Physio Therapy

Janet, A Success Story. May 20. #TSJ

Janet was busy doing laundry when I got to Connect this afternoon. She told me she had a little trouble getting to the bathroom on time this morning but she was OK now and remained so the rest of the day. She didn’t seem all that tired and agreed to a Shuttle session before dinner. Slowly but surely she’s getting stronger as evidenced in this picture modelling a pair of jeans Jess gave her. Notice she’s standing alone with no AFO or shoes on and looking pretty good. Thumbs up!

Standing strong

Standing strong

Jess had Janet walking everywhere again today including from the car into the lab this morning so Janet never argued about walking from here room to dinner. She didn’t even argue about walking freestyle and made it all the way! There were a couple of pauses and she grabbed my shirt a couple of times but that was it. A new record that she tied going back to her room after dinner. That was enough though and the only way I could get her up to Games Night was by letting her hold my hand. There had been no mention of a sore right foot until the end of the trip upstairs and Janet said it seemed to be getting better.

Games night was quite challenging tonight but Janet managed to contribute and I’ll keep taking her in hopes she gets better at some of the games which should make it more fun. Janet did not think it was fun freestyle walking down to get her meds and it was late in the day especially not having had a nap so the effort she made was commendable even if her performance wasn’t her best. There is obvious improvement every day.

Tonight we started to read One Hundred Years of Solitude and wow what a difference from the last book we read. I know I’m going to enjoy it and so far Janet is keeping pace. Praying for rest and healing tonight and another day of progress tomorrow.

What she does when I'm not around.

What she does when I’m not around.

Janet, A Success Story. May 19. #TSJ

Since this was a holiday Monday a lot of residents were still away for the weekend so Jess and Curtis were able to spend a lot of time with Janet. Almost all of her physical therapy stuff was done by the time I arrived in the afternoon and she had also done some reading practice and gotten her nails painted. Janet felt good about it all saying her right foot was not as sore as before even after Jess had her walking everywhere she went today.

The walking continued with me this evening and one interesting thing came out of that. I constantly need to remind Janet to walk straight ahead as she tends to skew her body to the right easily. Today she said she does that so her foot doesn’t hurt as much. Good information I told her to mention to Tez tomorrow. Twice I had Janet freestyle walk tonight and both times she was going so fast it was difficult for me to keep up in a way that I felt I was ready to help her if needed. One of those fast walks was from the Den to her room, a Connect distance record.

We had a lot of time to work on cognitive skills tonight since the physical stuff had been done. Janet reluctantly played Four Pics One Word with me and I found she was more willing if we alternated guesses. She is quiet good at figuring out the word if she really tries. Janet’s reading skills are slowly improving as evidenced by her reading to me a half a page without missing a word. She didn’t think it was that great but it was a definite improvement from going six or seven words then skipping down to the next line. Janet is unhappy she can’t remember or clearly understand what she’s read but that will come once she gets to a level where she’s not trying so hard to see each word. Reading provided the most excitement of the night as we read a chapter from Lets Pretend This Never Happened about a lady getting bitten by a couple of dogs. Seconds after reading that story I felt something touching the back of my shirt. I turned to see a large black dog staring at me! She was wondering around looking for attention and was not nearly as startled as I was. We found out it belonged to a staff member working in one of the other houses and Janet and I had a good visit with her and a laugh.

Janet seemed very bright today with good memory recall and she was physically strong too. Praying that doesn’t mean her Dilantin levels are too low now.

Janet, A Success Story. May 17. #TSJ

Today you could really sense the rhythm of Janet being at home for an extended period. Our morning was relaxed and talkative with no urgency to do anything in particular. We continued to discuss the movie Heaven Is For Real and watched YouTube clips of the real people plus a young artist who painted an image of Jesus around the time the real events of the movie were happening and the little boy from the movie said that was the Jesus he saw. Janet was fascinated by it all.

We went downtown to pick up a book we had ordered, One Hundred Years of Solitude, and cruised through “the store we never buy anything at”, just in case there was something to spend the gift card we’ve had for three years on. Nope. If any of you have legitimate use of a $100 Lakehouse gift card, it’s yours.

