Renovations

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

Wednesday started out fairly routine for Janet with a Speech session with Mary Lou after breakfast. They looked at the worksheets Janet had completed and Mary Lou decided it’s time for some harder ones. The rest of the session was spent talking and Janet described some of the things we went through as we moved houses. When she relayed that to me it was evident that she remembers a lot of it and can recall it too. Her visit to the gym included a bike ride and Standing Frame and maybe some walking but she couldn’t remember exactly.

In bed but wide awake when I arrived, Janet and I had a long chat before getting up to get ready for SheLife. During our chat I asked Janet if she had checked her emails today and she said no. I told her she has some so she should check more often. When she got up a half hour later she remembered to check them without prompting from me and only needed help unlocking the iPad screen on her way to her inbox. Progress.

Janet complained to me on the way to SheLife that someone has been helping her stand for the worship segment and she wants to do it herself. I suggested she practice when we get there. After dinner and a bathroom break we got to her table with only minutes to spare but Janet wanted to practice anyways. I did not intend for it to be a show but everyone seemed to be watching and they burst into applause as Janet stood all by herself. The former Janet would’ve been totally embarrassed at that point and there was a hint of that below a big smile and some nervous laughter. I believe that moment did a lot to encourage Janet and on the way back to Connect all she could talk about was how many people came up and hugged her and told her how happy they are to have her there and how they can’t wait to see her walk. Janet may not be learning much from the material being studied this session but tonight especially she received a whole lot of encouragement. Thank you ladies!!

By the time we returned to Connect it was bedtime with one of Janet’s last duties of the day being to straighten out her legs once she’s nice and flat on her back. Recently she’s been gaining enough control of her right leg to push it out after I give it a little kick start. Tonight I didn’t have to help at all. High five! After reading for twenty minutes or so Janet had drifted off having just enough energy to say she is enjoying the book more and more now. Thanking Jesus for all the kind people in our lives and praying for a confident and strong Janet.

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

Jess and Janet were waiting outside Dr. Miller’s office when I got to KGH this morning. Janet was very bright and chatty and that continued throughout the appointment. Dr. Miller can’t seem to stop himself from telling Janet how much she has progressed overall but more importantly how her improvement increases even from the time between each visit. Janet accepted most of the feedback with only the occasional “I don’t believe it” and the odd “I’m glad you think so”. Dr. Miller is not just feeding lines to Janet and is truly amazed at where she’s gotten to especially in light of how far post injury she is. He mentioned, I think only half joking, that “we should do a case study on you”. There is a theory out there that people only recover for three to six months after a brain injury such as this and Janet has proven that theory false as most of her cognitive gains are being made 15 to 21 months later. It wouldn’t surprise me if Janet gets an opportunity to share her story to the medical community somehow soon.

Following the Dr. Miller session Janet wheeled herself over to the physio department to say hi to Moira whom we haven’t seen since Janet stopped using the Rehab Pool. Surprisingly, Moira spent half an hour catching up with Janet and even had her demonstrate her walking abilities. The visit was full of praise and encouragement for Janet but she started to fade near the end as throughout the chat with Moira, there was a pretty steady stream of people saying hi to Janet as they passed by and she found that to be a little overwhelming. After lunch at home she reluctantly went for a nap from which I had to wake her in time for her next appointment.

Janet’s AFO has been causing a small abrasion on her ankle bone so we went to ask Birgit if she would remedy that today and she did. We were back at Connect in time for a bike ride which a now tired Janet did fairly well on. We spoke to Tez prior to hitting the gym and he said not to focus too much on the one legged pedalling and let Janet do her thing to get some cardio benefit and insert the one legged method at the beginning and end of each ride. There is no strength building benefit to pedalling with one leg but it is crucial for teaching the brain to communicate with her right leg and get it working better. Tez worked a lot with Janet last week and said she can put way more weight through her right leg than she’s allowing and through repetition we need to get her using it more. Janet complained of being too tired at the start of her ride and still did 2.5 miles in thirty minutes. I was glad she powered through that so I didn’t have her try the one legged thing. Next time.

