singing

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.

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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 #joy

Renovation Day 28. Painting has begun! The ceiling in the living room, master bedroom and both bathrooms has been painted. The kitchen and den/second bedroom are scheduled for tomorrow. The wallpaper was removed from the main bathroom and right away it became clear as to why the previous owners installed that wallpaper. The walls underneath are painted pink! That means at one time that room had pink walls and a pink tile floor. Yikes!

I managed to sneak up on Janet this afternoon as she waited for me in the living room. We played a little game of tag circling the fireplace until I let her find me. She was in a great mood and since it was so nice and sunny out I thought it would be good to test her new jacket. Short trips to and from the car don’t really tell us how warm the jacket is keeping her but a long walk would for sure and I figured sunny and eight degrees was a pretty safe try.

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Surprisingly enough Janet complained her arms were cold after about ten minutes. She had a long sleeve sweater on so I am not sure how we can improve that. We’ll try again sometime soon and see if it continues.

Janet set another personal best on the bike today going a mile and a half in twenty five minutes. It’s so much fun watching her ride and enjoy it. Here’s an example.

Feeling good after her ride and with time to wait before dinner we decided to read some Not a Fan. Janet continues to impress me by how much she comprehends, is able to relate to and discuss and also to read. We had an awesome discussion about the chapter we read and each comment and question Janet had was right on point. Fun.

After dinner I asked Janet to practice standing and putting weight onto her right leg. That didn’t go so well tonight as Janet tired very quickly, I think somewhat due to a lack of confidence on this subject. The Botox has totally kicked in on her right arm and I’m seeing some change in her right leg in that she’s not flamingoing anymore. I think we’ll go see Julie to get the splint adjusted again soon.

Before watching The Voice we made our bet as to who we think is going to win. Janet picked a good one who performed tonight, my choice performs tomorrow and after seeing Janet’s pick I’m not so confident.

Today was a fun day with a very cheery Janet who continues to improve before my eyes. Praying for strengthening of her right leg and restoration of the use of her right arm and hand.

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

Renovation Day 22. Closets framed in both bedrooms, countertops installed and preparation for painting is underway.

I arrived at Connect just after three to be told Janet had just gone down for a nap. Jess had taken her to KGH this morning where I met them for our regular meeting with Dr. Miller. Janet was bright and cheery and Dr. Miller continues to be “amazed” with her progress. She was praised for her ability to enunciate, stay on topic, recall from short term memory and for her sense of humour. The meeting was very positive and Janet finds Dr. Miller easy to talk to. Swimming with the group at the Y, attending SHElife and Singing With John were noted as very positive things to be doing and Janet actually admitted to liking the bike riding she’s been doing lately. Dr. Miller emphasized the usefulness of the iPad and encouraged Janet to become more proficient with it as a means to gaining more independence. He suggested taking notes on it to help her remember things and liked my suggestion of Janet learning to use the communication tools available, even the camera. I of course am all over Janet stepping up her iPad use but she is balking right now as she thinks she can’t do it. Baby steps.

After a good chat with Brian I went into Janet’s room and she was awake so we had our post nap chat in which she told me that singing with John was fun but she was unable to tell me any of the songs they sang. She knew of the plan to carve pumpkins after dinner and agreed to a bike ride beforehand. It was another record setting performance and this time Janet was actually a little winded afterwards. High Five!

We were late for dinner due to the late nap then bike ride so it was pretty much just us and Big Country at the start then Danielle got Wes carving his pumpkin which was quite entertaining. Here’s the resulting masterpiece. WesDaniellePumpkin

Janet cleaned hers out and I traced the image we decided to try and create. It turned out pretty good with some serious help from Danielle. SeahawksPumpkin

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With SHElife coming up tomorrow I wanted to read some Not a Fan with Janet so she had it fresh in her head to discuss. The result was an awesome discussion on do we know about Jesus or do we know Jesus. Makes me kind of want to be at their table tomorrow night, Janet was really into it. I asked her to make notes on the iPad so she’d remember for tomorrow but she chose the old fashioned pen and paper routine. She wrote down four sentences then realized she couldn’t read her writing and stopped. Instead of switching to the iPad she insisted on watching The Voice so that was that. Half an hour into our TV time Janet was starting to fade and sat there for quite a while with a mouth full of water. She was out of it enough to have an almost scary choking episode. Since it was only water she was able to clear it but it took some effort and I cautioned her seriously to stop holding water so long in her mouth before swallowing. She didn’t seem phased by it at all and thinks I’m silly for being so concerned.