The only physical workout Janet got today was walking from the car to her seat at church and back out again. On the way in there was no mention of a sore foot but it did come up on the way out without impeding her performance though. There was no mention of it the few times she walked at home.

It was sushi and movie night at home and after rejecting Her thirty minutes into it we both enjoyed August: Osage County. There was not one happy person in the entire film but somehow we enjoyed it anyways. Janet understood it and gave a good recap after and did the same for the day as well even as she was falling asleep. Her memory is improving and I suspect the Dilantin situation has improved, allowing her some cognitive gain.

Praying for a long night of healing sleep and an energetic Sunday.

Janet, A Success Story. May 13. #TSJ

Jess brought Janet in to KGH for her appointment with Dr. Miller this morning and I met them there. Janet is always pretty upbeat about seeing Dr. Miller as she knows its just for a chat and she always receives lots of positive feedback. This morning was no different and I could see Janet openly seeking Dr. Miller’s approval on things and truly valuing his opinion. I can’t think of anyone else she gives that much credibility to. Jess and I encouraged Janet to walk into the office at the start of the meeting and she did the last ten feet freestyle which won her praise from Dr. Miller, but he rightly pointed out that Janet’s cognitive gains are more impressive and carry more weight in the long term. I knew that but needed to hear it again. Janet participated well in the discussion and agreed to speak at a gathering of Rehab staff that Dr. Miller will organize as he believes strongly in staff being able to see the results of their work long term. This idea came about from Janet’s SheLife speech and my prompting that we feel its important Janet share her story. To put Dr. Miller’s theory to the test he encouraged Janet to seek out some staff that worked with her on her way out this morning. Thankfully there were a lot of them around and no seeking was necessary, in fact once Janet was spotted, they were doing the seeking. Each encounter was filled with surprise (Janet was walking through the ward) and excitement and Janet felt good about it all, she even demonstrated her freestyle walking to Moira who came out from her lunch break to see Janet. A very positive morning.

As soon as I got to Connect this afternoon I sought out Tez to have a look at Janet’s painful right foot. He didn’t notice any structural issues and suggests it could be from the increase in walking and using muscles that haven’t been used in a long time. To rule out the new shoes he told Janet to stop wearing them for a couple days. We will keep monitoring this.

Janet had her Dilantin levels checked again this morning and this time they are well above therapeutic range and I expected a phone call from her doctor but didn’t get one so I made an executive decision to reduce her dosage by one third tonight and hopefully talk to the doctor tomorrow. I asked Dr. Miller if he would nudge the neurologist to respond to our enquiry on this topic and he said he would.

The pain in her foot didn’t stop Janet from doing some good walking tonight along with a decent Shuttle workout and Standing Frame session. She really enjoyed the dinner Chelsea made and very reluctantly walked up to Games Night and put in a fine performance there. He “favourite” game is one where the group is asked what they’d pack for a vacation to a certain destination. Each person has to repeat what the person or persons ahead of them said then add what they’d bring without duplicating anything. Janet does best with the sunny destinations of course.

Sleep came seconds after I started reading to Janet tonight which is good because she needs to be up a little early to go sailing tomorrow. She of course is not at all excited but I think its worth a try. Praying for a good night of rest, for Janet’s Dilantin levels to stabilize and the pain in her right foot to stop. We are also praying tonight for Janet’s step dad who is in hospital in Collingwood and for Willie, a resident at Connect who is having some heart issues tonight, his 65th birthday.

Janet, A Success Story. May 12. #TSJ

Is the tide of doubt changing? Janet actually said she did well walking in the sling this morning and she repeated that descriptor tonight. Her confidence in walking is for sure getting better and she is more willing to free walk now albeit for relatively short distances. The pain in her right foot apparently has shifted from above her arch to the area where the leg becomes the foot and is only present when she puts weight on it. I asked Chelsea to note it in Janet’s chart in hopes that Tez can be made aware and talk to Janet about it.

As I walked into Janet’s room this afternoon she only woke long enough to say she’d had a big sleep then went right back to sleep again for a good twenty minutes. Her day had been pretty busy so I let her call most of the shots tonight. After setting the table for dinner we spent a nice time in the sun on the patio and Janet was upset with herself for not being out in the sun earlier. There was no hesitation in going for a bike ride after dinner and Janet set another record riding for 3.6 miles. I snuck her into a higher level of resistance too and she didn’t even notice. High five!