The Botox is having an amazing effect on Janet’s right arm. I can’t remember the last time I was able to get her arm in this position with no pain. Very cool.
Janet Right arm position
After dinner Janet dutifully got into the Standing Frame while watching Olympic highlights then replied to a couple of emails. She, for the first time, was able to use the speech function of Gmail without assistance from me and produced a couple of authentic Janet emails. She even stayed awake for a good forty five minutes while I read to her in bed saying, “the book is getting better, I like it”. Today was a great day for Janet with a lot of reasons to feel better about herself.

Praying that Janet’s confidence in herself increases and she continues to prove the theorists wrong.

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

As I arrived at Connect this afternoon Curtis told me Janet had been lying down for almost an hour. I tried sneaking into her room but she was wide awake and spent the next forty five minutes chatting up a storm. We laughed about the pets we used to own and she couldn’t understand why my childhood dog lived outside all the time. That’s what real dogs do I told her but she wasn’t buying it. We both fail to understand why anyone would own a cat.

With all of her exercises done in the first part of the day I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do all evening. There were no emails to reply to, hint hint, and Janet, as chatty as she was wasn’t into doing any speech exercises so we just talked until dinner time. Janet had seen some of the Ice Dancing competition this morning but really wanted to watch it tonight so we fired up the iPad and started watching in her room. I gave Janet the option of watching on one of the actual tv’s at Connect but she was happy to hang in her room. Just so she didn’t get too complacent I asked Janet to stand for a while which she did using her dresser for balance and putting weight through her right leg until she said it was sore. Brian stopped by for a nice chat and invited us to an Acquired Brain Injury stakeholder meeting at Connect that Interior Health is hosting in a week or so. I’m looking forward to reporting on our experience in the health care system. Soon after Brian’s visit one of the residents asked to talk to us as he was wanting some spiritual help. Janet was very welcoming to him and disconnected herself from the skating immediately and focused on her neighbour. We spent a nice half hour listening, praying and sharing with this man and I believe it not only helped him tonight but also Janet. She offered some insight into her world that I haven’t heard her share with anyone before. I was questioning the decision to just watch tv tonight but if we weren’t doing that in Janet’s room we wouldn’t have had the chance to help someone a little. God at work.

After watching and judging the Ice Dancing competition it was time for bed so we could read Long Walk to Freedom. The book is getting more interesting but we are both having trouble with the African names and words. Janet stayed awake for almost half an hours worth tonight. Her longest run so far.

Praying for a night of deep and healing sleep and for Janet’s neighbour to find peace and strength and Love.

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

Janet’s day started off with a bath, something she says “is almost fun here” as opposed to at Connect. Since she was a little cold afterwards I got her breakfast for her as she readied herself for the weekly chat with her mom. I thought Janet was quiet during their Skype time but she felt good about it afterwards and said “it’s always good talking to my mom”.

I find myself allowing Janet to set the agenda a lot while she’s at home and lately there’s been a lot of “let’s watch the Olympics”. That’s fine, but it means a lot of sitting around so today I decided to have Janet do some athletics herself whenever there was an opportunity. First chance was right after the chat with mom and with no hesitation at all Janet walked from her spot at the table to the couch, almost twenty five feet. I held her hand and acted as a cane of course and I notice she’s not using me quite as much as she was a few weeks ago. Her steps with her left foot are much improved and she knows she needs to put more weight through her right leg. For a few steps I actually pushed her upper body back to the right so she was more centred. Janet felt like she was going to fall when I did that which is interesting because she was actually standing very straight then. We did similar walking trips throughout the day and I noticed that the longer Janet went the less she was able to control her right leg, especially moving it backwards before sitting down. Overall I was pleased with her efforts today.

We have now watched all the figure skating events to date and agree that the Pairs competition was by far the best so far. Janet was very excited watching that today and it was fun seeing her so into it.

Even after a short nap this afternoon Janet faded quite rapidly tonight, partly I think caused by the dread of going back to Connect. She was eager to read when we got there but fell asleep within minutes then woke up and wanted me to keep reading. We carried on like that for half an hour before she was clearly out for the night. Praying for a night of uninterrupted sleep that provides Janet with lots of energy and a positive attitude for tomorrow.

