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

For quite some time now Janet has been getting increasingly resistant to the idea of going swimming each Thursday morning. She “hates” being cold and also doesn’t like all the preparation needed to get ready followed by the big production when finished. She was one of three residents that went to the pool this morning and only one of those went near the water so Garrett could spend the whole session with us. He got to see first hand how good of a swimmer Janet is and how quickly she gets cold, even with the wet suit. More importantly he saw how the cold affects Janet’s ability to control her legs. He agreed that other than “the outing” there isn’t much therapeutic value to the swimming if Janet isn’t really enjoying it. We asked Janet to suggest an alternative to swimming rather than just complaining about it and she wisely said she could do exercises in the gym. This is what she’s chosen to do Tuesdays instead of attending the group therapy session and I fully support that choice. That gave me justification to talk to Brian later today to suggest Janet no longer go to the pool as long as there is staff available to take her to the gym. He agreed, I told Tez and he’s onboard so Janet has been released from that “terrible” thing. The countless visits to various pools truly helped Janet’s recovery and we are blessed to have had the opportunity to work in the water as much as we did. Janet loves to swim and I’m confident she’ll be back in the water as soon as its warm enough.

After lunch and a nap Janet responded to some emails, this time electing to type them herself and she did really well, even hitting the space bar at the appropriate time a few times. She gave up a little quickly on her reading today and I had to really push her to follow through to the end. Her confidence level seemed quite low this afternoon and evening. Perhaps because of that she was very resistant to doing any exercise and we had a long and somewhat heated discussion about her situation. There hasn’t been a meltdown of this magnitude for a long time and I’m not sure what triggered this one other than lack of confidence. Janet has a hard time accepting that she’s doing well and making progress because it isn’t happening fast enough for her. At the end of our discussion she did her best one legged bike ride ever and got a great stretch in the Standing Frame.

Bedtime each night involves us praying together and we share lines of the Lord’s Prayer followed by a heart prayer that has always been at least 99% me talking. I often encourage Janet to start that prayer and up until tonight she’s only managed a few words before giving up in frustration at not being able to get the words she wants out. Tonight she said the sweetest most “honest”(her word) prayer yet, most of which centred around our earlier discussion. It was very moving and I pray she is now able to express herself that way not only to God but to me and everyone else who loves her too.

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

My time with Janet was short today as I completed bottling at CedarCreek until next week and when I got to Connect it was time to take off for dinner and SheLife. Janet was in good spirits waiting for me in the living room and feeling proud of herself for spending “over and hour” in the gym this morning. Sounds like she’s making a real effort to get her exercises done in the AM which is when Janet says she does better. For the most part that’s true and I’m encouraged by her willingness to them at all.

Janet was pretty quiet during dinner and told me she did have a rest but it was early and she didn’t think she slept at all. That was a bad sign heading into SheLife as the topic this time is a little deep and Janet is finding it a challenge to understand. She came away from tonight’s session a little upset that she doesn’t get it and was hinting at not going back but I offered to help her with the materiel this weekend and she accepted, remembering how it helped to read about the last sessions topic the night before each meeting. Worth a try.

As always on SheLife night it’s bedtime by the time we get back to Connect. I read to Janet who was in and out of sleep but quite awake as I finished and wanted me to read more. I had to say no as, if I stay too late at Connect I get locked in to the place. Not a bad thing to have happen and if it wasn’t for our dog at home I would let it happen once in a while. Not tonight though.

Praying for full and complete healing and for a productive day tomorrow.

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

A smiling Janet greeted me as I arrived at Connect late this afternoon. She had just gotten up from a nap where she actually slept and I could tell. She was very bright and spoke well as she excitedly told me she had done a big workout in the gym this morning. There was no arguing with me when I suggested she was only telling me that so I wouldn’t make her do more tonight. Janet truly did have a good session with Curtis and Garrett this morning doing everything except the Standing Frame. Curtis worked on free standing with Janet in an area no where near a transfer pole and Janet did very well. A couple of times lately I’ve noticed her free standing while pulling her pants up or down but I haven’t said anything to her as I don’t want her to be thinking about it. I love that she’s doing it and I feel she’s getting closer to taking an unassisted step. It may be using an undesirable technique but I sense it coming.

