Seahawks

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

Renovation Day 11. Lots of construction going on as Randy continues to make the kitchen look like a kitchen.
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I managed to find a few more things to destroy and had the pleasure of sanding texture off of the second bedroom ceiling. Fun times.

There was too much going on this morning for me to join Janet at the pool. She said swimming was fine and Carly mentioned they did a lot of walking as well as swimming. Janet said it still took her a while to warm up but she did get comfortable but still wanted more time in the hot tub.

We had a nice chat out in the sunshine once I got to Connect and Janet was quite talkative and cheery. Dinner was a miss tonight especially after so many good meals out lately. Curtis kindly tried to find something Janet would like instead but it seems that once the bad taste is there its hard to correct. The food woes were diminished by being able to watch the Seahawks victory and having a phone conversation with Laurel. Janet spoke really well and made lots of good comments totally relevant to the topic. I am more and more impressed with her that way each day.

Janet showed no interest in going to the gym tonight at all using the swimming session as an excuse. I gave her a pass more due to the football game and the fact she was really engaged and communicative not just staring blankly at the TV. She is starting to recognize good plays without me prompting her and she genuinely cheers when Seattle scores. Go ‘Hawks!

Recognizing she was tired around nine, Janet called bedtime and in an all too familiar fashion was asleep two pages into my reading of Not a Fan. We are going to have to schedule reading time earlier in the day so she can actually retain some of what she’s hearing.

Praying for a restful and healing sleep and an active day tomorrow.

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

Renovation Day seven and Randy deservedly took the day off. I pulled more staples out of the floor this morning then cruised in the sunshine to watch football with Janet.

Waiting for me in the living room Janet greeted me with a big smile saying she had waited for me so we could have lunch and watch the game, and that’s what we did with our jerseys on and feeling excited for Laurel and Raj who were actually in Seattle at the game. Janet almost made it to half time before getting tired and needing a nap. Her cold is still with her enough to sap some of her energy and she slept for an hour and a half, waking in time to see the last few minutes of an ugly Seahawks victory.

Nash was hanging with us at Connect for the afternoon and before we went to Mark and Veronica’s for dinner we had to drop him off at the house. He really enjoys being at Connect and Humberto especially likes him. I wonder if Connect needs a mascot? The good part about having to go home for a bit was Janet got to see it again and we went for a little walk around the neighbourhood to get some fresh air. Janet still likes the place and I’m really looking forward to being able to bring her home for a weekend soon.

Janet did a great job being a dinner guest tonight. Nice confident greetings to everyone, chatted with the ladies in the kitchen and did awesome at introducing herself and saying what she was thankful for. We thoroughly enjoyed the food and conversation and Janet wants to do more of that sort of thing so once the house is ready some invites will be going out. These more public appearances are good therapy for her. We got back to Connect in time to get ready for bed and I pray Janet has an uninterrupted night of sleep that heals her of her cold and gives her lots of energy for an active Monday.

This evening was a reminder of how blessed we are to have friends willing to share their home, food and time with us. Janet and I are thankful to all of you who read this blog, cheer us on, visit us, cook for us and spend time with us. God continues to place the right people in our lives at the right time and we are most thankful for that.

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 #Seahawks #SeavsJax #LastDay #WNTW

The last full day at San Michelle Rd for Janet.
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I thought it might be more nostalgic than it was,I think I’m starting to feel the emotion more than Janet is. The first part of the day was the usual breakfast while watching the Green Bay vs Cincinnati football game and as soon as breakfast was done we switched gears and started packing. I was concerned Janet would not have enough to do and feel like she was contributing but managed to keep her busy until Skype time with Heather. I talked more than Janet did for once as I think she was a little overwhelmed by all the packing and stuff going on. Lunch took place as the Seahawks vs Jacksonville game started. Knowing this game should be a blow out for us I didn’t make special plans to watch the whole thing. We had it on in the background as we packed, Skyped with Leslie, packed, took a break and packed some more. We got a lot done today and by four o’clock Janet was ready for a nap and the Seahawks were winning easily.

I got Janet up in time for a brief visit from our friend Randy. He presented us with a pretty cool concept for our kitchen at the new house. It would be nice and open and easy to access and use for Janet and that’s the whole point. I will show Brian the plan and as long as he doesn’t see anything glaringly wrong from his OT perspective we’ll go ahead. I offered Janet wine with her last dinner here but she declined so that leaves more celebratory wine for when we move into the new place.

