounging mode while we watched Silver Linings Playbook which we both really enjoyed.

It was definitely late when I got Janet to bed but after her late nap today she did just fine and should have a good sleep. She continues to show improvement cognitively, saying some really intelligent and unsolicited things today. On the physical side, I’m not liking her left leg right now but will at least get her in the hot tub for a stretch tomorrow and see if that improves things. Janet drank all her Peg-Lyte today with no results yet. Sunday was her day last week so here’s hoping. Praying for a good sleep tonight and continued healing.

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.

On the Town. Bright day for Janet. #TSJ

After an afternoon of house hunting I arrived at Connect to find Janet in the gym with Garrett and Joel, an OT student. These are always good experiences for Janet as she gets a full workout so the student can learn all her exercises. Joel did a good job with her and Garrett noticed improvement in Janet’s legs and hips. Brian was there too, he says observing Joel but spent the whole time talking to me so I don’t know about that. It is really good to have Brian leading the team as he is always looking for ways to make things better for Janet and is very easy to talk to. We came up with a few more tweaks to the wheelchair and look forward to trying them. Both Brian and I want to make sure everything is right for Janet before we make the move to purchasing one.

When Janet’s workout was over we headed to her room for a Skype session with Leslie and Gavin. Nice to see them sitting on their deck as opposed to shoveling snow. Janet did a good job of conversing with her sister and made some rather intelligent statements and responses to Leslie’s questions and stories.

I decided since we were going to the Lake Country Coffee House for music night tonight we may as well go a little early and have dinner there too. We met Suzanne there and had a very enjoyable evening catching up with her, listening to some music and having a little food. There is a Keek introduced by Janet if your interested. @larrylatour

Janet and I got back to Connect around eight and she was showing signs of fading and even admitted to being tired. We slowly started the bedtime routine as there was lots to talk about that I hadn’t had a chance to talk about yet. During our conversation we ended up on Facebook and I asked Janet if she knew who this was.

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As soon as she saw the picture she burst out into one of the loudest and longest laughs I’ve heard from her. For a little while I thought she was going to cry but she kept laughing and saying something like “uggily”. As soon as I gave her the first syllable she knew it was Gilligan and laughed some more. A fun way to end a good day for Janet. Garrett said her day was good. Her and Jess made chocolate chip cookies, she had a good session in the gym this morning and even agreed to have a nap. She must’ve been dreaming during that nap as when Garrett got her up around three she was very happy and saying it was her birthday. When she finally realized it wasn’t her birthday she started crying. As long as I’ve known Janet she’s never made a big deal out of her birthday, in fact she mostly wanted nothing to do with it at all. Looks like this year will be different.

Praying for lots of rest tonight that provides lots of strength and energy for tomorrow.

Transfer of Power. Janet powers through without a nap. Again. #TSJ

An all too familiar sight greeted me at Connect this afternoon. Janet lounging in the living room with a big grin on her face. This time she very intelligently explained that she didn’t think she needed a nap so she chose to watch TV instead. This was not the usual defiant Janet or the whining tired and stubborn Janet. This was a very calm, articulate and reasonable Janet that I couldn’t get upset with. She understood that she would likely be ready for bed earlier than usual and that proved to be true.

Janet wanted out of lounging mode so after chatting with Jess to see how the day went we headed for Janet’s room but Brian was in the kitchen so we got to talk to him for a while and that took up any possibility of a power nap before our Skype chat with Mary/Gaga. Jess said Janet’s day had been busy starting with a shower then an early visit to the gym at which she was able to get really good stretches on Janet’s legs. Janet reported that singing with John was fun but she didn’t have the same sparkle in her eye about it as I’ve noticed before. Maybe just because she was tired.

While Brian was around I asked if he would watch me do a few car transfers with Janet to see if there’s any better methods than the one I’m using. He smartly invited Tez to observe as well and we spent a good half hour discussing how best to get Janet into the Santa Fe. Getting out is no problem thanks to Janet’s increased strength and her ability to “stand”. The consensus for getting in seemed to be, continue with the lifting for now but we’ll try and have Janet practicing moves that can enable her to do more herself. Long term it may mean a different car for us, one that is a little lower to the ground. Brian mentioned there is a Lexus that kneels like a bus so I checked that out but was extremely unimpressed with their website and couldn’t even find a mention of that feature. Very cool idea though.

