cooking

Janet, A Success Story. April 26. #TSJ

Thanks for complying with the new settings to the emails you receive for this blog, there was a nice spike in the numbers today and that is encouraging to me.

Our morning was leisurely today and Janet started off with a decent Skype chat with her mom. She seemed a little quiet to me in spite of a sleep in but she did toss and turn quite a bit last night so maybe the sleep in just kind of evened things out. Janet came outside with me as we met with the Gardening Committee from our Strata to discuss what shrubs we would like removed and who’s responsibility each one is. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that costs would be shared and most of what Janet and I want to do is likely to be approved.

It was just warm enough outside for Janet and the gardening ladies but not enough to stay out any longer than that so we scanned old photos into the computer until we were hungry for lunch. I made sure Janet helped as much as she could in the kitchen today and she did a solid job. I did give her a break from chopping duty though as she does that a lot at Connect so today was largely assembly practice and Janet is improving nicely.

After a decent nap we went to church this evening where Janet got her first real walking done today. She bravely walked the entire length of the aisle to her seat with me in front acting as her cane. Her steps were large and fast and wobbly at times but got praise from Tim who saw her without the wheelchair and came over to encourage her as did Randi and Wayne a little later. We had a nice long chat with Randi after the service that Janet chose as one of her highlights of the day tonight. He is a kind man going through some tough times and we are grateful we get to cheer him on a little. Janet then walked back up the aisle to her wheelchair more confidently than she did down. Soon I won’t have to be her cane. Walking around the house didn’t happen as much as I wanted to today but when Janet did, she did well. I’ll try again tomorrow to get some video.

Janet and I hadn’t watched a movie for a while so when I pitched the idea, Janet actually got excited. We chose Philomena, making sure the only options were Janet appropriate films. I only had to explain a couple things as the movie went along and Janet remembers seeing the great Judi Dench in other films but couldn’t name them. Unlike Noah, there was not a lot of discussion afterwards but Janet and I both enjoyed.

Praying for a night of uninterrupted sleep and a productive Sunday.

Janet, A Success Story. April 18. #TSJ

A Good Friday it was! Janet was up early and I’m glad now that she was as we had an unhurried breakfast and a smooth trip to church for a 10am service which could have been a real scramble. Had we been five minutes later we would not have gotten our usual seat, which is important to me as we’ve chosen one that allows Janet the best view. Janet really enjoyed the service as it was done in a narrative form with four different readers and interspersed with songs. Janet said she could follow it the whole time.

Since we were in the area we stopped by to see John, Janet’s first visit to his room. She commented on the way up that “this place is really run down” and on the way out “I hope I never have to be in a place like that”. I reminded her that she was in the queue for just such a place even as she transferred to the Rehab ward and because of her hard work she progressed past that. John put on a good show for us but I get a sense he’s not too happy and maybe concerned about something he’s not sharing with us. It was also evident that no one is pushing him to do anything, if he wants to sleep until 9:30 and not have breakfast, they let him. Not cool. Please keep him in your prayers.

Janet helped make lunch before we both had a nap this afternoon which for some reason I seemed to need as much as her. The sun was shining when we got up and Janet went for a nice walk around the kitchen area. It was her first time on this particular course and it included lots of turns, even a 180 degree one that she executed very well. High five! Tomorrow I’m going to try and have her take a step without hanging on to anything. She sort of did it at bedtime tonight and I think she can, I just have to convince her she can.

Our evening was quiet save for a nice conversation with Cam who is in snowy Saskatoon and we got a picture from Laurel in snowy Calgary.

Good Friday?

Good Friday?


Glad we live here!
Our sun bathed tulips

Our sun bathed tulips


Praying for a night of deep and healing sleep and a day of celebration tomorrow.

Janet, A Success Story. March 28. #TSJ

My phone rang at 10:30 this morning while I was at the grocery store, Janet Dieno, it said on the call display. I’m grateful Janet has her own phone now as the few times she called me from Connect before, it would just say, Connect, and I would be nervous not knowing if it was a fun call or someone calling with bad news. She was laughing as soon as I answered, which made it even better, happy with herself for calling me. Curtis helped her make the call but it was her idea, rooted around her desire to come home for the weekend as soon as possible. Janet said she was all done in the gym and was ready. By the time I got there lunch was done and she had actually packed a shirt and was thinking of what else to bring in case she needed it. She doesn’t need to bring clothes from Connect but I let her continue packing thinking it was good therapy.

