Janet seemed like she had been a little restless while I was gone. She had removed her left sock as well as a pillow case and was lying basically across the bed. She smiled when I walked in and tried telling me she “didn’t do anything” when I asked her how the morning went. She realized she was wrong after I told her what she had done while I was with her and Moira then she said, “want to sleep”, so I let her rest.

That lasted less than five minutes then she was trying to sit up. I asked her if I could stretch her and she said no, I asked why, she said “it hurts”. We had a long chat about how important stretching is for her and one of the reasons it may hurt now is because she keeps her legs bent so much. No matter how much I tell her this she still defaults to either a curled up on her side position or on her back with the left leg bent up as high as possible. Instead of stretching I let her try to get up off the bed without help. It’s quite a workout for her and she does get good movement at the hips and legs so what the heck. She made three attempts, each time using a slightly different technique and I stepped in to help her finish the last one. As soon as she was up she was trying to stand but didn’t have much energy left to do that.

We headed out for a wheelchair drive around the inside of KGH. Janet did well, driving for a long way and really paying attention to all the movement going on around her in the various parts of the hospital. She even gave Monica from 4B a big smile when we saw her in the hallway. It was interesting to watch her watch others as we rested in the lobby. I remember sitting outside in the summer on Pandosy St. and being impressed every time she followed someone who walked by. Now she not only follows their movement, she is really watching them and trying to figure out who they are and what they are doing. Much much brighter.

Back at rehab we sat out in the dining area for a bit then headed back to the room. I sat Janet at the little workstation and asked her to write her name on the whiteboard. She actually did a pretty decent job of it. I asked her to try a few other words but that didn’t go so well then I made the mistake of asking her to tell me the colors of the pens she was using. For the first time she reacted as if she was truly insulted. She gestured with her arm and turned her head away then started crying. Through the tears she managed to ask me “what’s happening to me?” I explained the whole story to her again as she said she did not know what had happened or why she was here. She calmed right down as I explained it all, again, which tells me she does know but can’t always process it. She did not seem upset afterwards and in fact smiled as I talked about all the people who have been helping her. I noticed as she tried to deposit Kleenex number three into the garbage can that she didn’t appear to know where the garbage was. I asked her if she could see it and she shook her head no and the tears started again. I helped her with the Kleenex then held my hand in various positions in front of her asking if she could see it. I tried with my water bottle as well and got similar responses. As expected there were some no’s on the right side but also some on the left. I really think she was too upset to properly do a “test” like that and I’m certainly no doctor so I don’t know what her vision issues are but I feel that now that she can “talk” she could have an eye exam and I’ll ask Dr. McCann tomorrow. I told her this and that if we know what’s wrong maybe it can be fixed and that no one has done anything about it yet because she couldn’t tell anyone what she can and can’t see. She seemed content with that explanation and then asked to lay down in bed.

I was a little concerned about putting her to bed as Brenda was coming to visit soon and I was afraid she would fall asleep as I could see she was pretty worn out. I talked to her about the vocal exercises Connie had given her and tried to get her to do some but no luck. She did stay awake for Brenda though and they had a nice visit with Brenda trying some of the vocals with her and then starting to read the Gabby Giffords story to her. I walked in while they were reading and was surprised to see Janet awake still and listening intently. She loves reading, especially at that time of day, a nice way to wind down.

Brenda left at six which left me time to get a sleepy Janet dressed for bed, a little stretch on her legs, which I could do because she was eyes closed and nice and relaxed, then a goodnight prayer and lights out. It always amazes me how Janet can have busy active days filled with all kinds of emotion then close her eyes at night with a smile on her face. Sweet.

Praying for a restful, healing night and a day full of progress tomorrow.

Lots of tears from Janet this morning. Her nurses were just finishing getting her washed and dressed and I think Janet was upset that people had to do that for her. Took fifteen or twenty minutes to calm her down. After that it was all good!

A good stretch on her right arm and decent on her legs but we were running out of time to get to Physio partly because Connie stopped by to let me hear Janet’s voice. Connie had her saying some words and counting while holding her fingers to her throat to feel the vibration. She then had her doing vocal exercises with the letter E. Janet was loud and clear the whole time. Well not really clear, she’s kind of raspy, but you can hear her voice. So cool!

