After a fun time skiing with Nick, I returned to find Janet fresh from a successful potty break. Nicole and Jason presented me with a birthday card that “Janet made” while I was away. They made it of course but Janet did sign it with some help from Jason. Nice! We had a brief chat then she agreed to come home with me for a bit so we could let Nash out. Without prompting Janet wheeled herself closer to the chair where her quilt and lap blanket were and put both of them on her lap. I asked her what she was doing and she said “I should probably take both”. Nice planning. As I loaded her into the car I put my keys on the driver’s seat so I had two free hands. After stowing the wheelchair I came around and opened the driver’s door and my keys were gone. I looked up and Janet was holding them out for me. She didn’t want me to sit on them.

Since Janet’s focus at Connect will be on activities of daily living, ADL’s, I had her open the mail and a couple of birthday cards for me. For a one handed women she did extremely well opening envelopes and even getting the cards open to read the inscriptions. I don’t think her vision is good enough to read the fancy fonts in the cards or people’s hand writing but she did get some of the words. I let her explore the house a little bit and she managed to put a kleenex into what she thought was the garbage but was actually the recycling container. Close and a really good effort.

Back at rehab it was time for dinner and Janet ate all her soup, yogurt, pureed peaches and prune whip, feeding herself more than half of it all. Instead of rushing off to her room afterwards she wanted to go for an inside walk so away we went. As we passed Cathryn’s office she came out and walked with us to the cafeteria saying the review board for Janet going to Connect won’t happen next week but the week after. That delay should not delay a possible move over the Christmas break so I am kind of gearing up for that. Cathryn mentioned the team feels Janet is ready in a good way to move on and the increased communication lately is a great sign of progress. Janet drove Bam Bam style into the Royal Building and I took over from there as we stopped to look at as many Christmas decorations as we could find. It was odd to be roaming around the hospital that late but Janet was totally into it. Once back in her room she still wasn’t ready for bed so I gave her a choice of things to do. Drive downtown to see the Christmas lights, go watch TV with Mary and Edna or drive up to the church and watch a little of the band rehearsal. I explained that this was the first rehearsal for Christmas and she would get to hear some Christmas music. Her response was, “woohoo”. Well then. She decided to join Mary and Edna to watch Wheel of Fortune. I was very impressed with Edna’s skill at that game, her and I solved two of the puzzles before the contestants did. I sat Janet fairly close to the TV but a few minutes in she wanted to move farther back. She’s done this with the iPad as well so she seems to see better with things being well out in front of her.

By the end of the show Janet was finally tiring and had stopped talking so I knew it was time for bed. After getting her all ready I asked if I could stretch her legs before I left. She didn’t say anything but held up her left hand with her pointer finger and thumb about an inch apart to say “a little”. Another impressive show of attitude today.

Praying for all the people caring for Janet and those supporting me. Praying for another fun day of progress tomorrow.

This is a brief update so you all know what a spectacular day Janet is having so far. She was at the breakfast table when I arrived, all showered and looking good. She immediately said “happy birthday” to me with a big smile. That’s the only present I need.

Janet served herself all of her yogurt and half the vanilla Ensure and a little puréed pear. I gave her the med laced whipped prunes and she ate those without complaint.

I had her Bam Ban to the gym and she ended up in the outpatient one first. I asked her if this was her gym. She laughed and said no. We saw Dr. McCann and I was able to tell him Janet’s latest accomplishments. He was pleased. As we rolled into her gym she stopped and said to me, “I forgot my glasses”. Awesome!

I left her chatting to Moira and am treating myself to a few hours of skiing. Looking forward to a bright afternoon.

After greeting Janet upon my return this afternoon then having her attempt a potty break, we had a very nice chat. She was very bright and using her loud voice to say some very intelligent things like telling me to move as I sat on the bed when she wanted to get up. She totally shocked me by remembering her brother Mike had visited yesterday along with other significant events from then. It impressed me so much that when I got her into the wheelchair we headed for Dr. Miller’s office so I could tell him about this huge step forward. He graciously spent fifteen minutes with us on a day he’s not usually even in the office. He decided to stay around as he had a meeting later on and said he was really glad he did as he got to see this improvement in Janet. Dr. Miller was very impressed with Janet’s level of awareness, her loud voice and the answers she gave to his questions. She wasn’t always correct but the fact she was engaged in talking to him was stellar. He said that’s the best he’s ever seen her.