We managed a little more packing tonight before the final hot tub which lasted extra long as Janet was getting all worked up about her exercises at Connect being too hard and her not getting any better. We had a really good talk about it all and I was able to point out a lot of improvements that Janet actually agreed with which in itself is an improvement. Ice cream finished off the night along with an episode of What Not to Wear (Janet’s choice) that I actually found interesting as it was a behind the scenes episode. It wasn’t as interesting to Janet though as she was asleep before the final reveal.

My plan was to do some standing exercises with Janet today but we never got there at all and I noticed her right leg being a lot more relaxed this afternoon. I wonder if there is some benefit to resting a little more? During her standing transfers today her right foot was much flatter on the floor than yesterday too. It could be she felt warmer today or more rested I don’t’ know but I was a little relieved to see it.

Praying for a good night of healing rest and for lots of energy for tomorrow.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #seahawks #snf #dqblizzard #camping

Janet slept well last night and was pretty lively this morning enjoying breakfast conversation with Laurel while I helped a couple load our bed onto their trailer. I placed an ad to sell our bed a couple days ago not wanting to get stuck moving it and had seven enquiries about it just like that. I guess I priced it right. Tonight then is our first night of “camping”. Janet napped this afternoon on the downstairs sofa bed and is snoring on it as I write this. The only hassle about this arrangement is I have to carry her downstairs but there’s only two more nights for her in this house so its no big deal.

There weren’t quite as many trips to the bathroom this morning but Janet was still busy there and by the time she was done and our bed was gone it was pretty much lunchtime. There was time for a little exercise though and Janet did some good standing on her own. I had hoped she’d demo some of the yoga she did at Connect the other day but no go. Her right foot wasn’t cooperating that well today but I think we gave it a good little workout.

We elected to bring home sushi for lunch and enjoyed it outside on another beautiful late summer day. Courtney and her friend arrived just as we finished, to haul away more of our stuff. Glad we can find a home for things, now the house is really starting to look like we’re moving.

Laurel for some strange reason wanted to go back to Calgary today but she owed me a Blizzard from a previous NBA bet and it was time to settle. Of course Janet benefitted too as we all tried the new Snickers Blizzard. Janet says it was the best ever, I say Skor still rules.

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Janet and I considered going car shopping after DQ but she wasn’t feeling that well so I got her home and into bed for a good nap. She was well rested and ready to watch the Seahawks beat the 49ers on Sunday Night Football and we had a good Skype chat with Andrew during the one hour lighting delay. Halftime was the perfect time for a hot tub and we spent the fourth quarter with Janet’s legs in the extenders and her remembering she’d had a Blizzard earlier so denying herself ice cream tonight.

Praying for lots of rest and a stronger and more responsive right leg.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #Seahawks #SEAvsCAR #chef #AGT

Today was a sunny and bright day outside as well as for Janet inside.

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With her nails painted and jersey on we hunkered down to watch the first real football game of the season right after breakfast and Janet was genuinely excited or at least interested in it. She paid close attention most of the first half and commented appropriately a few times when big plays were made or big mistakes were made. She also noted the Seahawks didn’t look too good in that first half. To her disappointment halftime meant exercise time and I asked her to do some standing in front if the mirror in our room. My goal with the standing right now is to get her putting as much weight through her right leg as possible and she did a good job today. I noticed when I instructed her to lean or come over to the right she would use primarily her upper body to do so. That wasn’t getting us the results I wanted so I placed my hands on her hips and told her to do the hula a little bit. That worked! You could see and feel weight being transferred to her right leg and the more she did it the closer to the floor her heal got. Being in front of the mirror enabled her to see herself and adjust her posture accordingly. We used the whole fifteen minutes of halftime then returned to the game. Cam joined us towards the end and good thing he did as that was when our offense got going and we won the game. Janet laughed at Cam and I as we reacted to the game and overall enjoyed the whole thing.

Football and fattening foods go together naturally but there isn’t much football food Janet will eat but she did agree to pancakes for lunch. That worked out great as she helped make the mix and even broke an egg by herself into a mug. Talented!

Janet had a little rest time this afternoon then we sat out on our balcony for happy hour and enjoyed the warm sun that we’ve missed dearly the last couple of days. Being all warm and relaxed I saw an opportunity for more standing and this time was even better than the first. Janet was more confident this time too. She played prep cook for dinner and did a great job chopping vegetables and feeding the dog. I love it when we have time to prepare a meal at her pace. She loves to contribute.

