tennis

Janet, A Success Story. June 24. #TSJ

When we were in Ottawa last week there was an event on called Rib Fest. A bunch of world famous rib restaurants had food trucks set up competing against each other for who made the best ribs. It was fun to watch but neither of us eat ribs, or so I thought. Curtis made some for dinner tonight and to my shock Janet gobbled them up! Who knew she was such a carnivore? All she would eat at Rib Fest was corn on the cob but tonight she was licking her fingers with a smile on her face. Recipes anyone?

I had Janet walking a lot tonight including all the way up to Games Night. I found that she had better form when not hanging onto me at all. She stood straighter and her steps were more deliberate. She didn’t like having to freestyle walk as much as she did but smiled each time she completed a trip. There were a couple of stumbles when holding my hand and zero when she was on her own. Going to keep pushing her to do more on her own.

There was a bit of a delay before Janet could use the Standing Frame today so she wasn’t in it till after dinner. The timing actually was perfect as she got to watch the last part of Genie Bouchard’s round one victory at Wimbledon. That was probably the quickest forty five minutes Janet has spent in that machine as she really enjoyed the match and made some excellent observations during it.

Praying that Janet has a deep and healing sleep that brings lots of energy for a productive Wednesday.

Janet, A Success Story. June 5. #TSJ

Always able to surprise, Janet surprised again this morning by agreeing to go kayaking. She is registered with the CHRIS program who do adaptive hiking, biking and kayaking around the Okanagan. Janet was pressured into trying this somewhat and I’m glad she followed through. No surprise at all that she didn’t like it and doesn’t want to go again. I wasn’t able to be there and am awaiting pictures so you will have to settle for one of us and Big Country at the beach last night just before the pine cone fight.

Beasley Park, Wood Lake

Beasley Park, Wood Lake

Because of a number of appointments today and tomorrow Janet got to start her weekend today and instead of crossing off one appointment, another one was created. Janet has been complaining for a few weeks of a “plugged” left ear so we went to the doctor today. She has a lot of wax buildup in both ears and now has to go back Monday to get them flushed out. Good thing she mentioned it so we can remedy it before Ottawa.

I waited all day to get Janet home so we could watch the semi final tennis match between Genie Bouchard and Maria Sharapova. It was well worth the wait and Janet showed a much better awareness of what was happening than ever before. She could read the score easily each time I asked and she reacted appropriately to big plays as they happened. Fun to watch, Janet and the match.

The way the day was scheduled left no time for a nap so Janet was in bed asking me to read by 9:30 ish and was sleeping soundly by ten. Praying for a solid night of sleep and a productive Friday.

Janet, A Success Story. June 1. #TSJ

This morning was more mellow than Saturday morning and Janet was able to get through breakfast well before the weekly Skype chat with her mom. In fact, we were able to watch Genie Bouchard win her fourth round match at the French Open before the mom call and Janet was pleased to be able to do so. She’s a fan.

From what I heard of the conversation with Mary/Gaga it went well and Janet even ended the call properly on her iPad, something I’ve been trying to teach her for a long time. After some suntanning time we drove out to see John and go for a walk with him. Janet noted he seemed a little down compared to last time so we left him with a promise to take him for lunch next Saturday in hopes that gives him something to look forward to. We were then able to eat our lunch outside before Janet’s nap time. Have to get her tanned up for the wedding you know.

After her nap we walked up to check out the pool. I wasn’t able to convince Janet to swim but she was all over going for a hot tub. As you can see in the picture the first step in is a doozy with the four others not much better. Janet made it in OK but getting out was no fun at all. I was over confident in what Janet is able to do and attempted to assist her in walking out. She just doesn’t have the strength to tackle large steps like that and if one of our neighbours wasn’t there to help me get Janet out, we might still be there. I’ll be carrying her out from now on. The pool steps are not as large so hopefully Janet can manage those ones better.
Janet Hot Tub

Janet’s conversation skills are certainly improving as evidenced by her striking up a chat with the lady in the hot tub (the one that ended up helping us) and then by having an excellent Skype chat with Andrew. Her speech and recall were outstanding today. There weren’t too many walking opportunities but she did make it up and down our ramp a few times.

