shuttle

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

Renovation Day 72. Randy installed the glass doors on the remaining cabinets today and I think only has a small job in each bathroom before declaring the renovation complete. Yeah!

Janet did her regular morning routine which included a bike ride and some stretching after a shower and breakfast. She told me she handed out the last of her Christmas cards and did some comprehension work with Mary Lou.

As far as Janet is concerned the day didn’t really begin until Laurel arrived at Connect and the two of them went out for lunch and did a little Christmas shopping. Laurel said her mom did well at choosing and paying for the items she chose and Janet seemed pleased with herself and was all smiles about it when they got home. Janet was a little worn out though and agreed to try a nap for a bit. I think she did sleep for half an hour or so and gained more energy as she ate dinner and watched the final performance show of X Factor.

The deal was if we stayed home for dinner and watched X Factor then she’d have to go to the gym when we got back to Connect and that’s what she did. Since she rode the bike in the morning and did a little walking at home the Shuttle was the best option for tonight. Janet of course didn’t like that idea but cooperated and put in a very strong effort. Her extension is now a consistent twelve inches and occasionally nears thirteen. She managed some good pushes with just her right leg even with more tension on there than she’s used to. There were protests at first but once she realized she just had to try her best she bore down and worked hard. We tried a little balancing board after the Shuttle and got some decent pushes with her right leg then as well. Janet has trouble bending her knees which I think is what you have to do on that board but she tried hard and had a good rhythm going for a while.

I’m not sure if the staff have started Janet’s self medication program yet but for her evening ones I’ve only had to ask Janet questions around what time it is and she clues in that she needs her meds. She doesn’t hesitate at all to find a staff member and ask them for her drugs, medicine, meds, medical things, pills, special things or some other word close to that. We will work on the names of each one over the Christmas break and also see if she can remember to ask for them without prompting. I think she can in the morning for sure.

We all watched a little TV so Janet could wind down and she called bedtime a little earlier than normal after a pretty busy day. Praying for a good sleep tonight and lots of energy tomorrow as well as a safe and on time flight for Heather.

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

Renovation Day 64. Randy continues to work from home while I readied the ensuite for operation and hung around while flooring guy did the last little bit of that work. The end is very near.

Janet was sitting up in bed, in the dark, trying to read her watch as I entered her room late this afternoon. I reminded her she has a digital clock beside her bed and she giggled and checked the time. It was past time to get up but she hadn’t slept at all so we discussed the day so far before starting phase two.

Janet says she tried to give that letter to Wendy this morning but didn’t know where to take it. I was too late getting there today to see any of the day staff so I’m not sure what happened but the letter is gone from her room and she says she tried and I think that was the point.

Tez worked with Janet this morning and apparently was a little upset that Janet wouldn’t go in the sling walker. It was explained to him that she’s scared of it and that Curtis and Tiffany and I have been walking her at the parallel bars with some success and he seemed OK with that. Janet said the work this morning was hard and her feet hurt a little.

Singing with John made up for the pain in the morning and Janet agreed it was fun as they sang a little with Big Country and a little on their own. I’m still hoping that a group of them will sing at the Christmas party Friday night. Janet and Big Country sang after dinner tonight and it’s so much fun to see the smile on Janet’s face and to note her happy body language when she’s singing. It’s awesome. Big Country had some words of encouragement for Janet tonight as he very seriously told her to stop saying “it doesn’t work” and “I can’t”. He explained that she can do a lot of things he can’t right now and I think that really made Janet think. Awesome moment.

Janet’s bike ride tonight was a personal best using level three for the first time and going the whole thirty minutes making 2.6 miles! She once again admitted the bike is fun. I hope to get one in the house before Janet comes home for Christmas so she can exercise there too and keep this progress going.

It was a little bit of a struggle getting Janet to the Shuttle after dinner but she cooperated in the end and showed Curtis and I some notable improvement. Her right leg extension has increased and the strength of that leg is far greater than a month ago. I used to have to hold her right foot and knee in place while she pushed or her leg would fall away from the push plate. Not tonight. All on her own. Hoping to feed off the success of the Shuttle we had Janet on the wobbly board for a bit afterwards and she was not impressed. She did manage a few shifts from side to side but was clearly too tired for any more. Good effort though.

Earlier in the day I had mentioned to Janet that we needed to complete her list of people she wants to give Christmas cards to and when we got back to her room after the gym she remembered that and suggested we do it then. An impressive display of her short term memory coming back. That took us until it was time to watch The Voice and sadly for Janet her guy was sent home and my girl was voted safe so I get another Blizzard from Janet. Yeah!