Because of the transfer experiments we were a little late for our chat with Mary/Gaga but I think the movement and sunshine gave Janet a bit of a second wind and she was able to have a very nice chat with her mom. That took us to dinner time and Garrett had Janet BBQ a some chicken breasts for everyone. She’s really getting the hang of the BBQ thing and enjoying the challenge of cooking.

I gave her the option of going to the gym with Bob or Garrett and that seemed to prevent her from arguing about going so she wheeled off with Garrett. Janet was pretty tired by this time and was almost ready for bed when she returned at 7:30. That was too early though so we did a little research on something that was mentioned in the book Slow Dance. It’s called The Feldenkrais Method and is based on the theory that your brain can always learn new things and you can teach your body to move as it naturally wants to because over the years it’s learned to move incorrectly. The whole thing seems a little weird, like yoga for people still doing acid, but I think there’s some truth in it as well. If any of you know anything about it or have experience I’d love to hear from you.

Today was a solid day for Janet with good visits to the gym, good standing transfers(even surprising Tez when he “danced” with her), great BBQ’ing and really good communicating. I’ve stopped nagging her about drinking water and today she did quite well on her own. Looking forward to a fun day tomorrow. Praying for a restful and healing night.

Glad i have a Kitchen Helper. Janet getting stronger. #TSJ

Even with house guests Janet managed a nice sleep in this morning. Katie and Sarah took off for Calgary at 8 o’clock Connah(Katie’s last name)time which is 8:25 to the rest of us. Janet and I wish them well on their adventure.

Our morning was relaxing and stress free with Janet eating a big breakfast, Skypeing with Heather and doing a little online house hunting with me. We even managed a pretty good stretching session. During which we talked about how we could get her in and out of the pool and hot tub and I made a brief attempt at carrying Janet from her wheelchair down to the floor of our bedroom and quickly saw that there is no way I’m doing that because even if I got her down I’m not convinced I could get her back up. We read in Slow Dance where the lady was sliding out of her chair and landing on the floor butt first. Janet is not there yet and even if she was the getting back up part is still there. I’m open to suggestions y’all.

After polishing off a hamburger for lunch Janet fought me a little about going for a nap despite the fact she was falling asleep in her wheelchair. For the first time ever that I can remember Janet verbally threatened me. She said, “this will cost you a lot of money” as I was laying her down on the bed. She explained that if I loved her I would let her stay up. I got mad at her for the threat then laid beside for literally two minutes until she was sound asleep. Janet uttered another negative comment during the chat with Heather expressing her lack of confidence in her ability to stand. That one was familiar to former Janet and it could be that she is becoming more understanding of her situation. We got to keep focusing on the positives.

I woke Janet up a couple hours later and she was refreshed and recharged enough to play with Nash, drink half a glass of water then help me make dinner. We decided on linguine and clam sauce and Janet was the biggest help to me in the kitchen to date. With minimal supervision she chopped an onion, opened cans of tomatoes and clams, poured those in the pan for me. Added all the spices to the sauce, chopped peppers, tore lettuce and very casually broke snap peas in half with her thumb. She was very happy with her contribution and to celebrate we enjoyed a 2008 CedarCreek Pinot Noir which also motivated her to drink her water.

During a bio break after dinner I was having a tough time getting Janet’s pants down as she had gotten a little sweaty sitting in the sun. With no prompting she let go of my shoulder and reached down to push the left side of her pants over her hips. High five! That was a huge help and as she played it down I reinforced it as proof the visits to the gym and the stretching are paying off as she could not have done that if her legs weren’t so strong. At bedtime she did it again but in reverse as she helped pull her pants up. Very cool.

As we watched The Voice tonight Janet lounged in her wheelchair which gave a good stretch on her legs while she ate ice cream. Today was not an active day physically but I think Janet’s brain got a decent work out as did her fine motor skills. Praying for lots of rest tonight and a bright 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.

This Girl is on Fire! A quote from Garrett, nothing to do with Alicia Keys. #TSJ

To my disappointment, Janet was waiting for me in the living room when I arrived at Connect a little before three today. I had told her last night I would be in AFTER her nap and that I wanted her to have her nap before I came to see her so we can do more together. She seemed to get that last night but had no concept of it today. Lorne said she flat out refused the nap even after nodding off in her wheelchair. I was a also a little disappointed she was not using the lounging function of her wheelchair so as to stretch her legs. Lorne did say he got Janet to the gym this morning along with a new volunteer, Joel, and they went through Janet’s complete workout. He said she was a little stiff which I found surprising but she had just had a shower and gets quite cold afterwards so probably tensed up because of that.