Our arrival back at Connect tonight was later than usual as we lingered over dinner, America’s Got Talent, and ice cream before making the trek. Janet says she doesn’t mind it when she gets there its more the thought of having to go back that bugs her. This is a short week for her though as she gets to come home Thursday and stay for the weekend on account of a few appointments Thursday and Friday. She’s happy about that.

Praying for a restful night of sleep, lots of energy all week and a willingness to work hard.

LarryJanet Hot Tub

Janet, A Success Story. May 25. #TSJ

Mornings are becoming pretty routine around the house as Janet gets more familiar with things. She’s doing more of her dressing and personal grooming and I didn’t have to coach her on breakfast at all today. At lunch she turned the oven on with no assistance. The cooktop is still a challenge as its hard for Janet to see the controls while sitting in her wheelchair so as soon as she’s more confident with standing and walking we’ll get her working that more.

Janet eagerly practiced her reading this morning and read out loud to me using a bit of expression. Nice to hear! The Skype chat with Mary/Gaga seemed fine and brought the good news that Keith is home from the hospital and “doing well”. We seem to have sent our nice weather out to them for the day so Janet and I had to come up with inside activities today and she chose scanning old photos. That was a good call on her part as we are a long ways from being done and hadn’t worked on it for a while. Its not a lot of fun but we are both glad we are making progress and can see it will be cool when we are finished.

After a long and late nap Janet re hydrated herself while I made dinner. She was in no mood to return to Connect and took me up on every offer that kept her home a little while longer. Including watching the second half of a basketball game and then a little French Open tennis. I made sure the music was playing as we drove to Connect so at least the ride was happy and by freestyle walking all the way to her room Janet was too tired to be sad at being back.

Walking attempts were few today but of high quality and there was no mention of the sore right foot. Praying Janet gets lots of sleep tonight and is willing and able to fully participate in tomorrow’s activities.

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

Slow out of the gate again this morning Janet was full of energy so I guess letting her sleep in was a good thing. With coffee in hand she had a good Skype chat with Laurel before we watched the Men’s Championship match from the Aussie Open. Janet was cheering for Rafael Nadal but learned to like his opponent, Stanislas Wawrinka, who ended up winning. Janet seems to be able to really connect with the tennis players as they are not all covered up as other athletes are and there are only two on a court with TV providing plenty of close ups. She enjoys hearing their stories and really does get emotionally connected to what she’s watching. The Aussie Open was great fun and hopefully there is more tennis in our future.

Not having all the supplies needed to continue our work with Janet’s memorabilia we decided to try some baking. Yikes! It actually was a lot of fun as Janet was eager and knowledgeable and able to help quite a bit. I had to run to the store for eggs and when I returned Janet had most of the other ingredients out on the counter ready to go. We made Janet’s famous lemon squares and in the true spirit of baking are giving them away to an unsuspecting couple. I hope they turned out!

Janet faded late in the afternoon and had a very long nap not getting up until almost six o’clock. Again, it seemed to do her good as we enjoyed a nice dinner which I got ready as she talked to Andrew on Skype. She was able to keep the conversation going for a decent amount of time and only looked to me for answers a few times. She’s getting close to being able to initiate these chats on her own so beware.

Dinner was late and so were The Grammys so by the time we got back to Connect it was time for bed and a little reading. Janet enjoyed a leisurely weekend and hopefully is recharged and ready to tackle the week ahead. Praying for complete healing and thanking God for all we are blessed with.

