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

Renovation Day 52. A work from home day for Randy and a little sleep in for me this morning before taking advantage of Black Friday to score some new cookware. Our old pots and pans won’t work on our new induction cooktop so we now have new ones. Yeah!

Today of course was swimming day and after last weeks session in the deep pool I decided to have Janet do that again. We didn’t have Courtney with us this time but Ashley from Connect was there with another resident so I felt confident that Janet could be rescued if something went wrong. Since Janet is doing so well with her balance and walking on land I’m giving her a break from the cold water and letting swimming be just the fun it ought to be. Prior to getting in the water Janet was saying she doesn’t like swimming, she was upset that the water was cold as soon as she got in but immediately upon swimming she had a big smile on her face. She swam strong and for long distances managing a few roles from back to tummy and back again. Her confidence level is definitely increasing as is mine which gave me the idea of throwing Janet off of the ladder just for fun. She agreed so I tossed her gently from maybe eight inches out of the water and she went about a foot under. With the wetsuit on I expected her to pop right back up and when she didn’t I reached down and pulled her back up. She wasn’t too happy about that saying “I was getting ready to swim”. She was fine, I panicked. Silly me.

My schedule didn’t allow me to go back to Connect right away with the group so I missed out on today’s session with Tez. Janet told me as soon as I got there that she walked up and down the hall again with a cane and she seemed quite excited and proud of herself. It was hard work and combined with the swimming I expected Janet to be zonked right out. Not the case, her stamina is really building.

Since she had energy she agreed to catch up on some correspondence that she has been delaying. Responding to emails has never been a favourite past time of Janet’s and it takes a lot out of her now so I have to catch her at just the right time in order to have her be able to focus and come up with good responses. That led us to dinner which included more vocal aerobics from her and Big Country and Willie. This time there was a contest to see who could hold a note the longest, Janet tried but burst out laughing fifteen seconds into each attempt. Good fun.

Still with energy Janet surprisingly was up for a bike ride after dinner and set a new personal best. 2.5 miles in thirty minutes at level 2.5! High five! I see no way for Janet to argue that she’s not getting stronger anymore. The proof is evident even to her now.

We watched a little TV with some of the others then read some of Open as Janet faded into sleepy time. Today was a very full day with lots of physical activity and some good brain exercise with Janet impressing me in all areas. Thanks again for all the positive feedback from Janet’s walking video, there was more to read to her today and for once she is accepting the compliments and encouragement and that is feeding her determination.

Praying for lots of healing rest tonight and an energetic day tomorrow.

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

Renovation Day 50. Wow, 50?, really? Crazy. Randy installed almost all of the kitchen drawers today as well as the shelves for the remaining two closets. That means Janet will come home tomorrow after lunch to help load stuff into those spaces. I installed some towel bars, a new smoke alarm and started installing the dining room light.

As reported earlier Janet took her first steps using a cane today and we are still very excited about that. Here’s the video I shot this afternoon with her walking in the hallway assisted by Tez and Jess.


These are baby steps for sure and more of a confidence booster than anything else. Janet fully realizes and accepts how well she did today and that is the biggest win in my mind.

By the time we had settled down from all that excitement it was after four and Janet was feeling pretty tired so she went for a little pre dinner nap. That enabled her to get in a decent bike ride after dinner starting out at level two but asking for the pedalling to be made easier ten minutes in so I dropped it back down to 1.5 respecting how much the walking had taken out of her. Curtis informed me later that Jess had Janet on the bike yesterday starting at level three then dropping to two and Janet tolerated that well. As long as she’s not too tired I’ll get her going like that as well. She can handle it.

To be productive before watching The Voice Janet wanted to do some reading so we downloaded a book to the iPad in hopes she could read off of that easier. I had her read the opening quote in the book and she read seven lines with only two prompts from me along the way so I think this will work well. We chose the book Open by Andre Agassi and are enjoying it so far.

