Overdose

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

Today was the fifth anniversary of Connect Communities and the whole place celebrated with a little party that Janet attended. I think the birthday cake gave her enough of a sugar high to keep her going the rest of the day. She was in a good mood when I arrived and looking forward to SheLife at Trinity this evening. Jess reported that Janet covered off everything in the gym this morning without arguing. She wasn’t thrilled about any of it but she did it. There was an attempt at a nap that turned out to be just rest time with some music on and that seemed to be enough as Janet was pretty bright the whole time I was with her today. We had a chat with Brian to ensure we are on the same page as far as the next round of Botox goes. He feels that focusing on the right leg with a little attention to the right wrist and fingers is a good plan and is pleased with the improvements Janet is showing.

One of the benefits of SheLife starting at six thirty is we get to go out for dinner beforehand. Dinner at Connect is not typically served in time to make the twenty minute drive in afterwards so Janet gets a treat. Tonight she selected sushi and after a few miscalculated attempts got her chop sticks working nicely and said she was “stuffed” as we made our way to the church. During our dinner Janet remembered by the date that it was her sister Leslie’s birthday today and gave her a quick happy birthday phone call that contained as much laughter as it did talking.

Janet propelled herself all the way from the car into the church then to the room SheLife is held in and is getting more and more confident out on her own all the time. Heidi graciously accepted Janet at her table again as Janet had hoped and by all accounts at the end of the evening this will be a good activity for Janet. She loves being in a room full of women talking even if she doesn’t say much herself.

After her evening routine was complete we read for a while before saying goodnight after a successful day. Praying for a solid night of sleep and lots of energy for tomorrow.

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

Janet had just let herself down from the Standing Frame as I walked into the living room at Connect this afternoon. She was in good spirits and knew it was time to get down. Jess said Janet had refused all offers to go to the gym today as well as the group chatting session that happens every Tuesday morning. Janet was pretty cranky about it all as we talked and could have used a nap but I vetoed that idea as she slyly used it as an excuse not to go to the gym. I spent the entire evening trying to convince Janet to keep working hard to reach her goal. I think I had some success as she agreed to a Shuttle and bike session before dinner. She did really well on the Shuttle despite being quite cranky but had the weakest one legged pedal on the bike she’s had. There was no hint of an ability to pull her leg back up after pushing down. On the flip side, her attempts to stand from her wheelchair were brilliant again today.

There certainly is no shortage of an appetite with Janet and even long time resident and professional eater, Chris, agreed she was giving him a run for his money. Janet finished dinner and an apple long before most folks were finished their dinner and she gets a real kick out of the attention given to her eating prowess.

Hanging out in her room for a bit Janet got caught up on some email correspondence and is getting good at using the voice to text function in Gmail. I had brought a jar of pennies to her room long ago with the intention of practicing counting and finally decided to do that tonight. Janet thought it was a silly idea at first but when paired with rolling them up to deposit in the bank she was all for it. I asked her to count out groups of fifty pennies and she did so very methodically, placing stacks of two side by side and counting the stacks periodically until she had twenty five of them. I was impressed with her mathematical ability and her only real challenge was in counting the stacks and that was mostly a vision thing. Once she learned to touch them as she counted she was fine.

The gym was too busy when we went down to try and do some of the new exercises for Janet’s right leg and that made her a little happy. She got to have me read a little before we went to watch some tennis. Janet sat very still and focused on the TV, not saying much or reacting much but when she did she came up with observations that were accurate and well timed. She laughed as we left to get ready for bed saying “I really like watching that for someone who doesn’t play”. When I told her they have wheelchair tennis and we should try it in the Spring, she retorted with “I won’t be in a wheelchair then”. Now that’s the attitude I want to see all the time.

Praying for a night of uninterrupted, deep and healing sleep that brings lots of energy and a positive attitude for tomorrow.

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

I snuck up on Janet as she watched TV in the living room at Connect with Jess and Curtis this afternoon. She was pretty tired but not too tired to know right away it was me tugging on her hair. Her day so far had been good with a visit to the gym, working with Wendy the memory coach and a visit from AFO lady. It was definitely nap time when I got there and since Courtney was coming over to our house for dinner and to watch tennis, I brought Janet home so she could nap there.