Paying for a great night of sleep and an active day of learning tomorrow.

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.

It’s late and I can’t think of a title. Hope you’ll read anyways. #TSJ

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Even though Janet will complain sometimes of having to do the same things over and over again there are a lot of new things in her repertoire and this past week was full of them.

On the cognitive side Janet continues to become more aware of the moment she’s in as well as her overall situation. This past Monday while on our way back to Connect Janet took a big step by saying “I want to be a regular person”. The day had been very successful for her and included Janet doing a lot of “regular person” things and when I pointed all those out to her she seemed to accept that. I discussed this with Brian and he said that Janet accepting her situation is a big step towards continuing the recovery process. It’s only after someone acknowledges where they are at that they can really start to do something about it. Janet has done well so far so I see this as a positive sign of her maybe being able to work even harder as in not complaining about the gym or drinking water. That of course remains to be seen but maybe with everyone trying to get her living in the moment and pointing out her accomplishments she’ll start to believe in herself more. Her confidence is growing in her singing for sure and this week was her loudest by far. John called me into the room just five minutes after starting with Janet on Tuesday and she wowed me with a very loud rendition of Do a Deer. I asked Leslie and Gavin to come in after that and Janet sang loudly for them too. A couple of times this week Janet started singing along to performances on The Voice, most notably The Swon Brothers rendition of Danny’s Song. She sang it again for us with John and was very confident in doing so. Her Skype conversations this week were solid but she’s getting bored with the whole thing and often feels she has nothing to say. I can help her with that part but am going to stop scheduling calls so they are more spontaneous and less of a chore. One night I worked with Janet from her Speech Therapy booklet and was impressed at how well she did naming opposites and matching categories. She continues to express her opinion more and more, unfortunately its more when she’s angry about something that she’s at her most demonstrative. Still, I see more and more of the former Janet coming out.

Physically Janet is really impressing me and some of the staff at Connect as well. The Botox really should be worn off now but we continue to get good flexibility from both legs and tonight Janet stood in the Standing Frame for one hour at ninety degrees and complained very little. The lack of complaining can only mean it didn’t hurt that much and that is cool. Garrett worked with Janet in the gym tonight for the first time since he got back from his vacation and he had all great things to say about Janet’s performance especially with the extension she was getting on The Shuttle. That’s a key one as the more she can extend the more strength she can build. She’s very confident in her pole transfers now and has no problem standing and holding onto the pole for a minute or two and can shuffle her left leg around pretty well. There’s still not a lot of control on that right leg but I still have hope for the future. On Monday Janet reached another swimming milestone by making her first unassisted 180 degree turn while swimming on her back. She smiled the entire time and of all the physical activities Janet does, swimming is by far her favorite. As much as she likes it though, Friday afternoons aren’t working well for her as she’s too tired so for now I’m canceling those sessions. We will use our pool at home on the weekends to compensate and continue with Mondays at KGH. As we were leaving KGH one day we snuck up on Rob the PT and I asked Janet to kick him. She happily obliged but did so with her right leg. First time I’ve seen her try that move. It was all from the hip but a very deliberate attempt to use that right leg. High five. Tez had Janet try walking in the sling at the parallel bars and said that went well enough to continue doing it. Janet found it very hard and I think until she gets more control of her right leg it will be a very difficult exercise for her.