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

Janet had just let herself down from the Standing Frame as I walked into the living room at Connect this afternoon. She was in good spirits and knew it was time to get down. Jess said Janet had refused all offers to go to the gym today as well as the group chatting session that happens every Tuesday morning. Janet was pretty cranky about it all as we talked and could have used a nap but I vetoed that idea as she slyly used it as an excuse not to go to the gym. I spent the entire evening trying to convince Janet to keep working hard to reach her goal. I think I had some success as she agreed to a Shuttle and bike session before dinner. She did really well on the Shuttle despite being quite cranky but had the weakest one legged pedal on the bike she’s had. There was no hint of an ability to pull her leg back up after pushing down. On the flip side, her attempts to stand from her wheelchair were brilliant again today.

There certainly is no shortage of an appetite with Janet and even long time resident and professional eater, Chris, agreed she was giving him a run for his money. Janet finished dinner and an apple long before most folks were finished their dinner and she gets a real kick out of the attention given to her eating prowess.

Hanging out in her room for a bit Janet got caught up on some email correspondence and is getting good at using the voice to text function in Gmail. I had brought a jar of pennies to her room long ago with the intention of practicing counting and finally decided to do that tonight. Janet thought it was a silly idea at first but when paired with rolling them up to deposit in the bank she was all for it. I asked her to count out groups of fifty pennies and she did so very methodically, placing stacks of two side by side and counting the stacks periodically until she had twenty five of them. I was impressed with her mathematical ability and her only real challenge was in counting the stacks and that was mostly a vision thing. Once she learned to touch them as she counted she was fine.

The gym was too busy when we went down to try and do some of the new exercises for Janet’s right leg and that made her a little happy. She got to have me read a little before we went to watch some tennis. Janet sat very still and focused on the TV, not saying much or reacting much but when she did she came up with observations that were accurate and well timed. She laughed as we left to get ready for bed saying “I really like watching that for someone who doesn’t play”. When I told her they have wheelchair tennis and we should try it in the Spring, she retorted with “I won’t be in a wheelchair then”. Now that’s the attitude I want to see all the time.

Praying for a night of uninterrupted, deep and healing sleep that brings lots of energy and a positive attitude for tomorrow.

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

I snuck up on Janet as she watched TV in the living room at Connect with Jess and Curtis this afternoon. She was pretty tired but not too tired to know right away it was me tugging on her hair. Her day so far had been good with a visit to the gym, working with Wendy the memory coach and a visit from AFO lady. It was definitely nap time when I got there and since Courtney was coming over to our house for dinner and to watch tennis, I brought Janet home so she could nap there.

When I left her last night she was very tired and seemed to heading right to sleep but Janet told me she was awake a lot, “looking at the clock every few minutes for a long time”. I believe her as even after a short nap at home her energy level was pretty low and she just looked tired all evening. She did help get dinner ready and we had a nice visit with Courtney while we watched Genie Bouchard win her match and move on to the semi finals of the Aussie Open. Janet was pretty quiet the whole time but told me on the drive back to Connect that she was happy she got to go home and it was fun to watch the tennis with Courtney.

With Janet seeming so tired today I was concerned with how she would do transferring and such. She was spot on each time. Tons better than yesterday when she seemed to have more energy. Go figure. There was no way I was going to suggest the gym when we got back to Connect though so it was into bed where I could read to her for a little bit. Her tiredness didn’t seem to affect her memory at all as Janet was able to recall a few important facts from today and also knew what is scheduled to happen tomorrow. Praying for an uninterrupted night of deep and healing sleep and a productive tomorrow.

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

Another good night of sleep for Janet and a good start to the day even though I insisted she have some fruit and yogurt for breakfast. I know she’s tired of it but I believe the yogurt is very good for her so want her to have it at least every other day. Janet complied but then eagerly made her coffee to really start her day. We watched a recorded version of an Aussie Open tennis match featuring Canada’s Genie Bouchard during breakfast, the first time Janet has seen her play, and now we are both fans.

