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Coming Down. Janet’s overdose wearing off. #TSJ

To my surprise, Janet was asleep in her bed when I arrived at Connect this afternoon. Garrett had put her down for a nap around two saying she was starting to fade and didn’t protest the idea for once. I was more than happy to snuggle up beside her after having enjoyed an awesome first half of the day skiing. Of course she woke up as I approached but only enough to show me that beautiful smile, have a little chat then go back to sleep.

Being comparatively bright afterwards Janet agreed to Skype Heather. The conversation generated a few giggles, lots of smiles and some of the loudest talking Janet has done since her OD. She tired quickly though and agreed to end the talk for today and try again next week.

We made our way down to the kitchen where Rebecca and Humberto were prepping dinner. Janet set the table with a little help from me and proceeded to eat everything in sight including the house’s first attempt at quinoa. She loved it as did most everyone else.

Tonight was ladies night upstairs and I think Janet would have gone had there been something going on other than sit and have a cup of tea. Maybe next week. She opted to play a game on the iPad and did very well naming pictures of places, some of which I had to think about. First time I’ve noticed a weakness in that app as some of the clues and pictures were really obscure.

Bedtime came a little early as Janet has not yet fully “come down” from her OD although she is noticeably improved today. Garrett and Tez had her in the gym for an hour this morning saying she worked hard and did well. Tez tried pushing her to do some standing work with him but she’d had enough by that time. I’m glad he’s considering it at least.

Praying for a good night of rest and healing, a productive morning and some fun in the afternoon.

Easing Back In #TSJ

Monday, a day to get back into the “normal” routine. Janet apparently was too tired to jump back into her routine so took it pretty easy today with just a short workout in the gym and a little bit of reading for Speech. The rest of her time before I arrived was spent hanging out in the kitchen and living room mostly just watching what was going on. She was pleased to see me when I got there and seemed upset that she hadn’t done much but when she was reminded of what she was offered and attempted she agreed she was kinda tired. That led to a more than an hour long sleep with some of the loudest snoring I’ve ever heard from her.

I was prepared to let her sleep until 4:30 but she woke up just after four and wanted “to do something”. She managed to get herself up from laying down on the bed and elected to go and see if she could help prep dinner in the kitchen. She flat out refused my offer of playing games or reading. Just not into “school” today at all. It’s a good thing we went to the kitchen when we did as the guys had made another beef stew but there was plenty of time to prepare something else for Janet. Bob made her a nice chicken and pasta dish while we laughed at the movie Happy Gilmore. Janet wasn’t too thrilled by the pasta dish and was kind of jealous of the leftover enchilada I had brought for me. I continue to struggle with this dinner thing. I want her to participate in the Connect dinners and she really wants me to eat with her. If I bring my own dinner then she’s going to want that instead of what Connect has made, evidenced tonight. If I bring her dinner all the time then she’s somewhat disconnected from Connect. I think I’ll stick to eating when I get home for now.

After dinner we got a Skype call into Andrew and I was pleasantly surprised at how well Janet spoke to him. She had been pretty quiet and gurgley before that but turned it on nicely for Andrew. We listened to some music after that as I tried to find some she could sing along to. She was all over a couple of Brian McKnight songs and very readily agreed with me that she likes muscley black guys that can sing. I’m OK with that as I tan pretty good in the summer so I just need to work on the singing part and I’ll be fine.

Lights out at 8:30 for a tired but content Janet. The chat with Andrew and the singing before bed really seemed to brighten her spirits and I think set her up for a good nights rest. Praying for an active day of learning tomorrow.

Marvelous Monday #TSJ

A very alert and smiley Janet greeted me this afternoon as she watched TV in the living room with Curtis, Clint and Humberto. She was able to accurately tell me a few things about her day so far and Curtis said they had a strong workout in the gym this morning. He did some arm work with Janet then Tez joined in for an hour long session working Janet’s legs. They were able to get her onto her tummy which allowed for some great hamstring stretches. Curtis thought Janet was much more limber than previous and seemed pleased with how things are progressing. I took Janet up to get weighed and can report another gain although this one is a little too large to be believed so I’ll check her again in a couple days.

In the first hour I was with Janet she twice asked to go to the bathroom and was successful each time and right after the second one she suggested she have a rest. I asked her if she wanted to lay down on the bed for a while and she said no. I asked her what she meant by rest then and she said “rest under your chin”. I figured she meant I was to lay down with her and when I suggested that she agreed and slept for an hour and a half! I guess she really did have a busy first half of the day.