We went for an inside walk after our impromptu meeting with Dr. Miller and Janet Bam Bam’d her way to the Royal Building elevators. She for some reason was drifting to the left a lot this time as opposed to the right as usual. I took her up to 4B without asking as I wanted to take advantage of her brightness in hopes she would use her loud voice to say hi to her former nurses. We saw Harvi first and Janet gave her a nice loud whisper hi. At the nurses’ station Amy greeted Janet with major enthusiasm and that attracted the others to the scene. For the first time Janet smiled during the whole visit and managed a pretty decent “nice to see you all” with some prompting. This was the best visit back so far.

Back in her room we watched some YouTube of The Voice then went for dinner, of which Janet ate all her soup and whipped prunes but nothing else. The soup was extra thick tonight and Janet had no problems swallowing it and I think it filled her up quite well. We lingered at the table for quite a while as the conversation was quite lively especially after I asked Mary how old she thinks I am. She said “your at least in your seventies”. Even Janet laughed at that and tried to tell everyone I was fifty five. She always was wishing I was older than her. It was all good fun and we got to say so long to Nick as he left after dinner for his ride home to Trail. He was in rehab when Janet first arrived and was always very kind and friendly. We wish him well.

Before her evening potty break we read a newspaper article I brought in and I then gave Janet a good stretch which felt good to do and I am happy with the results. I said goodnight to a sleepy and very beautiful Janet who continues to get better each and every day.

Thanking Jesus for everything we have been blessed with and praying for a restful, healing night and a tomorrow even better than today.

Mary/Gaga and I arrived to a smiley but still in bed Janet this morning. She was quite chatty and using her loud voice really well even asking to go to the bathroom. Jason came in and Arjo’d her in and shortly after, Janet started to cry. I think because she had already gone and couldn’t go anymore. I gave her lots of praise for asking to go and that seemed to help. On the way back to her bed we could see what the other nurse had been scared of with the Arjo. Janet’s right leg was bent up so her foot was not touching the machine at all, flamingoing as Jason calls it. Definitely a result of the tone in her legs. Janet was not uncomfortable at all but it does put a lot of stress on her left leg.

We sat with the usual ladies for breakfast and today is Nina’s last day in rehab. When she said goodbye to Janet it was really cool to see how tuned in Janet was. She nodded her head at appropriate times and even said a few things as well. Really nice. Janet ate well as far as breakfast goes and she had time to brush her teeth and get a drink of water before heading to Physio.

I had a nice chat with Marlene the social worker about Connect and she’s confident Janet will do well there. Mary/Gaga escorted Janet to the gym where she had to wait a few minutes for Moira and Robyn. I had Janet lift a few weights while waiting and she seemed quite proud to show her mom what she can do. It was then time to take Mary/Gaga to the airport for her flight back to Toronto. I missed their goodbye but I know Janet benefited from seeing her mom. If there were any tears they hid them very well. We left Janet with Moira and Robyn and she seemed to be very bright and ready for a strong day.

After dropping Mary/Gaga off for her flight I drove over to Connect to see what it is like in the sunshine. I had a little walk around before running into Jen who kindly showed me around some more. The place looks even better with some sun streaming in and I emphasized again how important that is to Janet. We saw Andy who recently moved there from KGH Rehab and he gave the place a ringing endorsement and seems very happy. There is one building that gets more sun than the others, house C, and Jen thinks there is a bed available there. I was able to meet a couple other staff members as well so I’m really glad I went and am kind of looking forward to seeing how Janet does there.

Thanks Mary/Gaga for your time and efforts with Janet this past week and for your help around the house too, loved the pork tenderloin! Looking forward to a bright afternoon.

