I woke Janet up as I arrived back in her room this afternoon. We had a nice little chat with her talking mostly in Klingon and in a whisper but she was trying to tell me something. I ended up telling her about my day so far and she listened intently and nodded at the appropriate times. I noticed some new writing on her white board and asked her if she had done it. The only legible thing was Emma and I asked if that was Moira’s daughter or nurse Emma. She said “nurse Emma”. I was surprised as I hadn’t seen her today but she popped in a few minutes later and plead guilty to the white board writing. She had sat with Janet during lunch then had a little chat with her afterwards and asked her to write on the white board. All this when Emma was not even assigned to Janet’s side of the unit. The kid is amazing. I challenged Janet to get up from bed on her own and for the first time she used the proper technique and actually got both legs over the side of the bed. She needed a little help getting the upper body started as her left arm was not in a good position but once started she made it the rest of the way. High five!

I gave her some choices of what to do this afternoon and she really wasn’t sure other than “hang around here” so we went for a Bam Bam style drive around the Unit. She was easily distracted again today by anyone wandering into her field of vision and that caused her to drift to the right a lot and to tune out my instructions to come back to the left. She had some moments of brilliance though so I know she can still improve. We tried a little Fred action (both feet) but she wasn’t able to move the right one at all. I think with me moving her right foot for her is good practice and maybe will help build a pattern for communication so she can do it herself. That’s what I’m hoping for anyways because she does try, unfortunately when she does, her left foot moves instead. Not always but mostly. We made it down to the gym and Moira stopped us in the hall to tell me she saw the biggest smile on Janet’s face ever this morning and heard her loudest voice. Rob had on what looks a little like a Cuban military shirt today so Moira was calling him Fidel. At the end of Janet’s session she asked her to say hi Fidel when Rob came over. She did, in a very loud voice and everyone cracked up. Janet was smiling as Moira told the story and then as we turned around inside the gym Rob came over and asked if he still looked like Fidel and Janet laughed some more. She sure loves the Physio department.

We made our way back to Janet’s room and made a Skype call to Heather and Allan. Janet didn’t talk much and only whispered when she did but I could tell she was happy to see and hear them both. Dinner was next and we sat with Leo, Nick, Edna and Alice. A good table with lots of nice chatter. Janet wasn’t participating but she sure was watching and she ate ALL of her soup plus some of the strawberry Ensure (surprise) and a little bit of the pureed apricot. I actually had to convince her to try some of the chocolate pudding which she did but luckily for me she was too full to eat much of it. Janet was happy to sit at the table for quite a while listening to the conversation then we headed back to her room for a stretch as I didn’t get to do it pre-dinner. Her legs were pretty tight again but no worse than before. By the time I was done Janet was pretty much asleep so I said goodnight.

Praying for a restful and healing night, an enjoyable and active day with Laurel tomorrow and thanking Jesus for all the awesome people caring for Janet.

When I arrived this morning Janet was still out having her shower and she returned all bundled up and cozy. I helped get her ready for the day and out to the dining area for breakfast. Her nurse told me that when Janet’s breakfast tube feed ended this morning they heard the signal going on the pump and came in to turn it off and when they came into the room Janet was reaching over the bed rail and pushed the button to silence the alarm! She’s getting pretty tech savvy on us here.

Janet wasn’t interested in breakfast much this morning but enjoyed sitting out in the hub bub of everyone else doing their thing. We headed back for a stretch before Physio and I found her right arm to be even looser this morning but her legs seemed a little tighter. She was not very talkative or energetic and didn’t brighten up that much until we got to the gym. I talked to Moira about the muscle relaxer and how we are not really noticing any effect, unless Janet’s lethargy this morning is from that. She will check with Dr. McCann to see if the effect is only noticeable overnight or what.

The plan for Janet’s Physio session was to lay her on her tummy. I suggested Moira should have better luck with that now that Janet’s right arm and shoulder are feeling the affects of the Botox. Janet had brightened up quite a bit once we were in the gym and she did her warm up weight lifting.