Walking with me this evening was good but not her best. She complained regularly about being in pain while hanging onto me but when free walking she was quiet and did very well. I think that as long as that pain goes away Janet could free walk forty or fifty feet very soon.

Janet chose to just hang out in her room most of the evening doing some reading, coin rolling and chatting. Her reading seems to be improving and could be a lot better if she’d remember to turn her head all the way to the right in order to see everything on the page or screen. When I read to her in bed tonight she actually stayed awake for the whole hour and gave some good feedback on what we read.

Praying for immediate healing of the pain in Janet’s right foot and for a productive Tuesday.

Janet, A Success Story. May 1. #TSJ

What a difference going to the pool in summer weather. So much easier as Janet isn’t wearing fifteen layers of clothes to change out of and into and she’s not already cold before getting near the water. There were even bigger differences in her abilities today as opposed to a few months ago when she last went, such as, walking down the ramp into the kiddie pool with me leading then walking up it on her own using the handrail all the way to seating herself in a wheelchair. Walking down the stairs into the hot tub and up again using the handrail with me supporting at the hips. I used to have to carry her into the hot tub. High five!

Today’s agreement was for kiddie pool and hot tub only and I stuck to that as the whole point was to give Janet a safe environment to walk on her own in. It took a little while to get loosened up and confident but after a few attempts and some coaching from Tez Janet walked on her own for five or six steps at a time. She fell a few times and didn’t seem to mind at all and I think that eased her fear a little. For the most part she did a good job of pushing down with her right leg. The experience was good and in talking afterwards Janet was receptive to trying the sling once to compare.

That opportunity came sooner than Janet expected when she walked from her room to the kitchen after a nap to ask Curtis if he would help her before he left for the day. To Janet’s dismay, Curtis agreed. The difference in Janet’s walking in the water and using the sling is night and day so I had to rescind my offer of her choosing one or the other as the sling is just a million times better for her. She is scared and pouted a lot the first attempt but persevered and turned in an excellent walk around the ten foot square the sling allows her to travel in. Janet stood on her own for over five minutes arguing for us to take the sling off not even realizing she was standing on her own. She thinks that somehow it is holding her up and affecting what she does but its all her and on the last lap I think she started to realize that. She put good combinations of steps together, made really nice turns and corrected her balance well a few times. She lost it a few times too and I think started to understand how the sling prevents her from falling and nothing else. After a lot of sweat and hard work Janet completed what will now be a daily routine at Connect for her and should help her to make significant gains in walking on her own.

Having worked so hard today I gave Janet a pass for good behaviour and brought her home tonight. Along the way we stopped at the mall to do some shoe shopping. The lady that built Janet’s AFO stopped by Connect this afternoon and gave some advice as to the types of shoes Janet can wear with the biggest rule being no heals. For casual shoes, pretty much anything that fits will be fine and for the wedding it’s a lot more complicated. Janet is wanting a dressy shoe for that but is restricted by needing pretty much the whole shoe to open up in order to get it on her AFO. We found some that were close, one pair actually went on but just weren’t stylish enough for her. We may try more tomorrow.

Praying for strengthening of Janet’s right leg and confidence to keep working hard.

Janet, A Success Story. April 30. #TSJ

When I checked in with Janet at lunchtime today she was sounding quite cheery and energetic. Her morning had been good and included a long walk, Janet said to the gym, Jess corrected it was to the living room. The fact that Janet was excited about it is great and she continued to act positively when I got to Connect to take her to SheLife.

I arrived early thinking we’d go bathing suit shopping but an old pair of shorts and one top still barely fits Janet and will do for tomorrow so the shopping can wait for some rainy day. Tez wants Janet to wear her AFO in the pool with some water shoes on her feet and I forgot to take them to Connect so we went home to see if any fit and decided to stay for our first outside dinner of the year.

Al fresco dining in April. #whywelivehere

Al fresco dining in April. #whywelivehere


The water shoes will do for tomorrow. I mentioned Janet was in a pretty positive mood and one example was her eagerness to walk from her room to the car. It was if she expected to do that and never even mentioned her wheelchair. It was fun walking out in the sun with her and we did it again at church as Janet walked from the car to her table at SheLife, a distance I later stepped out as 215 feet. By far her longest yet and it included going up two ramps, one about 30 feet long. Her steps were strong and deliberate most of the time with a little more wobbliness than I’d like but that will change. The fact she had the energy to go that far is impressive.