Our visit home was pleasant as Janet got to play with Nash and gave him his Scooby Snack afterwards. I tried getting her to give him voice commands but she’s just not loud enough. After she placed the treat in his bowl I had her motion with her left arm and that was enough for Nash to know he could run for the treat. Janet explored the house a little and opened a few cupboards and drawers in the kitchen but her restricted vision hampers her ability to do things like place a frying pan on the stove. Something else to practice at Connect.

It had been a pretty busy day and Janet started to show signs of fading so I let her lay down in her own bed for a while and of course Nash and I had to join her. I gave her legs a little stretch then it was time to go back to KGH. She seemed to have enough energy to get through dinner but coughed a lot so didn’t end up eating all that much. More than half the soup, a little yogurt and a little fruit along with the medicine laced whipped prunes. For some reason there were two portions of Ensure on the tray and Janet was not interested in either. She got anxious to leave the table so I released her brakes and watched her go and for the first time ever she made it from the dining area all the way into her room without any assistance whatsoever! High five! She told me she was going there and then headed for the other end of the dining area. She realized her mistake, got herself turned around and with the exception of needing to clear the vitals machines out of her way made it unimpeded to her room. Big step.

Once in bed Mary/Gaga read some of the Gabby book to Janet and just as the chapter ended her eyes were pretty much closed. A busy and productive day for Janet. Thanks for the visit and lunch Mike. Sorry about the bad timing Heidi and Jack. Praying for a restful and healing night and an exciting day tomorrow.

Mary/Gaga and I met a smiley and awake Janet this morning. She made a strong effort at getting herself up from bed and Bam Bam’d her way to the breakfast table where I left her with Mary/Gaga for the morning.

Breakfast went well and just before she found her spot I had her give Nick a happy face lollypop as it was supposed to be his going home day today. Turns out he’ll be with us until Thursday but he was very happy to receive the treat and Janet told him “good luck at home”. Janet handed out more gifts when she got to Physio as it’s Rob’s birthday today. He loved the lollypop and wore the tiara, sorry I wasn’t there so no pictures. For her workout Janet rode the elliptical bike then stood at the parallel bars. Connie reported that Speech went well today and Jessica presented Janet with a large shoe horn. A possible sign of things to come at Connect as that might make it easier for Janet to put on her own shoes.

Uncle Monkey arrived close to eleven o’clock and brought a large smile to Janet’s face. I returned during Janet’s lunch in which she ate all her soup and a good portion of the other things. We all went out with Janet to the Woodfire Grill for our lunch and Janet enjoyed sitting in the sun in the busy restaurant. After a little walk around the neighborhood it was time to say so long to Mike then come home for a little visit.

Looking forward to seeing how Janet does the rest of the day considering she’s had no rest time today.

Janet and I had a nice chat after I got back this afternoon. She gave me some of the usual answers describing her day but also offered some legitimate comments as well. She very strongly got herself up from bed, probably the best effort to date and she seemed pretty happy about it. Getting into the wheelchair with the sliding board was a breeze. Cindy the dietician popped in to see how things were going and I’m glad she did as we were able to clarify a few things. There has been some confusion as to how much water Janet should be getting now that she is only getting the one tube feed. The instructions in Janet’s chart are not clear so we simplified it all and agreed to give Janet 120ml of water after each meal including the late night tube feed. We cancelled the afternoon snack as Janet was not eating it anyways and confirmed that Janet continues to gain weight so no further changes are necessary except for trying a pureed entree once a day. That is Connie’s call and I mentioned to Cindy that she talked about doing that so Cindy will email a request to start it as soon as possible.

I asked Robyn to Arjo Janet to the toilet and that turned out to be a good call. The first part of our afternoon outing was a visit to Cathryn’s office as I needed to sign some release papers to start the Connect application. Moira and Jessica will make video recordings of their sessions with Janet and those will be used to demonstrate to the various Boards how Janet is doing. In previous meetings with Cathryn, Janet has been fairly quiet but she was pretty bright and expressive this time. We went back to her room after that and started a game of follow my leader. This was by far her best attempt at finding the gym, she got to within ten meters of Connie’s office and nailed OT and then made it all the way down to the elevator with a minimum of assistance. High five!

