shopping

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

Renovation Day 16. Randy continued work on the fireplace area cabinets and started some finishing touches on the kitchen island. We made decisions on location and size of drawers, cut out vents for the wine cabinet, prepared for the new floors and arranged for some plumbing work to be done. I also decided to not sand any more ceilings. Dirty job and too expensive to have someone else do it.

I managed to sneak up on Janet while she watched TV in the living room at Connect this afternoon. She’d had a busy day in the gym and around the house so was ready to go “look at something” with me. The something was a dining room light fixture and some glass for cabinets at the new house. I’ve never shopped for glass before and was expecting it to be complicated but it went very smoothly and we were out of the store in fifteen minutes after making a good choice. Light fixtures are always difficult but we got some good help and Janet narrowed the field really well and we went to the new house armed with a couple possibilities, one of which, I think we’ll buy. Janet was quite surprised by what she saw at the house. There’s been a lot of progress since she was last there and she’s quite excited. Not excited enough to give you a video tour yet but I’m working on her.

Before we left Connect I listed the things we were going to do and Janet was most excited about going out for dinner, so, with the shopping complete and the house inspected, off we went. We decided to go to Cactus Club as we hadn’t been there in a long time and wanted to use the gift card Joel and Kiko got us a long time ago. Thanks guys! I love taking Janet out even more now as she sits in regular chairs, doesn’t need a shirt saver and tries really hard to order her own food. I asked Janet which she liked best, the appy, the entrée, the wine or dessert. She quickly said dessert. No real surprise.

By the time we got back to Connect the wine had hit Janet and she was quite tired. I would’ve liked to have gotten her on the bike but there was no way that was happening and I think the outing and conversation we had was good therapy anyways. Praying for lots of rest tonight and a fun day tomorrow especially swimming.

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.

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

We are moving right along with our move and I almost brought Janet home this afternoon so I could keep packing but we also need to figure out the car situation and decided to use our time for that.

Jess brought Janet in to KGH early this afternoon where I met them and took Janet to her appointment with Julie the splint lady. For the past few weeks Janet has complained of a little pain in her hand when wearing the splint for long periods of time and we’ve noticed her arm tightening up a little over that same period and even more so now that the weather has cooled. Julie was very impressed with the state of Janet’s hand and wrist and offered two solutions towards making the splint more comfortable. One would be to adjust the splint to allow for a more bent hand position, the other a different strap that would place more pressure on Janet’s fingers giving her hand a more relaxed position. Julie agreed that an adjustment to the splint would be a step back so we did the strap option. Once installed, Janet’s hand and wrist were in good positions and she said it felt fine. By seven o’clock tonight she said it was starting to bother her so maybe we just need to pace this thing out a little better. Julie encouraged continuing to stretch Janet’s wrist and fingers as much as possible to enhance the work of the splint. Too bad we no longer have a hot tub as that’s where I got the best stretches for her.

Our visits to KGH often result in seeing someone that cared for Janet at some point and today we saw Chantelle and Kathy. Both worked as Physio Assistants back in the 4B days and Chantelle is the one who coached Janet during her first days propelling a wheelchair. They had lots of encouraging words for Janet and I and it was a blessing to run into them today. Hearing the things I tell Janet from other people gives those comments way more weight and Janet seems to get a kick out of people she has no memory of knowing so much about her. She’s finally starting to believe that there are/were lots of good people caring for her.

Janet agreed to do more car shopping with me on the way back to Connect. She’s getting tired of all this as am I but understands the reasoning behind doing this now. We cruised a Nissan lot but saw nothing close to what we need then returned to the Subaru lot we visited right at the beginning of our search. I remembered that visit begin rushed and me being disappointed that Janet couldn’t get into the car I thought was going to be a good one for us. This time I was hoping they had an older model on site as they were lower to the ground and I was very confident Janet could get in. I was right but the only car of that style they had was a 2002 and I don’t want to go that old. While we were there and had time we decided to try the newer model again just for kicks. Janet got into it easier than anything else we’ve tried that wasn’t a pure car and I don’t know how we misjudged it so poorly the first time. The car we tried was taken in on a trade just thirty minutes before we got there and was by far the most fun car I’ve driven during our hunt. We may have a deal tomorrow!