This was a very solid day for Janet and I pray for more of the same tomorrow.

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

Renovation Day 53. I finally got the dining room light installed and purchased what I hope will be good replacements for the way too hot halogen lamps under the cabinets. LED all the way baby. Randy came in and did the backsplash in both bathrooms and is almost done cutting, priming and spraying the shelves and doors for the kitchen.

To my surprise Janet was in bed when I got to Connect. I thought she’d be packed and waiting for me so she could go home for the weekend. She told me she thought maybe I changed my mind about when I was coming to get her so she decided to have a little rest. Her day had been busy starting with a shower, breakfast, The Shuttle, stretching, lunch then Sling Walking. I think a rest was totally appropriate. I’m not hearing any real complaining about the workouts now, they are still hard and they tire her out but there has been a shift in attitude and I think it’s due to Janet realizing she is making progress.

We stopped at Save On for some supplies then hung out at home where I encouraged Janet to do as much on her own as possible. She was able to get herself a glass of water, get numerous cooking tools for me, access the fridge and freezer, set the table and started to learn how to operate the cooktop and the oven. She never once complained about not being able to do something and went about each task determined to get it right.

Sitting down having dinner gave us a chance to look closely at our new house and Janet is very pleased with how it’s turning out. One thing we haven’t figured out yet is the furniture configuration in the living area and Janet came up with a good suggestion tonight that we’ll try for a while and see how it goes. The first test for it came as we watched X Factor and I think she may be on to something. We enjoyed the show and Janet came up with a very valid analysis as we discussed the results. We questioned how her choice to win it all ended up in the bottom three and Janet surmised that perhaps it was because she performed first and by the time everyone else had gone they forgot about her. I thought that was brilliant and very possible. As to why my choice was eliminated, Janet agreed that she just never moved out of her comfort zone enough to win a broader audience. Janet doesn’t always look like she’s engaged in something but tonight’s discussion is proof that the wheels are always turning and producing useful and retrievable data.

The bedtime routine was easier tonight as they are fewer things to trip over in the bathroom and bedroom. Janet will try the left side of the bed again this weekend and I think she can figure out how to manoeuvre from that side just fine.

I feel blessed to have Janet home this weekend and we look forward to sharing it with Laurel starting tomorrow. Praying for a deep and healing sleep tonight and lots of energy and a positive attitude for tomorrow.

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

Renovation Day 49. Randy worked from home again today building drawers etc. He was kind enough to come to the house late in the afternoon to let the electricians in so they could fix what was left not working from last week. We now have a working wall oven and counter plugs, the only thing I see remaining is the island plugs and maybe there’s a plan to remedy those tomorrow. Joel came over this morning to solder some speaker wire for us and he also came up with a brilliant plan for hiding the TV wires in the Den. Love him.

I’m pretty sure I woke Janet up when I went into her room this afternoon. She was in a good mood, although a little groggy but she snapped out of it pretty fast and we went to the gym for a Shuttle workout. Janet told me she’d ridden the bike and did some stretching in the morning so she was OK to do the Shuttle. I’ve been questioning just how much stronger Janet has been getting the last few months and I really need to stop it because every time I get her on the Shuttle I can clearly see she is getting stronger. Her performance today was great, she even managed a personal high of six bands of tension using both legs for her final set and pushed really well with her right leg during those sets as well. She is making slow and steady progress in the strengthening category. Her balance is improving as well and that allowed her to shift her weight nicely on the balance board today getting into a really nice rhythm for a good minute or so. It seemed as though her struggle today wasn’t the fear of falling as much as it was being able to do the mechanics properly. She had that one moment where everything was working well then she seemed to get confused and quickly crashed. Repetition seems a good solution.

Dinner was hilarious tonight after I said it was going to be quiet without Kieran there. Big Country is determined to increase his speaking volume and has really taken to using singing as a tool to get there. He started doing some vocal aerobics at the table and before you knew it there was a competition going on between him, Janet and Willie as to who could be the loudest. They went at it for a good half hour, doing scales, animal noises and the few words they all knew to Jingle Bell Rock. It was a great time and I’d have to say Big Country was the loudest at times with Janet being the most consistently loud.

All that fun gave Janet good motivation to get into the Standing Frame after dinner and she stood nice and straight and strong for forty five minutes while we watched some football. I always stand with Janet during these sessions and each time I’m reminded of how difficult it is to stand for that long. Realizing that doesn’t mean I’ll take it easy on her though, just saying.