Janet was scheduled to go sailing this morning with the Disabled Sailing Association but the weather was kind of iffy so the outing was cancelled. Janet isn’t really excited about it but I think it would be good for her to try so maybe next week. In lieu of sailing Jess took Janet to a pottery class today and reported that Janet enjoyed it and has started making a bowl. Janet says she didn’t like it and it was boring so we’ll have to see who wins out next week. I hope she continues to go as these activities will help get her mind off of the trips to the gym she dislikes so much.

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We spent Sunday afternoon at City Park in the sunshine cheering on those getting baptized in the lake. Janet really enjoyed the outing and was fascinated by all the support each person getting baptized had. Sunday also marked the first conversation Janet’s had with her dad in a couple of years and thanks to Skype it went quite well. Not a lot was said as neither have great conversational skills right now but it was great to make that connection again. The weekend ahead promises more adventure as Leslie and Gavin are here until Sunday meaning we get to do fun things we wouldn’t get to do otherwise like winery touring, and the weather is supposed to be Okanagan hot finally.

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Praying for Janet to continue getting stronger, louder and more confident.

Chiming In. Janet talks a good story. #TSJ

Janet had been to the gym and was pretty much ready to go to the pool as I arrived at Connect this morning. I asked her what we were about to do and she couldn’t come up with the answer on her own but Jess said she got it during her morning routine. As we drove to KGH I sensed Janet’s energy level being a little low but she said she was fine.

The pool session went well with some good kicking and good standing. The “walking” was not as good this time and I really think one reason it was so good on Monday was Janet was in the water for an hour so was nice and warm and loose. Pool man Jim is away on vacation so I asked his relief, Jess (yes another one) if there were any people doing one hour sessions and could Janet join them. Turns out there is one person going for an hour at noon on Monday’s with the second half being just him in the water. Janet will join in starting Monday and we’ll go back to back sessions on Thursdays at noon as well. I’m excited about this as I think the pool is helping Janet a lot. I just hope pool lady Jess is on the ball and we can actually do this.

The City finally opened up the parking at Strathcona Beach to the public after holding it exclusively for Interior Health employees all winter. We parked there today so we could walk from swimming to singing. Stephani had Janet doing some cool things today including playing a hand chime which I thought had an amazing tone. Very pure and fun to make. Janet seemed to really enjoy that and I saw the concentration on her face as she tried chiming in on beat. You can see a little video of her playing by following me on Keek or Twitter, @larrylatour. She also played a shaker for one song. Her singing wasn’t the loudest ever but you could tell she was enjoying it all. Because of the change in the swimming schedule we’ll have to find another time for Stephani to do her thing but will try and fit it in somewhere as I think there is some benefit for Janet with more to come over time.

We decided to go home for a quick lunch which never turns out to be that quick. You’d think soup and a hot dog would be fast to make and eat and I guess a little over an hour from start to finish isn’t bad but it was 3:30 by the time Janet was done. That meant no nap as I wanted her back at Connect for a stretch before dinner. When she caught on to that idea she protested loudly and vigorously to the point of crying and being quite negative about it all. She thought she was spinning a good story in her favour but all she came up with was “I don’t like any of it”. I put the outburst down to her being tired and she slept a little as we drove back to Connect. To help her settle in I had her put away her laundry and help make the bed then Curtis came in with her dinner time meds. We had a good chat and Janet seemed to start to catch her second wind. Garrett joined us for a few minutes and got Janet laughing. When they left I asked her if she wanted to do dinner then gym or gym then dinner. She said dinner first so off we went. Janet made a sharp left out of her room and I reminded her the kitchen is right. She asked why I mentioned the kitchen so I told her she said she wanted to do dinner first. She sternly told me “no, I’m going to the gym now” and off she wheeled. I went down and told Curtis and he caught up to her and put her through a good workout.

Janet returned all smiley and bright and hungry, finishing off dinner with an orange in the living room with Chris and me followed by some jelly beans that were happily shared around. I was very impressed with how long Janet lasted today without a nap or her noontime dose of Ritalin. Today was the first day without that and she tolerated it with no problems that I saw but one day, especially today, is not a fair test. I’m not going to promote the lack of a nap either but it’s nice to know she can push through if needed. Bedtime came at a more reasonable 8:45 with no complaints from Janet at all.