A very patient and tired Janet was happy we finally found something worthy and upon our return to Connect was hungry for dinner. It took a lot of convincing but I actually got her to go for a session on the Shuttle tonight and was happy with her performance. Despite the persistent neglect of her right leg it is getting stronger, at least for being able to push on the Shuttle. Sensing her tiredness and wanting her to be happy I gave her the night off from the Standing Frame and we enjoyed hanging out the Humberto, Wes and Kieran in the living room for an hour or so. Janet told me she liked hearing the “banter between all these people”. She will answer questions from people well but still won’t initiate a conversation but she is picking up on more of what people are talking about and keeping it in the right context.

The busy day caught up to Janet in a hurry and she asked to go to bed at 8:30. She did want me to read to her for a little while and responded well to some questions on what we read. Today was a fun and productive day with Janet. Praying for healing of her right hand and arm and for lots of energy for a fun day tomorrow.

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

After a busy day of preparing to move I got to Connect to find Janet lounging by the TV in the living room. She was eager to do something so my suggestion to go car shopping was readily accepted. Combine that with dinner out and a visit to the church before going back to Connect and she was all smiles.

I was too late to get a briefing on Janet’s day so far and all she could tell me was she just had a shower and doesn’t like having them so late in the day as her hair doesn’t dry fast. She also mentioned going outside with Garrett for exercise but wasn’t able to give me details.

Car shopping is proving as difficult as house hunting was. Janet is being very patient through this process and understands she needs to be there because if she can’t get in and out easily there’s no point in considering that car. We did find one SUV that she can get into but in reading online about it tonight there is quite a discrepancy between the gas mileage the salesperson told us the vehicle got and what the websites list. Not sure if that was an honest mistake or what. Still searching.

Dinner was at Gengie and was “yummy” according to Janet. Her chop stick skills are improving and this was by far the least messy sushi dinner I can remember. We stopped by Trinity to check out the Small Group kick off event. The goal was to connect with a small group that I could take Janet to during the week for social and spiritual gain. We ran into Heidi who invited Janet to join her at She Life, a group that meets Wednesday evenings at the church and will be discussing the book we are reading, Not a Fan. Janet accepted the invite quickly and seems quite excited to try the group out. I hope to be able to help with the Tech Team while Janet does her thing so it could be win win. Don’t tell Joel.

We made it back to Connect just before nine and Janet put away a bunch of her things I had brought out from the house then asked to get ready for bed so I could read to her a little. That was quite a different day together than typical and Janet seemed to enjoy it all. I wouldn’t want to keep her away from the gym or that busy too often but it was fun and we learned a lot and had nice chats with a few people. All good therapy.

Praying for a healing night of sleep and a positive day tomorrow.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #Blizzard #Shopping #Standing

Instead of snoring away, Janet was grinning at me as I snuck into her room this afternoon. She just doesn’t seem to be able to nap anymore even though she sometimes asks for one. It seems as though she is much better able to function through the rest of the day than previous so there’s no need to force a nap but quiet time does have a clear benefit.

I gave Janet a choice of shopping or gym to start our time together and she chose gym. No real shock there as lately she’s been quite determined to get the “bad things over with” rather than face doing them later. I like the attitude and with Curtis watching Janet did a good job on the Shuttle today. She seemed a little stronger than the last two days with me and also had a good little standing on her own session before “walking” over to the table mat for some stretching. As Janet finished her standing session I sensed she wanted to walk a bit and she didn’t hesitate when I asked her. The first few steps were very small and slow with me holding her up. Curtis then started assisting with her right leg and that allowed for a fairly steady pace with Janet feeling more confident. There isn’t much communication to her right leg and we noticed the majority of the effort to move it is coming from her hips. Its awesome she wants to try and walk and she even acknowledged the need to get stronger. Confidence and a lack thereof is a big part of her challenge now along with command of the right leg. Time will tell.

We had time to do forty five minutes in the Standing Frame before dinner and Janet got nice and straight without pain again and never complained about doing it at all. The more she is in charge of her exercises the better I think. We joined in on the communal dinner tonight and enjoyed some lively conversation. Kieran is a noisy and fun addition to the house.

Pants weather has arrived for Janet and that’s why the option to go shopping today. I also needed something to do with her anticipating an early gym visit leaving us with too cold an evening to walk. I wanted her to have some nicer pants to wear rather than her old stretchy things all the time and I needed some storage bins for the house. Felt like a good reason to check out the new Target store. We were both underwhelmed but Janet found a pair of pants so all was not lost. She did much better at the Gap scoring three pair and we ended the night with a Smores Blizzard. Good but nothing beats Skor.

