pizza

The Team Save Janet Report is Out. #tsj #sailaway #roadtrip #blueberries #nanaimo #kelowna

In order to catch a ferry that would get us home in time for church tonight I actually had to set the alarm on my phone so we’d be up in time. It wasn’t too early, 7:30, and Janet was very good about it. We were able to enjoy a leisurely breakfast and take our time packing and we said goodbye to my mom at 9:15 and drove off to the ferry. Good thing we went early as that sailing was eighty percent full when we got there and totally full fifteen minutes later.

The ride across was pleasant and uneventful and after a stop for pizza and a salad in Caulfeild we hit the road.

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Janet did a great job eating in the car and we made good time for our pit stop in Hope. Our timing there was great. The gas pumps were super busy so I took Janet inside for a pee break surprised to find the washroom empty and by the time we were back outside there was no wait to gas up. I wish all pit stops were that smooth. Janet slept on and off the rest of the way taking one last pee break at the Tourist Info Centre just before West Kelowna.

We arrived at church five minutes before service time and are really glad we went. This weekend, instead of a message taught by one of our talented pastors, Jason Hildebrand acted out the story of the Prodigal Son. It was brilliant. Here’s a link to a YouTube clip that gives you an idea of the experience. If you ever get a chance to see him do the whole thing, do it.

Janet and I decided on Boston Pizza for dinner and I’ve never seen Janet eat so much. All but one slice of her Mediterranean pizza plus most of the Santa Fe Salad we shared and she still had room for ice cream later. That’s my girl.

Once home it was into the hot tub then the PJs to watch SYTYCD before bed. Janet’s ability to travel has definitely improved since our first roadtrip and we are also figuring out how to do things better as well. This adventure was a good one and we look forward to a day off tomorrow. Thanks again to the Nielsen’s and my mom for helping with the blueberries. Praying for lots of rest tonight and a fun day tomorrow.

Hot Tubbing. Fun in the sun with the girls. #TSJJ

Unbeknownst to Janet, Heather and I drove out to Connect this morning so Heather could hang out with her mom before Laurel arrived. We got there as Janet was finishing breakfast and I sat with her for a minute then cued Heather for the surprise appearance. You can see the reunion on Keek. Janet seemed very bright and was talking well. She ended up going to the gym shortly after I left and had a solid workout with Lorne and Karl.

The girls all arrived home around one thirty with Janet all smiley and enjoying herself. She had quieted down quite a bit since the morning and seemed a little tired. It could be that she was a little overwhelmed having her two daughters all of a sudden here instead of just being talked about. She agreed to have a nap so she would be better able to enjoy the evening.

Happy hour took place out on the deck and I managed to carry Janet down there reasonably easily. Laurel and Heather had gotten all the patio furniture washed up during nap time so Janet was able to sit in a patio chair like she always did and have a nice visit in the sun. We convinced her to try the hot tub kind of by bribing her saying if she did and got a good stretch in there we wouldn’t have to stretch in the house later. Not sure if that’s why she agreed or not but into our bathing suits we got. Lifting her into the spa was easier than I thought it would be and Janet settled in quite nicely. The pool at KGH is thirty six degrees and our hot tub is thirty eight and those two degrees made a big difference. I was able to stretch both her legs out better than ever before and Laurel got some decent range on her right shoulder. There is barely enough room for Janet to float straight out on her back and as she did I was able to let go of her for about three seconds without her sinking. As expected, getting out was a bigger challenge but we managed and before doing so Janet stood with me in the middle of the tub and did some squats. The deepest ones I’ve seen her do. Warm water is magical.

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Everyone pitched in to help make pizzas for dinner then we had a nice family chat with the last of the 2012 CedarCreek Riesling that had gone nicely with the pizzas. Janet was very tired but determined to stay up so that she didn’t miss anything. She finally agreed to go to bed and was snoring within seconds of the lights going out. Praying for lots of rest tonight and a bright and energetic tomorrow.