Praying for an active afternoon of learning.

When I returned this afternoon Janet was sitting on the edge of the bed looking out the window as her nurse finished putting her tube feed away from lunch. Good of her nurse to get her up like that. Janet was in a good mood and wanted to go outside for a walk so we did. Too windy for the beach so we stuck to the neighborhood to the north this time and had a little leaf fight along the way. Janet thinks it’s really funny to have piles of leaves thrown on her and this time she managed to throw some back at me. It was hard to escape the wind so we only stayed out about a half hour before Janet attempted the long hallway Bam Bam style. She was not as confident as she was this morning. I think the busyness of that area gets to her a little but it was worth the try.

We had a few minutes to spare before the pre-dinner stretch and despite being given a choice of three fun things to do Janet couldn’t make up her mind so I went with option four and took the nail polish off her finger nails. It was a good choice as the polish was hiding a lot of dirt under her nails especially on her left hand. She was very still and cooperative throughout and I think actually enjoyed the pampering. Very unlike Janet. Since Moira had worked her arm and shoulder this morning as had I, the pre-dinner stretch was legs only. Despite them feeling very tight all day I think I got a pretty good result. I did not notice any effect from the muscle relaxing drug today but the dosage is being doubled tonight so maybe tomorrow will be different.

Dinner went really well tonight with Janet eating more than half her soup and about half her yogurt. I tried convincing her the Strawberry Ensure was not that bad and she tried one little taste then shook her head no. Kiko arrived as Janet was finishing so we headed off to her room so they could visit. Kiko checked Janet’s toe nails and decided they could use a trim so Janet sat and had another pampering session full of smiles and a few laughs. I think I’m going to have to get Janet a Spa membership one day. Kiko even got to hear Janet’s loud voice a few times tonight. We were talking about voices near the end of the visit and I showed Kiko and Janet Amanda Brown’s performance of Dream On from The Voice Monday night. Janet enjoyed it enough to put her in the mood for a little talking practice after Kiko said goodbye. She did her vocal warms ups fine and impressed me by singing the ABC Song as I played it on the iPad. She was mostly in a loud whisper but she was singing. Cool.

Janet wanted to watch some more videos so we did and after the second one she said “no more” and closed her eyes. I got her ready for bed and said goodnight to a happy and beautiful Janet. I really enjoyed this afternoon and evening with her, she seemed really with it and for her to be that awake and sit through a manicure and a pedicure without squirming is pretty cool. I am blessed.

Praying for continued healing for Janet and for an exciting day tomorrow.

When I arrived this morning Janet was in the last stages of getting dressed and seemed much more awake than yesterday as she gave me a smile as soon as she saw me. I got her up on the edge of the bed and stretched her ankles a bit before heading off to breakfast. We sat with Luella, Jeanette, Sharon, Cora and Leo arrived a little later. This is a good group for Janet and she seemed quite comfortable. Luella sits on Janet’s left side and always tries to talk to her. She gets some smiles but no talking yet. Leo gets the biggest smiles as he is a very bright and happy eighty five year old. Janet ate all but a teaspoon of her yogurt this morning and a little apple sauce but was not interested in the thickened milk or the Ensure.

Back in her room for a stretch, I started with her sitting on the edge of the bed and worked her right shoulder and arm. It didn’t take long for me to get it into that nice position beside her and I noticed it was much looser than yesterday. We didn’t have much time to work on her legs as Janet needed to be changed. This is a good thing as it had been about five days since her last movement. Relief. Her legs were tighter than I expected so we’ll work hard on them this afternoon.

Janet drove Bam Bam style to the gym and had a random meltdown outside the nurses station. I’ve no idea what it was about so after a couple minutes I told her to get going again and she did. When she uses her foot and hand it is amazing how fast she can go and as long as she is paying attention she can steer well too. I don’t recall Wilma or Betty ever driving in the Flintstones so I think the next level will be Barney and Janet is close.