Janet chose to watch The Voice tonight rather than wait and watch our recorded version at home and I’m glad she did as it was a very good show. Janet offered some really good critiques of the performances and I’m more convinced than ever that her guy is going to win.

Today was loads of fun with Janet and it was difficult to leave but I know she’s in a good place that continues to provide healing and recovery in so many different aspects of her life. Thanking Jesus for everyone that is working for and caring for Janet and praying for complete healing and recovery soon.

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! #Team Save Janet #Remember

Renovation Day 35. No long weekend for Randy as he was at the house painting kitchen cabinets today. I took another full day with Janet but plan on working the majority of the day tomorrow as the floor guys are due to start. One week from today our stuff gets moved in!

I met Janet early at Connect again, this time so we could get downtown to the Remembrance Day ceremony. I wasn’t sure if Janet wanted to go as its outside right by the lake and can be quite cold but she was up for it realizing the importance of honoring those that served and are serving “so that we can be free”. I was truly impressed by her remembering what Remembrance Day is about. Janet also impressed me by singing along to the hymns, especially Nearer My God to Thee, which she sang with a big smile even though she said she didn’t know it.

20131111-234035.jpg

20131111-234127.jpg
Janet survived being outside for an hour just fine and after a quick stop at the house and another big lunch at Urban Fare we drove back to Connect so Janet could get some exercise. First up was the Shuttle, which I haven’t had her on for a while and was curious to see how she’d do. I noticed maybe a slight improvement in strength and similar results for extension with Janet trying hard even as Curtis and I attempted to push her limits a little. Curtis then ran her through a good stretching routine including a few new ones designed to improve the lateral movement in Janet’s legs.

While we waited for a Skype chat with Heather I quizzed Janet on some family geography and she did quite well except she still is getting Heather and Leslie mixed up. There was no confusion during the Skype chat, in fact it was one of the better ones with Heather for sure.

Back in the gym it was bike ride time and Janet set another personal best, reaching the two mile mark for the first time ever. I’m thrilled with her progress on the bike and tomorrow will up the difficulty of pedaling and see how she does with that. Dinner was early and quiet leading into a good Standing Frame session with Janet putting weight through her right leg for most of the time she was up.

Having all of her exercises crammed into the last part of the day was a challenge and Janet performed very well. We enjoyed watching most of The Voice but Janet couldn’t last through the whole thing and willingly was lights out at ten ending a very diversely busy day. Praying for a deep and healing sleep providing lots of energy for tomorrow’s activities.

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

Renovation Day 17. I bought some lights and Randy got ready to build drawers. The place is looking great!

I was a little surprised to see Janet up when I got to Connect today. Often after swimming she’s pretty wiped but today she was quite cheery and energetic. Last night she was arguing a little about going swimming so I’m really glad she went today. Jess reported that there was some emotion on display at the pool but Janet didn’t relay anything about it to me and said that overall it was good. Just before I arrived she had asked Jess to get her into the Standing Frame so she “could get it over with”. I had her make “our” NFL picks for the week while she stood and we chatted with Jess for most of the rest of the time.

After a little break Janet agreed to get the Shuttle over with as well and she put in a very good performance. Her extension on each push is just over eleven inches now on both legs and her last set was using both legs to push five bands of tension which I think is close to eighty pounds. She’s getting there. Since Janet was in a good mood after the Shuttle I had her try some free standing and putting some weight on her right leg. She had a really good attitude about trying and overcame some of her confidence deficit to try taking a few steps forward. She was hanging on to me for that part of course and managed a couple of attempts without having a death grip on me. Baby steps.

Brian stopped by for a little chat as we left the gym and it was good to catch up with him. He seems pleased with Janet’s progress and will join us at the Botox appointment next week. That brought us to dinner time that started with just Janet and I and ended with Wes, Humberto and the new guy, Curtis. To avoid confusion with staff member Curtis I will refer to resident Curtis as Big Country as he is a twin of Bryant Reeves. I started calling him that as soon as we met and showed him a picture of Reeves in his Vancouver Grizzlies days. He thought it was funny for a few days but yesterday asked me to not call him that. I’m taking literary license and doing it here though and consider it a compliment anyways. The reason I mention all this is because Janet showed something tonight I’ve not seen since she got sick. Big Country has a very soft voice and had to call for assistance a number of times before he was heard. After he got the assistance he needed Janet wasn’t convinced he was OK so instead of leaving the table like we were about to she insisted on asking Big Country if he was OK. She asked him repeatedly in a very motherly tone with a smile on her face that showed genuine caring. It was beautiful.