2 Alarms, No Fire. Long day for Janet. #TSJ

A surprise greeted me at Connect this afternoon. No Janet in the living room. Could she be napping? Lorne explained that she was laying down and had been for about an hour or so. He had to trick her into doing so by doing a few leg stretches on the bed with her then saying he had to go to the bathroom. He turned her iPod on and left the room and never went back. We think she slept a little bit and I was waiting till three thirty to get her up. At three twenty her alarm pendant went off. Lorne and I went to her room and found Janet sitting on the edge of her bed holding the pendant, crying and asking me “when did you get here?”. As in, if I was here before why didn’t I come into her room. The reason she pushed her alarm and was so upset was the alarm on her bedside clock radio had gone off and was making an annoying racket. Lorne and I both praised her for sounding the alarm and I sensed she felt good about doing it. I also thought it was good she told us clearly why she’d done it and good she wondered about me being there. Lorne reset everything and Janet calmed down. I’d heard she had two good trips to the gym already today so we headed home for the weekend.

We got home just in time for our scheduled Skype chat with Mary/Gaga. Janet and her had a good talk with Janet answering questions quite well. Kicking back with a Fresca I then had Janet open some mail, one piece of which was this picture of us on our wedding day. JanetLarryWedding20030419 I mentioned in a previous post that we didn’t have one of just the two of us. Mary/Gaga did and now we do too. Thanks! I’m not sure about that look I have on my face though. Looks like I think I just got away with something. Captions anyone?

My cousin Katie and her friend Sarah were crashing at our house tonight on their way from Nanaimo to Saskatchewan and we told them they’d be able to make pizzas when they arrived. Janet chopped peppers and made her pizza as well as most of mine. I find it interesting how she places things very neatly around the edge of the pizza but puts almost nothing in the middle. Vision thing? Janet was hungry so we ate and were almost finished when the girls arrived. Janet doesn’t know Katie very well but I think she enjoyed having some chatter in the house for a while and afterwards said “they are nice girls”. The travelers crashed when Janet should have but she was determined to watch some basketball and since it was a close game I let her. It really was more a case of not wanting to go to bed yet as opposed to watching the game although she is improving at being able to tell me the score. A couple times she was able to read the numbers, she just said them wrong. By the time the game ended she couldn’t see anything though as her eyes were closed.

Today was pretty good for Janet with more evidence of short and long term memory improvements, some well thought out comments and answers and good results in the gym. Praying for lots of rest tonight and a fun day tomorrow.

Botox. Janet puts up with the pain. #TSJ

Brian was kind enough to drive Janet in from Connect for her appointment with Dr. McCann at KGH today. I met them there and we had time for a walk in the sunshine before seeing the doctor. Janet said some things looked familiar to her but not the beach that we spent so much time at last year. She was still happy to be there today though and agreed it was a beautiful day.

Our visit with Dr. McCann was really good, Brian sat in with us and Dr. McCann allowed me to ask a lot of questions while he was preparing to stab Janet. He was surprised to learn that he had prescribed a low dose of Baclofen for Janet way back in the 4B days but doesn’t want to change it now so we can accurately monitor the effect of the Botox. Makes sense. He feels it’s a good time to try and wean Janet off the Ritalin and ordered her noontime dose discontinued for the next month and we’ll see how Janet manages. I think she’ll be fine. My concerns about the Dilantin were supported with the caveat that until Janet has gone seizure free for six months you shouldn’t take her off the drug. He said someone may do it after three months but I think that’s too risky and will keep hoping we can see the neurologist soon for his opinion. Dr. McCann concurred with my concern about the side effects and agreed Dr. Adams would know more.

Janet was understandably tense as she lay waiting for the “little pokes” from the Botox needles and she squeezed my hand as tight as ever as Dr. McCann used four needles on each leg. She recovered quickly and was laughing with us on the way out as Dr. McCann suggested she would soon be able to kick him as payback for what he’d done. We should start seeing results in a couple of weeks with the peak effect occurring in about a month. Dr. McCann will see Janet then to assess the situation.