Janet stayed very alert throughout the reading and also for The Voice. Our contestants are both safe again and Janet is starting to remember some names from the show. Our bedtime chat included some serious thinking on Janet’s part triggered by her physical success today. She asked why she got sick and repeatedly mentioned she doesn’t want to be a waste. Instead of the old very emotional statements like that these were stated quite seriously with a hint of emotion. We had a really good talk in which I was able to reaffirm the many positives that have come in the last eighteen months. I sense a real turning point in Janet’s recovery and look forward to what she will accomplish in the near future.

Janet and I send our prayers and love to Heidi and her family today as they grieve the passing of her mother. Heidi and Jack are key members of Team Save Janet and inspiring examples of how to live out a life of faith and love.

Thanking our Lord and Saviour for all He provides and praying for complete healing.

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

Renovation Day 43. Plumbing is done. Painting is done. Still waiting for the electrician. Randy installed drawer glides in the kitchen and built one closet in the master bedroom. That means Janet can come home tomorrow afternoon to help put things away and more importantly to help figure out where things will go in the kitchen. With a decision made there, Randy can install shelves that will be adjustable but not have a hundred holes up the sides of the cabinet.

Janet had been napping for a while when I got to Connect so I went right into her room and we had a good talk about her day so far. I need to find out more but a couple of times now, Janet has attended a group meeting with a guy named Ed Mitchell. She says they talk about what happened to them and how they are dealing with it. When I asked Janet what happened to her she said, “I just woke up and was like this”. When asked for clarification on “like this”, she said, “not a good walker or anything”. I gave her a chance to talk more about but she didn’t want to so I got her up and down to the gym for a bike ride. She’s doing so well at this slightly more difficult level that I’m going to increase it more next time.

Brian sent out his semi annual progress report on Janet today and it confirmed how well Janet is doing especially cognitively. A number of times since this all started Janet has been tested using the Western Aphasia Battery, a standardized Speech Therapy test. Her score out of one hundred back in her hospital days was less than 3, her score in December 2012 was 43.7 and her score from a few days ago was 85.9. Even Janet was impressed and believed the scores as I read the report to her. “Normal” is considered to be a score of 93.8 so Janet is almost there. High five!

I took Janet for a Shuttle session after dinner for the first time in a while and was impressed. The distance she is able to extend her legs has increased noticeably and her right leg is stronger as this time I could really feel her pushing using her quadricep. Thank you bike riding. Curtis was there for part of the session and noted Janet’s feet were in the lowest possible position and she was pushing farther than ever. A sure sign of increased strength.

We finished reading Not a Fan tonight as tomorrow’s SHElife session is the last one discussing the book. Overall it’s been an interesting read and discussion with Janet and it’s resulted in her thinking about and figuring out herself quite a bit. I think we will choose something lighter for the next book and it will be on the iPad so Janet can read easier.

Janet asked if I would re paint her finger nails before we went to the living room to watch The Voice. Once again, both of our contestants made it through to the next round. Janet is looking forward to next week’s show as we will be able to PVR it and watch it without commercials when we want to. That will be nice.

Praying for a restful and healing night that provides lots of energy for a busy day tomorrow.

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

Renovation Day 27. A day off for Randy and a few hours of vacuuming drywall dust for me. Painting starts tomorrow! Here’s a few pictures of what things look like today. There will be big changes this week.
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When I got to Connect I just had time to help Janet out of the bathroom then into her jersey to watch the Seahawks game. I made a comment while helping her sit on the couch that this shouldn’t be much of a game but we’ll watch a little anyways. My thoughts were Seattle would win easily, boy was I wrong. Janet continues to improve her football knowledge and despite the shaky performance of our team it was fun watching with her and we were both relieved with the win.

After sitting for most of the game Janet agreed to a bike ride and enjoyed it as much as possible by singing along to a few of the songs on the radio. She admitted to Heather during a Skype chat that she likes the bike and it get her “hair going”. As long as she enjoys it.