When I left her last night she was very tired and seemed to heading right to sleep but Janet told me she was awake a lot, “looking at the clock every few minutes for a long time”. I believe her as even after a short nap at home her energy level was pretty low and she just looked tired all evening. She did help get dinner ready and we had a nice visit with Courtney while we watched Genie Bouchard win her match and move on to the semi finals of the Aussie Open. Janet was pretty quiet the whole time but told me on the drive back to Connect that she was happy she got to go home and it was fun to watch the tennis with Courtney.

With Janet seeming so tired today I was concerned with how she would do transferring and such. She was spot on each time. Tons better than yesterday when she seemed to have more energy. Go figure. There was no way I was going to suggest the gym when we got back to Connect though so it was into bed where I could read to her for a little bit. Her tiredness didn’t seem to affect her memory at all as Janet was able to recall a few important facts from today and also knew what is scheduled to happen tomorrow. Praying for an uninterrupted night of deep and healing sleep and a productive tomorrow.

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

Another good night of sleep for Janet and a good start to the day even though I insisted she have some fruit and yogurt for breakfast. I know she’s tired of it but I believe the yogurt is very good for her so want her to have it at least every other day. Janet complied but then eagerly made her coffee to really start her day. We watched a recorded version of an Aussie Open tennis match featuring Canada’s Genie Bouchard during breakfast, the first time Janet has seen her play, and now we are both fans.

Leslie was due up for a Skype chat and Janet conversed well even acknowledging when she was ready to stop. After a little standing we set about assembling the first “scrapbook” from Janet’s memorabilia pile. She selected a bunch of greeting cards she had kept over the years, most from me, and glued them into an old photo album which we placed in the book case. Janet enjoyed that activity very much which is good because there is a ton more to do.

I think Janet was feeling a little guilty about always having grilled cheese for lunch so she accepted my offer of pancakes and when I offered her jam or honey she correctly asked instead for maple syrup. Nice catch. To maximize our time for the Seahawks game we decided to make all the stuff for our pizza dinner ahead of time. Janet gathered ingredients, stir fried chicken and onions and built both pizzas except for grating the cheese. She also was a good help in prepping the salad. With all that done we were able to don our jerseys and focus on the game right until halftime. Janet was really excited at the beginning but drew quieter as the game wore on. This is the second day in a row without a nap and I find that unless we are super busy with something Janet really does get too tired to function. She closed her eyes a couple times during the second quarter but dinner perked her up and she was right into it the rest of the way even chanting DEFENCE and clapping my hand in an effort to help us win. It worked! Even being tired Janet managed some really good observations about the game, especially the difference in play between the first and second halves. She was just as thrilled with the victory as she was with the numerous text messages flying around and the phone call she got from Mary/Gaga as the celebration began.

It wasn’t much of a celebration for us as we headed back to the reality of Connect. Each time gets harder for me and I know Janet dreads it too. I did encourage her to do a little Shuttle and bike workout once we got there and she put in a strong effort which she seemed mildly please with. Her transfers today were mixed as she continued to falter with the mechanics of getting to a standing position. There were enough good ones to keep from being concerned and hopefully an increase of activity at Connect tomorrow will help.

After reading a little bit of Open, Janet was very ready for sleep and promised to try and work hard tomorrow. Praying for a night of deep and healing sleep and thanking Jesus for a quality weekend.

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

Even Janet commented she slept well last night and she was up in decent time this morning and did a good job making her toast and coffee. I still have to verbally coach her through the toaster oven controls but she listened and followed my instructions well this morning. Once we had roughly mapped out our day it was time for the Skype chat with Mary/Gaga. Once again I left Janet on her own and only had to feed her a few questions, otherwise she conversed well. There certainly aren’t anymore issues with the volume of her voice during these chats. Our neighbour, Bonnie, came by for a visit this morning. Janet recognized her but couldn’t quite figure out who she was at first. Bonnie and her husband will be away during the Olympics and asked if we would record the figure skating so she and Janet could watch it together when they get back. Janet is excited to do so and it will be interesting to see how much of it she remembers when watching with Bonnie. Heather and Laurel were up next for a Skype chat and Janet managed that call with very little input from me as well.