I gave Janet the option of going out for lunch or going home, she chose home as she was just too drained to do anything else. Once there she had a good little play time with Nash then helped make thin crust pizzas for lunch. She spread the sauce on both and put all the toppings on including slicing the grape tomatoes with the most precision yet. She’s still a little weak on the cheese grating part so I’ll have to do some research on how to help her with that. Janet continues to gain confidence in the kitchen.

There was no argument at all about nap time today. I just wish it could have happened sooner as it wasn’t until after 2:30 that she could lay down and she had to be up just after four for a Skype chat with her mom then get back to Connect for dinner. The sleep did her well and the Skype chat went well with Janet giving surprisingly good answers to a few questions. We were impressed to learn that Keith has bought an iPad and look forward to an improved Skype experience and other cool things in the near future.

Curtis had Janet’s dinner waiting for her when we got to Connect and she devoured it then very obediently went to the gym with him after digesting for a little while. Curtis spent over an hour with her and ran her through every routine possible including standing at the stripper pole. On the second attempt he let go of Janet completely to show her she was doing it all on her own. She smiled. Hopefully this is the start of an improved attitude towards the gym and I made sure to point out that her standing transfers to the toilet were not good at home today but quite good after her workout in the gym. For once she didn’t roll her eyes or snicker. Starting to believe maybe?

After enjoying the last of her Easter chocolate we tried making a little video using an app I learned about today called Keek. It let’s you shoot thirtyfive second videos on your phone and Tweet them instantly from the app. I will be using this to do any breaking news stories on Janet and or a fun highlight of the day type of thing. I couldn’t get Janet to say all her lines for tonight’s installment so I posted it with her laughing for about fifteen seconds as that’s what she did everytime it was her turn to talk. It was a great way to end a very positive day. If you want to see the video and all the future ones please follow me on Twitter @larrylatour. You’ll also need the Keek app which you can get here.

Thanking Jesus for a productive and positive day and for the good people that are on Janet’s team. Praying for lots of rest tonight and maximum effect from the Botox.

Cheap Date. Home for the weekend. #TSJ

Knowing I have the whole weekend with Janet I took my time going out to Connect today, making sure the house was in order before bringing Janet into it. I tried again to time my arrival with the last part of her nap time but like before, she was waiting in the living room with a “I didn’t think you were coming today because it’s so late”. I laughed with her then she told me she was having a good day so far but was unsure of what to do the rest of the day. My suggestion of a short nap was rejected immediately. Lorne reported that Janet had a good morning that included a workout with Karl in the gym. He said he was impressed with her Shuttle session. Hearing that good report I ran a couple of scenarios past Janet as to what we could do before going home and after a lengthy discussion she chose to have a little rest, then pizza dinner, then a little leg stretch in the gym, then home.

The little rest turned into over an hour and a half sleep leading right into the pizza dinner which Janet dove into the second it was placed in front of her. When she was done I took her for the usual bio break and noticed that she wasn’t standing very well during the transfer. She acknowledged it too and couldn’t say why. I tried a few more afterwards with her and felt she was lacking some energy so I called off the gym, packed her up and took her home.

Being home a little earlier than planned gave us time to watch a movie. I wasn’t confident Janet would last through it but she insisted she would. After finishing her first piece of pizza at dinner she took a rather long pause. I asked her if she was going to keep eating and she said “how can I when I have no more?”. There were two other pieces on her plate, both way over on the right and when I turned her head she laughed and started eating one of them. With that in mind I wanted to do a little vision test before we watched the movie. I asked her to read what she saw on the TV screen. It was a still frame of the order screen for the movie we selected. She read the upper left portion no problem but said she couldn’t see the right side of the screen. I went up with my hand and she saw that fine after I made her physically turn her head. Prior to that cue she was still looking off to the left even though I was saying look right. Satisfied that she could see the whole screen I started the movie. We watched Life of Pi and Janet made it through easily, enjoying parts of it, finding some of it “upsetting” and overall feeling happy that she watched it. There were times when I could sense she was emotionally into it, a first I think. I repeatedly asked her during the movie if she wanted to have a snack and or a pop, a family tradition, but each time she declined. Cheap date but not quite as much fun.