Moira wanted to take advantage of the Botox and work Janet’s arm today and she had her grade nine daughter Emma shadowing her. Janet seemed pleased about that. I said goodbye, then Janet started crying as if she wanted me to stay so I did and I’m glad I did as it was interesting to see the improvements in Janet’s ability to follow commands and how much more aware she is of how her body works and what she is capable of doing. Moira and I were discussing her vision challenges, Moira thinks she sees double and I took Dr. McCann’s theory in that parts of her field of vision are missing. We both agreed that Janet misses to the left when reaching for things. Janet proved us wrong by reaching out and grabbing Moira’s thumb from a number of different locations suggesting there’s nothing wrong with her vision at all. Who knows. Jessica joined in for most of the session as she is trying to tweak Janet’s old splint to fit her better now. Its not going to work so Jessica will start making a brand new one soon. Janet did some impressive moves reaching with her left arm and turning her head and impressed everyone by lifting her right leg when sitting in the wheelchair so the footrest could be adjusted. That’s a first.

I took Janet down to Speech and left her with Connie. She was OK for me to leave then and feeling pretty confident I think. Emma was going to join Connie so she could see what she does and hear Janet talk.

Looking forward to a fun afternoon.

Janet was in her bed snoozing when I returned this afternoon but wanted to get up as soon as I got changed. Moira arrived a few minutes later to help get Janet to an appointment with Sabina. She is a Physio Therapist that specializes in shoulders, arms and hands in relation to brain injuries. We had a few minutes so I asked Janet to try standing a few times with Moira watching. We learned some improvements to the technique and despite Janet’s drowsiness Moira was still impressed by her motivation and ability. I let the two of them head off to the appointment as I wanted to talk to Jessica about Janet’s splint. Turned out Jessica had planned on attending Sabina’s session with Janet so we went together.

Sabina had Janet sitting on the edge of a table mat and was working on her right shoulder when we arrived. Janet looked relaxed and focused and participated well throughout the session. Sabina worked her way down to Janet’s bicep then elbow then wrist and hand. By the time she was done Janet was sitting with both arms at each side and both hands open with palms down and fingers over the edge of the mat. Janet has not been able to get her right arm into that position for weeks if not months and it was truly exciting to see. There is no magic involved here as Sabina credits the Botox starting to kick in as well as her expertise in knowing what muscles to manipulate and how to move the various joints without causing pain. One really interesting point she made was that arms should be worked on from a sitting position as that is way more comfortable and allows for greater range. I was treating Janet laying down as I had been taught back when she couldn’t sit up. Not that that hurt Janet it just wasn’t the best way. Jessica agreed that the splint is causing Janet’s hand to clench more than before and we don’t want that so she took it away. Tomorrow she will try the old splint on Janet and see if some modifications can be made to it to serve as wrist support without causing hand clenching. Sabina, Moira and Jessica were impressed by the results from this little workout including Janet’s increased awareness of her right side. Exciting.

I had Janet drive Bam Bam style back to her room but she got tired and a little frustrated half way there and since she had had another busy day I drove the rest of the way. We then Skyped Mary/Gaga and had a smiley and chatty call with her and Keith. Janet was really excited to see and hear her mom and tried really hard to use her loud voice to say stuff but I had to interpret most of the time. It is also hard with the delay on Skype as Janet will be talking but you won’t see or hear the attempt on the other end for about two seconds. That’s a long time when two women are talking. I’m sure it will get better with practice.

Next up was a quick leg stretch before dinner and during that time Janet’s nurse, Carol, came in to confirm Dr. McCann had ordered a muscle relaxer for Janet at night time. We had discussed this previously and held off because one side effect is drowsiness and nobody wants to make Janet drowsy but the feeling now is something needs to be done about the increased tone in her legs and this is the best first step. Carol assured me that when given at bedtime this drug should be out of Janet’s system before breakfast. The hoped for result is less inclination to bend her legs up when in bed. Here’s hoping.

Dinner was uneventful but Janet helped herself more than before with me so that is good. Back in her room she was eyes closed as soon as I plugged her tube feed in and laid on the bed with her. She actually fell totally asleep this time for about a half hour. Of course waking up after I had got changed to leave. She wasn’t fully awake though and gave me permission to leave and smiled then closed her eyes again as I waved goodbye from the door.