With her exercises complete Janet chose to watch the World Series knowing we have to cheer for both teams so we were guaranteed a win. She made an excellent 180 degree transfer from her wheelchair to the couch barely hanging onto me and repeated it when the game was over. She also drank her entire bottle of water during the two hours we watched the game without me nagging her once. I found an easy to see Tic Tac Toe app for the iPad and Janet played that without assistance for a little while. She chose to get ready for bed then have me read to her. This time she stayed awake while I read and was able to dissect what she heard reasonably well.

Praying for a big sleep tonight and a day of learning and progress tomorrow.

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

Renovation Day 12. I had so much fun breaking up the lovely pink tile in the bathrooms yesterday I decided to rip up the floor that the tiles we glued to today. More fun for me. Randy continues to make good progress in the kitchen and I think we are almost ready for a video tour update. Stay tuned.

The whole time I was with Janet yesterday I teased her about going to sledge hockey today in hopes that if I said it enough she might actually go. Lo and behold, she did go! Just to watch though, which is fine as she still got out with a group of people and that’s good. She created some excitement on the way out of the arena as she was propelling herself and got going too fast and tumbled out of her wheelchair. The only thing hurt was her pride and she actually told me the story almost word for word as Garrett did when I arrived at Connect. The staff were very attentive to her and I didn’t notice any ill effects at all.

That outing prevented Janet from getting to the gym this morning so she agreed to do The Shuttle before church. Her performance was satisfactory. To me, her right leg seems to not have gained any strength since I last worked with her over a week ago but she is getting significantly more extension from her pushes so that’s good. Janet had a decent Skype chat with Heather and a good phone conversation with Cam and Gina. I think it’s soon time for her to learn to initiate or answer phone and Skype calls herself as the prearranged ones or requests that come through me seem to annoy her most of the time. Spontaneous or self initiated would be better.

For as long as we’ve been attending Trinity Janet has nine times out of ten just wanted to leave right after the service. The last few weeks she has agreed to exit via the front row so we can say hi to people and tonight she was the one that asked if we could do that. She was able to talk to a number of people, some of whom she said she didn’t really know but it was nice talking to them anyways. I’m really glad Janet is starting to seek people out and hope it continues.

Back at Connect Janet went into the Standing Frame while our pizza cooked. In honour of Gina’s family we watched a little of the baseball game and cheered for Boston. Janet said she had a good lunch then proceeded to eat four slices of pizza for dinner! All she could do after that was watch a little more TV on the couch with me then fall asleep with her head on my shoulder. I let her sleep like that for a little while before attempting to get her back in her wheelchair and when I finally woke her up she came to pretty well and got herself ready for bed as usual.

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

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

Renovation Day 4. Electrical work complete, all carpet removed. That means I’m now sleeping on plywood but have light to see the plywood with. Progress.

I met Janet at the Kelowna Family Y this morning to help her with her wet suit. I wasn’t going to swim with her but changed my mind once I got there and am glad I did. The wet suit donning went much better than the first time and Janet said she was quite comfortable in it. Here she is just before getting wet. Sorry about the closed eyes.Janet Wet Suit
Initially Janet complained of being cold and that water is cold at first. After a few minutes she seemed to warm up although she wasn’t admitting it. After ten minutes or so she was fine and swimming around just like the KGH pool. Janet tolerated the big pool for a good forty five minutes and said it was fine, she even tried some of the Aqua Zoomba that was going on but got frustrated at her inability to do the leg work.Janet Me in Pool
She was getting cold near the end and asked to go to the hot tub where she warmed up nicely and I was able to get some good stretching done. In taking off Janet’s wet suit I can totally see how you wouldn’t want to try putting one on wet. Sticky. Overall this trip to the pool was a success and I look forward now to a session with Tez there to get some appropriate exercises going.

I went back to the house for the afternoon and Janet went back to Connect on their cool shuttle bus.Garrett loading Janet
Curtis had her in the Standing Frame for almost an hour and a half after lunch with no complaints. Not surprisingly, Janet had a little nap after that. Dinner was almost ready when I arrived with my homemade soup from one of our kind new neighbours. Watch out Barb and Gary, you have competition. Janet was in a good mood and really following the conversation at the table. Still not initializing but she’s much better at reacting and responding. We had a nice after dinner Skype chat with a clean shaven Andrew then did a little Shuttle work before watching X Factor. After a little dessert, Janet called her own bedtime and wanted me to read to her before I left. It was really nice to lay on a bed for twenty minutes so I’m happy to read to her anytime.

Praying for a night of uninterrupted sleep and lots of energy for 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.