The sun came out today and so did we, enjoying a nice walk to part of our new neighbourhood we hadn’t been to yet. We really do live in a great walking area and as soon as it warms up I see no reason why Janet can’t propel herself around a lot of it. Janet refuses to get off the grilled cheese for lunch train so I had her make the dang thing herself today and she did a reasonable job only needing help cutting the tomato and flipping the sandwich.

As we were purging our old house we agreed that after we got settled in the new one we’d make an effort at organizing our photos and memorabilia and today we made a start at that. Janet had a bin full of such treasures and we sorted them all out and made decisions as to how to make them useful. There are lots of things from Janet’s school years and her memory is very sharp in that area. She was naming names and telling stories about all sorts of things with no hesitation, even showing me past boyfriends, something she was shy to do before. We had fun and tomorrow will put some things into a book so they can be enjoyed instead of buried in a bin.

I’m getting more and more confident in Janet’s ability to propel herself around public places and she seems to be as well. She didn’t need help in the church parking lot at all tonight nor did she inside. Getting to a standing position from sitting was a challenge all day for some reason though. You could see the wheels turning but the body not responding and it would take her three or four tries to get up. By bedtime though she was doing it brilliantly. Go figure. I let Janet wheel around a little on her own after church and she visited with a few people without me and I hope she enjoyed those moments of independence. Kiko and Joel had blessed us with a gift card to Bluetail Sushi, a place we hadn’t been to before and tonight was the night to check it out. We approve and were especially entertained by the flaming plate that the Double Salmon came on.

20140119-002242.jpg
Janet was so full of sushi she declined ice cream tonight and went to bed after watching a little Aussie Open. Praying for a night of deep and healing sleep and a productive and joyful tomorrow. Go ‘hawks!

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

Garrett and Karl ran Janet through a pretty busy first half of the day so when I got to Connect she was finishing a nap. The new exercise routine had been followed well we found out from Tiffany as Janet couldn’t remember exactly what she’d done other than stand on the two scales. The AFO continues to fit fine and once up from her nap Janet was eager to do more exercise so she could be done with it. She had a good workout on the Shuttle, all right leg stuff with me trying hard not to support her leg too much. Her one legged pedalling on the bike was noticeably better than yesterday and Janet was able to go at a steady enough pace to not feel it was stupid.

We stayed for dinner at Connect and Janet transferred nicely to and from the dinner table. Afterwards, we drove to UBCO to watch some basketball and I had Janet propel herself to our car then from the car into the gym. I don’t think she’s too thrilled about this new level of responsibility but she’s doing extremely well at it with the only obstacle being her fear of going too fast on a downhill part. Transferring from wheelchair to seat at the game was a little more challenging because of the weight of the AFO. Janet has to step up a one foot ledge to get to the seating level and needs a lot of assistance in doing so but made it. Our timing was perfect as it was halftime in the women’s game and we left at halftime of the men’s game. The games were entertaining with the women winning a close one and the guys holding an unexpected lead at the half. It’s just too late for us to stay for all the guys game though and their game is a little too fast for Janet to really follow. She gets the women’s game pretty good now.

Getting back into her wheelchair to leave UBCO was much easier than getting out as it was down hill and Janet confidently wheeled out of the gym in a nice straight line in front of quite a large crowd. I thought she might feel a little awkward doing that but not so. We finished the night off with some good tennis and ice cream and Janet being very pleased to be home.

Prying for a deep and re-energizing sleep and a productive tomorrow.