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

Janet woke up at a good time this morning and with lots of energy. She got her own breakfast and I helped her check her emails during that time. Janet is getting less resistant towards replying to emails provided she can dictate rather than type. As soon as breakfast was done it was time for a Skype chat with Janet’s dad and Joan. Janet was quite animated during the conversation and carried it quite well, laughing lots and talking clearly. That’s the most fun I’ve seen her have chatting with anyone in a long time and it really showed a connection between dad and daughter.

During that call it was mentioned that Janet’s dad had started making notes on his life story a few years ago. Joan kindly sent them to us and we spent the rest of the afternoon reading about the childhood of Janet’s dad up until his first year of university. It was a lot of reading and except for a lunch break Janet insisted I keep going as she wanted to know what happens. She says she learned a lot about her dad and hopes he finds a way to write more, especially about when her and her siblings were born.

All that reading took us through nap time and right up to church time. Janet asked me to help her push her wheelchair more which I refused to do of course. She says she wants me doing more of that for her because it isn’t fair that she has to because it’s hard. No sympathy from me and she wheeled herself from the car to her seat at church in record time. The service was great and brought out a lot of “why me” questions from Janet which we discussed during the car ride home. She was not getting upset at all and asked legitimate questions that I tried my best to answer. There is no absolute answer to those questions but it was good to have the conversation, it had been awhile.

Janet helped make dinner and we watched more recorded figure skating before a tired Janet went to bed early for begin at home. Praying for a night of deep and healing sleep and a productive tomorrow.

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

Following our tradition of not participating in “Hallmark Holidays”, Janet declined to go to the Connect Valentines Party this morning and instead went to the gym. That’s my girl! She was in bed but awake when I went to pick her up this afternoon and we headed home right away.

Janet knew what the basic plan for this weekend is and listed off the main items for me. Her memory keeps on improving. When I gave her options for after dinner tonight she chose to watch the Olympics. My suggestion of a night without TV was met with laughter and a “yeah right”. The former Janet would have been all over that.

After choosing what to have, Janet helped me make dinner before settling in on the couch to watch the Men’s Figure Skating which we had recorded. We were both disappointed with the performances overall but Janet still enjoyed watching it all and had some poignant comments about some of the skaters. It’s fun to watch things with her that she is actual paying attention to.

Today was a bright day for Janet with excellent memory skills, good transfers and lots of smiles. We’ve discontinued her watch alarm reminder for meds time and she asked for her pills with just a little prompting from me tonight. Praying for a good night’s sleep and a fun day tomorrow.

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

Since I was working at CedarCreek again today, Garrett took Janet to KGH this morning for an appointment with Julie the splint lady. Janet’s right arm and hand have maintained an impressive range of motion and with the Botox in full effect it was time to modify her splint. Julie was able to flatten the hand portion out considerably and narrow the whole splint so that it fits easier into Janet’s jacket. When I asked Janet how that appointment went she got all excited about how pleased Julie was with how she’s doing but mostly with how her and Garrett went for coffee after then she had another coffee when they got back to Connect. That explains why she was sleeping when I showed up at 4:15. She had put herself to bed again around 3:30 and asked Curtis to remove her AFO and flip the blankets over her, otherwise she did it all herself. Pretty cool.

Janet got up in time for dinner then we went to the last basketball game of the season at UBCO. Transferring to her seat was a little challenging tonight as Janet was still kind of tired but with help from an innocent bystander she made it. We watched the second half of the women’s game and the first half of the men’s with Janet commenting she finds the guys difficult to follow as its so much faster. Her scoreboard reading was solid and she thought it was pretty cool that I caught a ball that came out of bounds and threw it back to the ref. I did feel pretty special.

Back to Connect late again, Janet was determined to start reading Long Walk to Freedom so she sped through her nighttime routine. Unfortunately what we read was all set up for the main part of the book and Janet did not find it very interesting. I’m sure it will improve soon.

Praying for a night of deep and healing sleep and a great weekend at home.

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

Another busy day of exercise for Janet today and she seemed OK with it all. When I got to Connect she was just finishing a solo trip to the bathroom and she mentioned that she was “allowed to go to bed all by myself today”. That meant getting to her room, transferring from her wheelchair into bed with the covers pulled back then getting in without anyone supervising or assisting. I believe she can do it and my only hesitation is that she needs to use the transfer pole but I guess the independence is worth more.