Her nap took us right to dinner time which was a nice piece of chicken with mashed potatoes, carrots and gravy prepared by Crystal. Janet ate it so fast I thought she would want more but she was full. I tried to get her to drink more of her water but got the most defiant response yet and it took me twenty minutes of convincing including switching to my plastic water bottle to get her to drink. Then we went off to Skype Andrew. Ever since waking from her nap Janet just couldn’t get her loud voice going until we connected with Andrew. She wasn’t always making sense but she was pretty loud. Crystal was going to give Janet a shower so in trying to be efficient I asked Janet to brush her teeth while we waited. Again, huge defiance, so much so that I had to tell her she wasn’t being very nice. Not sure what brought that on especially after such a good afternoon nap. Could be just a heightened sense of awareness as she was pretty intent on doing things herself and not wanting to be “lead”. She always did like being the leader.

The shower tired Janet out nicely and she was tucked in at her normal ish time and looking ready for a good sleep. Praying for a healing night’s rest and an informative session with the eye doctor tomorrow.

Good to See You #TSJ

Janet was very bright and cheery this morning when I arrived before taking her to the eye doctor. The dietician had already been and gone and Garrett reported that she had a little conversation with Janet and reviewed her chart and said all looked good, carry on. I was hoping to speak with her but maybe next time. Janet said she slept well and had a good breakfast. She knew we were going somewhere this morning but couldn’t remember where. I was encouraged by her responsiveness.

We had a good appointment with the eye doctor, spending an hour examining and chatting about Janet’s condition and he will prepare a detailed report for Connect over the next couple of days. From what I saw and from what he told me, Janet’s eyes are healthy, they are aligned almost perfectly with the left one maybe very slightly deviated but not nearly what it was a few months ago. There is a large floater in the right eye. This likely occurred at the time of the rupture or soon after and there is no treatment needed for it. Janet’s vision may or may not be affected by it and she may not even know it’s there. Janet is displaying some right side neglect and just how much will be determined when we do a vision field test next week. There was not enough time to do one today and the doctor wants Janet at her best and brightest to give the highest probability of success. Janet’s prescription is fine for now and her glasses are still good for distance as prescribed and she should not wear them for reading. With her glasses on Janet tested at 20/20 or close to it and she was able to read impressively well. As we have known for some time, she often gets stuck and repeats a word or number, she did that today a number of times during the exams and it was interesting to see the visual cues the doctor gave her to erase what she was stuck on and start fresh. Covering an eye briefly, looking up at the ceiling briefly or closing both eyes then re focusing. He would like us all to start teaching Janet some of these cues and feels she can regain a strong ability to read one day. She currently can go four to five words before stalling and that is impressive considering.

Home for a wintertime lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup was next on the agenda followed by an afternoon nap. Yes, Janet slept for over thirty minutes this afternoon and quite deeply too. I had to wake her up so we could get back to Connect in time for a workout before dinner. We managed to Skype with Mary/Gaga before leaving and enjoyed a good conversation with her. Janet was pretty loud and was able to answer some questions about what she had been doing. I’ve noticed a real improvement in that area lately. Earlier in the day I had read an email to Janet sent to me from an elementary school friend of hers who found this blog and wanted to get in touch. Her name didn’t register with Janet when I first read it to her then when I told Mary/Gaga who very clearly remembered her, Janet’s memory kicked in as well. Her and Karen were close friends in grades five through eight and we look forward to at least virtually reinstating that friendship.

In the gym today we had only a small battle about working on the Shuttle. Janet gave in a worked hard with some good results. It helped to have Phil getting his first workout at the same time as the therapists encouraging him could be heard easily by Janet. Phil was with us at KGH Rehab and is doing really well. Glad to have him at Connect. Janet’s legs are quite tight, maybe tighter than the last time I worked with her but I still managed some pretty good range and she was able to do lots of movement in both herself. She gave two strong attempts at the stripper pole but was pretty tired so was not that successful. All of the transfers I did with her today were standing, except for the car, and she did very well with most of them.

Dinner was another beautiful Rikki creation followed by a nice warm shower, some reading of Slow Dance and a Janet initiated prayer. She was very tired and only managed “thank God for Andrew and his…” The rest was Klingon but I’m sure God understood. We prayed as always for rest, healing, restoration of the ability to walk, use of her right arm and hand, complete restoration of her vision and ability to talk loud all the time. Looking forward to a fun day of recovery tomorrow and a nice sushi dinner at home with Joel and Kiko. Thanking God for them and all the other cool people in our life.

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.

Sleep? #TSJ

I spent the first part of today watching Janet sleep as I had done most of the night and despite the ticking clock I had no intention of waking her. I was surprised how well she slept last night. She only woke up briefly a few times, once trying to grab the bedrail but of course she was grabbing me. I was awake a ton of times as I was in “mother mode” concerned all night that she was OK. I helped her turn onto her side a couple of times and other than that she had a peaceful nights sleep.

