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Janet, A Success Story. May 9. #TSJ

Going home day for Janet today and she didn’t get to go as early as she had hoped. I had lots to do before I could go and get her so while she waited she did lots of walking with Nicole, a student on practicum at Connect. Janet complained of that sore right foot when I called her at lunch but never mentioned it at home tonight. That foot does seem a little swollen on the arch to me so we may be headed for the doctor for this one. On our way home we stopped at the show repair place as they requested Janet’s foot to make sure the strap they put on her clog fits. I used the opportunity to have Janet walk from the car into the store and back as we were able to park right outside. She did well on the way in, stepping up a three inch curb very nicely. The way back she chose not to follow my directions and went a little sideways stepping off that curb. No risk of falling but not very graceful.

We hosted two couples at our house this evening who are interested in joining a Small Group we have been wanting to start for a while. They all seem nice and the conversation was good although Janet seemed a little disconnected after the first twenty minutes or so. She had all positives to say after our guests left though and we are looking forward to meeting with them every other Friday to study Crash the Chatterbox by Steven Furtick.

It was late when the company left but we stayed up to catch up on The Voice and I’m happy to report that Janet’s new pick is on to the semi finals. We haven’t done so well this season but Janet is really enjoying the show.

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

Janet, A Success Story. April 25. #TSJ

For some of you, yesterday’s post was delivered to your Spam folder and I don’t know why. I have in light of that made a slight change to the RSS feed for this blog. All emails will now be only a summary of the post, you must click on the title in order to view the entire update in your web browser. Making a change like this may have solved the problem from yesterday or maybe not but it should at least give me a more accurate picture of how many of you are reading this thing each day as when you only read in your email editor you don’t show up in the blog stats. I know, numbers shouldn’t matter, but they do, I’m human.

The first part of Janet’s day was “the same boring stuff” according to her and she was eager to come home. I encouraged her to nap before I picked her up and she was in bed when I got to Connect but nowhere near sleeping, so home we went. Along the way and for the first hour or so there I thought this would be a short night as she seemed to be fading. Dinner in the sunshine gave her a nice boost though and we had a fun night together.

In an effort to help Janet gain confidence in walking I intend on having her do more and that started tonight. Each trip to the bathroom and the couch was walked instead of wheeled and I find Janet’s technique and speed to be better when I am in front of her acting as the cane. Her steps are long and deliberate and she pushes down well with her right leg. Tez may have a different opinion but we haven’t seen him for a few weeks so I’m going with this until someone tells me different. Janet likes it compared to the cane saying “it feels more like me doing it”. I think she means her motions are more natural and it feels more like walking. We’ll try and get a little video tomorrow to show you.

Leading into The Voice we actually watched the end of a basketball game and quite enjoyed it. We haven’t done any of that all season and don’t expect to get right back into it but it was fun. The Voice was much more intense though as Janet’s pick was in danger of being eliminated in the first live show. Facing the prospect of owing me two Blizzards Janet was chanting his name as the results were about to be announced. He didn’t make it and Janet was quite upset at being bounced in the first round. Being the nice guy I am I allowed her to go double or nothing by picking someone from her top four so she could keep playing. If this is any indication of what the season is going to be like, wow.

Instead of begin all tired and asleep by nine thirty, Janet was full of energy after that intense session of The Voice so we read for a while in bed and had some laughs from Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. Good way to wind down until almost eleven thirty.

Praying for a good night of rest and an energetic Saturday.

Janet, A Success Story. April 24. #TSJ

As part of the development of a homecoming plan for Janet, Interior Health is required to determine her eligibility for home care services. Part of that process is a series of minor tests that Janet was first given in hospital almost two years ago. Actually, she wasn’t really given them then as she was unable to respond in any coherent way the first time, which was July 2012, then in September 2012 she scored super low and wasn’t able to complete the test. Today was much different. Nurse Jill met us at Connect this morning and spent an hour chatting and conducting the tests. Janet did very well and I wasn’t at all surprised but for sure pleased. The next step will likely involve a lot of paperwork so I’ll wait for instructions from the ABI Coordinator before spending too much time on it.