Praying for a good night of rest with lots of energy for tomorrow and a continued building of Janet’s strength.

Madness Monday. Nice comeback by Janet. #TSJ

For the first time in a while we had to use an alarm to wake up this morning. I wanted to make sure we had lots of time to get to the KGH pool and wasn’t sure how Janet would be feeling today. I showered and got dressed then woke her up. She was not totally pleased with me but gathered herself and got on with it. I didn’t even have to nag her about drinking her water as she was sipping regularly as soon as I served it. Janet took her morning meds well and we were out the door on time.

In the nice warm water, Janet loosened up quickly and after a while got some decent leg kicking action going while I held her afloat. Her best skill in the pool today was standing by far. She was able to go up and down, using her left leg mostly, the farthest I’ve seen yet. I’m still not convinced we are doing things right but we make the best of it. Janet also excelled at floating on her back today. She’s either gaining more confidence in the water or more trust in me and allowing herself to relax more. At one point her head was back almost covering her ears with water and her eyes were closed and I barely had to support her. Not sure if there’s any physical therapy to be gained there but it was nice to see her so relaxed. She didn’t list to the right as much as last time either. No idea why.

Music Therapy with Stephani was next and Janet seemed pleased to see her and didn’t hesitate to get started. The best task I’ve seen so far from Stephani is when she has Janet play some sort of instrument. There are drums and shakers etc. and Janet really enjoys all of those and keeps a pretty strong beat going.

I took Janet home for lunch since we were so close and decided to let her nap there as well. She gave the usual mad battle against the nap with the usual two hour sleep to follow. I actually had to wake her so we could get to Connect in time for dinner. Janet seemed perfectly happy to be back there and was warmly greeted by everyone. Dinner was timed really well as Janet finished just as the basketball game was about to tip. What a great game it was! Janet missed halftime and the first twelve minutes of the second half as Curtis took her to the gym. We talked about going during the first half of the game and Janet laughed sometimes and got mad about it sometimes. Then when it came time to go she completely gave in and “happily” went. I suggested only a fifteen minute stretch but Curtis put her through a full workout and Janet never complained about it. She did say afterwards that it was “terrible” but she said it with a smile.

We watched the end of the game with Janet asking to stay and watch the trophy presentations afterwards so bedtime was later than usual. Her nightime routine went well until minutes after taking her Dilantin she once again tearfully complained of a sore tongue/throat. The pain subsided ten minutes later and she was relaxed and sleepy as I said goodnight. I will talk to nurse Jen and Janet’s doctor about this tomorrow as I have no idea what’s causing the discomfort.

Praying for a night of rest and healing, to know why Janet’s throat was sore and for an energetic day tomorrow.

Sick Day. Janet still under the weather. #TSJ

Janet had a good sleep last night only waking once that I know of and that was with a smile. Same thing happened this morning but she didn’t want to get out of bed. I convinced her to sit up and drink some water and take her meds. That went well then she went back to sleep for an hour or so.

After that little nap she seemed to have a more energy and managed to sit by the fire and eat half a bagel with jam and drink a cup of water. She started nodding off an hour later and I put her back to bed. That’s pretty much the way the day went. Sleep for a bit, wake up for a bit, sit by the fire then go back to bed. All in about one hour rotations. At times her speech was reasonable and at times it was complete Klingon and she seemed to know that but couldn’t do anything about it. I tried to always ask questions that only required a one or two word response as sentences were pretty much impossible. Throughout the day she ate and drank well considering the way she was feeling and she was really good about taking her meds. I didn’t push the toileting routine on her today and she didn’t seem to want to bother with it. Not much happening there anyways.

By late afternoon Janet had perked up enough to sit and have popcorn with me while watching some basketball and a little while after that she gobbled down a couple pancakes while we watched The Princess Diaries. She didn’t make it through the whole movie but that was her longest awake stretch of the day.