We took off as soon as I got there so we could grab some dinner before SheLife. Janet seemed a whole lot brighter to me today and was quite talkative, not always positive, but at least talkative. She wasn’t hugely confident going in to SheLife but was willing to give it another go. Good thing she did as both Heidi and her said it went much better tonight. Janet was able to stand and sing, understand some of the video presentation and participate in the table discussion. Her big comment on the night was “everyone took time to tell me I am valued”. Of course you are. Janet has been expressing a lot of self doubt and making negative comments about all the things that don’t work right for her lately. I’m happy we have an appointment with Dr. Miller next week as he is very good at discussing those feelings with Janet. She doesn’t stay focussed on the negatives too long but her expression of them has become more frequent.

In getting back to Connect so late from SheLife we only had a few minutes to start reading Long Walk to Freedom and Janet was disappointed by that. There’s something to look forward to tomorrow. Praying for a restful night of sleep and a bright and productive Thursday.

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

No phone call from Janet today, she was too busy. Tez had her in the gym and up at the parallel bars where Janet “walked” a couple of laps using a cane while in the sling. Tez insists that is the safest way and Janet didn’t complain much to me about it so maybe she feels a little better about it now. She did say the walking was very hard and she doesn’t think that’s the way to start really walking again. Janet says she will just “get up and go, in a couple of days”.

I could see Janet as I rounded the corner into the Connect parking lot as she stood in the Standing Frame. Its funny being able to see her like that, taller than she really is. Dinner followed the standing with Janet doing an excellent job cutting her ham with a rocker knife. Most meals don’t require such cutting so it had been a while since I’d seen Janet use the rocker and I’m impressed with her improved skills.

Janet asked to work on her SheLife stuff for tomorrow after dinner and I have to admit I found it a little overwhelming myself. We ended up just reading the associated Bible story which Janet followed well and asked some good questions of. She still doesn’t think she gets it but I can’t see what else there is to get. Her questions were exactly what I would ask and seem to be totally appropriate discussion points for her group. Hopefully things go well for her tomorrow night.

The only exercise Janet didn’t do before my arrival today was the Shuttle and she turned in another fine performance this evening which earned her the right to choose the rest of her night. Olympics it was and she really enjoyed the Slope-style skiing and the figure skating, so much so that there was no time left for reading. So ended a strong day for Janet and I pray she gets a solid night’s sleep and has a productive Wednesday.

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

I got a wake up call this morning. I always get nervous when I see Connect on my call display and Janet is not with me. This time is was her, sigh of relief, and she wanted to know if we were going to see her Dad for his birthday today. Hmmm. Dad lives in Ontario and his birthday is in June. Not sure why Janet thought that was happening but she was so certain of it the Jess let her call me. She never did figure out why but wasn’t really bothered by it either. Janet did mention she did not sleep well and she rang her pendant to get up at 5:45. By noon she was asking to have a nap. No kidding.

When I got to Connect this afternoon Janet was still sleeping, she woke briefly and wanted to get up but something told me to let her sleep a little more. I told her ten minutes and she slept for twenty then had good energy the rest of the day. Her gym session this morning went well and I got to take her on the Shuttle for the first time in a while before dinner. She showed a little more control of her right leg and without knowing it, pushed her heaviest weight with two legs yet. Speaking of heavy, Janet excitedly announced that she gained weight again last month and now thinks she’s really getting to be too big. No chance.

After a quiet dinner Janet did some of her Speech Therapy worksheets while I watched. She completed three pages of grouping things in categories and only got two questions wrong. High five! Her Skype conversation with Andrew was animated and happy. It had been a while since they’ve connected and even though Janet had trouble thinking of what to talk about a couple times, the conversation flowed well and Janet really enjoyed it.

While waiting to use the Standing Frame we finished reading Open. Janet and I both got a little emotional was we read the final pages and consider it to be one of the best biographies we’ve ever read. We were even able to watch a YouTube clip of Andre Agassi’s speech after his last match so Janet could see and hear the emotion from him and the crowd lucky enough to be there. A very fun reading experience. Next up is Nelson Mandela’s A Long Walk to Freedom.

Janet tolerated a good session with the Standing Frame while watching some Olympics then called her own bedtime. Praying for a long night of uninterrupted deep and healing sleep and a productive tomorrow.