Since I was spending the day at Connect I brought Janet her favourite wrap from Urban Fare and we enjoyed a lively lunch with a few other residents. Janet then walked from the kitchen to her bathroom, a little slower than previous but still pretty good and she made really good turns into her room and especially the bathroom as that one was better than ninety degrees but she nailed it. There was an attempt at a nap next but my best guess says Janet was out for maybe twenty minutes. I can’t fault her as it was quite noisy out in the hallway and the adjoining room for a large part of the time. When she got up she bravely walked to the bathroom and back to the bed. I’m trying to get her to walk every short distance opportunity now and also to try a few steps unassisted. Janet remains scared of that idea.

There are two groups that Connect works with to provide some outdoor adventure to residents and today Janet and I filled out registration forms for both. One will allow her to try sailing and the other does small hikes, bike rides and kayaking, all with special equipment that makes it possible for Janet to do. She of course is not excited about any of it but I’m hoping to convince her to try once the weather gets better.

Chelsea had everyone build their own pizzas for dinner tonight so Janet was right at home with that. She did say later that it wasn’t as good as we make at home but it was OK. The energy it gave her was certainly good as she set a personal best on the bike tonight. I think it’s now time to make the ride a little harder and I’ll have to do that without her knowing as she still says it’s hard. We decided to read a little early tonight so Janet could have her dessert in hopes she would sleep better. It may have worked as she was snoring at 9:20! Praying for a long night of healing sleep and a productive tomorrow.

Janet, A Success Story. April 4. #TSJ

Surprisingly, Janet was in bed when I got to Connect to take her to her eye doctor appointment just after lunch today. Her morning was busy but not overly so with a light workout in the gym that included stretching of her right leg. A good sign that the pain there may be subsiding. The rest of the time was routine except for a couple of toileting errors that Janet is upset about. She went pee a lot today which is unusual for her but isn’t to the abnormal range yet and there’s no indication of any other symptoms suggesting a problem anywhere. Hopefully tomorrow is drier. Despite falling asleep as soon as she hit the pillow last night, Janet feels like she woke up in the middle of the night and didn’t sleep well after that which is why she was trying to nap at 1pm today. There was no time for such nonsense then so up she got and off we went.

Our Optometrist gave Janet a very thorough exam and noted some improvement in Janet’s vision from a year ago. We agreed that most of the improvement is from Janet compensating for her right side impairment better and just being way more aware over all. Her eyes remain healthy with some physical improvement and the doctor noted Janet’s vastly improved reading skills. To help with that some more Janet is getting a pair of reading glasses so she hopefully won’t get frustrated as fast as she does now.

Janet was deserving of a nap when we got home and took advantage of the opportunity for two hours. We had planned on a date night tonight but I sensed that Janet wasn’t in top form and after some discussion we agreed to get some take out and stay home. She was worried about having to go to the bathroom a lot and her energy level could have been a lot higher. We both really enjoyed our meal from Hector’s Casa, our neighbourhood Mexican restaurant, and along with watching The Voice it made for an enjoyable evening. Janet got the place to herself for an hour as I had to run out to Connect to get her new meds that arrived late in the afternoon and she handled that just fine. At the end of the night Janet agreed to walk from the couch to the bathroom but got a few steps in then had to pee so that ended that. Tomorrow will be different.

Praying for Janet to regain control of her toileting, for the pain to leave her right leg and for her to be able to do lots of walking this weekend.

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 20. #TSJ

First day of Spring? Tell that to the folks in Calgary, namely Laurel and Raj, who were supposed to drive to Kelowna today to visit us for the weekend. Blowing snow wisely kept them in Calgary much to our disappointment. I had promised Janet that as long as she worked hard during the day I would bring her home after dinner to maximize her visiting time. She held up her end of the bargain including a record setting bike ride followed by a Standing Frame session before dinner.

