reading

Janet, A Success Story. August 20. #TSJ Stubborn

Happily Janet’s cold seems to be going away. She sounded much better today and had lots more energy. Enough energy to put up a ton of resistance towards helping Chelsea make a cake and for doing any form of exercise tonight even though all she had done during the day was the bike.

When Janet called me this afternoon she excitedly told me how she had just read The Hallo-Wiener to Garrett and Curtis. She was quite happy she was able to do it and admitted she was nervous about reading to an audience. Mary Lou had encouraged her to try as it would be good practice for reading at a pre school. That was the good Janet. Things had shifted dramatically by the time I got to Connect and the majority of our evening was spent “discussing” the many reasons why Janet is at Connect and what her responsibilities are while she’s there. I was disappointed with her seeming lack of desire to help out around there and the false expectation that she should be waited on all the time. Those are very un Janet like characteristics and this was the second day in a row I’ve noticed them. It’s good that Janet is able to assert her feelings and wants but I don’t think its acceptable combined with a complete disconnect for other’s feelings and wants. We reached a resolution when Janet admitted she didn’t want to help with the cake because she feels she won’t be able to help or do enough based on having use of only one arm. When reminded of the good help she’s provided while baking at home she felt better about her situation but in the end only watched Chelsea and cheered her on a little. As far as the exercise goes, Janet finally agreed to do the stairs after realizing that going home on weekends is a privilege that is earned by doing the required work during her days at Connect.

Through it all there was still time for sitting in the sun and going for a nice stroll to watch some soccer before the bedtime reading session which lasted a short twenty minutes tonight as I don’t like reading out loud to myself and a snoring Janet.

Praying for another good night of healing sleep and for Janet to have a positive Thursday.

PS. Janet and I will be on CBC Radio this Friday afternoon just after 5pm PDT. The programme is called Radio West and is broadcast throughout the BC Interior. Thanks to technology, those of you not in our area can stream it live here , if you miss it, I hope to post a recording on this blog over the weekend.

Janet, A Success Story. August 18. #TSJ

Monday is often a challenging day for Janet as she transitions back to “work” or “school” and this Monday was made harder by a cold that just won’t leave her alone. She says she was feeling OK this morning and had a decent time in the gym and on the stairs with Curtis. He ran her through her entire program and Janet said it was “hard but fine”. That took most of the morning and after a little post lunch sunshine time Janet called me and I could hear that cold in her voice and it didn’t sound good. A short nap was all she could manage and she was back in the sunshine when I arrived to hang out with her. We stayed out on the patio right through dinner as it was freezing cold inside. Janet ate well and admitted she hadn’t had much water up to that point and obediently downed a bunch. The food and drink helped a little bit but there was no way this was going to be an active evening.

We treated the prospect of a chill night as an opportunity to do some research on a family Christmas vacation. Since Janet and I downsized our house and the kids are pretty much settled into their lives all over the country, we’ve agreed to try and meet on neutral ground each year and celebrate together there. Where ever there ends up being. Janet and I have been tasked with searching Arizona for deals and we were able to do some of that tonight. It was hard for Janet to maintain her focus though and she spent most of the evening snuggled under her blankets while I showed her pictures and read descriptions of possible get away places. That was enough for her tonight and she welcomed eight o’clock med time so she could climb into bed for real. She lasted right through ten o’clock with me reading to her though and the symptoms she was showing earlier had subsided by the time I said goodnight.

Praying for a night of healing sleep for Janet so she can fully participate in her Tuesday.

Janet, A Success Story. August 13. #TSJ

After yesterday’s greatness, today was as expected and rather relaxing. Janet did her usual morning stuff including reading with Mary Lou which went well and Janet has now been charged with reading The Hallo-Wiener twice a day to keep improving. For the second day in a row Janet lost her balance enough to take a little fall. Both times she landed on her butt which thankfully now has more padding than the former Janet had. Both instances at least in part are the result of Janet having her feet too close together, something she struggles with during sit to stand procedures. She doesn’t seem overly concerned by these falls and maybe even has become more body aware. I saw her really focussing on keeping her feet apart tonight without prompting.

Not surprisingly Janet has picked up a little bit of a cold that Ethan shared with her this past weekend. No big deal but enough to justify a relaxing evening. Chelsea had previously planned to watch My Fair Lady with Janet tonight and the timing ended up perfect. Janet enjoyed the movie and getting her nails done while not having to do much of anything but sing along to most of the songs. The words weren’t too familiar to her but the tunes definitely were.