It was a little early for dinner but Janet said she was ready so to the table we went and she really was ready as she ate all her soup, all her fruit, half the Ensure and some of the pudding. Half of all that she served herself. High five. She was quick to return to her room afterwards and was concerned about buses outside her window. There weren’t any which I guess is good as she might have wanted to get on one? Don’t know. We watched a little YouTube including some clips from Mrs. Doubtfire, a favorite of Janet’s. Not much of a reaction other than a few smiles. Robyn and another nurse Arjo’d her before bed and Janet told me while on the toilet that “I just want this to be over”. I think she was referring to sitting on the toilet as once she was sitting bedside she was fine. We had another nice little chat time then I cut her right hand finger nails as Jessica had requested. I was impressed with how relaxed her right arm and shoulder and hand were all afternoon. Made the manicure much easier. I offered to paint those nails green and red for Christmas but she declined.

I said goodnight to a smiley Janet and am praying for a restful night and a fun day of progress tomorrow.

Janet was flying through the air on her way to her wheelchair as Mary/Gaga and I arrived this morning. She had a big smile on and not just because we were there. I think she is used to flying now and is OK with Amy as her nurse. Mary/Gaga had a gag gift of a tiara for Janet as she has been referenced as getting treated like a princess a lot. Janet thought “it looks fine” so she kept it on as she went out for breakfast. Her table mates got a chuckle out of it. Janet did not eat a ton for breakfast but enough to pass the test and Mary/Gaga escorted her to her therapy sessions afterward.

Being Monday, all the important people were back on the scene so I was able to have some productive conversations with a few of them. Cathryn was first as I reviewed our visit to Connect with us agreeing in the end to start the application process and when the team feels the timing is right Janet will move there as long as Interior Health and Connect approve. Cathryn and I then met with Dr. Miller and we had a good chat about Janet’s situation now and what it might be like at Connect. I asked him about Janet’s emotional outbursts and her asking “what’s happening” etc. He said to reassure her, change the subject and or the environment in order to “get her mind off of it”. He feels she is unable to process what happened to her and is “living in the moment”. Retaining and expressing memories is very difficult for her as right now her brain is still healing. That explains Janet’s automatic response of “no” and “terrible” to questions about her day. He advised the following as ways we can help.

– Try to build memories from old ones. A good example is the Do Re Me Fa song. Janet knew that without hesitation and we can try and find similar memories for her. When she brings those out she also has to activate the area of her brain that creates new memories and that will aid recovery of that area. Family memories are good ones to focus on.
– Treat Janet as an adult. No baby talk. No preschool books or activities unless it is done as something totally fun like singing a silly song that she may have sung to the kids a lot. Janet is 54 years old and may be challenged but is still an adult.
– Short visits. Keep visits to preferably one or two people at a time and only for twenty minutes or so. It is difficult for Janet to process things and the longer we are presenting things to her the more overwhelmed she can get.
– Community. Adventures like the one to the play on Saturday are really good for Janet, especially ones to familiar places.

Dr. Miller is confident Janet will continue to heal and progress and feels she is ready to get out of the hospital as it is a place for sick people. He emphasized the therapy at Connect is not delivered in pure focused bursts but inserted into activities of daily living throughout the day and patients are encouraged to participate as much as they are able at all times. He said, “people are not left alone in their rooms”. Over the next few weeks the team will discuss Janet’s case in more detail and “finish up” their work with her so she is fully prepared for the next step. I hope to speak to Dr. McCann tomorrow for his take on the timing and what the goals for Janet might be.

Mary/Gaga reports that Janet did well in physio. One exercise involved trying to stand from a kneeling position and apparently Rob loved her tiara and wants to wear it for his birthday tomorrow. Janet had a little melt down during Speech today and that session is proving to be the most challenging for Janet. It will be interesting to see how it changes at Connect. Jessica worked on Janet’s right arm and shoulder today. I find that area to still be under the influence of the Botox so that is good. I gave Jessica the all clear to find a wheelchair for Janet as she will need her own at Connect.

Lunch was cream of broccoli soup and Janet ate it all then when I returned to pick up Mary/Gaga, Robyn and Tammy Arjo’d Janet onto the toilet which was successful for Janet and reconfirmed to the nursing staff that it is perfectly safe to Arjo Janet.