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

Janet was waiting for me in the living room at Connect in anticipation of our meeting with Tez this morning and waisted no time in getting on with it. The AFO seems to fit Janet well, she complained of a little irritation on her ankle bone last night but all was well today as she was wearing longer socks. Tez took her through the basics of getting out of her wheelchair, instructing Janet to get as far forward on the seat as possible before trying to stand. That works every time but Janet often forgets. Although walking all the way to the kitchen last night was a significant accomplishment, Tez wants to return to basics as far as Janet’s walking goes. She is still reluctant to put much weight through her right leg and has very little control of her right quadriceps, if any. We had Janet stand with each foot on a scale and she was putting about thirty pounds on the right leg, all the rest of her weight was through her left leg. Tez believes confidence is a huge part of this issue and has developed some exercises to help build strength in that leg and therefore confidence. For the next few weeks there will be no long walks but a lot of standing, Shuttle, bike and stretching work with the focus being on the right leg. The bike rides will consist of a warm up period using both legs followed by pedalling with only her right leg. Same on the Shuttle combined with everyday use of the Standing Frame and lots of free standing as on the scales. Jess joined us in the gym later and showed me the new mat exercises for Janet. Both involve “bridging” which forces Janet to activate her quads. These can be done at home too as can the standing of course.

That was a full morning so to give Janet a break I brought her home for lunch before her doctor appointment this afternoon. Her transfers in and out of the car with the AFO were excellent and I can sense Janet is more confident in those situations. The doctor visit was good with no major issues to discuss and Janet will return in March for a full check up, something she hasn’t had since well before she got sick.

Back at Connect Janet was determined to get her exercises over and done with so foregoing a nap it was off to the gym she went. After a warm up on the Shuttle, Tez popped in and coached us through what he’d like Janet to do on that machine. It was a huge help and a real eye opener to see just how little Janet has been using her right leg. I’ve always supported that leg while she’s worked on the Shuttle and realized today that that was enabling her to use it in a way that circumvents the quadriceps. Tez agreed that no support and the minimum weight is the way to go now and to try and force Janet to use those muscles. She had a very solid workout and I think will actual enjoy the Shuttle more using it this way. Next up was the Standing Frame and although she was visibly tired, Janet stood nice and straight for forty five minutes. After dinner we were back in the gym for some one legged bike riding. Again, we are back to basics here, at the lowest level and with me assisting on the upward part of each revolution. Janet didn’t enjoy this ride very much and I think measurable goals will be hard to show her for a while. I hope she hangs in there.

Janet was eager to read Open tonight and we were able to YouTube another scene out of the book to bring it to life again. Very cool. She didn’t last long watching tennis tonight after a physically demanding day. Praying for a deep and healing sleep tonight and a productive day tomorrow.

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

A milestone day for Janet today. I picked up her AFO on my way to Connect and after her nap we tried it on. It came with it’s own pair of very ugly shoes but for now they are the only ones the AFO fits in so we are stuck with them. Janet was nervous about putting the brace on but found it comfortable and once up said everything was OK. Curtis happened by just as she was getting ready to stand and I had him operate the camera so we could record Janet’s first steps. She was reluctant at first as the combination of shoes and brace made her leg heavier than normal. We challenged her to walk all the way down the hall for dinner and she did!


Watching the video it is obvious where Janet needs to improve, feet further apart, right foot farther ahead on each step amongst other things and I know Tez is aware of those things so it will be interesting to see what his plan is tomorrow.

Janet was adamant that there be no exercises tonight as she had done everything during the day then had the big long walk down the hall. I pressed a little but didn’t win and gave in to her wish to read. After a little debate Janet read a page and a half of Open tonight and I paused her after each paragraph to tell me about what she’d just read. Each time she started with “I don’t know” then proceeded to tell me a pretty good summary. Her memory is definitely improving and when I asked at bedtime what was happening tomorrow she quickly said we have a meeting at 10:30 with Greg. Bang on except it’s with Tez. High five anyways.

After reading about tennis we decided to watch some before bed and Janet did so intently giving me some good descriptors of the match we watched including an accurate observation that the women’s game is much slower than the men’s.

Janet has come so far in the last twenty months its hard to imagine sometimes, then there are milestone days like today. A long walk with medium assistance, intelligent conversation, accurate memory recall and that awesome smile. All twenty months to the day this all started and one year to the day when we spent long hours in the ER after Janet suffered a seizure and I wondered if she would ever got out of this. By the grace of God, the love and support of all of you and by her determination, she is.

Praying for a restful night and a productive tomorrow.

