Recovery

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

Renovation Day 12. Lots of progress today, construction, demolition and decision making. Randy made good progress on the kitchen cabinets as well as the area around the fireplace. I managed to break up most of the lovely pink tile in both bathrooms and with Randy’s help Janet and I decided on a counter top, handles for the cabinets, moulding for the fireplace area and floor for the bathrooms. Good day.

Just after lunch Janet was hanging out in the dining area with Kieran, Wes, Willie and Humberto, laughing at the verbal jabs being thrown by Kieran and Wes. I hid from her for a bit to watch how she interacted with it all and she was seeming quite entertained. She was ready to go when I made my appearance knowing we were looking at something for the house. I dragged her around to a number of places where we met Randy with the goal of deciding on a number of key items for the new house. Janet was a real trooper, admitting she was tired but pushing through and helping make some really good choices. I was pretty confident we’d get the counter top quickly and we did. I thought the handles would be more challenging than it was. Janet did very well in saying what she liked and didn’t like and the choice was made a lot sooner than I thought. Neither of us had too strong an opinion on the mouldings so that was easy but the bathroom floor was another story. Janet was quite tired by this time and the process was made more difficult as soon as we realized I had brought home the wrong floor sample the other day. What me and the salesman that day thought was the right one wasn’t so when our actual salesman came out with the real one this afternoon I freaked a little. Luckily after we inspected it, all of what we’ve chosen so far works well with the floor so no need to freak. It still took a long time to narrow the choices and make a decision on the bathroom floors and Janet was getting a little frustrated but hung in there really well and contributed right to the end.

I’d been wanting to have Brian coach me on car transfers soon as I feel I’m doing more than I should and probably not using the best technique for Janet’s right foot. While we were out today and making so many stops I thought it was a good idea to try some different moves. First up was having Janet wheeled up to and facing the open car door. I asked her to hold the top of it and stand up. She did, pivoted around easily and sat in her seat. Just like that. All I did was hold the wheelchair and move it out of her way. I was very impressed. The first attempt at getting out of the car was that same move in reverse. Janet nailed it and again, all I did was hold the wheelchair and be ready to catch if need be. No need. As much as I praised her accomplishment she still didn’t think it was that big of a deal but by the end of the night she was starting to believe and agreed we don’t need Brian’s help. Kidding.

After all our running around we picked up Nash and some dinner and headed back to Connect. Janet reluctantly agreed to a gym session after dinner and was not having a good time on the Shuttle as she was cold and tired. Garrett told me the bike was now in Janet condition again so I got her on it for a little test ride and I think it will be a nice addition to her routine. She looked good on it and peddled more than twice as fast as she was the last time she was on it. Janet won’t admit it but I think she thought it was OK.

The lack of an afternoon nap made for a relatively early night and after a nice sleep time chat I said goodnight. Praying for continued building of strength, improved flexibility and greater command of her right leg.

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

Renovation Day 11. Lots of construction going on as Randy continues to make the kitchen look like a kitchen.
KitchenDay11
I managed to find a few more things to destroy and had the pleasure of sanding texture off of the second bedroom ceiling. Fun times.

There was too much going on this morning for me to join Janet at the pool. She said swimming was fine and Carly mentioned they did a lot of walking as well as swimming. Janet said it still took her a while to warm up but she did get comfortable but still wanted more time in the hot tub.

We had a nice chat out in the sunshine once I got to Connect and Janet was quite talkative and cheery. Dinner was a miss tonight especially after so many good meals out lately. Curtis kindly tried to find something Janet would like instead but it seems that once the bad taste is there its hard to correct. The food woes were diminished by being able to watch the Seahawks victory and having a phone conversation with Laurel. Janet spoke really well and made lots of good comments totally relevant to the topic. I am more and more impressed with her that way each day.

Janet showed no interest in going to the gym tonight at all using the swimming session as an excuse. I gave her a pass more due to the football game and the fact she was really engaged and communicative not just staring blankly at the TV. She is starting to recognize good plays without me prompting her and she genuinely cheers when Seattle scores. Go ‘Hawks!

Recognizing she was tired around nine, Janet called bedtime and in an all too familiar fashion was asleep two pages into my reading of Not a Fan. We are going to have to schedule reading time earlier in the day so she can actually retain some of what she’s hearing.