We did have time to let Janet get up from bed herself. For a first thing in the morning try it was pretty good. I took her down to see Moira and asked her to say good morning Moira out loud. She did. Moira was excited. For a workout today, Moira put Janet on a machine that is like a recumbent bike/elliptical machine. Janet’s feet were on pedals in front of her and her left hand held a handle that she could push and pull to make the foot pedals go around like a bicycle. Janet of course felt right at home on this thing and actually started going before she was really allowed to. Most of the energy was coming from her arm but Moira hopes that the leg movement will stimulate some spontaneous movement there soon. I showed Moira some video of Janet getting up from bed this morning and she was very impressed.

Janet was right at home in the gym so I left her with Moira and look forward to hearing all about it from Janet this afternoon.

As I arrived back at Janet’s room this afternoon, Jacquie once again came right in with a sense of urgency. I was expecting another Houdieno story and I was right but this one is minor. Janet had been dropped off by the Porter after OT and before Jacquie could get to her to put her in bed Janet had undone her seat belt. Jacquie was worried she would get out again but this time no where near the bed. She asked if I was OK if they put a different seat belt on the chair, one that Janet can’t undo. I said fine. They needed my permission as it is a form of restraint. Not a nice thing when you look at it like that but I think safety trumps any feeling of independence reduction here.

Since I had the car because of the rain today I decided to offer Janet a chance to come home for a bit this afternoon. She accepted the offer and we got home just in time for our scheduled Skype with Cam. He was a little surprised to see his mom was home and she was quite excited to see him on the iPad. She smiled even bigger than she already was and sat way forward in the chair all excited that she could see and “talk” with Cam. Janet managed a few words that Cam could hear on his end and considering she was not very talkative today that was a nice surprise. I know how challenging it is for you all to talk to your mom/Janet when she doesn’t talk back much but these Skype calls are proving to be valuable to her. She lights right up.

Nash of course was going bonkers having his mom home and somebody to play with in the middle of the afternoon so after the call with Cam, Janet played more ball with Nash and fed him his Scooby Snack afterward. Surprisingly she didn’t just drop it for him, she made me put it in his bowl, told him to sit then told him good boy. He was very patient and responded to my hand signals as back up to Janet’s whispered commands. She was thrilled that he obeyed. I moved her onto the couch to see if that would be more comfortable for her. It certainly was for Nash and Janet really enjoyed visiting with him there.

I toured Janet around the house a little trying to get her to name rooms and objects. It was a little much for her but she understood each thing after I told her. She did get right a couple of pictures of us, one from Heather’s grad in Ottawa and another of us at a Vancouver Grizzlie’s game a hundred years ago. I made the mistake, or maybe not, of showing her a framed quote she bought for us a long time ago entitled Love, by Mary Anne Radmacher. I read a couple lines then had to stop, she read a couple lines (yes she did) and then burst into tears. I know this quote really spoke to her when we first saw it in Portland years ago and clearly it still does. Sweet moment but I hate making her cry.

Before long it was time to head back to KGH and Janet didn’t argue or get upset at all. We sat in the dining area for a bit then she told me she wanted to go to her room. She actually said it in almost full voice! So exciting. I tried for a repeat once we were in the quiet of her room but only got half of what she did in the dining area. Still some vocal cord action though. We chatted and read a little during the first part of dinner and by the time she was half way done she was sound asleep. I stayed for the rest of dinner hoping she would wake so I could at least dress her for bed and say goodnight but no luck. I’m trusting that she was tired out from another epic day.

Praying for rest, healing, communication and flexibility.

A tearless greeting for me from Janet this morning thankfully. She seemed pretty content but not fully awake and her nurse said she was weepy earlier in the morning which she thought was from her sore shoulder so she gave Janet some Tylenol. I couldn’t get much of a conversation going but she knew her name is Janet. Mine ranged from “I don’t know”, to “Ken”, to “Paul” and when I said Larry I got the raised brow roll of the eyes “sure it is” look. She’s lucky she’s cute.

Stretching went well this morning, slow but well. I got her right arm flat out on the bed beside her with her hand open and no tears. Her legs were very tight to begin with but straightened out nicely after a while. I had a little extra time to work on stretching Janet this morning as Moira came in about 9:15 to say rounds were running late so don’t rush down to the gym. She hadn’t heard about yesterday’s reverse Houdieno move and was quite impressed. Jessica stopped by as we were discussing Houdieno and had read the nurses report and was all excited too. They are of course concerned about the risks of Janet injuring herself but are impressed she did it. I also told of how she got herself sitting from a flat bed with minimal help and Moira complained to Janet saying she is going to have to assist more in her transfers during Physio now.