There was no argument about going to bed after the movie and I’m praying for a restful night that gives Janet lots of energy and strength for tomorrow. I’m not sure what she’ll need the energy and strength for as we have absolutely nothing planned and when Janet heard that she smiled big and said “good”.

Farewell Fred. Cake, pizza then a much needed workout. #TSJ

As expected, Janet was partying the afternoon away as I arrived at Connect today. A large crowd turned out to wish Fred well on his move to Connect Langley. Janet had helped Jess make a cake for the event and it was being devoured when I walked in. I surprised Janet a little as she was quite focused on her cake but also enjoying the festivities. Her and Fred got along really well right from day one at Connect and we will miss him.

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After the party I gave Janet the choice of going to the gym or having a nap. She chose nap and actually had one for over an hour. It was pizza night at Connect which seemed like it would be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, someone tried making the pizza dough from scratch and that caused a little stress during prep time which prevented anyone from helping which to me is half the fun of at home pizza. By the time it was ready everyone thought it was delicious and Janet even asked for seconds. A first.

Having had a little time to digest Janet reluctantly agreed to go to the gym. It was more like she knew I wasn’t backing down this time. A new staff member, Tiffany, joined us to try and get to know Janet a little better. She got to see pretty much every mood Janet can have. I promised Janet this session would not be long or particularly difficult but I don’t think she was convinced. After an excellent sliding board transfer onto the table mat we started some leg stretches. I haven’t done this with Janet for a long time which made it good for Tiffany as we reviewed the instructional videos on the computer before starting anything. I was disappointed with how stiff Janet was but don’t think that’s her norm as no one has commented on her tightening up anymore recently. Janet had a little breakdown on the Shuttle but actually performed quite well on it. If we could get those hamstrings to relax she’d be on her way.

That was not the greatest workout ever but at least we got her in there before the weekend and I was able to use that experience to help her with standing transfers tonight. She managed one at home tonight where I really could feel her using her legs most of the time. They still are mostly lifts as opposed to transfers but its something for her to work on.

We got home just in time for dessert after saying goodby to Fred. Janet gave him two happy face lollypops as he played bingo with a bunch of people in the neighboring house. That happens every Friday night and combined with the pizza makes for a compelling reason to have Janet stay Fridays. We’ll see. Janet’s nighttime routine went really well and she settled into her own bed quite willingly. There was one funny moment of confusion just before dessert. Janet was playing ball with Nash and as I was about to feed him I asked her to tell him to sit. I spelled out the word sit so the command could come from her instead of me. She spoke loudly and firmly to him but said “come on Cameron, S I T now, come on, S I T”. She even laughed out loud when she realized what she’d said. I’d be worried about it but she often got Cam and Nash mixed up before getting sick. All is well.

Praying for lots of rest tonight and a productive day tomorrow.

Lights, Camera,… Janet’s first video shoot. #TSJ

A showered and smiling Janet greeted me as I walked into Connect this morning. She knew we were going out to do something and guessed it was watch basketball. A good guess as that was in the plan for later but first up was a video shoot for the Easter service at Trinity. Lorne said she was off to a good start, drinking her water before and after breakfast but had a little cry during her shower. She said she forgot to ask about the bath so I reminded her to try that next time.

We arrived at Trinity and Jody, Kiko and Rebecca were just finishing setting up for the shoot. The idea behind this is for Janet and I to give about a ninety second glimpse at our story so far as Wayne teaches on three “walls” or “barriers” we can all hit in life. There are two other video stories in the sermon, one on Finances, one on Grief and then ours on Health. The underlying theme in each is the fact that there is still hope.

The first part of the shoot was for some cut away shots so no talking needed and that was a nice way to ease into things. All Janet had to do was sit under the lights and look cute.

