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Janet, A Success Story. September 11. #TSJ

An anxious Janet called me this morning to say she was all done her exercises and could I please come and get her soon. How could I resist? She had had a good morning, working with a much better attitude than the previous day and she was thrilled to be heading home before lunch. We made a few stops along the way looking for new patio furniture to go with our new deck and that gave Janet a chance to walk around stores and parking lots using her cane. She was quite slow during each excursion as she is quite nervous in strange territory. Practice practice.

Once we got home Janet had a good nap after a late lunch before going for her 400 meter walk. We went a slightly different route today so she could stay in the sunshine and again I thought she was rather slow. I led her all the way but she really pulled back on my arm and didn’t seem too confident. At least she did it and if she can keep doing it she should find it gets easier.

Janet managed enough energy to help build pizzas for dinner and we enjoyed a quiet evening and an early bedtime ahead of a busy weekend.

Praying for an uninterrupted night of sleep and lots of energy tomorrow.

Janet, A Success Story. July 10. #TSJ

Today was get away day for Janet and when I got to Connect to pick her up I could tell she had been focused on that all day. She was deliberate in telling me she had just finished the Standing Frame and was ready to go. Since she was headed for the dentist I insisted she brush her teeth before we leave and that also gave her a chance to walk down the hall, something she hadn’t done much of today. She knew to stop by the med room to get her meds for the weekend and from what I could tell she performed that task well.

Janet has been doing a great job of brushing her teeth and I floss for her every night so we were both surprised when the dentist showed us three cavities in Janet’s mouth. He says they are likely leftovers from her hospital days and just took this long to show up. Hopefully that’s the end of them. All else is good in that department and Janet blew their minds by walking into the office freestyle all the way to the exam chair. The folks there have been very supportive since day one so it was nice for them to see Janet’s amazing physical progress up close.

Exchanging nap time for sun time Janet enjoyed some warmth before helping me make dinner. I could get real use to cooking like this. She’s more of a help each time and as planned we walked down to Menchie’s for a frozen yogurt later on.

First Menchie's #selfie

First Menchie’s #selfie


It’s a fun and smiley place for sure and we’ll be back as a treat from there goes to the winner of our So You Think You Can Dance bet. We watched this week’s episode tonight and Janet’s contestant out performed everyone we thought with mine doing OK. They both survived the first cut.

Praying for a restful night of sleep that provides lots of energy for a fun Friday.

Remember, there will be no posts now until late Sunday night unless events warrant. Peace.

Janet, A Success Story. July 3. #TSJ

I got my phone call from Janet much earlier than typical today as she very excitedly called me right after Genie Bouchard won her semi final match at Wimbledon. Janet watched the last half of the match during her breakfast and was super excited Genie won, so much so that we are getting up early Saturday to watch the Championship live. Janet is liking both the game of tennis (“it’s played in a nice warm, clean place”) and the person that Genie seems to be (“a nice and intelligent good looking person”).

Another thing that got Janet all excited today was getting to come home for the weekend. Garrett commented that Janet really took the initiative in regards to her exercise routine this morning by walking up to him on a couple of occasions and asking if she could do something. According to Janet she was motivated by not only wanting to get them done but by the prospect of coming home. Whatever works.

Tez was in the building today and offered a few tips on walking. I’ve been nagging Janet to stop hanging onto walls and furniture while walking freestyle and Tez says not to worry about that as long as Janet isn’t leaning onto things for support. If it’s for security purposes its fine. I asked him about Janet walking barefoot for a few steps and he thought that wasn’t the greatest idea but if Janet wants to do so using her cane and carefully stepping out with her right foot so it lands flat on the floor, fine. We brought the cane home in case she wants to try. The motivation for this is to refrain from using the wheelchair as much as possible including first thing in the morning and when going to the bathroom after having gotten into bed at night or after a nap. Sounds like it may be a little too soon to really go after.

Janet was a big help at dinner time tonight, preparing a veggie stir fry by herself except for getting the very heavy frying pan out and turning on the cooktop. I could have sat back and drank wine while she cooked. Maybe tomorrow.

Praying for a long night of reenergizing sleep and a productive Friday.

Janet, A Success Story. June 26. #TSJ Early Weekend

When Janet called me after lunch today I could sense right away where she was steering the conversation to. Yesterday she repeatedly asked if she could come home early for the weekend since its going to be such a busy one. I made her the usual deal of getting all her therapies done by lunchtime then we’d talk. She couldn’t tell me fast enough that she’d done just that then asked again if she could come home. How could I say no and why would I?