Walking was the only thing missed from her exercises today so I had her doing some pretty much as soon as we got home. Janet stood in front of a large mirror to see if she is standing straight and of course this time she was for the most part. She could really see her right leg was bent and skewed to the right though. Hope we can correct that soon. The walking tired her out pretty fast as she continues to be very nervous about it so she accepted a nap suggestion and slept for almost two hours.

We had no plans for tonight so took time to make a nice dinner and Janet did a great job helping. It had been a while since I really put her to work in the kitchen but she remembered where a lot of things were and followed direction nicely. Dinner turned out really well but Janet is still not a hundred percent and was lacking energy the rest of the night. We tried some more walking but Janet made it only about fifteen feet before konking out and it was onto the couch for a couple hours of TV after that.

Praying for a long night of uninterrupted sleep that provides lots of energy and strength for a fun day tomorrow.

Janet, A Success Story. March 21. #TSJ

Janet got off to an early and fast start today instead of sleeping in on her first day home. She woke up at 7:30 having to go to the bathroom. I’m noticing a bit of a trend in that direction lately as she seems more aware of the need to go. After a successful visit to the bathroom it was off to make breakfast. Janet managed on her own very nicely and we spent a sunny morning sending emails, text messages and phoning people. It was fun and its a good thing we were up early as we never would have gotten anything else done otherwise.

With some time before lunch we decided to go visit John at KGH with the intention of taking him outside for some fresh air. It was OK with his nurses and John but by the time he was ready it was lunch time for him and two other visitors had arrived and we could tell John was getting a little overwhelmed so we said goodbye with a promise of trying again soon.

Lunch was not the usual grilled cheese today as Janet accepted my suggestion of a turkey breast wrap. She helped build them and said grilled cheese was still her favourite but those were a nice change. We did a little setting up for our wine club meeting tonight before reading some The Artisan Soul at nap time.

You would think a two hour nap would set Janet up well for the rest of the day but she never seemed totally herself tonight. She was a little grumpy at dinner despite doing a good job helping to make it. As our guests arrived she perked up and was fine for most of the evening and said she had fun but seemed a little off to me. I thought she would quickly crash right afterwards but she wanted to clean up a little then have me read more before falling asleep.
Wine Club
There was not a lot of walking today for Janet but she was busy in many ways, interacting with lots of different people and I’m grateful we have so many friends willing to spend time with us. Praying for a big night of sleep and a fun weekend with Laurel who is now scheduled to fly in tomorrow morning.

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

Working out in the gym with a smile on her face is where I found Janet this morning as she was counting out her reps for one of the new exercises designed to increase control of her right leg. I was early to take her to the Botox appointment so I went to chat with nurse Jen and Wendy while she finished her workout. Jen agrees that Janet is doing really well with her toileting lately and wants to move very slowly towards stopping the laxatives Janet currently gets. The dietician is checking with Janet every couple of weeks and is in control of this part of things. I find myself wanting to end as many drugs as possible as quickly as possible for Janet but that’s not always best for her. I will be patient and enjoy the success Janet is having. Wendy agreed that Janet is making progress with the iPad but isn’t fully grasping what she’s doing. That is one of the trade offs of this method of teaching as Wendy wants Janet to not be thinking of how to do the simple things like turn the iPad on but it makes it hard to add more complex tasks right away as Janet doesn’t understand what she’s doing. Patience again and we decided to try and make the iPad more of a focus of information for Janet so no more white board in her room. The staff and I will communicate with each other and Janet using the calendar in Janet’s iPad so she has more reason to use it throughout the day. It would be great if more of you would drop an email to Janet more frequently. I know she doesn’t like to type replies but dictating them is kind of fun for her and that is something all of us can help her with. She just needs more, short, emails to reply to. jedieno@gmail.com if you are willing.

Dr. McCann took his time with Janet today, really wanting to make sure the best areas are targeted with this latest round of Botox. Janet was a little nervous heading in but appreciated the attention and opportunity to say how she was doing and what hurt etc. We agreed to ignore the left leg, inject for the right fingers and wrist and especially the right hamstring and the muscle that controls the side to side movement of the foot. Don’t ask me what it’s called. Janet was a trooper and I think we hit all the right spots. Dr. McCann remains “surprised” at Janet’s level of progress and still has an image in his head of when he first met her and it’s not a pretty one. I think she was somewhat encouraged by his comments.