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After a quick location change it was time for the talking bits. Thankfully for me Kiko set up a TelePrompTer which made my part much easier. Janet had trouble reading it though so I fed her the lines one at a time until she could say each one on her own. She wasn’t as loud as I had hoped but Jody said he could work with it and may add subtitles for the sake of clarity. The whole shoot was done in an hour and a half and Jody will now work his magic to make it all look and sound good.

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Janet had fun doing the video today and held her energy very well. As with all stars the groupies are always hovering nearby. Twyla and Wendy came out to see Janet in between shots and with a little prompting Janet remembered their names. She was genuinely pleased to see them and that added to the positive experience this was. I’m a little surprised at how well Janet is talking about what happened to her and I don’t think it’s because she doesn’t get it. I’m hoping by talking about it she’ll gain confidence to keep working hard at getting better.

Stars also hang out in restaurants so rather than go home for lunch we headed back to Original Joe’s, this time with Kiko and Rebecca. Janet enjoyed that as well and was very ready for a nap when we got home. Because nap time was later than normal, dinner was a little late. I had wanted her to help make pizzas but to save time I did most of it while she drank her water and watched basketball. Janet did build her own pizza after I had all the toppings ready and this was probably her best one yet. Looked better than mine!

Janet kept insisting she didn’t want to get ready for bed as the clock ticked past nine so I let her stay up to watch the end of the basketball game. That made it after ten before the lights went out so hopefully she doesn’t sleep too long tomorrow and we can get a few things done in the morning. Praying for rest and healing and for lots of energy tomorrow.

Fabulous Friday #TSJ

Janet was surprised to see me this afternoon, she didn’t realize it was almost three o’clock. She’d had a busy day so far and had just started chilling in the living room. Lorne said he had taken her to the gym after breakfast and did a good stretching routine with her. He also got her on the Shuttle and Janet did really well including ten reps with four bands of tension. I made sure to remind her that’s proof she’s getting stronger. Janet had a speech session with Mary Lou’s practicum student then asked to go to the bathroom. Success and progress!

She thought “it would be a good idea” to go to the bathroom before we left for home and it was. She’s really catching on to this. After a sing along drive, our weekend at home started with the usual play time with Nash then we started making our pizzas for dinner. Janet did a great job decorating hers, I only had to push a few things back from the edge and it was good to go. In a very un Janet like move she chose chips over fresh vegetables to accompany the pizzas. Yes! And in another rare move she ate one and a quarter pizzas! We had made an extra one in case Heather is starving when she gets in late tonight and Janet surprised me by asking for more after finishing hers. We are still trying to gain a little weight so it’s all good.

I figured it was time to see if Janet can handle watching an entire movie so I gave her a choice of four familiar titles and she chose the always hilarious Zoolander. We started it during dinner and with one bio break part way though Janet watched the whole thing. There were no out loud laughs but lots of smiles and giggles. She really enjoyed it.

It’s awesome to have her home and she is quite happy to be here and looking forward to seeing Heather in the morning. Her conversation skills continue to get stronger as does her ability to do things herself around the house. Praying for a restful night and a fun day tomorrow.

No Doubt #TSJ

Janet’s day started after a really good night’s sleep. Lorne said the night staff checked Janet every hour and she was snoring each time. She ate a good breakfast then went to the gym for a stretch on her right arm and shoulder. Some Speech work was next and Christi reported Janet did really well. She refused lunch however and I arrived to find her scrolling through channels on the TV in the living room. She told me she had just had an interview and was listening to the ref. She was watching sports highlights so there could have been an interview with a ref I guess.

I took Janet to the gym for some leg stretching and found her to be quite tensed up compared to yesterday so I took it reasonably easy on her. Wanting to get a good hamstring stretch though, I asked her to try and lay on her tummy. She gave it a really good effort but said it hurt too much. I then asked her if she wanted to try standing. She shook her head and got all emotional saying she couldn’t stand. I reminded her how well she did yesterday kneeling and that she had stood before. She eventually agreed to try, so over to the stripper pole we went. The first attempt she even admitted was sloppy and I took the blame for not positioning her or myself correctly. The next two times were bang on as Janet stood carrying her own weight for about ten seconds each time and getting her butt clear of the table mat by a good eight to ten inches with me lightly resting my hand on her back to keep her from falling backwards. Very impressive, best I’ve seen, and she was really happy too. I told her not to doubt herself and that I believe she will walk again one day and that she just has to keep trying. She smiled and nodded her head.