With a big smile on her face Janet excitedly told me how she “actually contributed tonight”. She managed to talk about patience and how she could be really angry or sad about what’s happened to her but she’s not. It was a fun car ride back to Connect as Janet talked about the positive things in her life.

My time with Janet today was very refreshing and uplifting and a great antidote to what had happened earlier. My cousin and second cousin both work at the mill in Nanaimo where the shooting took place this morning and there were some anxious moments in waiting to hear if they were OK. They are but were shaken by what took place. We also received word that our friend Wendy in Nanaimo is in ICU after a botched procedure to remove kidney stones. Janet’s table prayed for her tonight and I ask you to do the same.

Janet, A Success Story. April 29. #TSJ

Another busy walking day for Janet with lots of time to warm up for it though. Jess took her and Angie to a nursery to buy some plants and herbs for the patio at Connect. Janet says it wasn’t fun but I’m sure it was better than being in the gym and it was sunny outside.

Tez had agreed to meet with Janet and I late this afternoon and Janet called me to confirm that appointment. I asked her to be rested up for that and when I got to her room she actually was asleep. Our meeting with Tez was quite helpful and insightful and hopefully gave Janet some confidence to keep working at this walking thing. She demonstrated walking with the cane, using me as the cane with me leading her and walking beside her. There was also a reluctant attempt at free walking so Tez could see first hand Janet’s entire repertoire. He was impressed and lamented that the sling at the parallel bars would be the best tool for Janet to use right now but she “hates” it and I don’t think we’ll get her in it but will try. In the meantime, Janet has agreed, quite readily, to meet Tez at the pool Thursday morning to do some walking in the warm water of the kiddie pool. A big part of Janet’s challenge is fear/confidence and Tez feels that a few falls with no risk of injury could help. Should be fun.

The few times Janet has used the Tilt Table she’s complained quite vociferously that it hurts and she’s not going on it again. I suggested she ask Tez if she needs to be doing it during today’s meeting and she did. Fortunately Tez had time to respond with “lets see you in it and we’ll go from there”. Janet walked to the Den with me leading and stepped onto the table reasonably well and Tez tried a few different positions to maximize the benefit for Janet. The end result is, yes, she needs to be doing it but now in a different manner than previous. Janet will be at ninety degrees with a safety strap at chest height and no support at her legs at all. In addition to no leg support she is to do some foot raises and side stepping while standing and stay in the thing for as long as possible. Tez wants to tire her right out with everything she does now, including walking. What was going to be a short let’s see what you look like session turned into a twenty minute workout for Janet and a good learning session for me and Jess. Janet rather smugly ended the session herself by undoing the velcro strap and stepping forward right to the edge of the table before grabbing me for her step down to the floor. She then impressed us all with a nice unassisted step to and turn to sit on the couch.

A tired Janet walked out to the lobby with me leading, got in her wheelchair and went to the gym for a Shuttle workout. I agreed to shorten the session based on all the walking and standing she’d just done and focussed on the right leg. Janet did well and never complained. After a toilet break we walked down to the dining area for dinner. Janet did complain a little along the way but persevered. With the sun still shining after dinner, Janet took a well deserved break in it’s warmth.

Ahhh

Ahhh


Games Night always produces a pouting session with tonight’s being much less than previous and Janet did very well with a lot of the questions given to her. She still came away saying “it’s stupid” but she’ll be back next week “just to watch”.

I meant to have Janet walk down to get her meds but she preempted me and arrived in her wheelchair struggling to find that word, meds, in her head. There has been an increase in her inability to find key words when speaking and it may have something to do with a high level of Dilantin in her system. Jess took her for a blood test this morning and Janet’s levels are very near the top of the therapeutic range for the second week in a row. I asked her doctor to seek the opinion of Janet’s neurologist, Dr. Adams and she agreed. No change in dosage until we hear from him.