Today was a lot of fun with Janet and I look forward to more of the same tomorrow. Praying for an increase in strength and command of her right leg.

Gap Girl. Janet goes shopping. #TSJ

Another gorgeous day got off to a nice relaxing start as everyone pitched in to make a pancake breakfast. It wasn’t difficult to get Janet to eat seconds then thirds even after her fruit and yogurt starter. She seems to be more accepting of the cranberry juice we’ve been trying to give her and as long as she is reasonably awake she is drinking more water. With the nice weather comes the need to drink even more water unfortunately and that is proving to be a challenge so far. I think I just have to learn to stop pressuring her and make sure she always has some available to her and she’ll manage just fine.

With breakfast cleared all the girls gathered around the computer for an online shopping adventure. Not surprisingly Janet tired of it within a half hour and combined with the uncertainty of her size it was decided we’d hit the mall before Heather and Laurel started their journeys home. Turned out to be a pretty good idea as we got some good help at The Gap and Janet got some colorful shorts, pants and shirts, all in about twenty minutes. My kind of shopping. That left us enough time for lunch outside at Red Robin where we enjoyed some last minute visiting with Heather and Laurel who took off for the airport and the highway as soon as we were done. Their visit was way too short but we are thankful they are able to make the trip to visit as regularly as they do. We are blessed.

After trying on a few of the new clothes at home Janet took a nice long nap which seemed like a waste of good weather but she really needed to catch up on some sleep. I think with both girls here and the heightened state of activity she was overwhelmed at times and always seemed to be trying to process something rather than relaxing and enjoying. I think that increase in chatter and activity is good for her but she does need the down time too. After her long nap we enjoyed a nice dinner out on our balcony as the sun started to set then Janet agreed to have a hot tub so I could stretch her as we hadn’t done any of that today yet. Once again I got very good results in a short period of time with the left leg maybe being a little tighter than Friday. I straightened her right arm amazingly well and even opened her right hand easily in the thirty eight degree water. Janet’s attempts at doing some squats were nowhere near as strong as her right leg seemed to be doing it’s own thing again. Entering and exiting the tub went better than Friday as I refine my technique and I look forward to more frequent spa experiences with Janet.

To wind down the evening we watched The Voice and ended up staying up way too late for Janet, eleven o’clock by the time I turned her lights out. She lasted through all but the last ten minutes of the show and was asleep within seconds of the lights going out. I don’t like keeping her up that late but she was determined to watch the show and as long as she was engaged I let her stay.

So ends a very active weekend with good times spent with Laurel and Heather, a nice visit with Courtney, some fun in the sun, shopping, church, dinner out and dinner outside. Not to mention the hot tub. Praying for a restful night that restores Janet’s energy for a productive day tomorrow.

Brain Gain. Janet smartening up. #TSJ

Garrett had Janet in the gym when I arrived at Connect this morning and they were just finishing a session on the Shuttle when I snuck up behind Janet. Garrett saw me and started asking Janet where she was going today and who with. She knew about swimming and she knew she was going with me, her “boyfriend”. I managed to stay out of her line of sight until she sat up on the Shuttle and I did the cover her eyes, guess who? trick. She knew it was me right away and had a good laugh saying “we were just talking about you”. Garrett said Janet’s legs were quite stiff this morning so we were hoping for some help from the nice warm pool to loosen things up.

During the drive to KGH Janet said she was sort of excited about swimming and sort of not. Once in the water I’d say she was quite happy to be there. We had a good session today although different from the previous visits. Janet seems to have widely varying conditions of flexibility and control over her legs. Today her kicking while on her back was not that strong but kicking while on her tummy was quite impressive. The standing exercises went well and I was able to try quite a few reps without holding onto her at all. I just kept her from falling backwards, something which she tended to do today a lot, but not so much on Monday. Tez will join us at the pool Monday morning and give us some pointers on how to get the best value out of our time there.

After getting dressed we stopped by the OT department and had a nice chat with Jess, Janet’s former OT. Janet spoke nice and loud and clear to Jess who was impressed with how good Janet looks and sounds. On the rehab unit we said hi to nurse Amy and head nurse Erica who had an encouraging chat with Janet. Dr. McCann was there too and I “warned” him about our appointment on Tuesday. He’s ready.