Janet didn’t argue with me about taking a nap and she slept right to five o’clock when we went out into the sun for happy hour. Dinner was late tonight so Bob offered to take Janet to the gym beforehand and she agreed based on being able to play poker after dinner. Unfortunately the gym was in full use when they got there so Janet had to wait till after dinner. Garrett took Janet for the second attempt at the gym and had a great workout with her bringing her back saying “this girl’s on fire tonight”. He sure had Janet laughing and had run her through all the family questions and was very impressed with her answers tonight. It’s not just me noticing the cognitive gains recently as sing along John mentioned an improvement in Janet’s memory today as well. I peaked in on a little of Garrett’s workout with Janet and he had her on her tummy laying flatter than I’ve seen in a long time and she was quite comfortable. Her left leg still wants to pop up when in that position so Garrett put a small weight on it to hold it down. Seemed to work. Back in the room the questioning continued with Janet answering quickly and correctly ninety percent of the time. She was even able to describe a little of her workout. I demonstrated to Garrett how much better Janet is standing these days and I was able to get her up to a point where I was barely hanging onto her and she stood for a good thirty seconds. That’s a long time for Janet and a huge improvement. She was even happy with it.

Missing poker because of the gym didn’t seem to phase Janet at all. There were so many positives coming out of the workout that she couldn’t help but be pleased and when offered the choice of watching the last of the poker, reading, watching TV or playing a game on the iPad, she chose the iPad. I guess she knew she was on a roll and wanted to keep it going. The first game involved reading sentences which were displayed on two lines of about six or seven words each. She did very well reading them as I pointed to each word and she followed. We moved onto the game where she has to identify the object pictured. There are a series of clues that can be given and tonight Janet got three or four pictures right with no clues at all and a lot correct with one clue that is spoken in a complete this sentence format and I was very impressed by how many she got that way. By far her best performance on that app. She asked to stop after twenty minutes or so and was ready for bed after quite a busy time this evening.

Praying for lots of rest that brings lots of energy for an active day tomorrow and for Janet to cooperate at nap time.

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.

Kicking In. A relaxing day as the Botox takes effect. #TSJ

A sleep in Saturday for sure as Janet opened her eyes at 7:30 then happily went back to sleep until 9:30. That set the pace for a relaxing day hanging out at home. She chose her traditional breakfast which we enjoyed together with no idea what we would do next. Fortunately Janet asked to watch TV while I went to shower and while searching for something to watch I noticed an NBA playoff game about to start. I thought they started Sunday so we scrambled to the computer to fill out our brackets in Raju’s annual Pool. We got our picks in just in time and Janet enjoyed the process making some good choices in winners but I think she has too many series going the full seven games. Anyways it’s something she enjoys doing and we had basketball on in the background all day.

The only scheduled event of the day was a Skype chat with Leslie that went well despite some technical challenges. Heather checked in with us later on and it was good for Janet to catch up with both of them. I’ve had to resurrect my role as physio therapist while Janet is at home so we can maximize the potential of the Botox and when I stretched her legs this afternoon I noticed an improvement right away. It was even more noticeable tonight as I was able to get her left leg down to almost where we used to be able to get it in the 4B days. Janet is not too happy that we are doing this stretching stuff at home but she was OK with lounging with her legs up in her wheelchair. Her standing for transfers was quite good today as well and I sense a little confidence coming back there. That increase in confidence saved her from a total meltdown after seeing some pictures of herself from her KGH days. I had just shown her photos from Raju and Laurel’s wedding and at the end of those there were a few unflattering pictures of Janet and she got a little upset but kind of accepted that she’s come a long way. She asked me to turn them off which I did and she was on the verge of really crying about it but held it off. A nice improvement.

Since the day started late, nap time was late too but Janet did have a brief one that allowed her to do a good job making a salad to go with dinner tonight and she really enjoyed watching The Voice together especially since I made popcorn for us. All in all it was a very relaxing day at home just making things up as we went along. One highlight for me came as we were doing the nightly rundown of the day and as I mentioned the first couple of things we did Janet chimed in with “and we picked our teams”. Love my sports junkie and nice to see a little short term memory action.

Praying for a restful night that brings lots of energy and awareness for 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.