The majority of the evening was spent reading Not a Fan which generated some interesting observations from Janet. It was hard to read to her tonight as she sat with her eyes closed most of the time and I had to ask her what I just said often to make sure she was still with me. She was and retained a lot more of the story than I expected. I think that id we can read the chapters to be discussed at SHElife the day before she should be in a good position to contribute.

The Botox is already kicking in on Janet’s right hand and wrist as I was able to stretch her fingers out with virtually no pain and same with the wrist. The effects on the right leg should become apparent in the next couple of days especially if she keeps working hard.

Praying for a night of deep and healing sleep that provides lots of energy and a positive attitude for tomorrow.

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

Renovation Day 15. Randy is fighting a cold and working hard while I spend money. Bathroom sinks and faucets, washer and dryer, deposit on the flooring. I did recoup a little by selling two over the toilet cabinets. Yippee!

Nash and I arrived at Connect to find Janet just waking up from her nap. He’s starting to get a little too comfortable there as he wanders around without us now and tonight I had to shoo him off the bed so we could go home. He would’ve been quite happy to spend the night. In fairness, his days at home aren’t very fun with all the banging and crashing and dust flying. It’s tough being a dog.

Janet was very chatty this afternoon and we hung out on the bed talking for a good half hour. She’s getting pretty good at recapping her day to me, I still try and confirm with the staff but the instances of Janet being way off base are far less now. Today, according to her, she did the Shuttle, stretching, and Standing Frame before lunch in addition to going to the lab for some routine blood work. No wonder she napped.

I like it when Janet agrees to go to the gym before dinner like she did today. Her bike ride was, in her words, “easier than yesterday”. The stats were about the same so I’m glad she felt better about it and she now knows the time will be increased until she’s riding for thirty minutes comfortably before we make it harder to pedal. Her Standing Fame session this morning was quite long and there was too big a mess in the kitchen for her to do dishes so she got the evening off from physical things. That left the door open for some brain exercise. Curtis played tic tac toe and hangman with Janet the other day and was impressed with her skills claiming she beat him twice at tic tac toe. It didn’t take her long to beat me tonight and I love the enthusiasm with which she plays. Hangman was a little harder but still fun and combined with some reading made for a productive night.

The Voice concluded the battle rounds part of the show tonight and while watching we decided to make bets on who might win once the final teams are chosen. At stake is a DQ Blizzard so if anyone wants in on the action let me know. Praying for a night of uninterrupted sleep and lots of energy tomorrow.

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

Renovation Day 13 was a quiet one. I ripped up a little more of the former pink tile floor leaving the last of it until just before the new floor goes in. Tomorrow I get to sand the last of the texture off the second bedroom ceiling. I can hardly wait.

Janet had just finished lunch and was waiting for me when I got to Connect. It was a beautiful sunny day here so I suggested a walk and Janet agreed saying that others were going for a walk too. We ended up going for a nice long walk with Willie and his wife Val. Towards the end, Janet was complaining of being cold even though it was fourteen degrees and she had her winter coat on. I guess we need to shop for a warmer coat.

We got back inside for a Skype chat with Mary/Gaga that went well then Janet had a brief nap. I know it was brief because I laid down with her just to remind myself what a bed feels like. Once up, we sat in the kitchen and chatted with Jess and Sydney. Janet was a little quiet but enjoyed the time and drank her Fresca surprisingly quickly.

The rest of the evening was very quiet as I gave Janet the day off from the gym. We watched football while visiting with various people that came in and out of the living room and I had Janet read a little on the iPad. She is getting so much better at that its very exciting. When Janet started to fade around 8:30 we headed off to get ready for bed. Each night for a while now I’ve been trying to get Janet to lift her left leg while standing so I can slip off her socks and or pants. She has tried unsuccessfully saying “it won’t work”. Tonight, seconds after saying those exact words, she did it! She was hanging onto the stripper pole for dear life and only held her leg up for one second but that is the first time with me she’s been able to do that. True to form she played it all down but I could see in her eyes she was pleased with herself.