I was able to stretch Janet well in the hot tub after dinner and with her legs nice and straight in the leg extenders for her wheelchair we watched AGT before calling it a night. Like during the football game Janet had some insightful comments about some of the acts we saw. This was a solid day for Janet as she got a little exercise, a little sun, watched the Seahawks win and ate ice cream. What could be better? Praying that the snoring she is doing now continues through the night and she has a strong session in the pool tomorrow.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #trinitykelowna #skype #oloffs #kaltire

Janet awoke refreshed and ready for the day this morning. She seemed to really enjoy breakfast with Cam and Gina and had a good Skype chat with Mary/Gaga right after that. Her answers to questions were not always correct but she was enthusiastic during the entire call.

I thought about doing some moving related chores with Janet before lunch until I noticed a tire looking pretty flat on our car. Thankfully it wasn’t raining like it did yesterday so we were able to go out, pump a little air into it and drive over to Kal Tire and have it fixed. For FREE, and in half an hour! While we waited we walked over to Rona to check out paint samples for the new house. That was a good test of the porter wheelchair and I’ve determined that I like the idea of having two chairs but this one is not ideal for Janet. It’s too high and the foot rests are too far apart.

After a quick lunch and a look at Cam’s new car it was nap time which resulted in about an hours rest time but no sleeping. It was enough rest to give Janet a big enough boost to enjoy the rest of the day which started with the service at Trinity. Janet got really excited about a book Wayne referenced in his message called Not a Fan, by Kyle Idleman and we are going to start reading it right away. We haven’t been reading anything lately except emails and such so it will be nice to get into a book again. From church we went straight to Sandi and Henrik’s for a nice meal and good conversation. We hadn’t seen them in a while and it was really nice to reconnect. Janet managed to sit in a real chair the whole time we were there and her porter chair proved inadequate in wet gravel and for bringing into the house after getting wet. You don’t know until you try.

It was pretty late when we got home but Janet still had energy, so over a cup of tea I got her nails painted for the first real football game of the season. Seattle vs Carolina. We’ll be watching over breakfast with jerseys on. Go ‘hawks!

Thanking Jesus for everything we’ve been blessed with, especially family and friends. Praying for complete healing.

Blue Sunday #TSJ

I got a really nice surprise when I arrived at Connect this morning. Bridgette from Janet’s 4B days was working in Janet’s house for the day and she and Garrett had Janet up early, fed her breakfast and had her to the gym. All by 9:30. Janet was all smiles as she was heading to the bathroom with Bridgette when I got there and it was apparent that they were getting along despite Janet telling me later she didn’t remember her. Janet was able to present Bridgette with a happy face lollypop on our way out and that may have contributed to Janet’s laundry being done and put away when we got back tonight. Or maybe it was just Bridgette being the good nurse she is.

By the time we got home the Seahawks were down 10-0 so we quickly got our jerseys and as many other blue things we could find on to try and start a comeback. They did indeed come back but couldn’t close it out. I’m excited for next year as this young team learned a lot in those two playoff games. Janet watched quite a bit of the game but she needs a lot of coaching to understand whats going on. She ate a football game sized lunch of soup, grilled cheese, dill pickle, chips and a bowl of fresh fruit. I managed to give her a little leg stretch before we Skyped Leslie. Her legs seemed rather tight today but she still has good movement in both and made a decent attempt at standing from the edge of our bed. During the call with Leslie, Janet was having a little trouble being loud and expressing her own thoughts but it was a decent conversation with Janet calling it off as she was getting tired. Nice to see her recognizing that and doing something about it. Now if she would only agree to an afternoon rest time.

We played match the Sesame Street characters a couple of times with Janet struggling with anything on her right and really struggling with the game in general the second time around. I need to give her a break in between. Spelling Bee Bingo was next and although we tied both games Janet really doesn’t understand this game yet and her vision is an issue as well. Dinner was in the football theme again for Janet. Two bowls of a casserole Suzanne gave us along with a bunch of fresh veggies then banana bread followed closely by hot cinnamon bread freshly baked by our awesome neighbor Barb.

A pretty good day despite the Seahawks loss. Janet seemed content to be home and judging by the amount she ate today must be feeling pretty good. I am noticing a little more difficulty in stringing together proper words to form sentences. She seems to be using a little more Klingon these days or words that have nothing to do with what she’s talking about. When Kiko and Joel dropped by this evening Janet’s response to a question from Kiko was to repeat what Kiko had asked her. She has been like that when she is tired but I think I’m seeing it more often now. Could still be recovering from the seizures or it could be the drugs or it could be me looking for the effects of both those. Time will tell.

Praying for rest and healing and a productive day of recovery tomorrow.