On the drive back to Connect I actually got a smile from Janet and a little singing to The Most Beautiful Girl in the World by Charlie Rich and she stayed awake the whole trip. Things deteriorated rapidly once there though. Last week we switched her Dilatin to pills from a liquid and apparently the pharmacy can only do her dosage in five separate pills. It has been a battle to get Janet to swallow that many pills at bedtime and tonight was the ultimate. With her not feeling well and being tired and with me not at the top of my game things broke down in a hurry. What to me should take less than a minute took twenty complete with tears from Janet and impatience from me. I’ve requested a change back to liquid so as to avoid a repeat of tonight.

This weekend has taught me a lot. Janet and I were disappointed we didn’t make it to Calgary Friday but even she appreciated being sick at home as opposed to a hotel room somewhere. Today there was a blizzard in Calgary and who knows what the drive out of there would have been like. We were clearly meant to be here this weekend.

Today was difficult for me as there wasn’t much I could accomplish. At least that’s how I was feeling and when it came time to drop Janet off at Connect I was thinking ahead to what I could get done upon my return home. When Janet had trouble taking her meds the delay angered me and I blamed her. She did nothing wrong. She’s sick, she’s tired, she just wanted to go to bed. There was no way to avoid the pills tonight but there was certainly a way I could have helped her, by remembering that Jesus is in control here, not me. I am merely His servant living out the commitment I made to Janet almost ten years ago. By hitting bottom a little bit tonight I realized that the enemy is constantly trying to get at us and I won’t allow that.

With the help of some yogurt Janet got the pills down and was finally able to lay down for the night. I had my jacket on, ready to leave, but felt prompted to stay so asked her if she wanted me to lay beside her for a bit. I heard the sweetest “yes” I’d heard in a long time and watched her fall asleep through watery eyes.

The goals for this week are; ensure that Dilatin is the right anticonvulsant drug for Janet and is not producing negative side effects. If Dilatin is ok then confirm Janet is on the right dose. Discover the cause of the reappearance of Klingon. Confirm Janet has a “cold”.

Truly praying for a restful night of healing and a bright day of recovery tomorrow.

Sing Song, Janet and John hit it off. #TSJ

SORRY. WORDPRESS APP GIVING ME A FEW PROBLEMS SO THIS POST DIDN’T PUBLISH YESTERDAY. WEDNESDAY’S UPDATE COMING SOON.

I arrived a little earlier than usual today as I wanted to meet John who is going to spend some time singing with Janet. Lorne was in the process of toileting Janet as I walked into her room and we just had time for our daily debrief before John showed up. The gym was really busy when Janet went down there this morning so Jess did some stretching with her on her bed and said that worked fairly well. Janet remembered that she didn’t go to the gym and that she did some stuff in her room. She told me she had sandwiches for lunch but wasn’t sure what kind. The rest of her report was pretty garbled so I focused on getting her ready for singing with John.

We met John in the Den and Janet had a nice smile for him right away and kept it on the whole half hour they were together. John has a very positive attitude and an energetic personality and I could tell Janet liked him right from the start. I left them alone partly because I don’t sing but mostly because I want Janet to feel that is her time to learn and have fun on her own. I came back after a half hour and Janet was still smiling and gave a nice encore performance of My Grandfather’s Clock and a song about Titanic. John asked if he could come back next Tuesday and Janet said of course. When I asked her what she had done today she couldn’t remember most of it but when she and John started singing songs she hasn’t sung in years, the lyrics were rolling off her tongue like she wrote them. Blows my mind. That, combined with the big smile is more than enough to keep this going.

Janet reluctantly agreed to a rest time after her session with John and slept for almost an hour. Once again she denied sleeping so I think it might be fun to record her snoring away and play it back for her sometime. Because of the nap we were a little late in Skypeing Mary/Gaga and Keith and Janet wasn’t totally back in form but had a nice conversation anyways.