Praying for restoration of the use of her right arm and hand and continued building of strength.

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

Renovation Day Eight. Construction has begun! The demolition phase has pretty much come to an end unless we decide on something major for the ensuite. Randy laid the bases for most of the kitchen today so now we can actually see what the layout will look like.BaseForKitchen
The first piece to go down of course was for what will be the wine “cellar” slash liquor cabinet.
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Priorities. Right?

Jess had Janet very busy all morning today with a full workout, Standing Frame, shower and a trip to the grocery store before lunch. By one o’clock Janet asked for a nap and was sleeping still when I got in at 2:45. Her cold is lingering but hasn’t affected her willingness to do things and she got up soon after my arrival.

We started our time together with back to back Skype chats with Heather and Leslie. Janet talked well to both and rather confidently asked to end the one with Leslie. She’s almost always been scared to end a call out of fear of upsetting the other person but today she knew she wanted to stop and she spoke up. Nice.

Since Janet’s cold was still affecting her I gave her the night off from the gym and we watched a little football after dinner with the fire as its harder for her to stay warm when she’s feeling sick. Once she got warm we read some SheLife materials and Janet impressed me with her improved reading skills. She still lacks confidence but when following a pen pointing to each word she was going a line and a half without breaking and that is a huge improvement. Jess said she has noticed Janet trying to read more on her own during down times now and that’s good. One chapter we read was titled “lost that loving feeling” and as soon as I “sang” a bit of the song, Janet jumped right in nice and loud singing practically the whole song. Cool.

Reading filled out the time until The Voice started and we watched that with Wes, his wife Roz and sometimes Kieran. Janet interacted with everyone well and also had quite a lively phone conversation with Cam. At med time I encouraged Janet to yell at Jess, who was in the kitchen, to get her meds for her. Janet responded with the loudest voice I’ve heard from her and Jess heard her loud and clear. Not bad for a sicko.

Praying for a good sleep tonight and a fun day tomorrow.

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

Day two of renovations was productive and we now have internet at the new house. I felt naked without it.

Janet called me around four to ask when I’d be there to visit her. She sounded like she was having a good day and when I arrived around five thirty she was all smiles and about to have dinner. She was quick to tell me she didn’t sleep “at all” last night and Curtis confirmed she was awake at four thirty. I feel she must have slept at some point because she was way too awake and bright otherwise. She very confidently told me of her morning and the “class” she went to that turned out to be some sort of residents meeting. Janet told me she spoke about our new car, selling our house and buying a new one. Pretty good! There was no arguing about the gym tonight and her Shuttle session was excellent. I keep trying to impress her with statistics but she doesn’t always buy into it. Her improvement is noticeable especially with the amount of extension she is able to get now. Janet was a little tired by the time we attempted some free standing so that wasn’t her best tonight. The Standing Frame was good tonight as well with a nice straight upper body but we still need to work on the leg positioning. Curtis will consult Tez tomorrow on that one.

Our plan was for me to read to Janet for a while before bed and Janet did a great job of getting herself ready. A page and a half into the read she was sound asleep. Good thing we were re reading for tomorrows She Life session and hopefully this means she will have a good sleep tonight.

With our good Internet connection restored I was finally able to upload the video tour of the new house. Check it. http://youtu.be/f8mj1SNXwbU

Praying for increasing strength and flexibility and lots of energy tomorrow.

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

From our new house!

No longer at my secret location, this post is coming to you from the new house on Lanfranco Road. It doesn’t look or feel like ours right now but we start work on that tomorrow.

Janet was up early for a Sunday and I can only guess it was the anticipation of the Seahawks game that did it. At least that was her answer when I asked her what the big event of the day was. Love her. We watched most of the first half before meeting Les to get the keys to the new place.