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

The Singing With John “concert” was at full volume when I got to Connect this afternoon with Janet smiling and singing one of the new songs we provided to John. He doesn’t know many of them and seemed a little overwhelmed but when you see and hear Janet singing them you just want to work with her. One song in particular, John even congratulated Janet on being in tune! Big Country joined in for a little bit and his voice is gaining strength along with Janet’s.

Jess reported that the day had been very busy so far with Janet getting in a good bike ride, a good stretching session and some laps walking around the parallel bars. On top of that, Tez spent some time with her doing some new exercises designed to strengthen her right leg and help Janet gain control of moving it forwards and backwards and to the side. Walking moves. We are skipping swimming this week in favour of a coaching session with Tez and the new AFO. Should be fun.

After putting away her laundry and helping to make her bed Janet agreed to an attempt at napping. She slept for about an hour and then was able to complete a good session on the Shuttle before dinner. Her overall leg strength is improving and more notably her right leg is gaining strength slowly. She worked hard to push the heavy weight I gave her and she did well. The increased strength is helping her transfers as well which was proved by the excellent one she did at the dinner table, earning her a round of applause from Big Country. As she was starting to get ready for bed she popped out of her wheelchair almost effortlessly to a standing position and looked at me with a big smile. I asked her what that was for and she said “I didn’t think I could do it”. Silly kid.

Janet read a little of Open to me tonight for a change. Just one paragraph but she nailed all twenty eight words, needing prompting on just one. That’s the best stretch of reading she’s done with me and she repeated it hours later. Nice. Reluctantly she agreed to a Standing Frame session before bed and tolerated it for forty five minutes. I can see where not being able to straighten her right leg is hindering her walking so anything we can do to stretch those hamstrings will help. Janet is not happy about being put back in the Standing Frame and wants to ask Tez on Thursday if its necessary. We both know what he’ll say but I think its good for her to ask.

It really was a busy day for Janet and even with the nap she was tired enough to call bedtime at 8:30 and by 9:30 with me reading to her she was asleep. Praying for a night of rejuvenating rest and a day full of energy tomorrow.

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

Janet and I met with her memory coach, Wendy, this afternoon to make sure I’m teaching Janet how to use her iPad the same way Wendy is and to make sure Janet is clear on what the goals are. I was relieved to learn I’ve been doing things pretty much the way Wendy wants other than giving Janet a few more steps than she’s probably ready for. Janet likes Wendy and seems to have resigned herself to learning this technology as its a fact of life now. Wendy’s technique is all about repetition in small steps and I think Janet will respond well.

Our next appointment was at Ortho Design with Birgit for a fitting of Janet’s AFO. Janet was nervous going into the appointment, fearing what she would be asked to do. There was no reason for her fear and the appointment went smoothly. I was expecting some magic to occur when Janet got the AFO on and stood up but was quickly shown that like learning the iPad, this will be a slow process.
AFO
Janet was scared as she attempted her first steps and for five minutes or so I was contemplating asking for a refund, then she found her rhythm and you could see the confidence build. With me playing the part of a cane she walked in a continuously improving manner for a good fifteen minutes covering a distance of about forty feet or so. With some coaching from Tez and a lot of practice as well as some nice loose hamstrings I’m confident Janet will make significant progress. Birgit is making some final tweaks to the AFO and I’ll pick it up Wednesday for Janet to start using for real.

Since she had done “everything” with Jess in the gym this morning and completed that nice long walk with Birgit, Janet was looking forward to a “quiet evening”. I went along with her request and after dinner we completed an iTunes playlist for her to use when singing with John who has been running out of material to use with her. They now have printed lyrics of twenty five songs and can play them on Janet’s iPad to help learn the tune. It took a while to build the playlist as Janet started singing along to each song I played for her and I just couldn’t stop her in the middle of them. She gets so much joy from singing.

One of our favourite sporting events is the Australian Open tennis and we watched some of that tonight for our TV time. That set things up really nice for a good long read of Open which mentioned some of the players that are now coaching in the Aussie Open and also a commercial that Andre Agassi shot in 1990 and we were able to watch on YouTube. A great way to bring the book even more to life.

This was a good day for Janet and once again I left her smiling and happy and looking forward to tomorrow. Praying for a solid night’s sleep and a productive Tuesday.