Praying for a restful and healing sleep and an active day tomorrow.

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

Renovation Day 10. Construction continues in the kitchen and we made a decision regarding the bathroom. No major changes. I feel we can make it work for Janet and the changes that could be made just aren’t worth it.

Nancy met Janet at Connect and took her out for lunch. They ventured to a little cafe just down the road called The Wooden Nickel.JanetNancyWoodenNickel
Turned out to be pretty good with Janet impressing Nancy with her conversational abilities. Janet said she really enjoyed the visit and knows “what a special friend Nancy is”.

Janet is having quite the social life these days and it continued this evening as we went for a sushi dinner before her SHElife meeting. This was by far the cleanest sushi meal Janet has ever eaten and her chop stick skills are improving too. I didn’t have her as prepared for SHElife as last week and at the end of the evening Janet was a little disappointed she didn’t really talk much tonight. She agreed that we should read the corresponding chapters of the book no sooner than the night before so it is fresher in her mind.

Upon our return to Connect Janet asked to watch a little TV to wind down then it was off to bed where she was falling asleep as we prayed. She did manage a goodnight and when I explained I’d see her before the football game started tomorrow she said “yay them”, meaning Seahawks of course. I pray Janet has a night of uninterrupted and healing sleep that provides lots of energy for tomorrow.

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

Renovation Day 9. Cabinets are taking shape, blinds are ordered and I spent a lot of time discussing bathroom options with two experts. Conclusion? Not yet.

Janet called me just before noon wondering if Nancy was meeting her for lunch. I reminded her Nancy wasn’t due until around three. Janet was quite disappointed as I think she was hoping to use the visit as an excuse not to do the Standing Frame. As it turned out, she was in it when John arrived early for his singing session with her and stayed in it the whole session. My guess is she sang well as she said it was fun and her voice has been notably louder lately.

Nancy arrived as scheduled and Janet gave her a tour of Connect during which Nancy got introduced to a lot of the other residents. The two of them had a nice visit, looking at photos and chatting. Nancy reports she’s very impressed with Janet’s ability to comment correctly on a number of topics and was able to identify a lot of people in the photos they looked at. What was especially impressive was Janet navigating on their drive to our house. She called a number of correct turns especially the last two before arriving here. Very well done considering she’s only been to the house a few times.

After we gave Nancy a quick tour of the construction site we went down the street for a fabulous dinner at The Fixx Cafe. Janet ate very well and enjoyed a glass of Pinot Noir. I continue to be impressed by her neatness now. She really doesn’t need a shirt saver for most meals and is also better at cutting her food. The meal and conversation were most enjoyable tonight and tuckered Janet right out. She was asleep minutes after I started reading to her in bed at Connect which she chose to do as soon as we got there rather than watch The Voice. Good call I think.

Praying for a solid night of sleep and thanking Nancy for her friendship and support.

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

Renovation Day Eight. Construction has begun! The demolition phase has pretty much come to an end unless we decide on something major for the ensuite. Randy laid the bases for most of the kitchen today so now we can actually see what the layout will look like.BaseForKitchen
The first piece to go down of course was for what will be the wine “cellar” slash liquor cabinet.
RandyWineCabinet
Priorities. Right?

Jess had Janet very busy all morning today with a full workout, Standing Frame, shower and a trip to the grocery store before lunch. By one o’clock Janet asked for a nap and was sleeping still when I got in at 2:45. Her cold is lingering but hasn’t affected her willingness to do things and she got up soon after my arrival.

We started our time together with back to back Skype chats with Heather and Leslie. Janet talked well to both and rather confidently asked to end the one with Leslie. She’s almost always been scared to end a call out of fear of upsetting the other person but today she knew she wanted to stop and she spoke up. Nice.

Since Janet’s cold was still affecting her I gave her the night off from the gym and we watched a little football after dinner with the fire as its harder for her to stay warm when she’s feeling sick. Once she got warm we read some SheLife materials and Janet impressed me with her improved reading skills. She still lacks confidence but when following a pen pointing to each word she was going a line and a half without breaking and that is a huge improvement. Jess said she has noticed Janet trying to read more on her own during down times now and that’s good. One chapter we read was titled “lost that loving feeling” and as soon as I “sang” a bit of the song, Janet jumped right in nice and loud singing practically the whole song. Cool.