We did a little shopping before going home and Janet propelled herself around parking lots and stores really well and to the point of tiring. So much so that she called her own nap time shortly after getting home and slept for an hour and a half. A refreshed Janet did an outstanding job helping with dinner and was a lot of fun the whole evening at home, singing and just being happy. Her transfers were consistently better today and she knew enough to say no to a glass of wine with dinner, saying, “I have to go back to school tonight”. Back at Connect I noticed a little improvement in her one legged bike riding and she got a good hamstring stretch using the Standing Frame.

A very busy and successful day ended with some reading of Open and we got quite a few chuckles tonight and Janet stayed awake for the entire session. Praying for an energetic and productive tomorrow.

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

Sometimes it’s hard to believe how much stuff there is to do in getting up in the morning and each time Janet and I get up I think we are off to a good start on the day. That is until I look at the clock and see its taken forty five minutes to get to where we are having breakfast and it’s no longer early morning. In fact, not far from here, it’s no longer morning at all. Such was the case today but it was ok as we had a very adaptable schedule.

The first commitment was the weekly Skype chat with Mary/Gaga who had to wait a little beyond her scheduled time as we were watching the women’s championship match from the Aussie Open and wanted to wait to pause at the end of a very exciting first set. Janet conversed well but asked me for help on more than her usual number of questions. The only reason I can think of for that is she was really caught up in the tennis and couldn’t think of much else. We watched the rest of the match after Skypeing and when I asked Janet what she wanted to do next she said, relax, as “I was all nervous about the tennis”.

We did practice a little standing and walking even though Tez said not to walk. I’m scared Janet will forget how so I’m going to have her do a little anyways. When we purged our old house we filtered out a lot of Janet’s recipe collection but were still left with a large stack of paper. I’ve slowly put some of the recipes into an app on Janet’s iPad but there are a lot to go. Thankfully Janet’s friend Janet F. asked for a recipe today so we were able to enter it and then email it to her. Janet read me the ingredients as I typed and then she dictated the email to Janet F. Another project started. Yeah.

Janet did a good job making her lunch today then opted for a nap before church. She slept for an hour and a half and was a new person when she woke. During our drive to church she was quite stern about informing me that she was not propelling herself in from the parking lot as it’s “too hard”. Janet has been using the words “too hard” a lot lately when trying to get out of something. Each time I explain she’s done before what she’s being asked to do therefore it’s not “too” hard. She might be starting to agree. Naturally she very competently wheeled herself into church and did an excellent transfer into her seat. The music tonight had Janet standing and smiling and singing away for all but one song and she even leaned over to me after the first one to say “that was a fun song”. Cathedral Made of People by Downhere if you want to check it.

We enjoyed a quiet evening at home, making dinner together and watching The Breakfast Club. Janet was on point the whole time and enjoyed the movie. It is a classic. Praying for a night of uninterrupted sleep, full and complete healing and a productive tomorrow.

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

Janet had another Christmas present arrive this morning. It came in the form of a text message to me from Curtis at Connect reporting that swimming was cancelled for today. Janet was very happy as she insists she does not like going swimming. Truth is she doesn’t like all the preparation for it and the coldness and I understand that and she even admitted later that she would like it more if she could say what to do in the pool. As long as she doesn’t go straight for the hot tub I’m good with that.

Since we no longer had a fixed appointment to go to Janet was able to enjoy a leisurely and complete breakfast before we took off to take our Christmas tree to the chipper and drive out to Connect for a workout. Either Janet is a true celebrity or everyone at Connect is really bored these days because within minutes of me texting that we were in the gym we had Curtis, Garrett, Carly and three other residents in there with Janet being the only one really working out. That attention must have motivated her as she completed her toughest bike ride yet in a personal best tying fashion. Janet recognized that it was a hard ride and blamed me for setting it up that way but I reminded her she peddled her way through it very very well and she acknowledged that with a hint of a smile. Janet left the room and so did most everyone else to a lot of giggles for the following Janet has.