After a lively dinner Janet wanted to get the Standing Frame over with and stood for an hour quite comfortably. The rest of the night was hers and after checking her emails which gave her some reading practice she counted out some pennies to be rolled. Her math skills are excellent and as long as she takes her time she can count accurately as well. For each roll she laid out stacks of two pennies in a five by five grid confidently answering that there were fifty pennies there. She has rolled eleven rolls of pennies so far and quickly calculated that is $5.50. Sounds like enough for that Blizzard she owes me.

Last night as we were reading Janet complained that the light in her room was too bright for her while she’s laying there listening to me so I asked her to remind me next time and I’ll turn it off, to my surprise, tonight she did. She also knew right away that SheLife is tomorrow and there were a number of other intelligent comments and strong displays of short term memory tonight too. Fun times.

Praying for full and complete healing and a positive day tomorrow.

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

I’m spending the first few days of this week bottling wine at CedarCreek Estate Winery so my time with Janet will start later in the day than usual. Today I got to Connect just as everyone was sitting down to dinner. Janet was excited to see me but I could tell wasn’t really missing me either, nor did I expect her to. I missed her though.

According to Janet she was in the gym “for a long time this morning”. As we talked it became apparent she had done the Shuttle and her mat exercises with Karl so that left the bike and standing frame for tonight. Something she was not pleased to hear. I was more concerned with what Janet had done in the afternoon and she exceeded my expectations greatly. I’ve often suggested to her that instead of watching daytime television she could work on her speech exercises or something like that. After lunch today she wheeled up to her desk and answered the questions on six or seven pages of work that Mary Lou had left in a binder for her to do as she pleased. I marked them for her, reading each question out loud and having her confirm her answer and found she scored as high as 100% and only as low as 80%. Nice work! She even did some very accurate underlining and some decent printing too.

Janet agreed to some one legged bike riding and I found her to be ineffective in trying to pull up using her right leg. Partly attitude and partly a result of the weekend maybe. Still good that she did it though. After a good session in the Standing Frame it was time to get ready for bed and to read Open which had Janet laughing out loud and listening intently for a good forty five minutes tonight. Fun.

Thanks to those of you that played the Where’s Janet game in her class photo yesterday. The consensus is third from the right, second row, but Janet still thinks she’s first on the left, front row. She is wavering a bit on that now and loved that people actually bothered to guess.

Praying for a night of deep and healing sleep that gives Janet lots of energy and a positive attitude and willingness to fully participate in whatever she’s asked to do tomorrow.

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

Most Saturdays at home with Janet start late as she takes a well deserved sleep in, not today. Awake at her normal Connect get up time, 7:45, our day started. Turned out to be a good thing as we got a lot done. Janet made herself toast and coffee and we mapped out our day before the weekly Skype chat with Mary/Gaga. Janet carried this chat really well and seemed quite on the ball.

Today was finally time to put Janet’s memorabilia into scrapbook type things and we both enjoyed looking through some of the stuff and remembering things from early on in our relationship. It was a little emotional at times and a good exercise for Janet to go through. It also validated my policy of getting all this stuff into a useful medium as opposed to stuffed in a box in a place no one goes. I don’t want Janet or anyone living in the past but boy there are some powerful things to be learned there like what an awesome mother she is, what a talented drawer and story teller she was. Hopefully some confidence was built today.

We worked steadily until well past lunchtime when I helped Janet make her grilled cheese sandwich. I need to have her practice operating the cooktop more as when she gains that skill she’ll be able to make lunch completely on her own.

There was no arguing about nap time today as it was a busy first part of the day for Janet that even included some free standing. Janet awoke in time for us to meet Suzanne at church and enjoy an excellent worship experience. Janet propelled herself, transferred, stood and sang well tonight. The only thing she didn’t really do well at was using her chopsticks while out for sushi dinner. Maybe it was the sake she finally agreed to try, I don’t know but this was a messy one. Still a very enjoyable evening, thanks for making it so, Suzanne.

Janet and I enjoyed fresh baked cookies from our neighbour, Betty, when we got home and were able to read a lot of Open before Janet went to bed. I’m glad we chose to read while Janet was awake enough to understand what I was reading as it was pretty deep and interesting stuff tonight. Fun to read and discuss with her.

Praying for a night of deep and healing sleep and lots of energy for a fun tomorrow. Go ‘hawks!