Reading filled out the time until The Voice started and we watched that with Wes, his wife Roz and sometimes Kieran. Janet interacted with everyone well and also had quite a lively phone conversation with Cam. At med time I encouraged Janet to yell at Jess, who was in the kitchen, to get her meds for her. Janet responded with the loudest voice I’ve heard from her and Jess heard her loud and clear. Not bad for a sicko.

Praying for a good sleep tonight and a fun day tomorrow.

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

Renovation Day seven and Randy deservedly took the day off. I pulled more staples out of the floor this morning then cruised in the sunshine to watch football with Janet.

Waiting for me in the living room Janet greeted me with a big smile saying she had waited for me so we could have lunch and watch the game, and that’s what we did with our jerseys on and feeling excited for Laurel and Raj who were actually in Seattle at the game. Janet almost made it to half time before getting tired and needing a nap. Her cold is still with her enough to sap some of her energy and she slept for an hour and a half, waking in time to see the last few minutes of an ugly Seahawks victory.

Nash was hanging with us at Connect for the afternoon and before we went to Mark and Veronica’s for dinner we had to drop him off at the house. He really enjoys being at Connect and Humberto especially likes him. I wonder if Connect needs a mascot? The good part about having to go home for a bit was Janet got to see it again and we went for a little walk around the neighbourhood to get some fresh air. Janet still likes the place and I’m really looking forward to being able to bring her home for a weekend soon.

Janet did a great job being a dinner guest tonight. Nice confident greetings to everyone, chatted with the ladies in the kitchen and did awesome at introducing herself and saying what she was thankful for. We thoroughly enjoyed the food and conversation and Janet wants to do more of that sort of thing so once the house is ready some invites will be going out. These more public appearances are good therapy for her. We got back to Connect in time to get ready for bed and I pray Janet has an uninterrupted night of sleep that heals her of her cold and gives her lots of energy for an active Monday.

This evening was a reminder of how blessed we are to have friends willing to share their home, food and time with us. Janet and I are thankful to all of you who read this blog, cheer us on, visit us, cook for us and spend time with us. God continues to place the right people in our lives at the right time and we are most thankful for that.

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

Renovation Day 6 was another day of sanding, mudding and pulling staples. Progress none the less.

Janet had a busy first part of her day and was sleeping when I got to Connect this afternoon. Of course she woke up saying she wasn’t sleeping when I snuck into her room but she clearly had been and wasn’t quite ready to get up. When she did we went in search of countertops for the new house, a more difficult task than I imagined. I was counting on Janet to be relatively quick in picking a few colours she would be happy with but that proved a challenge without being in the house and having things like cabinets and flooring to match with. Then there’s the materiel and how much we want to spend. Oh well. We ended up with a few samples and ran into Connie at one store who told us they had just done their kitchen and found Quartz to be the best bang for the buck so we’ll look more at that.

Janet has a little bit of a cold and that did impede her ability to focus on colour matching but not her participation at church. Tim gave an excellent message that Janet picked up on fully. She hung in there real well as we picked up Nash then some sushi and went back to Connect. Even with her cold her appetite remains strong and she really enjoyed the sushi. We had a quiet night watching a little TV before getting Janet into bed.

Praying for a restful night that heals Janet from her cold and gives her lots of energy for the Seahawks game tomorrow and what promises to be a fabulous feast at Mark and Veronica’s house tomorrow night.

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

Renovation Day 5 was a dusty one as Randy was mudding and sanding drywall repairs from the electrical work we had done and the two walls that were removed. The best part of my day was pulling staples and nails from the floor in preparation for installation of the new one. Janet and I brought home a sample of the new floor to see what it looks like in its natural environment. Pretty cool,I think.