Janet agreed to a nap before I picked her up though and she was just getting up when I arrived. We are having some of the Connect staff over for a BBQ tomorrow so there was work to be done as soon as we got home and getting dinner was first up. Pizzas are a good project for Janet to help with and she loves eating them so that was dinner tonight. We are developing a good routine around pizza making. Janet, in her wheelchair, is able to get a lot of the ingredients and turn the oven on and she’s awesome and putting the sauces on before building the actual pizzas. It used to be that half of her toppings would end up anywhere but on her pizza. Not so now, she is creating masterpieces.

For the BBQ Janet was pretty insistent on having a dessert and wanted to make a carrot cake, her favourite. My baking past is not pretty so I was a reluctant participant in our effort tonight but I must say the end result looks pretty good and the icing is awesome. Janet broke eggs and mixed things together for the cake really well then decided to chat with Laurel for a bit while I figured out the icing. After catching up a little on our So You Think You Can Dance watching, Janet iced the carrot cake before going to bed.

Because of all the kitchen work, Janet was in her wheelchair more than I would’ve liked tonight but that is the best way for her to be able to help. She did stand to ice the cake and had to walk up the two steps from the garage when we got home today as I’ve taken away the wheelchair ramp. There is a grab bar on her left side and using that she effortlessly got up both steps. High five! I may not put the ramp back if going down the steps is just as good.

Praying for a night of reenergizing sleep and a fun Friday.

Janet, A Success Story. June 12. #TSJ Home for a holiday.

And so it begins. Janet is home for the next ten nights, five here then five in Ottawa, and she is very excited. It was a good day of transition for her as she did an express version of her gym routine this morning then went with the rest of the house to a park in Vernon for a picnic lunch. She has a little trouble in figuring out what to wear for outings like that and ended up over dressed for what was a warm day even though it looked cool.

The "ducky" weather is coming.

The “ducky” weather is coming.

Getting a head start on nap time.

Getting a head start on nap time.

We packed Janet up after a brief nap and drove to her doctor’s for one last round of power washing her ears. Our car went through a power wash on the way as we hit a massive thunderstorm with some of the heaviest rain I’ve ever seen. Janet was actually a little nervous about it but by the time we hit Kelowna proper it was like it hadn’t rained at all. That’s why we live here folks.

Janet was very brave at the doctor’s and her ears are now squeaky clean. My plan for her at home and on the trip to Ottawa is to do as much walking as possible and use the wheelchair only when necessary. That began nicely as soon as we got home. Janet walked in from the car to the bathroom then out to the kitchen where she chopped veggies on her own for dinner. She seems to be at a perfect height sitting in a real chair at the island for chopping and stirring. Janet did an awesome job tonight and rewarded herself with a glass of wine with dinner.

I thought if we went for an after dinner walk we might see some of the neighbours but our after dinner is closer to a lot of folk’s bedtime around here so no one was out. It was nice to get some air before watching So You Think You Can Dance. Janet made some really intelligent remarks during the show and overall is showing more improvement in the memory and awareness department. Her walking tonight was solid and she did all of her nighttime stuff in the bathroom unassisted, with no wheelchair.

Praying for a great night of sleep and a productive Friday.

Janet, A Success Story. June 9. #TSJ

There’s never a dull day with Janet. Today was supposed to be a little special in that Janet would be home for dinner after going to the doctor this afternoon. She was quite excited about coming home and we both thought the doctor visit would be one of relief as her ears were to be cleaned out. After getting all of her therapy sessions done by lunchtime, Janet had a quick nap which ended soon after I arrived to pick her up then we took off for the ear cleaning.

Since Janet walked so well the last time we were at the doctor and all we were doing was going home after, we left the wheelchair at Connect. Janet stepped nicely up a three inch curb as we walked into the doctor’s office. The flushing out of the right ear went really well, not so with the left. That was the one most plugged and Janet was in considerable pain as the doctor was shooting water in her ear so she stopped and instructed us to put oil in Janet’s ear for another three days to soften the wax then come back for more pressure washing.