Eager to get home, Janet powered through dinner, got her meds and we were gone. Once settled she was happy to sit on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn and get all caught up on our singing competition shows. I did have her walk everywhere in the house when she needed to go somewhere so it wasn’t a totally work free night. Janet’s gait is unchanged but her stamina seems to be growing and she never once complained about having to walk anywhere, even to the bathroom at the end of the night. Her sit to stands from her wheelchair were very good today. Often I have to help keep her right leg close to her left one or she doesn’t seem able to activate it, not today. Hopefully that becomes a trend. While free standing Janet is commenting more that she feels like she’s falling even though she’s quite steady. I’m hoping that is from an increased body awareness and that soon she’ll be able to recognize when she’s standing straight and strong and when she’s not.

Janet is happy to be home and looking forward to the weekend and I’m praying that she maintains a positive attitude and continues to gain strength and confidence.

Janet, a Success Story. March 6. #TSJ

I really wasn’t sure about the new title for this blog site but Janet, through her hard work today, has legitimized it for me. When I called her to see how her day was going she very proudly told me she walked all the way from the gym to her room using a cane. That is over 100 feet! Jess held her a little from behind and the rest was all Janet. I’m super glad she told me in such a positive manner too! She actually realizes this is a huge accomplishment.

By the time I got to Connect Janet was watching Ellen in the living room with Wes and Humberto. I had brought her a sketch book and pencil but she wasn’t interested at that moment saying, “I was a good drawer but I used my right hand then”. Valid point, we’ll try some other time.

After dinner I gave Janet the option of a bike ride or walking combined with the Standing Frame and she chose walking. We didn’t have a cane so I stood in for that, I’ve asked Tez if we should buy one now, and Janet made it all the way from her room to the living room, about 70 feet. She was pretty tired by the end of that walk and was using my arm as a cane pretty heavily but there were moments along the way where she took strong steps with little pressure on me. Janet was nice and straight and tall in the Standing Frame and kept a very close eye on the time to make sure she didn’t spend one minute more than she had to.

With a very successful day behind her and facing a long drive to Nanaimo tomorrow I surprised Janet with an invitation to come home tonight. Her face lit right up and if she didn’t need to put a jacket on I think she would’ve gone straight out the door. It was bedtime when we got home and there was no arguing about it at all. Janet smiled and seemed to totally relax as she hit the pillow in our bed saying, “this is so much better than the other place”. I explained that she had earned this visit home by working really hard today and she said she’d do that more if coming home was the reward. Hmmm.

Praying for a night of uninterrupted sleep and a fun and safe trip to Nanaimo tomorrow.

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

Another day, another milestone. We had Janet’s team meeting this morning at Connect and in amongst the usual progress reports we discussed the transition home. That’s right, home. Sometime before the 24th of December Janet will be living at home full time! Exciting and scary. Exciting in so many ways, scary in that we have no idea what being at home full time looks like at this point. Janet continues to make progress and will likely do so over the next nine months or more and that makes it hard to plan for the amount and type of care she will need at home. The good part is there is a nine month window with which to work out all the details. For now, the focus is still on getting more activation from Janet’s right leg with an eye towards walking with/without a cane by June. The other goals set out in the meeting were to improve Janet’s reading and hand writing, improve her knowledge of the medications she takes and to gain independence in taking them. Janet was a full participant in today’s meeting and asserted herself well. High five!

To further demonstrate her progress Janet stood at the kitchen counter after the meeting and made herself a grilled cheese sandwich. She had minimal help from Jess in the process and even managed to turn herself around so she could grill the sandwich once she had built it.
JanetStandingGrilledCheese
As soon as lunch was done we took off to KGH to visit John. He seemed tired and not quite his positive self today but was happy to see us. Please keep him in your prayers. As is common with hospital visits Janet was in celebrity mode. First up was Jane her Occupational Therapist from 4B. Janet didn’t remember her but was excited to tell Jane how well she is doing. Jane made a very clear point to Janet how thrilled she was to see her and how far she has progressed also saying it’s important and exciting for those that work with patients like Janet to see the progress after such a long time. All good for Janet to hear. Up on 4 East we saw Emma, Janet’s first nurse in Rehab. Same sort of feedback and encouragement from her and again, Janet was proudly reporting on her progress. Love it.