With a little extra time I spent it getting a really good stretch on Janet’s legs then letting her try and get up from a flat bed again. She did not have a whole lot of energy yet and it took every bit she had but she got ninety percent of the way there before I helped with the right leg and gave her upper body a little boost. She cried a little before I started helping as she was trying so hard but not getting there. She was fine as soon as she was up and I reassured her that was a massive effort and she did really well. She got brighter and brighter sitting up and straightening her back and in the wheelchair she brushed her teeth while I put her shoes on. I then gave her the hair brush and told her to brush her hair. She looked at it quizzically and started to brush her teeth with it. I laughed out loud and and she shot me a look then kind of laughed herself. I explained again that it was a hair brush but it took a couple of demonstrations before she caught on. Funny but a little bothersome as well. I’ll see if Jessica can practice that more with her.

Moira still wasn’t in the gym when we arrived so Janet did some free weights while waiting. She seems rather unimpressed with the four pounder now so I think I’ll start with five next time. She did the five and six quite easily. She sure is getting stronger. When Moira arrived she asked Janet if she wanted to stand up or work on the mat. Janet of course said “stand up”. I left them to it with Janet seeming happy and ready to go.

Looking forward to a good day of learning.

We have not seem much of Houdieno since moving to rehab but she was in full force today. A few seconds after I returned to Janet’s room, Jacquie appeared to say Janet had been on a mission about fifteen minutes ago. After her OT session Janet was plugged in for lunch while in her wheelchair parked beside her bed. In a reverse Houdieno move Janet managed to undo her seat belt, lift the arm rest out of the way and get herself out of the wheelchair and onto her bed! Jacquie was quite upset that they had “allowed” Janet to do that but I reminded her she loves to try and escape. Janet didn’t comment on her adventure when I asked her but she did grin a little. Jacquie said there was a red mark on Janet’s left butt cheek probably from sitting on the frame of the wheelchair but when we checked later there was no sign of any injury and no more red mark.

Janet clearly had not slept at all while I was away so she was pretty sleepy for the first hour I was back. I went for a walk to see who I could see and met Connie coming to tell me about her Speech session with Janet this morning. She too thinks Janet’s voice is right there waiting to come out and today it did! Connie was getting Janet to say segments of the alphabet and also counting in small segments with a kind of musical pace to it and she could hear Janet’s voice just under the whisper. She then asked Janet to say the same things but hold her left hand on her throat and try to feel the vibration of her talking. It worked! Janet spoke loud and clear! I didn’t get to hear it of course and Connie could not get a sustained performance out of Janet but she was very excited she got that far. Based on this info I’m going to hit pause on Music Therapy Guy and see what Connie can do the rest of the week. Exciting.

Next up was Jessica who also had some shocking news. She says she saw movement in Janet’s right arm today! She asked Janet to reach out and grab something and she tried with her right arm. I told her I thought I saw movement from her right thumb as I was stretching her this morning but couldn’t be sure. Maybe I did. Both Connie and Jessica seem very excited about Janet’s progress and like working with her. There was no sign of Dr. McCann today so hopefully tomorrow I can get a Botox update.

When Janet woke up she was ready to get up and wanted nothing to do with stretching. She wanted up so bad she actually got ninety percent up herself from a flat bed. I only had to help move her right leg the last couple of feet to the edge and over and she was up. She had to work really hard to get there and let out a big sigh when she was up. High five! Almost immediately she was trying to stand and I actually had to tell her to settle down as she was really going for it. I assisted her in trying to stand a few times then I actually lifted her to a standing position for a minute or so and she seemed pleased with that and let me move her to the wheelchair.

We attempted a walk outside complete with mittens but the wind was too strong and cold for Janet so we headed in and Janet drove the long hallway and found it much easier going over The Bump in the smaller wheelchair. We sat in the dining area for a little bit when we returned to rehab then Janet started trying to tell me something quite important but I couldn’t hear her so we headed to her room. She proceeded to tell me her bum was sore. Back into bed she went and all was fine. We practiced reading and naming pictures during dinner and she even tried reading Tim’s column herself but the font is too small, she got a bit of the title though. Again she started trying to tell me something important and after a while I figured out she was saying “scared someone will see us”. I reassured her it’s ok for me to be here as I’m your husband and we’re not doing anything that other people can’t see anyways. She smiled. A little while later she was kind of restless and trying to say something which I never did understand but she motioned by her left hand lifting her blanket that she wanted me to lay beside her. I did and she smiled big and shut her eyes. That was pretty much the night as I stayed beside her till dinner was done, flushed her tube feed, changed her and said goodnight just before seven. Epic day!

Praising God for the amazing work he is doing and continuing to pray for rest, healing, learning, talking and happiness.