At home, all seemed relatively fine as we sat in the sun for a bit then walked across the grass to see the neighbour’s new deck. Yes, we risked stepping down the huge steps out to our patio and Janet did a solid job. She made it back up with some assistance and was quite pleased she was able to negotiate the steps so well. Janet said her ear hurt a little. She helped me make dinner and enjoyed eating it until her ear started to gradually bother her more and more. I put some oil in it hoping that might soothe the pain, nope. Tylenol didn’t help either nor did ice cream believe it or not. By the time we were driving past the airport on our way back to Connect Janet was actually crying with pain. My thoughts then were to grab her meds and take her to KGH but she then told me she was hearing crackling sounds in her ear. I assured her that was a good thing and when we got to Connect Chelsea came to the rescue. Janet’s doctor cautioned us not to use Q-tips as there is a risk of pushing the wax too far back into the ear. Fair enough but with Janet in pain something had to be done and Chelsea was confident she could get some wax out in order to relieve that pain. Armed with Q-tips and a special ear cleaning probe she went to work and fifteen minutes later Janet was pain free and able to hear better too. Well done Chelsea! The oil treatments will continue and Janet will still go for another round of pressure washing but for now at least it seems like the worst is over.

We did have a brief time to read before I left and Janet was tucked in comfortably with a smile on her face confident she’ll be able to sleep well. God continues to bless us with caring and skilled people and I pray that Janet has a pain free night and a productive Tuesday.

Janet, A Success Story. June 5. #TSJ

Always able to surprise, Janet surprised again this morning by agreeing to go kayaking. She is registered with the CHRIS program who do adaptive hiking, biking and kayaking around the Okanagan. Janet was pressured into trying this somewhat and I’m glad she followed through. No surprise at all that she didn’t like it and doesn’t want to go again. I wasn’t able to be there and am awaiting pictures so you will have to settle for one of us and Big Country at the beach last night just before the pine cone fight.

Beasley Park, Wood Lake

Beasley Park, Wood Lake

Because of a number of appointments today and tomorrow Janet got to start her weekend today and instead of crossing off one appointment, another one was created. Janet has been complaining for a few weeks of a “plugged” left ear so we went to the doctor today. She has a lot of wax buildup in both ears and now has to go back Monday to get them flushed out. Good thing she mentioned it so we can remedy it before Ottawa.

I waited all day to get Janet home so we could watch the semi final tennis match between Genie Bouchard and Maria Sharapova. It was well worth the wait and Janet showed a much better awareness of what was happening than ever before. She could read the score easily each time I asked and she reacted appropriately to big plays as they happened. Fun to watch, Janet and the match.

The way the day was scheduled left no time for a nap so Janet was in bed asking me to read by 9:30 ish and was sleeping soundly by ten. Praying for a solid night of sleep and a productive Friday.

Janet, A Success Story. June 4. #TSJ

Today was team meeting day at Connect and Janet was waiting for everyone in the Den and feeling pretty good about it all. Mary Lou had arranged for Janet to be the first Connect Resident to start their own meeting and Janet read a list of her goals, challenges and strategies right at the top of the meeting. Janet read the typed notes as Mary Lou uncovered each line one by one and prompted Janet now and then. She was very confident in addressing the group and is slowly getting better with reading.

Improved reading is one of Janet’s goals and Mary Lou is confident Janet will get to the level she wants to get to. Reading the children’s stories has been great even to the point of Janet giving voices to the different characters. That level of reading will continue as it’s fun and is building Janet’s confidence.

Janet listed walking as another of her goals and the thought there is to continue walking at every opportunity and use the wheelchair as little as possible. Janet used it twice today, once to go to the bathroom after her nap and once when the house went for an evening walk to the beach. She did ask for her chair a few times during the day but is starting to get used to hearing no for an answer.

Doing more at home was another Janet goal and it lead perfectly into a discussion of a graduated return to home. Starting after the July long weekend, Janet will be home Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the balance of the summer. The team will come up with ideas for activities Janet can do on her own while at home including domestic chores, she mentioned laundry, reading and even listening to an audio book. The focus of that extra day at home will be to try and familiarize Janet with things she can do around the house for when I’m not there. Possibly come September, Janet would be home Mondays as well, up until the last few weeks before coming home full time, then we might try something like staying at home each night and driving out for therapies each morning for a half day. Once home full time Janet may get to participate in an outpatient program at KGH to take advantage of the fact she is still making significant gains on all fronts. That idea needs the approval of Dr. McCann and Brian will get that ball rolling soon.