That was a very busy first part of the day and Janet was out like a light as soon as we got home. I had to wake her once I had dinner ready just in time to eat and get to SheLife. It took her a while to get her energy back and I was a little concerned with how she’d manage the session. Heidi excitedly informed that Janet prayed out loud tonight for the first time and everyone at her table could hear her too. Janet said it went well but she isn’t understanding any of what the video segments are supposed to be teaching. That’s OK because the social aspect is far more important for her anyways, proven by how her ability to participate has increased. Janet agreed and added “they all really like me being there” in an almost Sally Field at the Oscars kind of way. Cute.

This marks the end of The Team Save Janet Report as we aren’t in “save” mode any longer. The “team” still exists I guess but really only figuratively. Tomorrow, I hope to have re named this blog site to something that reflects Janet’s determination, hard work, perseverance and inspirational qualities as we work our way towards coming home. If you have any suggestions, I’m all ears, or eyes.

Praying for a solid night of sleep and a productive Thursday and thanking Jesus for His many blessings.

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

Since today was going home for the weekend day I fully expected to find Janet packed up and ready to go this afternoon. Instead, she had just decided to have a nap before I got to Connect. She told me she was tired so I let her sleep for an hour which was all she needed. On the way home we stopped at Urban Fare to get a dessert for our dinner party tonight and Janet propelled herself around the store and back to the car very very well. Sometimes it’s hard for me to keep from helping her but I find the more I can let her go the better she gets and the more confident she gets too. At home we got right to work getting things ready and Janet was a big help in gathering ingredients and washing vegetables as well as setting the table.

Randy and Claudette and Barb and Gary joined us tonight for some good conversation and sharing of food. We hadn’t seen our former neighbours since our house dedication party so it was nice to catch up with them and especially nice of Barb to bring her yummy cinnamon buns and fresh baked bread. It was also nice to be able to sit and chat with Randy and Claudette without dust flying and compressors running. We are blessed to have a home we can share with friends. Janet really enjoyed the evening and even initiated the conversation a couple of times. She admitted as we went to bed that she felt a little drunk and I suppose three glasses of wine will do that to some people.

Praying for a solid night of sleep and a productive tomorrow.

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

I snuck up on Janet as she watched TV in the living room at Connect with Jess and Curtis this afternoon. She was pretty tired but not too tired to know right away it was me tugging on her hair. Her day so far had been good with a visit to the gym, working with Wendy the memory coach and a visit from AFO lady. It was definitely nap time when I got there and since Courtney was coming over to our house for dinner and to watch tennis, I brought Janet home so she could nap there.

When I left her last night she was very tired and seemed to heading right to sleep but Janet told me she was awake a lot, “looking at the clock every few minutes for a long time”. I believe her as even after a short nap at home her energy level was pretty low and she just looked tired all evening. She did help get dinner ready and we had a nice visit with Courtney while we watched Genie Bouchard win her match and move on to the semi finals of the Aussie Open. Janet was pretty quiet the whole time but told me on the drive back to Connect that she was happy she got to go home and it was fun to watch the tennis with Courtney.

With Janet seeming so tired today I was concerned with how she would do transferring and such. She was spot on each time. Tons better than yesterday when she seemed to have more energy. Go figure. There was no way I was going to suggest the gym when we got back to Connect though so it was into bed where I could read to her for a little bit. Her tiredness didn’t seem to affect her memory at all as Janet was able to recall a few important facts from today and also knew what is scheduled to happen tomorrow. Praying for an uninterrupted night of deep and healing sleep and a productive tomorrow.