Our next stop was the parallel bars for some walking practice and getting into the elevator we were intercepted by Wendy, Janet’s memory coach. We had a good chat about her plans for Janet which are to work with her three or four days a week, sometimes twice a day for about thirty minutes at a time building Janet’s “future” memory and her “what did I just do” memory. The tools Janet will use are a calendar app on her iPad for the future stuff and a hard copy journal for the past. One short term goal will be to train Janet on the use of an iPhone as she can carry that around easier than a tablet. Janet is a little unsure of it all but Wendy promises it will be a long process with no pressure to hurry up and do something. Janet will learn at her own pace and I think she’ll surprise herself.

Curtis and I helped Janet with some side stepping along the parallel bars and Janet put in a fine effort. The Botox is definitely wearing off of her right leg and she must be noticing a change too as a couple times a day now she is asking me when are we going to see about the AFO. I notice sometimes now her balance and mechanics aren’t quite as good as they have been and I’m hoping that improves once she’s back into her routine at Connect.

After a very productive visit to Connect it was home for a late lunch then some chores. Janet wiped down the outside of all the cupboards and drawers she could reach then had a little power nap. She was a big help in prepping dinner tonight, getting things from the fridge and chopping. She wanted to watch another movie tonight and we chose Hugo. Janet said she didn’t understand even as I explained things as they happened. When I had her retell the story she got the vast majority of it right and decided she did actually understand it.

Praying for a night of uninterrupted and healing sleep that provides lots of energy and a positive attitude for tomorrow.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #NotaFan #TNF #YMCA

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Janet today after our argument last night. I’d seen Curtis in the morning and told him about it and that I wasn’t sure if Janet would go swimming and when I arrived at Connect this afternoon Curtis told me not only did Janet go swimming but she really enjoyed it. Relieved at that news I went into her room and got a hello but not a huge smile. Seems her memory is getting better as she remembered “we were fighting last night”. Arguing is a better term and as soon as we apologized to each other the smile came as she told me swimming “wasn’t too bad”. That’s Janet speak for “I had fun”. There were quite a few residents that went to the pool at the YMCA so Janet’s fear of being the only girl was put to rest and the water was warm as was the room in general. I think one of the problems with the KGH pool is the water is so warm and there is always cool air blowing in the room and Janet is really sensitive to that. She explained how she was in the little pool and the hot tub and it was fun watching the little kids in the pool. I heard through the grapevine that she was treated a little like a queen while there as the guys all made a point of hanging out with her. I’m really happy she went and enjoyed the experience and will talk to Tez to see if going to a place like that can replace the KGH pool. I think the non clinical feel and being out in public are huge benefits for Janet.

It was Janet’s turn to help prep dinner and she worked very hard at chopping peppers for a salad. Progress is being made for sure but she still needs coaching. Dinner was ready before Janet was hungry so we went to the gym to get the Shuttle over with. Her attitude was definitely better today but this wasn’t her strongest performance. There was good action with the right leg and average results when using two and she had no interest in standing on her own. Janet’s right ankle seems a little weaker these last couple of days and it’s starting to seem like she’ll need some support there. Wasting no time after dinner, Janet was right into the Standing Frame while watching Kansas City beat Philadelphia on Thursday Night Football. Getting that done earlier than last night left us time to catch the last song of Music Night upstairs where Brian and Kevin jammed for everyone’s enjoyment. It’s really cool that they do that and if Janet wasn’t so hung up on getting her “work” done we wouldn’t been there for more. I read some Not a Fan to her before bed and she’s really finding the book interesting and intriguing. Janet is able to tell me about what we’ve read and express her thoughts on it in addition to reading short portions. Powerful stuff.

This was a much better day than yesterday and I’m thankful for that. I can sense a little emotion starting as Janet realizes this is her last weekend in our current home. We will be busy packing so there won’t be a lot of time to get all sentimental but I’m sure it’ll be a little sad for her on Monday. At the same time she is excited about the new house and the freedom it will give her. Praying for a night of deep and healing sleep and a productive day tomorrow.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #fish #swimming

Today was getaway day for Cam and Gina so Janet started her get up routine a little sooner than she would’ve liked. Once up she was bright but reserved, anticipating the goodbyes about to happen. With promptness not being a Cam specialty Janet had plenty of time to finish breakfast before the tears started to flow. It was fun having Cam here and a real pleasure meeting Gina, we look forward to seeing them again soon.