Seems like I hardly saw Janet this morning. She was awake when I arrived and greeted me nicely but started crying when I asked her how she was. She calmed down after a while and I got a really good stretch on her right arm and hand. I didn’t go near her shoulder and only had time for a brief go at the legs and I had to remind Janet to keep moving them around as much as possible as they both were pretty tight this morning.

She wasn’t too happy with me as we had to hurry off to Physio so I could get back home to meet with two guys re accessibility to the house. Janet smiled when she saw Moira and seemed ready for her busy morning of therapies once she was at the gym. Dr. McCann somehow communicated to Moira that he is going to Botox Janet’s right shoulder either today or tomorrow. Hopefully I can get details this afternoon.

Steve from Advanced Mobility and his contractor were at the house when I got back and we had a good discussion about three different options for making the place accessible for Janet in the future. They both will rough out some details for me so I can better assess which option is best and be ready to implement it at the appropriate time.

Looking forward to an active afternoon.

It didn’t seem like Janet slept while I was away and she said she didn’t so we’ll go with that. We had a nice chat when we should have been stretching and she made me laugh a few times as I tried to convince her that going for a naked hot tub would help her shoulder. I told her she used to beg me to do that with her all the time but she just frowned and shook her head. It was good for a laugh at least and a laugh was welcome as she for the first time complained to me about her shoulder when she was just lying in bed talking to me. I went and asked her nurse about the X-ray results but she couldn’t tell me as only the Dr. is supposed to but she offered Janet some Tylenol. By the time that offer came Janet was no longer complaining about her shoulder and in fact was rolling around on it so we stayed drug free for now. Hopefully I can get some info on the X-ray tomorrow afternoon.

Janet allowed some minor stretching on her right arm and it did go nice and straight for me and as I held it down on the bed and talked to her it went really relaxed for the first time in a long time. Nice. I had her sit up after that and she did really well getting up on the right side of the bed herself. I modified the attempt to stand yourself exercise to where I am standing in front her holding her hands and she tries to get up from there. She cleared both butt cheeks very briefly a couple times. Hard work.

Once in the wheelchair I asked her if she wanted to Skype Andrew and she said “sure”. We had a good conversation with him, getting Janet’s biggest smiles of the day by far. She even whispered a couple things to him loud enough for Andrew to hear. Nice. Janet was getting a little antsy by the end of the call so we went for a spin around the rehab unit while waiting for Kiko and Joel to visit. Janet must have really wanted to go cause she had a smile on her face as she saw people out there and went faster than ever. She was doing so well I decided to see if she would use her feet at all. We tried left foot only first and even though I’m not totally sure what she’s supposed to do I think she is as she stated moving it right away. The trick to me seems to be to place it on the floor when she starts drifting to the right and the chair comes back to the left. It sort of works. We tried both feet for a little bit but Janet is not ready for Flintstone mode yet.

Kiko and Joel arrived just as we were heading back and Joel and I left the two ladies alone for a bit. Kiko said they sang some simple songs and did some alphabet practice with Janet making a good effort. She didn’t get the vocal cords going really but Kiko agrees that Janet’s voice is right there just waiting to come out. We’ll see if Music Therapy Man can help bring it out.

Janet started fading a little after five and asked to lay down in bed, so by 5:30, dinner was on, Kiko and Joel said goodbye and Janet was content to chat a little before the eyes started closing. I said I was hanging out till dinner was finished and I climbed onto the bed with her and read her a couple of emails and we watch a clip of Andrew’s segment from the Global Toronto breakfast show. Janet watched that intently and smiled a couple times. I laughed once when Andrew reminded me of Stefon from SNL. You’ll have to ask Andrew if your allowed to watch it.

Praying that Janet has a restful and healing night and a productive day tomorrow.

I was greeted with a nice smile and a “hi” followed by a “I love you too” by Janet this morning. She wasn’t too talkative after that though. I got some Klingon whispers and a few actual sentences later on but a pretty quiet day so far.

When it was time to stretch, Janet was not too excited about it and soon after I got her right arm straightened out she broke into tears. It was a prolonged crying session this time and not related to pain at all although her shoulder was sore earlier she told me. Yesterday Laurel had a talk with Janet explaining everything that had happened to her and it seemed as though she was hearing about it for the first time. Today was similar as she felt things were not going well but after I explained all that she’s been through and how much better she has gotten she calmed down. She seemed really reluctant to let me stretch her legs but I managed to them fairly straight and told her I was not happy with the results and we will try and do better this afternoon. I also felt I had to explain how we have to keep working at this or it won’t get any better.