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

A cold but smiling Janet was waiting for me at the pool this morning just wanting to get “this swimming thing over with”. She was in a good mood in spite of not wanting to be there and as usual broke into a big smile and actual laughter as she started to swim her first length. She said she was laughing because it was cold and it was a little on the chill side today for sure. I kept her moving as much as possible and Janet swam strong today with nice rolls from tummy to back and a few fun attempts at treading water. Instead of being all frustrated, she laughed about spinning around in a circle because of her one arm. The kiddie pool was a welcome relief from the cold and Janet did some good knee bends and balancing before getting a really good stretch in the hot tub, the place she would like to start and finish and probably stay at forever.

Janet had another fun appointment to look forward to this afternoon, the dentist. She needed one small cavity filled and afterwards said it was an interesting visit. The folks there are very friendly and fun and Janet felt at ease and welcome and said it didn’t hurt at all. She couldn’t wait to get into bed for a nap as soon as we got home though and had a good little rest before the next event.

We met Suzanne for dinner tonight at Routes Grill which is near Connect. Janet and I had been once before and Suzanne never before so it was a good place to catch up with her. Janet says “its always fun with her” and it was. The menu is a little limited so Janet ended up with a seafood linguine that I try and have her avoid when we are out as its a messy eat. She did OK though and conversed well with Suzanne.

Today was a very full day for Janet and she held up very well. I found her memory to be slightly improved and her transfers excellent. I had her try and answer some emails before bed but she only managed a couple as I think she had just had enough for the day by then. Andre Agassi managed to get a few belly laughs from her as we read Open before saying goodnight. Praying for a solid night of sleep and a great Friday.

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

Today was the fifth anniversary of Connect Communities and the whole place celebrated with a little party that Janet attended. I think the birthday cake gave her enough of a sugar high to keep her going the rest of the day. She was in a good mood when I arrived and looking forward to SheLife at Trinity this evening. Jess reported that Janet covered off everything in the gym this morning without arguing. She wasn’t thrilled about any of it but she did it. There was an attempt at a nap that turned out to be just rest time with some music on and that seemed to be enough as Janet was pretty bright the whole time I was with her today. We had a chat with Brian to ensure we are on the same page as far as the next round of Botox goes. He feels that focusing on the right leg with a little attention to the right wrist and fingers is a good plan and is pleased with the improvements Janet is showing.

One of the benefits of SheLife starting at six thirty is we get to go out for dinner beforehand. Dinner at Connect is not typically served in time to make the twenty minute drive in afterwards so Janet gets a treat. Tonight she selected sushi and after a few miscalculated attempts got her chop sticks working nicely and said she was “stuffed” as we made our way to the church. During our dinner Janet remembered by the date that it was her sister Leslie’s birthday today and gave her a quick happy birthday phone call that contained as much laughter as it did talking.

Janet propelled herself all the way from the car into the church then to the room SheLife is held in and is getting more and more confident out on her own all the time. Heidi graciously accepted Janet at her table again as Janet had hoped and by all accounts at the end of the evening this will be a good activity for Janet. She loves being in a room full of women talking even if she doesn’t say much herself.

After her evening routine was complete we read for a while before saying goodnight after a successful day. Praying for a solid night of sleep and lots of energy for tomorrow.

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

A milestone day for Janet today. I picked up her AFO on my way to Connect and after her nap we tried it on. It came with it’s own pair of very ugly shoes but for now they are the only ones the AFO fits in so we are stuck with them. Janet was nervous about putting the brace on but found it comfortable and once up said everything was OK. Curtis happened by just as she was getting ready to stand and I had him operate the camera so we could record Janet’s first steps. She was reluctant at first as the combination of shoes and brace made her leg heavier than normal. We challenged her to walk all the way down the hall for dinner and she did!


Watching the video it is obvious where Janet needs to improve, feet further apart, right foot farther ahead on each step amongst other things and I know Tez is aware of those things so it will be interesting to see what his plan is tomorrow.

Janet was adamant that there be no exercises tonight as she had done everything during the day then had the big long walk down the hall. I pressed a little but didn’t win and gave in to her wish to read. After a little debate Janet read a page and a half of Open tonight and I paused her after each paragraph to tell me about what she’d just read. Each time she started with “I don’t know” then proceeded to tell me a pretty good summary. Her memory is definitely improving and when I asked at bedtime what was happening tomorrow she quickly said we have a meeting at 10:30 with Greg. Bang on except it’s with Tez. High five anyways.