Praying for a restful and healing night and for a good reaction to the muscle relaxing drug.

Janet was still in the process of getting up when I arrived this morning and although she was sitting up she was not totally awake. The nurses were going to put her in the Arjo to get to the wheelchair but I told them not to bother as I would do a little ankle stretching with Janet first then lift her in myself.

The dining area was pretty hectic during breakfast and for the most part Janet enjoyed watching all the activity. It took a long time for her breakfast to arrive and she was not very chatty while we waited but she was pleasant to her table mates. Janet mostly helped herself to the yogurt and pureed fruit this morning and wanted nothing to do with the Ensure or the milk. I would have to agree with her.

Back in the room for stretching she was clearly more awake and I started to get a little chatter going from her. I reminded her she said today was going to be exciting and asked what would make it so and she started crying. I could not discern what she was crying about so we got on with the stretching and she stopped crying. There was no real change with her today as far as flexibility goes and she didn’t want to try standing at all so I got her back into the wheelchair and we headed for the gym.

Knowing Moira would be late because of Rounds I had Janet lift some weights. Eight, nine and ten pounds, ten reps each with her counting in a whisper each rep. Nice. We played catch with an eight inch ball after that and Janet really enjoyed that, even catching off of a bounce. Moira arrived and was giving Janet choices on what to do this morning, she chose to work on the mat. Rob stopped by as they were talking and offered Janet a two pound weight as it kind of matched her nail polish, she looked at him like “are you crazy?” He then suggested he could give her the ten pound one as it is black like her pants. Moira said she’s already done it and Janet looked at Rob with a huge sassy smile and gave him a left shoulder shrug that clearly said “Yes I did you fool”. Moira was howling with laughter and Janet was laughing too. Rob said “I guess I’ve been told”. Ever since Janet made the tomorrow will be exciting comment I wondered how that would play out. Seeing her dish out some attitude like that was pretty exciting.

Looking forward to an afternoon of learning.

Janet seemed to be waiting for me as she was trying to get up and go outside as soon as I returned. I let her practice getting up a few times and then stand once. She was extremely chatty but mostly Klingon albeit in a loud voice sometimes.

We enjoyed a nice long walk in the surprisingly warm sunshine spending time at the beach and walking through the neighborhoods south of the hospital. It felt really good to be outside with her and she had a very contented and relaxed look about her the whole time. Back in her room I read Tim’s column to her. This week’s topic was the power of good words and how important it is for us to edify others. Janet agreed and I have been reminded of that many times during this process as it is crucial to Janet’s recovery that every positive, large or small, be recognized and reinforced to her.

I decided to switch things up a little today and stretch her before dinner. For the last while Janet has been rather sleepy after dinner so I thought if we got the workout in beforehand she could relax the rest of the evening. She cooperated and I’m OK with the results.

Dinner was with Theresa and Gail. Janet was not very hungry probably because she ate ALL of her soup at lunch in addition to some yogurt and pureed fruit. She liked those same things tonight, different flavors, but didn’t eat much and got a little upset after a while and I never did understand why. I got her back to her room and into bed and she was happy for me to read some of Anne 2. I laid beside her as I read and she seemed to be following along with me. She even wanted me to read more after I completed a chapter. With two and a half pages to go in that second chapter I noticed she had been eyes closed for a bit and there was no suspense to what I was reading so I did what every parent has done while reading to their kid. I skipped ahead to the last few paragraphs of the chapter. After I had read the first four words, which clearly had no connection with what I had just read, I could feel her eyes pop open and sure enough she was glaring at me. I asked, “what?” I had to ask a few times and wait for the Klingon to subside but eventually she said “you speeded up” then laughed. She busted me and I asked her “you know this book well enough that you could tell I skipped ahead?” She just smiled and raised her eyebrows, which we have come to accept as a form of yes from Janet.