While Curtis was getting Janet’s meds I had her get ready to walk back to her room and left her standing at the door to the med room while I parked her wheelchair. On her own, loosely hanging onto some shelving, Janet walked six feet into the room to get her meds from Curtis who was as surprised as me. Maybe she’s gaining confidence? Holding my hand to turn around to come back out of the room she forgot to step once and came very close to falling. A good lesson learned I hope. The walk to her room was very good considering how tired she was. Not tired enough to miss out on some Easter chocolate, some reading then ready for bed. It all caught up to her once she was tucked in and she was sleeping minutes later.

Praying for a night of healing sleep and lots of energy tomorrow.

Janet, A Success Story. Walking Video. April 28. #TSJ

My day with Janet was short but busy as I worked late at CedarCreek and showed up at Connect as she was in the gym with Chelsea for her after dinner workout. Janet was in a much better mood than she is with me in the gym and said her day had been pretty good. The one thing I was really counting on for today didn’t happen though. Last week I had arranged for the lady who built Janet’s AFO to stop by and talk to us about shoes Janet could wear in summer clothes and at Heather’s wedding. Janet was all prepared with a list of questions and waited “all afternoon” to no avail. Apparently she’s coming Thursday now. Not impressed.

After a good Shuttle session Janet wheeled back to her room to prepare for a walk to the living room to then use the Tilt Table. Chelsea suggested using the cane but Janet insisted on using me and I agreed as I think she walks better that way. That also gave me the opportunity to try walking side by side with Janet, something we haven’t done in almost two years. Here’s a brief look at it on video (thanks Karl) along with a little free walking that Janet doesn’t seem to want to do with an audience. I asked her last night with Karl watching and she refused and she initially did today as well. Hopefully as she walks more she won’t worry about who’s watching.


The Tilt Table is a real challenge for Janet as she is forced to use her right leg or else collapse. She managed thirty minutes and after a ten minute rest on the couch walked back to her room. Played out, she stretched out on her bed while we checked emails and played some Four Pics One Word, a game she doesn’t like playing too much but is getting better at and I think is good brain exercise. Tonight she was responsible for typing out the answers and she did a good job. Being the tyrant that I am I insisted Janet walk to the med room to get her meds, that of course required walking back as well, so Janet did four lengths of the hallway tonight! High five each time.

That was enough torture for one night and all Janet wanted to do was read the rest of the time. She put in a great effort tonight and I think if she can keep this pace going we’ll be walking side by side regularly soon.

Praying that Janet sleeps well tonight and is fully able and willing to participate in all of tomorrow’s activities.

Janet, A Success Story. April 27. #TSJ

A much better sleep for Janet last night so I’m at a loss as to how to explain her grumpiness that started the day. Every suggestion I made as to what to do was answered with “it doesn’t matter” or “I don’t care”. Not what I want to hear on a bright Sunday morning. It didn’t last long though and we headed out to get some ingredients for tonight’s dinner and some wine for our wine club gathering this Friday. To our dismay, two of the wineries we went to were closed. Oh well, we enjoyed the sunny drive by the lake.

Janet was warned she’d be helping in the kitchen today and she stepped up nicely. We made a lasagne for tonight as Courtney was coming over. Janet did well at chopping, stirring and assembling. She then had two pieces of corn on the cob for lunch. I thought it was weird to just have corn but she loved it. Before the lasagne was completely built Janet was fading so she went for a nap and woke up an hour and a half later in disbelief that she’d been out that long. That’s what happens when you sleep, time flies.

Courtney agreed to be camera operator so we could show you Janet’s new walking style as well as a bit of free walking. It’s hard to get a good angle on her as you never know when she’s going to agree to try but there is a pretty good look in this clip.

Janet remains unsure of the whole thing but very sure she doesn’t “want to be that person that can’t walk”. She is walking and will do so better each week.

We enjoyed visiting with Courtney this evening and the lasagne that Janet helped make turned out pretty good. I think having some company for the evening made the trip back to Connect more bearable as there was lots to talk about and Janet was in a happy mood. I had her walk more in the hallway there but she refused to free walk with Karl watching. Not sure why. Reading didn’t last long as the walk tired her out I think.

Praying Janet has a deep and healing sleep, a positive attitude and willingness to fully participate in whatever she’s asked to do tomorrow.