I was all set to make her eggs for breakfast, it would be a first as Janet didn’t like eggs before so I was kind of looking forward to it, but she chose fruit and yogurt instead and very excitedly accepted an offer to have her first toast and peanut butter. She even drank a glass of orange juice, something she never liked before. We got the warm clothes on and raced off to church. A nice surprise in today’s service was a brief wedding ceremony. A young couple with a story of overcoming addictions and bouncing around foster homes were married during the service as they had no means of getting married themselves and no family support and no real friends to witness the marriage. All 1,200 congregants acted as witnesses as the church rallied to support them in their new lives. Janet loved seeing the bride walk right past her at the start and then walk by again with her husband at the end. She even had a little tear in her eye when Wayne announced them as husband and wife. It was a nice moment and a solid demonstration of our faith community coming alongside people needing love, guidance and support. No mention from Janet that things were too long today. I think she enjoyed the whole thing.

Lunch was a bit of a rush as we had a two o’clock appointment to view a condo in a very interesting building. Joel and Kiko joined us as they live nearby and have been curious to see inside the place too. We all really liked it and I will investigate further to see if we should put in an offer. Janet liked it so much that when we were chatting with the realtor in the suite, she nodded off. I asked her if she felt so much at home she could sleep and she said yes. The place is called Invue and if any of you know anyone that owns a place there I’d love to talk to them.

We had a nice Skype chat with Andrew before dinner with Janet talking fairly well but still getting her words mixed up a little. She was surprised it was dinner time already but still ate it all including ice cream and the last Christmas brownie in the house. I carried a very full Janet out to the car for the drive back to Connect and once there got her settled in to bed where I’m sure she will sleep well without me. I gave Bob the weekend food report and was able to see that Janet’s vitals have been tracking really well the last while. I miss seeing those taken everyday but her numbers are in a good range so there is no need for that anymore.

Praying for rest and healing and thanking Jesus for the community we get to be a part of.

Mixed Monday #TSJ

Janet’s day started strong with a good breakfast followed by a full body workout in the gym with Danielle. Her right arm and shoulder continue to loosen and her legs continue to be pretty tight. Garrett took Janet to the clinic for a blood test to measure the level of Dilatin in her so Janet got to go out today as well. When I got in Janet was watching TV in the living room. I gave her the “who am I” quiz and she failed miserably calling me everything but Larry. She only clued in after she got her name right but she did name all her kids correctly and I think that’s the first time she’s done that without assistance. We played match the Sesame Street characters and Janet did better than yesterday but you could see her struggling near the end. Lunch was a bowl of soup and some canned peaches, unauthorized apparently but no one was watching. I left for a while after lunch to finish selling Cam’s car and Janet was going to hang out in the living room with some of the others until I got back.

While I was away Janet decided she wanted to sit on the couch so without any assistance she proceeded to do so. Of course she missed the couch and ended up on the floor. Danielle said she was fine, a little scared but mostly smiling. She tried again later but Bob was watching this time and prevented her from getting too far. I like the determination.

I came back to find her watching TV again so we had a little chat about her couch surfing and she seemed to get the fact she needs help. The staff of Connect had planned a fire drill for this afternoon so we all had to go to our respective rooms and wait for that to happen. The alarm is quite loud and annoying but it was good to see them all go through the exercise and from what I saw they have a pretty good plan in place should a real fire occur. I took Janet for a little leg stretch n the gym before dinner and managed a decent result. Once again she doubted her ability to stand then proceeded to do quite well at it. Didn’t quite have the stamina today but still a strong effort. She was very hungry at dinner, eating a massive bowl of left over chicken and rice from Suzanne that I brought in just in case. Bob was making a stir fry but it would have to be pureed so he let me feed her the chicken and rice without him looking. Cool.

We had a nice Skype session with Laurel after dinner in which Janet was very loud and clear although sometimes speaking nonsense and other times completely off topic. She must have used all her energy during that conversation because thirty minutes later she was pretty much asleep and it was only 8:15. I don’t remember a more rapid decent into sleep mode. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised considering she had no rest time this afternoon at all and was pretty active all day.

Today was not a good bathroom day for Janet. She often asked me if she could go but it was always too late by the time she asked and she seemed to pee a lot today. Each time I’ve had her standing she had peed as well but this time she actually said she had to go just as she finished her second stand. Hopefully today was a blip but I will attempt to set up a proper schedule for the staff to toilet her in the future.

Praying for a restful night and readiness for an active day tomorrow.

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.

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.