We had a long chat after that with her being quite articulate and asked to sit up on the edge of the bed “just for a little while”. That was a good opportunity to stretch her ankles and after a little bit she laid down again. As I was saying goodnight she said, “it’s going to be an exciting day tomorrow”. I can hardly wait.

Thanking Jesus for every minute I get to spend with my beautiful wife.

The music was blasting away in Janet’s room this morning when I arrived but she wasn’t there. I headed out to the dining area assuming she was waiting for breakfast. It took me a while to find her, she was sitting at a table with Nick and Gary but facing the wrong way and looking out the window crying. I couldn’t understand what she was saying when I asked her why she was crying but she calmed down pretty quick so I got her up to the table and breakfast arrived. She ate about half the yogurt and only a couple spoons full of pureed pear. We headed back to her room and I asked again why she was crying earlier. She said “nobody was paying attention to me”. I didn’t tell her it may have been because she was facing the wrong way. I just reminded her that Nick and Gary are both nice guys and she’s always one of the last to get her breakfast because it’s all cold. No more tears.

We started stretching and I managed to get her right arm fully extended with her hand open and she even let me raise it up a little bit. First time since Botox. The legs were super tight but I got the right one to a reasonable place and the left one I didn’t want to go to hard at. I thought it would be better just to get to Physio. I did have Janet try standing from the edge of the bed again and just before she did she looked at me kinda worried and said “maybe I need to go to the bathroom”. That was pretty exciting to hear so I rang for a nurse and helped get her into the Arjo and off to the toilet she went. She did not go but the fact she asked to is big. High five.

Because of the toilet episode we were a little late for Physio but I had told Moira so she was fine and had the Tilt Table all ready for Janet. I demonstrated the standing technique that I used on Janet yesterday and Moira agreed it was good for her as she gets more weight through her legs. Janet was very comfortable on the table and “stood” at ninety degrees for a good twenty minutes. Moira had her scanning the little table in front her and picking up objects from it to hand to her. This proved Janet can see despite what she said the other day. Moira wanted to get Janet on the elliptical bike but it was time to head for Speech so she invited Janet to come back after Speech to do that.

Connie started Janet on some oral motor exercises which Janet did very well at. Lots of different tongue and lip movements that Janet picked up on right away. She did well at pointing to different body parts but was getting tired/bored near the end when it was time for vocal exercises. Janet was quite talkative this morning overall and using her loud voice quite a bit.

I wheeled her back to Moira and said goodbye so I could take my car in to put the winter tires on. Janet started to cry and said “I don’t want you to go”. Often that would have prompted me to stay but I know she loves working with Moira and she knew Jessica was coming to get her afterwards and she likes her too so I left telling her that when I get back we’ll try and get out in the sunshine for a walk. She seemed fine with that.

Looking forward to a bright afternoon.

Wayne and Brenda were visiting Janet when I got back from a quick lunch break. Suzanne reported that Janet ate quite a bit of her lunch especially the yogurt and pureed fruit. Suzanne brought her some beautiful yellow roses that Janet enjoyed smelling and I think they had a nice time together. Wayne had not seen Janet for a few weeks and was impressed with her progress. No loud voice from Janet for anyone today but some decent whispers. Thanks for the visits everyone, it helps a lot.

Cam had requested a Skype call with his mom and Janet was pleased to see and hear him, even asking him “what’s going on with you?” That’s the first time I’ve gotten Janet to ask a question other than how are you. Cool. I know its hard talking to someone when they aren’t talking back to you but Janet really is engaged on these Skype calls and is getting more so. I think as long as we keep them to fifteen minutes maximum they are a huge benefit to her. Case in point. Later on we Skyped Laurel and near the end of that conversation Laurel said “I miss you mom”. Janet whispered back “I miss you too”. Laurel got a little teary when I told her that’s what her mom had said. Laurel pulled herself together quickly and ended the conversation a couple of minutes later and Janet smiled as she said goodbye. After we disconnected Janet’s next move was to turn to me and say “she started to cry”. I confirmed that and then Janet started to cry, which got me crying. After a couple minutes of talking about how much Janet is loved and missed she said “and Heather will too”, and started crying again. These are much better emotional outbursts than previous but are still hard to experience. I do feel this is yet another heightened level of awareness though so in the big picture its good.