Praying for a deep and healing sleep tonight and a healthy Thursday.

Janet, A Success Story. August 12. #TSJ Goaaal!

A very matter of fact Janet called me this afternoon to tell me she had “done the steps with Tez and he said it was fine.” Translation, Janet has officially achieved her first “get out of Connect” goal! I can’t explain her lack of enthusiasm and satisfaction, maybe she realizes its just the first of eight goals she set for herself. That would be her thinking only, as everyone around her has been praising the accomplishment.

Tez worked with Janet for quite a while this morning and will do so each Tuesday and Thursday for the foreseeable future. They will be working on improving Janet’s stride and walking speed. Janet admitted she was pretty tired from the Tez work and needed a rest so I was surprised to find her in the living room when I got to Connect. She really could have used more of a rest as she was a little grumpy most of the evening but agreed to demonstrate her stair climbing for you on her way to Games Night. This was her first attempt at all nineteen steps as she chose to go up them all instead of going up then down ten. Janet is a little scared of the down part still so I let her choose tonight.


Its difficult to say what the next goal to be achieved will be but some progress was made on the reading one tonight. Janet emailed the preschool she used to work at to see if she would be allowed to read to the kids near Halloween time. The response came within an hour and her former boss is all for it. We hope to meet to chat about it soon.

Praying for a long night of sleep that provided lots of energy for a fun Wednesday.

Janet, A Success Story. August 10. #TSJ No Relaxing Here

Return trips to Connect have often been difficult and unhappy for Janet and tonight’s was near the top of the list in unhappiness. There was no crying or pouting or complaining just a clear stating of the fact that Janet feels like her “vacation, was not very relaxing”. She’s right and that was never the intention. I think it all boils down to nine days going by too quickly and a little bit of Janet forgetting some of the things she did. We had a good talk about it all and I was able to leave her smiling and seemingly content. She has a chance to officially achieve one of her goals this week and I think she’s looking forward to doing that.

The final phase of Janet’s “vacation” started Thursday as we said so long to my mom and hello to Brittney and Ethan.

Not too sure is he?

Not too sure is he?


We had no idea what to expect from this adventure and were impressed at how well Ethan travelled from New Westminster to Kelowna. Janet did too but that is becoming old news. Overall, our weekend went well and by the end of the day today Janet found a way to connect with Ethan a little more. You could probably guess it was through reading and teaching but even Janet was surprised when she realized she was using an App with Ethan that I used with her during her first year at Connect. Its a word association game that Janet now knows and Ethan is improving on.
EthanJanetHallowiener
Teacher at work.

Teacher at work.


The rest of the weekend Janet was pretty much the innocent bystander, she didn’t want to swim when we went to the pool but enjoyed watching Ethan and noted his improvement after day two. We spent a fair bit of time at various beaches and Janet enjoyed watching the goings on there, I just wish she could participate more.

With a two year old and a dog in the house our at home routine became a little chaotic at times so Janet got waited on more than usual and there was no protesting from her on that one. She still did well getting her breakfasts, it was lunch and dinner that lacked involvement. Her walking was great and even Janet commented she’s getting better at coming up the steps from the garage.

All in all it was a positive weekend and a productive if not relaxing time away from Connect for Janet. Praying for a restful night of sleep and an energetic Monday for Janet.

PS. Tomorrow, (Monday), our friend Gary goes in for open heart surgery which is scheduled for 1:45pm. Please keep him, Barb and the medical team in your prayers.

Janet, A Success Story. July 24. #TSJ

Janet and I met with her team at Connect early this morning and found it to be a productive time. Everyone is supportive of the idea of Janet setting goals to reach before leaving Connect as opposed to choosing a specific date and there was good discussion around what to set as goals in each area. The outcome is as follows;