We had an hour before dinner and I wanted Janet to rest a little as we planned on going to the UBCO women’s basketball game tonight. I got her to lay down on her bed with me so I could read to her for a bit and that led to about twenty minutes of eyes closed time. She ate a large bowl of soup for dinner then off we went to the game.

When we arrived at the gym I initially parked her in her wheelchair at one end of the court and I sat in the first row of seats right beside her. She looked at me very puzzled and asked where her seat was. I never thought of putting her into a seat but with some help from a guy sitting close by I gave it a try. Janet was much happier, then I realized we were at the wrong end of the court. Janet’s field of vision is weak on the right side and most of the court was on the right from where we were. Suzanne joined us and at the first quarter break we wheeled down to the other end and got settled there with a really good view. Janet’s first question from the new seats was, “where’s Laurel?” I had to explain that Laurel doesn’t play anymore and she is old and married now. She smiled and nodded her head. At the half I offered Janet some pizza but she said no. I got a slice anyways teasing her that this was her chance to cheat and after a couple of bites she laughed and agreed to have her own piece.

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UBCO lost a close and entertaining game to Calgary and we really enjoyed watching Angela White play. She is from North Vancouver ( I won’t mention she’s from Handsworth) and her mom taught some of our girls at Argyle and her dad coached with me in the Steve Nash League there. I had a nice chat with him and her mom came down to say hi and as soon as I said her name to Janet she held out her hand for a shake. I think she really does remember Shawn.

Back at Connect it was past bedtime but Janet had hung in there really well and agreed she had a good day. Praying for a restful and healing night and a fun day of Learning tomorrow.

Pizza Party

A better start to the day for Janet than yesterday. She had two eggs for breakfast and then a nice shower and was all smiles as I met her coming out of the shower.

The gym was busy so we cut our visit there short and headed out for the day. First stop was Toys R Us to see if we could find some board games to play together. Chutes and Ladders was an obvious first choice and the Dora the Explorer version made it even more exciting. We also found a memory card game with a Sesame Street theme and a Spelling Bee Bingo game that looks like fun. All these games in theory will be good brain exercise for Janet and all in different ways. I’m glad we found some to try but was disappointed with Toys R Us. Quite the dump, reminded me of Zellers.

Despite the snow we held to our plan of doing a little house hunting and went downtown to cruise by some of the potential buildings. On the way we noticed there was a realtor in at the Remax Kelowna office so we stopped in. That franchise is owned by Cliff and Barb from KGH Rehab so I felt OK going in there knowing we are just kicking tires right now. The agent on duty was very nice and has already emailed me a list of potential properties for us so I guess the game is on.

At home it was time for lunch and Janet was all excited to try her first grilled cheese sandwich. I made sure it was toasted really well as Connie has mentioned bread is a big no no. Janet really enjoyed the sandwich and accompanying dill pickle and surprisingly added some potato chips to her plate. Never would have done that before. We watched a little football before Skypeing Leslie. Janet wasn’t too loud but did OK considering it had already been a busy day and she had not had a quiet time. She did have a bit of a rest after the chat with Leslie as I gave her a little stretch.

Since we are breaking all the food rules I decided to go for broke and have Janet and I make our own pizzas tonight. It was really fun helping her build hers and she devoured it faster than she would have before. I even let her have a glass of Pepsi with the pizza but she actually did not like it and was adamant there was “booze” in it. The little of it that she did drink she handled just fine as she did all the other food she ate today. My confidence is high for her swallowing X-ray.

Janet faded pretty rapidly after dinner so I quickly shoveled a path to the car and we went back to Connect and got her into bed. Another solid day filled with firsts. Praying for a restful and healing night and a productive day tomorrow.