Jen from Connect delivered Janet to her doctor’s appointment this afternoon and I met them there. This was a routine check up and I didn’t even have a list of questions this time as medically Janet is doing fine right now. I let her discuss things with her doctor, only stepping in if she gave inaccurate info and that only happened a couple times. Janet is concerned about her perceived lack of sleeping at night and the doctor suggested trying to stay in a routine of going to bed at the same time each day and getting up at the same time each day. Apparently that helps regulate your Circadian Clock and may explain the difficulties Janet was having on Tuesdays when she was home on weekends until Monday night. She was going to bed way later and getting up way later than at Connect so when she does finally get a chance to come home I’ll make sure she stays in a more regular routine. This was a great visit to the doctor as Janet did most of the talking for once and handled herself very well. Afterwards she told me she likes her doctor as “she’s very approachable”.

Janet was a big help in choosing the colour for our new blinds today and also in picking out a kitchen faucet. We were quite picky about what we wanted as it has to be something Janet can comfortably use so the guy at Splashes really had to work to find the right thing. Good job!

By the time our shopping was done it was time to get Nash and figure out dinner. Janet wanted pizza so we decided to try Papa Murphy’s and were pleased we did. Janet helped bake the pizzas at Connect for us and both kinds we tried were yummy. There was lots of chatter going on in the dining area tonight and Janet enjoyed the activity while we ate then she helped me clean up by wiping the table and putting stuff away. She was getting very tired but her drive to be productive kept her going until 8:40 when she called bedtime thinking I would read to her for half an hour. She lasted five minutes before snoring.

Praying for a good night’s sleep and lots of energy for tomorrow.

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

Renovation Day 4. Electrical work complete, all carpet removed. That means I’m now sleeping on plywood but have light to see the plywood with. Progress.

I met Janet at the Kelowna Family Y this morning to help her with her wet suit. I wasn’t going to swim with her but changed my mind once I got there and am glad I did. The wet suit donning went much better than the first time and Janet said she was quite comfortable in it. Here she is just before getting wet. Sorry about the closed eyes.Janet Wet Suit
Initially Janet complained of being cold and that water is cold at first. After a few minutes she seemed to warm up although she wasn’t admitting it. After ten minutes or so she was fine and swimming around just like the KGH pool. Janet tolerated the big pool for a good forty five minutes and said it was fine, she even tried some of the Aqua Zoomba that was going on but got frustrated at her inability to do the leg work.Janet Me in Pool
She was getting cold near the end and asked to go to the hot tub where she warmed up nicely and I was able to get some good stretching done. In taking off Janet’s wet suit I can totally see how you wouldn’t want to try putting one on wet. Sticky. Overall this trip to the pool was a success and I look forward now to a session with Tez there to get some appropriate exercises going.

I went back to the house for the afternoon and Janet went back to Connect on their cool shuttle bus.Garrett loading Janet
Curtis had her in the Standing Frame for almost an hour and a half after lunch with no complaints. Not surprisingly, Janet had a little nap after that. Dinner was almost ready when I arrived with my homemade soup from one of our kind new neighbours. Watch out Barb and Gary, you have competition. Janet was in a good mood and really following the conversation at the table. Still not initializing but she’s much better at reacting and responding. We had a nice after dinner Skype chat with a clean shaven Andrew then did a little Shuttle work before watching X Factor. After a little dessert, Janet called her own bedtime and wanted me to read to her before I left. It was really nice to lay on a bed for twenty minutes so I’m happy to read to her anytime.

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

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

Renovation Day Three saw walls come down, wiring pulled and final decisions made on placement of appliances etc. Here’s a look at where we are at now.
New House Day 3S

New House Day 3N

Janet was waiting for me in anticipation of going to her She Life group at the church tonight. First stop though was Diving Dynamics to try on a wet suit they brought in for her. It was a little challenging to put on but once it was on it fit well and looks good on her. The guys at the dive shop are confident it will keep Janet warm enough to enjoy the public pool and we will give it a go tomorrow morning. Next stop was home so Janet could see for herself what’s been happening. She admitted there is so much happening its hard for her to keep up.

Earlier in the day Janet helped Jess make cereal squares and Janet brought a pan of them to the church with her. She was quite excited about them and they were really good. The She Life session went quite long tonight but Janet was still smiling at the end and was able to tell me a pretty good recap of what happened. I notice a different sparkle in her eyes when she’s there and am really glad she’s enjoying it.

After downing her meds once we got back to Connect Janet was quick to say she wanted to get ready for bed then was sleeping before our prayers were done. Praying for a night of uninterrupted sleep and lots of energy for a good day tomorrow especially at the pool.