A busy day so far. Looking forward to more this afternoon.

After a very enjoyable first half of the day skiing I drove with Laurel and Nash to see Janet on the way to taking Laurel to the airport. She was in bed listening to her mom read to her and seemed quite content. Nash brought a smile to her face as well as some slobber (his). Apparently Janet had had another meltdown and one of her nurses seemed concerned about her being “inconsolable”. Janet has been asking “why” a little more lately and I think it’s good she is coming to this level of awareness I just wish she could remember the story as she’s been told or anything short term for that matter. I asked her how her day was and once again the answer was “terrible”. Did you have breakfast, “no”, did you have lunch, “no”, what did you do today, “nothing”. All stock answers for Janet. On the other hand when I asked her if she knew what I did today she said, “you had lunch with what’s his name”. When I asked who, she started saying a name that started with N and that is right. I did have lunch with Nick today, we were skiing and that’s the answer I really wanted but I’ll take the lunch answer as at least that came from her and was in the ballpark.

We Skyped Leslie just as two nurses appeared in the room with one of them talking to me about having problems Arjo’ing Janet this morning and the other playing with Nash. Thanks for your patience Leslie. Janet was reactive but quiet during the call, talking in a whisper but was engaged the first ten minutes or so then Laurel and I had to head for the airport and I’m told Janet faded a little after that. The challenge with the Arjo this morning was due to it being first thing in the morning and Janet does take a while to loosen up. I’ll mention it to Moira in the morning.

Mary/Gaga and Janet had a pleasant evening together, reading, chatting and playing catch. Dinner went well with Janet eating all her soup and a good portion of the Ensure and all the whipped prunes. There was no other fruit on the tray which is weird. I returned to give Janet a stretch and take Mary/Gaga home and found them waiting for me by the front door. Janet was quite smiley and seemed happy to talk but only in a whisper. After a while we got Janet into bed and stretched. Her legs were pretty tight and she lost energy pretty fast so that by thirty minutes later she was eyes closed. After we said goodnight though she started a little Houdieno action so my parting words to her were “no escaping”.

Speaking of words, today’s word of the day is fiduciary. Nick was quite pleased today when I all I could come up with for a definition was that it’s a legal term. After he told me the definition I remembered it is a pretty cool word. Check it out.

Thanking Laurel for her help this weekend. Thanking you carolers again. Thanking Jesus for all we have been blessed with and praying for full and complete healing for Janet.

Update from Laurel:

Mom was still asleep when I arrived this morning, which I wasn’t surprised to see after having had such a busy day yesterday. She slowly awoke and was relatively chatty and smiley, giving a “yes” and a little smile when I asked her if she remembered going to the play yesterday. After she was cleaned up we headed out for breakfast. Mom did a pretty good job, eating all of her yogurt and her applesauce. Mary seemed particularly fascinated by Mom this morning, appearing very excited that they both had the same yogurt and trying to match Mom bite for bite as they ate it. She seems to have a soft spot for Mom, as the other day Nina told me that Mary had been telling everyone to “make sure to save a seat for Janet.” Mom seemed to be hungry today, as she did even better at lunch, eating all of her soup and almost all of her yogurt, strawberry ensure, and apricots.

We spent most of the day having a good stretch, watching some Youtube, listening to some Christmas music, and having a few chats. She wasn’t her loudest or her most clear today, but was definitely trying to make an effort to talk often. She had an emotional outburst at one point, becoming very teary and again saying that “it doesn’t make sense.” However, when I tried to clarify whether or not she understood why she was in the hospital, it seemed as if she did understand and she was able to say that what she was sad about was that she “didn’t want this to happen.”

It was a struggle to convince Mom to get back in bed for her mid-day rest before I left today, but once she did she seemed quite comfortable and relaxed. I joked about her “Houdieno” nickname and when I mentioned that it was Allan who had coined the nickname she said “He’s a pretty funny guy to have around.” Very true. Overall, a great weekend with Mom, with some more progress being seen since the last time I was here. Sad to be heading back to Calgary today but looking forward to being back in just a few weeks to spend Christmas with her.