Garrett and I took Janet to the gym for some leg strengthening work on the Shuttle. Janet complained about pain in her right knee a lot, could be from her fall off the toilet, but tried really hard with only one band of tension. I was happy she tried but disappointed with the results and hope that was a one off and not a trend. In the interest of helping reduce the pain and relax her legs Garrett suggested getting Janet onto her tummy so we took her back to her room thinking she’d be more comfy on the bed. That turned out really well and her legs relaxed nicely and I was even able to massage them for a while. I’d like to see that be an every other day type of thing and will talk to Tez about it.

Tonight was Janet’s night to help make dinner and she chopped onions and tomatoes and helped make seasoning for tacos. She was pretty tired after her workout but really wants to do this sort of thing and was determined to it well and she did.

Andrew was up next for a Skype chat and for a while Janet had Andrew on the brain, referencing him repeatedly when trying to talk about Cam even though she was looking at Andrew. Janet read a little bit for me afterwards then it was time for bed. We are still watching her former peg site closely. It is healing well but still oozing slightly and based on that we are delaying her start at the KGH Rehab pool. Don’t want her getting infected or causing anyone else too.

Praying for a healing night and a productive and fun day tomorrow.

Sing Along #TSJ

A rare morning start for me today as I wanted to be sure we were able to Skype Cam for his birthday. Janet was finishing her after breakfast bio break and was quite cheery about it all when I arrived. This is the first time in a while I have seen her early in the morning and was impressed with how bright she was and how well she was talking. Garrett said that was typical. I was also impressed with how straight she stood up in the Arjo type machine that Garrett was transferring her with. All she needed was skis and poles and away she’d go. We ended up Skypeing Cam from a slightly noisy gym but Janet managed to sing happy birthday to him. Even after about four perfect practice runs she still called him Andrew when it came time for the real thing but she is no longer singing Karaoke style. It’s all her.

Janet’s workout was actually pretty good including a real strong effort on the Shuttle. Janet set a personal best doing seventeen reps with one band with her right leg only. She got good extension most of the time and was visibly working hard. First time I’ve seen the effort in the face. A very welcomed sign. By the time we were done in the gym it was lunchtime and Janet ate well as expected after a good workout. I took her to the laundry room after lunch to transfer her clothes from the washer to the drier. She very confidently did that chore then we got ready for our appointments downtown.

The meeting went well but ended sooner than I thought it might so we had time to use up before our next appointment. We spent that time talking about Invue and looking at it from a block away. I used that time to check Janet’s vision a little. She for sure could see vehicles approaching us and crossing in front of us. She could see Invue and commented that there was a lot of big windows but couldn’t zero in on details like the large concrete pole running through all the west side balconies nor could she see the light pole kitty corner to us. I think this is all associated with her processing challenges and not an inability to actually see something. When we finally got into the building Janet had no recollection of having been there before but still said it’s pretty nice and she would like to live there. With the help of Courtney’s boyfriend, Mike, we are putting forward two proposed changes to the balcony door to the Strata Council. If they say no then we forget about Invue as it would not be fair to Janet to not be able to access her own balcony by herself.

Because Janet did so well in the gym this morning I allowed her to come home for dinner when usually she would be back in the gym for another workout. We had a little snack as we had been out for a while and we really had no clue what to get for a snack while out. Laurel got in on a Skype call and I had to keep coaching Janet through it as she was getting pretty tired. So much so that by the time I served dinner I thought she was going to fall asleep in it. After a few mouthfuls she seemed to gain enough energy to make it through the rest of the evening. As I was getting her ready for her after dinner bio break I could tell she was really full and when I got her onto the bed she commented, “are you OK with girls that eat too much?” The only proper answer was to laugh. I made sure we headed back to Connect in good time as I want Janet well rested for the weekend coming up. The drive back was the most fun one yet as Janet asked to listen to the XM channel that plays all these old sappy love songs. I placated her but asked her if she thought there was a channel that played songs you could sing along to easily. She immediately started singing to the song that was playing and continued for four or five more. They were all familiar songs of course but she still surprised me with her knowledge of the words and melody. I always hated the thought of family sing songs on car rides but this one made me smile.

Praying for a night of rest and healing, and an active day of recovery tomorrow.