On our way home Janet helped me with a little grocery shopping at Save On where we also picked up some lunch that we enjoyed in the sunshine at home. I didn’t press Janet to have a nap today as by the time we were done lunch it was three o’clock and she was actually doing pretty good so we decided to have a little Skype chat with Heather before making our way back to Connect. We had some stops to make along the way and I explained all of them to Janet before we left the driveway. Surprisingly she got a couple of them right as we made our way to each one but once we hit the “open” road she closed her eyes for a little siesta.

Back at Connect there was only time for a quick bio break before a salmon dinner. Janet said she didn’t like the salmon and I thought it might be because she had lunch so late but I tried it and it was very salty and fishy so I gave her my lasagna which she ate a little of along with her vegetables and lots of cantaloupe for dessert. I convinced her to go to the gym with Sousanne after dinner for a little leg stretch as it would be good for her and good for Sousanne who hasn’t worked with Janet much. Both were pleased with the results and Janet and I read some Slow Dance before getting an early start towards bed tonight as the lack of a nap caught up to Janet. She actually remained very bright right through saying goodnight even though she was tired. Her cognitive abilities have increased dramatically this week and I pray it continues. One good example from today is her reading an invitation she received to the Connect Spring Fling Brunch. Janet read me the card in its entirety except for the times listed on it, then chose to attend the event. You are supposed to rsvp through Christi who has a desk in the main lobby. I wrote “Janet will attend” on the card and sent Janet off to place it on Christi’s desk. I followed way behind Janet so she didn’t know I was there and I smiled the whole time as she wheeled confidently to the lobby, carefully put the card on top of Christi’s answering machine, spun around and came all the way back to her room. She only hit one wall and that was the last door she went through before her room. High five!

Praying for rest and healing tonight and a strong day tomorrow.

Shopping Saturday #TSJ

Day two at home felt pretty hectic to me but I think it was a good one for Janet. I know she liked breakfast especially being able to enjoy a bagel and peanut butter along with an unlimited supply of coffee. Laurel kindly instructed me on how to make coffee for Janet so she doesn’t get all grumpy when we are home alone next weekend.

In preparation for John and Lisa’s wedding next weekend Laurel helped Janet find an appropriate outfit from her vast wardrobe and I was finally able to present her with the anniversary gift I got her last year which happens to accessorize her outfit quite nicely. We eventually got ready enough and headed out for a shopping expedition trying to find shirts, pants and PJs for Janet to have at home so I don’t have to pack a bag each Friday. We managed to find everything she needed including two pairs of slippers so she doesn’t have to wear her sneakers all the time and only paid retail for one item. Lunch was food court Chinese at the mall and even though it was the mall it was really nice having Janet out. We even saw Lorne from Connect there with Fred and Clint. I guess it’s the place to be.

We did a drive by of Invue on the way home so Laurel could get a glimpse and we could check the walkability of the neighborhood. From her three minute scan from outside Laurel thought it looked pretty good and Janet still remembers it being “very nice”.

Janet had a good long afternoon nap after saying she didn’t need one then enjoyed some time with Laurel while I made dinner. They got in a nice Skype chat with Heather who we are looking forward to seeing in person in two weeks. Janet impressed us by noticing that I spiced up the vegetables more than she would. They had more of a kick than she would have tolerated before but she was ok with them tonight. Dinner took way longer to prepare than I thought so we didn’t have much time afterwards but enough to watch some recorded American Idol while eating ice cream. My goal was to have Janet in bed long before 10:30 like she was last night and we barely made it by ten tonight. The good thing about that is she is asleep within minutes of being tucked in as opposed to restlessly squirming around and perhaps going into Houdieno mode and it gives me time to realize she is soundly sleeping.

Today was day one of going virtually tubeless. Connect is working with me to reach my goal of getting rid of Janet’s peg tube in two weeks. She is to drink all her fluids now with her tube being flushed with thirty ml twice a day only. Janet seems to have accepted the challenge and has really improved her water drinking. She still says she doesn’t like it but is taking bigger sips and drinking much faster overall. Yay. I also challenged her to swallow her lunchtime pill instead of me crushing it for her. She complains of the taste of the crushed meds so Laurel and I reminded her that if she swallows them whole she wouldn’t really taste them. She tried and got it down with the second sip of water. Janet has historically found it a challenge to swallow pills but was quite motivated to get this one. As soon as she is comfortable with the one little one at lunch we’ll try the three dinner ones. The horse pill at breakfast will have to wait till she reaches expert status.

Praying for a restful night of healing and an enjoyable day tomorrow.