Fresca #TSJ

Dr. Miller visited Janet first thing this morning then came into the gym to say hi when I was working with Janet there after breakfast. He said he was truly impressed with how she has improved and stated “this is the best I’ve ever seen her”. He was a little unsure of what to expect having heard about the seizures but agreed that she has bounced back really well. I asked him about the Dilatin and its’ side effects. He understands my concern and advised me to keep an eye on Janet over the next couple of weeks to see if there are any signs of excess confusion or other cognitive impairments. There are other drugs that could be used as anticonvulsants but they are not necessarily better and all drugs have side effects. He cautioned that side effects don’t appear in everyone so just watch for now and see what happens.

Our workout went quite well with Janet getting herself on her tummy this time, allowing for a decent hamstring stretch. I’m not seeing any real change in the severity of the tone in her legs but her right arm and shoulder seem to be improving. Despite her reluctance I had her use the stripper pole again and she performed her best standing yet. She got much straighter than yesterday and was able to let go of the pole and hold my shoulder so that more weight was on her legs. She still stands on her tippy toes but I’m confident that with time and more weight bearing through her legs her ankles will loosen up. The range is still there so we just need for those muscles to know when to turn off. I plan on demonstrating Janet standing to Tez as soon as possible and asking him to get her “walking” in the parallel bars soon.

With the workout done we rushed off for an appointment to view a condo downtown. I wanted to see what 1500 square feet looks and feels like to live in. It felt a little small but I think its doable with the right floor plan and the unit we saw certainly did not have the right plan at all. The realtor will keep an eye out for us.

At home it was time for a real food lunch then some NFL playoff football while we waited for two different people to stop by to look at Cam’s car he is trying to sell. I think we had success by the end of the day so come Monday there may be one less vehicle in our driveway. I used our waiting time to update Janet’s nail polish to Seahawks blue in readiness for the big game tomorrow. I figured she deserved a reward for sitting still so long while I did her nails so I offered her a pop. As soon as I mentioned we have Fresca, she smiled and rather mischievously said “that would be really nice”. Finally a cold drink she likes!. For dinner we enjoyed an unauthorized chicken dish that Suzanne had kindly dropped off for us then we rushed off to church so we can watch the Seahawks game tomorrow as it starts at the ridiculous time of 10am. Not sure if that’s the right thing to do but Janet did enjoy the service and I commented to her that unlike before her illness, she is liking the music parts of church more than the talking parts. She smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

On our return to Connect I had Janet put away her stuff, she is starting to figure out where some things go and she is very good at taking her shoes off now. Once in bed we read some of Slow Dance after I reassured her we had not finished it already. Janet took about ten minutes to ask me a really important question that she “needs to know the answer now” but never made it clear and she eventually forgot the whole thing. It started out with “how do we get to Washington to…” and evolved into “what’s the difference between Strawberry one and…” I’m open to suggestions if anyone has any. By the time I said goodnight she was closing her eyes and had a smile on her face that makes it really hard for me to leave.

Praying for rest and healing, a fun day tomorrow, and a Seahawks win.

Seahawks

Today started off with the usual recap of the previous day. Janet remembered going to Toys R Us and house hunting but she really could only talk about the pizzas we made last night. She smiled every time she mentioned it. All dressed in blue for Seahawks game day we headed off to church. Janet really enjoyed the music and I let her have the communion bread this time.

Janet played with Nash while I made lunch once we got home then we made a quick Skype call to Heather before donning our Seahawks jerseys and Skypeing almost all the rest of the family who were gathered at Leslie and Gavin’s for Ukrainian Christmas dinner. Nice to see Rick, Mike and Karen, Karleigh and Madeline make their Skype debut.

The rest of the afternoon was pretty quiet for once. We kicked back and watched a really entertaining football game and Janet even closed her eyes for a couple of twenty minute rest sessions. It was nice to have her just chilling so I gave her the day off from stretching and let her relax. Once again that seemed to really spur her appetite as she ate a large bowl of pasta for dinner and two bowls of fresh fruit and a couple of Christmas squares for dessert. Even she knew she was eating a lot as she laughed when she ordered the second bowl of fruit and the second square.

Before getting ready to head back to Connect we looked at the homes that the realtor thought might suit us. None jump out as ones we would buy but I did request a look at one just to set a base line for future reference. Janet seems a little indifferent to the idea of moving and is enjoying looking at the various potential properties. I expected her attachment to this house to be greater than it is but I guess her memory is rather incomplete and she does find it a challenge to move around the place. As long as she is part of the moving process I think she will be happy.

Praying for a restful and healing night and an informative visit to the doctor tomorrow.