– Walking- Janet wants to walk “like a regular person”. When asked to define that she said “being able to walk without standing there not knowing what to do”. Tez will use the 6 Minute Walking Test to measure Janet’s progress. The low end of “normal” for that test is 700 meters in 6 minutes. Today Janet did 27 meters. She likely will be tested a couple more times before setting a specific target to reach before leaving Connect.Tez recommends Janet use her cane to gain speed and confidence in walking. She is reluctant but was encouraged to hear that its a temporary thing. Janet used the cane for her last two walking trips at home tonight and although it didn’t speed her up she felt OK with using it.
– Steps- Janet would like to be able to climb and descend three steps on her own using only a handrail. Tez agreed she can likely do that very soon and will have the staff take Janet on the stairs at Connect next week.
– Reading- Janet wants to be able to read to three and four year olds with expression. Mary Lou says she’s making good progress and that is an achievable goal.
– Writing- Brian and I would like to see Janet be able to write her name, address and phone number on a form and be able to leave hand-written notes for people. Janet sees the value in that and will work with Mary Lou to get there.
– Home Chores- Janet would like to be able to load and operate the washer, drier and dishwasher as well as be able to operate the cooktop. Brian will come to the house one day soon to assess Janet and coach her on how to improve with those tasks.
– Toileting- Janet would like to be independent in her toileting routine. The staff have been training Janet and will coach me so I can help Janet at home.

Like I said, it was a productive meeting. The day only got better as Janet was able to come home for the weekend before lunch. We took advantage of the cool weather to stop and get Janet a couple new bathing suits and I think we did pretty well. You may see them this weekend. Janet napped while I went to the grocery store with the list she helped create then in the spirit of going after those goals I put Janet to work. We pitted two pounds of cherries for freezing, she pulled the stems off all of them and pitted some. She ordered quesadillas for dinner and chopped peppers, onion and mushrooms then built each quesadilla for us. After dinner she rinsed the dishes while I washed. She did all of this with no wheelchair in sight and standing for some of it.

Our neighbour, Bonnie came over for a post dinner glass of wine and a chat. She told us she had just baked three cherry pies and Janet got all excited saying that is her favourite pie. It must have been from her childhood because I don’t remember liking pie at all. Bonnie kindly agreed to bake one more. Smooth move Janet.

I’m looking forward to a fun weekend of involving Janet in as many household tasks as possible and walking a lot. Praying for an uninterrupted night of sleep and giving thanks for all we have been blessed with.

Janet, A Success Story. July 14. #TSJ

There were no Monday blahs for Janet today as she bounced right back into her rehab routine. All her exercises were done by lunchtime and she was up from her nap by the time I arrived at 3:30. Not what I was expecting but nice to see.

After catching up on the day’s activities Janet knew it was her turn to set the dinner table so off she walked to the kitchen. I was really impressed with her walking today, the confidence level seems to be growing daily and I think she’s speeding up a little too. Her table setting session was excellent as she needed to physical assistance and minimal coaching on what she had to put out and where it all went. With that chore completed Janet had time to sit in the living room and chat with Wes who just returned from two weeks in Saskatchewan. She was quite excited to see Wes and hear about his trip. It was a good conversation.

Independence is creeping up on Janet whether she likes it or not. She verbalizes a desire for help with a lot of things but increasingly is becoming more assertive, like refusing to go swimming, and tonight not wanting to read to me. I thought she’d be open to reading The Hallo Wiener to me since its her goal to read it to some kids in October. No way. And not in a whiny pouty way, she just didn’t want to read it to me saying she practices it on her own and that is fine. I did kind of trick her into reading a paragraph from another book and she did extremely well with that. She read even the far right hand side of each line, something she often neglects. More improvement.

Part of Janet’s duties for the evening was to do a little laundry and that enabled her to get lots of walking in without it seeming like I was making her walk for no reason. She uses anything and everything she can hold onto along the way but like I said before it seems to be really building her confidence and abilities. I left her alone for more than half of her trip to the med room tonight and she had no problems at all and once again got all her med questions right with no hints. Janet also gave me another awesome recap of her day after getting into bed in addition to telling me whats on her schedule tomorrow. Brilliant!

Praying for an excellent night of sleep and a productive Tuesday.

Janet, A Success Story. July 9. #TSJ Video, Speed Walking

Janet’s day was pretty routine for the first half. She reported to me that she “did everything and it was all good”. Her pendant alarm rang as soon as I got to Connect so I went straight to her room where she was getting up from her nap and needed to go to the bathroom. Without her AFO and shoes on it’s not possible for her to walk on her own so she needs help and is really good at asking for it now. Once dressed, Janet walked well all the way to the patio where we stayed through dinner as the A/C was too cold inside. I will admit I turned the A/C on at our house today for the first time, as by 11 o’clock this morning it was over 28 degrees inside and that’s too warm even for me.