Team meetings have always been productive for us even though they wear on Janet a bit. She had another meeting right afterwards with a lady doing research on the cognitive therapies Janet receives. That made lunch late but we enjoyed it together outside in the sunshine. Janet of course hadn’t had any exercise other than walking all day but that and the meeting wore her out enough that she had a good long nap late this afternoon waking up in time to get a bike ride in before dinner.

The evening was nice and sunny so Curtis and Chelsea offered everyone a chance to walk to the beach. Janet was surprisingly reluctant but went and really enjoyed it, especially the pine cone fight with Wes.

Happily in bed early, Janet read a little before I read a lot of Unbreak My Heart, a book Janet says she is really enjoying a lot now. Praying for a lot of sleep tonight and a positive attitude tomorrow.

Janet, A Success Story. May 30. #TSJ

Friday is Janet’s favourite day of the week. She was excited about it Thursday night and after a brief greeting this afternoon at Connect, her first words to me were “can we go now?” Since all her therapies were done for the day it was only a matter of packing a few things and we were gone.

Tonight was another meeting of our wine club and Janet helped me start to get ready for that when we got home then went for a good long nap. She took a while to fully wake up afterwards and I left her home alone while I went to pick up sushi for dinner. When I got back fifteen minutes later she was sipping on her water and singing along to the music I left on for her. Janet enjoyed what I think was her cleanest sushi dinner ever. That can be a messy meal but not tonight. By the time our guests arrived Janet seemed ready for a fun night.

I don’t spend much time with Janet at these gatherings. It’s a nice chance for her to talk with other people. I did notice she got a little quiet after a hour or so as there was a large group tonight which can be a little overwhelming but in the end Janet really enjoyed the evening.

Knowing Janet would want ice cream before bed I asked, and she quickly agreed and also asked if we could watch So You Think You Can Dance. We did, and stayed up too late but isn’t that what Fridays are for? Because of the party atmosphere there wasn’t a lot of walking going on but what Janet did was good and I noticed her memory was very sharp tonight as was her overall awareness, she knew the day, date and year without hesitation twice tonight.

Praying Janet sleeps well tonight and is ready for some fun in the sun tomorrow.

Janet, A Success Story. May 15. 2 yr Anniversary Video. #TSJ

Feeling confident after having Janet’s doctor adjust her Dilantin dosage I chose to hold off on getting her blood tested today and instead went to Connect this morning to observe Tez working with her. Janet is still complaining of a sore right foot but indicated it might be a little better after not having walked at all yesterday. There were a group of students with Tez who invited Janet to be a bit of a guinea pig in demonstrating the walking sling and sharing her story and the challenges she’s faced along the way. Janet did so with great enthusiasm and humour and I think made the session a good learning experience.

Given the choice between lunch and a bike ride, Janet chose bike ride so she could get it over with. We had to wait a few minutes for another resident to finish which gave me time to ask Curtis about Janet’s positioning on the bike. She had typically been seated fairly close forward to give her the easiest pedalling position but I wondered since she is so much stronger now if it would be more beneficial to sit farther back and extend her legs more. Curtis agreed and we set Janet up that way with the bike on the same difficult settings as yesterday and she rode really well, only sacrificing less than half a mile while gaining a much better stretch and more activation from her right leg.

We enjoyed lunch in the sun then got Jess and Chelsea to help with a little video shoot in the parking lot. Janet nailed her scene in one take! As a reward for her hard work and to “celebrate” her second anniversary I brought Janet home for the weekend a day early. She was thrilled and even tried powering through without a nap until almost five o’clock when things finally caught up to her. It had been a much improved day compared to the last couple and we finally got news from the neurologist re the Dilantin levels. He said fluctuations are common and Janet’s don’t present any reason to change course other than trying a lower dosage. One contributing factor is hydration level and with Janet walking more and the warm weather she’s sweating out a lot of fluid without replacing it all. This time I believe she fully understands and drank well tonight. We will continue to watch her levels closely.

A lot of you have been with us since day one of this journey and on this two year anniversary day Janet and I want to honestly thank you all for your prayers, encouragement, support and friendship. Each day, Janet seems more and more aware of the impact you have had on her recovery and realizing that, motivates her to share her story with others and give support where she can to those facing their own challenges. Today could have been a sad reminder of a horrible day but neither Janet or I had even the briefest thought of that. Today has been a quiet celebration of the amazing recovery that Janet has made through the grace, love and mercy of our Lord and Saviour, and a look ahead to the changes yet to come. This video is a reminder of Janet’s amazing success story and the beginning of a new chapter in a life full of love.