After the stretch she couldn’t wait to get sitting up and I let her try all on her own. She managed pretty well and gave a very determined effort. I helped with her right leg and as soon as the left foot was over the bed she did the rest herself. High five! I had her practice moving to stand up and she got her left but cheek off the bed three times. Janet was very happy to stand up and I was glad we could do that a few times as it stretched out her legs nicely. Once in the wheelchair we did a cruise around the hospital with Janet driving a lot and when we returned to rehab she elected to watch football for twenty minutes rather than go back to her room.

Janet tired out right around noon so back to bed she went and I started her lunch then headed home myself with it feeling like snow is not too far away today. Praying for a brighter and more active afternoon.

I dropped Laurel and Janet off at KGH after the visit home and started Janet’s lunch feed for her. She elected to have it in her room and sitting in her wheelchair. I went home to spend some much needed time cleaning the place up.

A Skype call to Heather was first on the list for Laurel and Janet and they had a nice chat with her and Allan. Heather threatened to come out and visit Janet soon and Janet said “that’s a good idea”, and it is. After some stretching and chatting it was time to Skype Leslie and Mary Gaga. Unfortunately Janet was kinda sleepy by this time so there wasn’t a lot of interaction on her part. After Janet’s short dozing session it was back to brain exercises with Laurel who lay beside Janet on her bed and at one point pretty much fell off. That had them both laughing and tonight when I asked Janet what she had done today the first thing she said was “Laurel fell”. She patted Laurel on the shoulder as she said it implying she wasn’t trying to make fun of her but she did think it was funny.

The rest of their visit was spent reading and chatting and when I arrived after church Janet was still quite awake and able to answer most of the name the family questions and even managed an out loud growl when I asked her to growl like a bear. Sounds silly maybe and she thought some of what I asked her was silly but I’m just trying to find ways for her to use her vocal cords. That one worked.

Wishing Laurel a safe flight home and thanking her for spending so much quality time with her mom. Janet has not smiled this much in a long time.

Praying for full and complete healing and thankful to God for the amazing progress Janet is making.

Laurel went in first this morning and Janet was awake when she arrived and was dressed but in some goofy hospital pants instead of the ones Laurel had left out for her. After a little morning chat Laurel asked Janet if she could do a little stretching with her and she said no. Laurel asked why and Janet said “because Larry always makes me”. Not sure how to interpret that one.

I arrived around 9:30 and got Janet ready for a big adventure. Laurel and I had been planning on taking her home for a visit today if she was feeling up to it. I had cleared it with the nursing team a couple days ago so it was just a matter of if Janet was bright enough and wanting to. She most definitely was. We got her loaded into the car and headed out. Janet seemed content to watch the scenery pass by as we drove along and I think a few things were recognizable along the way. I felt like she knew where we were as we approached the house and she immediately undid her seat belt as we backed into the driveway. Janet had a smile on her face the entire hour and a half we were home. I carried her up the stairs and plunked her in a family room chair. Nash was going crazy and Janet was totally focused on him for the first half hour or so, throwing his ball and watching him run up and down the hall. Seems to me that the connection with Nash is coming back stronger for Janet, Nash is happy as long as she is doing something for him. We took Janet for a tour of the house in her wheelchair and I was pleased to find that there is just enough room to maneuver it throughout the living space. I wasn’t sure how Janet would react to seeing our bedroom but when I asked her if she knew what this place was she said “this is a happy place”. That choked me up a little. We went outside onto our balcony so she could see the back yard, she said “it looks pretty good”.

Back inside we invited Barb and Gary to come and say hi to Janet. They are the best neighbors anyone could have and Janet’s smile got even bigger when she saw them.

Janet seemed to want to just hang out in the house but I thought we should take advantage of the opportunity to go for a walk so I carried her down the stairs and Laurel quickly followed with the wheelchair and with Janet driving Nash, off we went for a loop around the neighborhood. Janet was very focused on Nash again and did a pretty good job of keeping him in line. Laurel and I teased her a little by giving her a poo bag for Nash and she actually started getting it ready to pick some up. I don’t think Janet really wanted to go back to KGH yet but she understood she had to for lunch and we promised she could come home for visits more often now. I think on rainy afternoons when she has no therapy sessions or anything I’ll bring her home for a few hours.

I left Janet with Laurel for the afternoon and they plan on Skyping Heather and also Leslie and Gavin who are at Mary/Gaga’s and Keith’s so they will get to see Janet instead of just talking at her.

Thankful for the incredible progress that has been made so far and still excited to have had Janet at home.