Janet was excited and a little overwhelmed trying to piece everything together. After checking a few things out with Les I toured her around and could tell it was difficult for her to sense that it’s our home. She agreed she won’t recognize it in a few weeks and once our stuff is here it’ll seem more ours. I did shoot a video tour today but am unable to upload it. I’ll try tomorrow.

Our neighborhood is full of cool places to eat and shop so to kick things off I took Janet to lunch at Urban Fare. It was really nice to sit in a cozy space with live music and good food. Hardly felt like a grocery store at all. It was really nice to see a lot of Sandrine’s product available there too! For regular groceries it’s a little expensive so after a quick stop at Save On it was back to the house where Janet became first to sleep in it.
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I was able to inventory some of the stuff we’ll try and sell out of here while Janet was napping. Of course that wasn’t the best nap ever but it recharged her enough to enjoy another great experience at Joey Kelowna. We tried going there last night but faced with a twenty five minute wait we employed plan B. The hostess remembered us tonight, told the manager and he bought us a glass of wine! Unreal.

Back at Connect I packed the rest of my stuff while Janet put away laundry and got her meds. I could feel the sadness knowing the amount of time I get to spend with her will be far less during this renovation time and I really had to work to keep the conversation from going there. I helped Janet respond to some overdue correspondence then read to her in bed before lights out. Janet was appreciative of the day off from exercise and ought to be ready to hit it hard tomorrow. I’m certainly praying for that and continued healing.

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

From a secret location really close to Janet.

Since I’m staying so close to Janet I finally had a complete day with her. The morning was a bit of a scramble as I had some organizing of stuff that wouldn’t fit into the Big Steel Box to do before I could fit Janet into the car and go to church. This was Janet’s first ride in the new car since it became ours. She got in easily and was very comfy especially with the heated seats on. It is Fall here now for sure you know. Janet even commented on the smooth ride compared to the Vibe and even loaded down with stuff and her it was a fun drive in to church. Here’s a pic of Janet in the new ride.

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Any guesses as to what car we bought? If you don’t know I’ll include a more revealing picture tomorrow. Of the car that is.

Church was great with lots of lively easy to sing to music that Janet seemed to really enjoy and all the folks sitting around us this morning were very friendly even though we only know one of them. That’s the way it ought to be right? Following the service we did what a lot of Kelowna types do after church, head to the Mall. Janet was in need of shoes and long sleeve shirts so after lunch she got to shop. A successful trip it was that gave us time to do a little shopping for the new house as well. Not wanting to shop around much we trusted Sears Home to back up their product like they usually do and bought a bed and will go back for a fridge, wall oven and cook top unless the new kitchen plans change drastically. Janet was fading a little by the end of the Sears visit but it was good having her there to ensure the bed we bought wasn’t too high for her like our previous one was.

Back at Connect Janet had a good phone conversation with her mom. I heard strong reminders of what she sounded like talking on the phone before the aneurysm especially in her laugh. Following the phone call she insisted on going to the gym before dinner so off we went and she had a good Shuttle session although I am noticing an increase in stiffness on her right leg. She said it hurt as I stretched her. Could be a lack of Botox, not sure. Janet tolerated the Standing Frame very well then after dinner helped sort out her clothes so she is winter ready and has summer put away. Sad.

Since she didn’t get a nap this afternoon Janet was tired early tonight and asked to get ready for bed at eight o’clock. We had joined the masses and watched the finale of Breaking Bad before that, a show neither of us had seen before and even though Janet didn’t understand it she wasn’t turned off by it either. Maybe we can be a little more adventurous in our movie choices now as long as she can follow the story. 14A perhaps? After reading an entire chapter of Not a Fan to her, Janet was ready for lights out. I’m looking forward to her being able to discuss the book with others starting Wednesday night.

Praying for a long and restful sleep tonight and lots of energy tomorrow.