After reading about tennis we decided to watch some before bed and Janet did so intently giving me some good descriptors of the match we watched including an accurate observation that the women’s game is much slower than the men’s.

Janet has come so far in the last twenty months its hard to imagine sometimes, then there are milestone days like today. A long walk with medium assistance, intelligent conversation, accurate memory recall and that awesome smile. All twenty months to the day this all started and one year to the day when we spent long hours in the ER after Janet suffered a seizure and I wondered if she would ever got out of this. By the grace of God, the love and support of all of you and by her determination, she is.

Praying for a restful night and a productive tomorrow.

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

Janet woke me up this morning and before breakfast agreed to have a bath. We are getting that activity running better and keeping Janet warmer each time. Breakfast again was Janet’s choice and she went to her default toast and coffee. She then had a nice Skype chat with her mom before settling in for some football watching. We were not that into today’s games but did watch some and used halftime of the first game to walk around the couch again. Janet did even better today, moving in a more consistent rhythm and pushing her right foot a little farther forward.

We noticed that the US Figure Skating Championships were on and I know how much Janet likes skating so we watched the last hoot of it and she really enjoyed that. She commented on each skater with some genuine expertise and I hate to admit but showed as much enthusiasm for the skating as she does football. It was fun to watch with her and we look forward to the Olympics.There was an attempt at having a nap this afternoon which only resulted in maybe twenty minutes of sleep. Janet was tired but not tired enough I guess. I had her start to help me with dinner but she got distracted by the Golden Globes and ended up watching that while I cooked.

Complaing she was tired I encouraged her to ride the bike back at Connect and she did so valiantly and after a little dessert she hopped into bed so I could read to her. Expecting her to fall asleep rapidly I was instead presented with a very chatty and giggly Janet the entire hour that I read to her. She had lots to say about the story and I was concerned she’d have trouble falling asleep tonight but leaving her in a good mood at Connect is just as good as leaving her super tired so I said goodnight looking forward to tomorrow.

Praying for a deep and healing sleep and lots of energy for a busy tomorrow.

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

Renovation Day 63. Another work at home day for Randy while I put up some towel bars and a decorative shelf and cleaned the kitchen area. The last bit of vinyl planking arrived today and will be installed over the trap door to the crawl space tomorrow.

Janet was hanging with Jess in the living room when I got to Connect this afternoon. She was bright and cheery and excited to tell me she had worked with Wendy this morning testing her reading comprehension. Janet said she didn’t do very well but knowing Janet, I’ll wait till I hear from Wendy before coming to any conclusions. One part of the test is still in effect as Janet has to remember all on her own to deliver an envelope to Wendy in the morning. Janet seems determined to pull this off and has the envelope ready on her bedside table. I think Janet’s comprehension has improved substantially over the last couple of months and expect her to do respectably with Wendy. Unrelated, I asked Janet to type a reply to an email from her mom and she did so without hesitation. I never once had to help her with spelling and only had to help her locate some letters on the keyboard. She never once complained that she can’t do it and found maybe thirty percent of the letters completely on her own. High five.

The first order of business after the daily recap was a bike ride. Jess had Janet in the gym this morning for a lot of stretching work and range of motion stuff on her legs. The bike ride tied a personal best and I think Janet is ready for level three if I can sneak that on her.

We had a nice Skype chat with Heather just before dinner and Janet excitedly told her of our party Friday night without prompting and of singing along to The Sound of Music. She needed a little reminder of that one but laughed a lot about knowing all the songs.JanetSuzanneDedicationParty

Tiffany helped us at the parallel bars after dinner with Big Country cheering Janet on. Considering the lack of walking over the last four days and no nap today Janet did quite well. I noticed a tendency to get out of rhythm from time to time and she was a little fast to give up on herself. I think to really make headway on this walking thing Janet needs to practice daily and with the AFO which hopefully will come soon.

I warned Janet tonight would be hard and I didn’t think she’d go for the Standing Frame when I mentioned it but she did and got a good stretch for forty five minutes while we watched The Voice. She seemed to have a natural let down as soon as the show was over and asked to get ready for bed so I could read a little to her before lights out. I don’t think she made it three pages before she was out and didn’t even stir until I was all packed up with my coat on ready to go. To me that’s a sign of a productive day. Janet had good physical and mental workouts today and I pray for similar success tomorrow.