I thought with the heat I’d be able to convince Janet to go for a swim in the lake but she wasn’t having anything to do with that. It was all I could do just to get her feet in the water. It’s a start.
JanetWoodLake
We spent a lot of time planning things tonight. One thing I try to involve Janet in each week is the meal planning at home. She helps decide what the dinners will be and helps create a shopping list with me. Doing that could be a chore but thankfully Janet seems to enjoy begin involved in the decision making and appreciates each meal more when it happens as she had some input into it. We also try to plan some of our activities for when she is home and I think tomorrow evening we are finally going to get to try Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt. MMMM.

You haven’t gotten to see Janet walk for a while so I thought I’d give you a quick peak. Last night she flat out refused to go get her meds without me, tonight she never even asked me, she just got up and walked away. This is her making the return trip in record time.


Impressive huh? For reference, that walk really took just under three minutes.

Janet asked to go to bed a little early tonight so we’d have more time to read Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret. We did and she laughed a lot and continues to really enjoy it which is maybe why she remembers it so well. Each night before I read I ask her to tell me what happened the previous night and since we started this book she’s been bang on.

Praying for a good night of sleep and an energetic Thursday.

Janet, A Success Story. July 7. #TSJ

Getting back into her routine at Connect seemed easy for Janet today. She completed her exercises by lunchtime except for the Standing Frame and got some sun tanning time in before nap time. Yesterday I had asked her to check and see if Jess could drive her to the Dr. Miller appointment tomorrow and Janet remembered to do that. Her memory is steadily improving as is her walking ability. After helping her up from nap time I had her walk to the kitchen to set the table and she did so quicker and more confidently than ever. She did use the wall for security purposes a few times but it seems that letting her do that is actually building her confidence rather than making her dependant on that “crutch”. Janet got the table set in record time and made some really nice 180 degree turns in the process, something she has long struggled with.

Escaping to the warmth of the patio after her chore was done Janet and I hid out there until dinner was ready and Karl and Chelsea agreed to back off on the damn A/C. Janet continued her excellent walking after dinner before getting in the Standing Frame. After properly repairing her wheelchair we were able to go for a nice sunset walk around the neighbourhood. To end the day, Janet had one more round trip of walking to do to get her meds and even though she was getting tired she did very well. No signs of falling and a good steady pace. She was sweating by the time she got back to her room but I think happy with her accomplishments, especially naming the meds correctly with only minor hints.

We are reading a Judy Blume book now called Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. I’m not sure where we got the recommendation but its working out much better than the Toni Braxton story. This one is funny and fast paced and full of young girl things that Janet easily relates to. She had lots of good giggles tonight and that always makes it a little easier to say goodnight. Praying for a good rest tonight and for a good visit with Dr. Miller tomorrow.

Janet, A Success Story. June 10. #TSJ

Thankfully, Janet slept well last night and is no longer experiencing any ear pain. Her gym activities went well this morning and she was in good spirits when she called me while in the Standing Frame.

I tried to go to Connect a little later than usual but find it hard to do that and got there with Janet still napping. I lay down beside her and twenty minutes later she woke up looking at me and said “that was a nice idea”, followed by a bunch of mumbled words. When she really woke up a few seconds later she acknowledged she had been dreaming. I’ve asked Janet a few times during her recovery if she had dreamt at all and her answer has always been no. I’ve heard her talking in her sleep and am not sure if that’s connected so today will be noted as Janet’s first dream and I’m thrilled to report that it involved the entire family on a cruise somewhere sunny and warm, possibly Hawaii. There’s hope yet!

As soon as Janet was up she walked freestyle down to the kitchen to ask what her house chore was to be today. Chelsea assigned her dusting duties and Janet walked a lap of the living room with a feather duster as I coached her on where to stand in order to reach everything. She did a great job and was justifiably tired when she got back to her room. I’d say she was on her feet with no assistance for a good half hour. In light of that I helped her walk down to dinner going as fast as she could without tripping over herself. If I have to help her I’m going to make sure she’s going fast each time so she gets that rhythm going better. One negative about her freestyle walking right now is she pauses between steps too long sometimes and doesn’t believe me she’s wasting energy that way. It wouldn’t be so bad if she was putting equal weight on both legs but Janet still favours her left one significantly.

We practiced some reading before walking up to Games Night. Janet put in her best performance yet and actually said “it was kinda fun” after. Her Dilantin levels are in a really good range now and I credit that with some of her cognitive improvements.

Janet enjoyed the chapter of Unbreak My Heart that we read tonight and understood it very clearly and that makes it fun for me to read to her. Praying for another good night of rest and an active Wednesday.