It was back to the pool at KGH today after missing last week due to the stat holiday and Janet excelled in the first session. Her swimming was great with good turns in each direction and really fast at times. The emphasis today was on trying to get some action out of that right leg. We tried walking which was good from a balance perspective and although she was moving her right foot forward each step, the walk was still mostly a hop. Janet did lots of exercises that required her to move her right leg and the more she did them the more success she had. The second session was completely different as a result of Janet being the shortest one in the pool by far so the water was too deep to do walking or balancing so we focused on swimming. For the first time Janet executed a roll to her tummy followed by a roll onto her back all in one length of the pool. She actually seemed pleased with herself for once on that one. High five.

Lunch was in the sun on our patio followed by a short nap before Chelsea worked her magic with Janet’s hair. It’s amazing how fast Janet’s hair grows and now that its all the same length I think she’s cuter than ever. br />
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Just because she’s cute doesn’t excuse her from kitchen duty and Janet did a great job chopping onions and potatoes and setting the outside table for us as summer has returned thankfully. Janet had a brief Skype chat with Laurel then rode contentedly out to Connect. There was no arguing about doing the Shuttle but there was a lot if arguing about the amount of tension to be used. Janet ended up doing a decent workout followed by lots of good standing on her own which earned her a night off from the Standing Frame, that and the fact it was getting late.

So ends a good day and a good weekend for Janet. I continue to see cognitive improvements and am really praying for large scale physical improvements.

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No Smiling. Chef Janet helps again. #TSJ

While bathed in the morning sun I woke Janet up around 8:30 this morning so we didn’t have to rush through breakfast before going to church. It has been well over a week since Janet’s last BM and with no action overnight I decided I’d really try and get her more physically active today in hopes that would get her going. With that in mind I had her do as much of her morning routine herself as possible. That included a few standing attempts with her pulling up or pushing down her pants. She excelled at that again today. As Janet finished her breakfast she turned to me and asked, “if it’s OK with you I’d like to go to the bathroom?” How could I say no? That turned into her most successful bathroom trip in over a week and I gave her a standing ovation. Not even sure if I gave my kids one back in the day so Janet’s pretty special.

The morning success paved the way for a positive and enjoyable Sunday. There was singing and laughing at Trinity with Tim’s talk being on sex and Janet thinking that was pretty funny. I finally got her to sign her passport renewal form so after church we went to the dreaded mall to get some pictures taken. It wasn’t that hard for Janet not to smile for the camera but it was super hard for her to control her blinking. Thank goodness for digital cameras. She did a great job and took the best passport picture I’ve ever seen. We stayed there for lunch then went home for a really good stretch and a nap. I got both of Janet’s legs the straightest I can remember after working them for a good twenty minutes. The left leg especially still seems quite tight but once you get it going a bit it loosens right up. Janet didn’t argue about her nap today but did say that she doesn’t sleep during her naps or snore. I told her I would record some video of her sleeping and snoring during this nap if she would believe me then. She agreed, fell asleep for two hours but only snored a couple times so no video. Next time, and it’ll get Keeked.

Janet was such a big help with dinner yesterday I wanted to make something today she could help out with as well. Cinco de Mayo is coming up and we were discussing what to do for it and decided to warm up for it by making enchiladas. Janet chopped an onion, opened cans, poured, stirred and scooped and was very willing to help in anyway she could. Cooking this way is actually becoming fun and I hope we can keep it that way. You can see her scooping with a smile on her face on Keek, @larrylatour.

After dinner we watched a little basketball and halftime came just at the right time for a quick stretch. This one wasn’t as good as Janet was getting tired so I took it easy on her wanting our evening to be fun. She had a little problem with the Dilantin tonight in that I neglected to get her to drink a lot of water after taking the pills. I thought since we were sitting watching TV she’d sip on her Fresca enough to get them all the way down. Wasn’t the case and she started complaining her throat hurt. Turned out to be nothing more Fresca and a little ice cream couldn’t cure then it was a bowl of popcorn and The Voice before bed. Janet actually called her own bedtime tonight. The Voice ended about 9:40 and she started wheeling away mumbling something that turned out to mean she was ready for sleep.

Praying that Janet has a restful night that brings lots more healing to her legs and right arm and provides her with energy and strength for tomorrow.