After the Cam call I gave Janet a choice of things to do and she chose an inside walk with me driving. Since it is Sunday I honored her request, besides, I had given her a pretty good workout this morning in addition to all the visits she had. I was a little disappointed she didn’t want to go home and watch the Seahawks’ game though. Before the walk she made one of her best attempts at getting up from bed and I had her stand twice as well. She was a little unsure at first but once up she felt pretty good about herself. On our walk we toured the upper floors of the Centennial Building for the first time. Impressive. Janet did take on the challenge of driving the long hallway and did well for a Sunday afternoon. Back in her room before dinner we Skyped Laurel who reminded me that Janet would probably like to watch some NBA highlights now and then so we gave it a shot and she did enjoy them asking to watch more until we had seen five different clips. I can’t tell if OKC is still her team but probably.

At dinner we sat with Theresa and Luellen and Janet ate the yogurt, pureed fruit and tomato/pepper soup. Exciting huh? She was starting to fade rapidly during dinner so I got her to bed and started her tube feed and she was eyes closed immediately. I layed down with her for a while then said goodnight just before six to a sleepy but smiley Janet.

Praying for a night of rest and healing. Especially for her right shoulder and arm and also for increased flexibility for her whole body.

Janet was sitting at the window in her room looking out at me when I arrived this morning. She said she saw me but I didn’t get much of a reaction. She seemed to be in a pretty good mood as we headed off to breakfast. We sat with Edna and Janet gave her the occasional smile. Breakfast included the usual suspects with only the yogurt and pureed fruit worth repeating.

Janet got a little chatty after breakfast, whispers only, so stretching didn’t start until nine. Good thing it’s Sunday. Her nurse told me Janet complained of some pain in her right hand this morning so they gave her some Tylenol. Her arm and hand stretched out just fine with the fingers being a little hard to pry open but we got there. Her legs were all locked up as usual but after a lot of time and effort I got them to a reasonable place. Janet did a good job of trying to get up from bed and had the most movement I’ve seen from her right leg in a while. Not enough to get it over the edge but close. Janet seemed a little confused about the sitting exercises this morning but I know she is strong and can do them so I didn’t push too hard there. She had one melt down in which she told me she couldn’t see. This concerned me quite a bit so I talked to her a long time about it and kept trying to see if there was any difference in her eye movement. I didn’t notice anything and as far as I can tell she is tracking things and seeing things as normal for her. It could be she is aware enough to say something about it now. I’ll keep an eye on it. No pun intended. We tried standing once with me lifting her from her butt, it is so hard for me to hold her for any serious length of time, I don’t see the benefit. I tried the method where I hold her left elbow and right arm and she pushes up with her legs taking most of the weight and that worked really well with her clearing the bed by four or five inches all three times. I think this is best for her and will confirm with Moira tomorrow.

Time for some wheelchair exercises next and Janet impressed me and a few others this morning. She drove Bam Bam style all the way from her room to the elevator, down the hall and through the cafeteria then over to the Royal Building elevators with me only giving directions the whole way. I did help her through the cafeteria door and away from the wall a couple times but it was a very impressive display. Not ready to elevate her status fully yet but we’ll go Bam Bam Plus. I took her up to 4B and she Bam Bam’d her way through to the nurses station right up to Dr. Jones. He was pleasantly surprised and happy to see her and Janet gave him a big smile and a hand shake (a first). All the other nurses were thrilled to see Janet as well and I could tell she was happy but a little overwhelmed too.

By the time we got back to rehab it was nearly lunch time so we sat with Nick, Leo and Mary and waited. Janet seems to enjoy sitting at tables that have a lively conversation going and this one did. Suzanne surprised us while we were waiting for lunch and kindly agreed to stay and help Janet with her meal after I had gotten her started.

Looking forward to an afternoon full of progress.