Leslie was due up for a Skype chat and Janet conversed well even acknowledging when she was ready to stop. After a little standing we set about assembling the first “scrapbook” from Janet’s memorabilia pile. She selected a bunch of greeting cards she had kept over the years, most from me, and glued them into an old photo album which we placed in the book case. Janet enjoyed that activity very much which is good because there is a ton more to do.

I think Janet was feeling a little guilty about always having grilled cheese for lunch so she accepted my offer of pancakes and when I offered her jam or honey she correctly asked instead for maple syrup. Nice catch. To maximize our time for the Seahawks game we decided to make all the stuff for our pizza dinner ahead of time. Janet gathered ingredients, stir fried chicken and onions and built both pizzas except for grating the cheese. She also was a good help in prepping the salad. With all that done we were able to don our jerseys and focus on the game right until halftime. Janet was really excited at the beginning but drew quieter as the game wore on. This is the second day in a row without a nap and I find that unless we are super busy with something Janet really does get too tired to function. She closed her eyes a couple times during the second quarter but dinner perked her up and she was right into it the rest of the way even chanting DEFENCE and clapping my hand in an effort to help us win. It worked! Even being tired Janet managed some really good observations about the game, especially the difference in play between the first and second halves. She was just as thrilled with the victory as she was with the numerous text messages flying around and the phone call she got from Mary/Gaga as the celebration began.

It wasn’t much of a celebration for us as we headed back to the reality of Connect. Each time gets harder for me and I know Janet dreads it too. I did encourage her to do a little Shuttle and bike workout once we got there and she put in a strong effort which she seemed mildly please with. Her transfers today were mixed as she continued to falter with the mechanics of getting to a standing position. There were enough good ones to keep from being concerned and hopefully an increase of activity at Connect tomorrow will help.

After reading a little bit of Open, Janet was very ready for sleep and promised to try and work hard tomorrow. Praying for a night of deep and healing sleep and thanking Jesus for a quality weekend.

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

A milestone day for Janet today. I picked up her AFO on my way to Connect and after her nap we tried it on. It came with it’s own pair of very ugly shoes but for now they are the only ones the AFO fits in so we are stuck with them. Janet was nervous about putting the brace on but found it comfortable and once up said everything was OK. Curtis happened by just as she was getting ready to stand and I had him operate the camera so we could record Janet’s first steps. She was reluctant at first as the combination of shoes and brace made her leg heavier than normal. We challenged her to walk all the way down the hall for dinner and she did!


Watching the video it is obvious where Janet needs to improve, feet further apart, right foot farther ahead on each step amongst other things and I know Tez is aware of those things so it will be interesting to see what his plan is tomorrow.

Janet was adamant that there be no exercises tonight as she had done everything during the day then had the big long walk down the hall. I pressed a little but didn’t win and gave in to her wish to read. After a little debate Janet read a page and a half of Open tonight and I paused her after each paragraph to tell me about what she’d just read. Each time she started with “I don’t know” then proceeded to tell me a pretty good summary. Her memory is definitely improving and when I asked at bedtime what was happening tomorrow she quickly said we have a meeting at 10:30 with Greg. Bang on except it’s with Tez. High five anyways.

After reading about tennis we decided to watch some before bed and Janet did so intently giving me some good descriptors of the match we watched including an accurate observation that the women’s game is much slower than the men’s.

Janet has come so far in the last twenty months its hard to imagine sometimes, then there are milestone days like today. A long walk with medium assistance, intelligent conversation, accurate memory recall and that awesome smile. All twenty months to the day this all started and one year to the day when we spent long hours in the ER after Janet suffered a seizure and I wondered if she would ever got out of this. By the grace of God, the love and support of all of you and by her determination, she is.

Praying for a restful night and a productive tomorrow.

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

Janet and I met with her memory coach, Wendy, this afternoon to make sure I’m teaching Janet how to use her iPad the same way Wendy is and to make sure Janet is clear on what the goals are. I was relieved to learn I’ve been doing things pretty much the way Wendy wants other than giving Janet a few more steps than she’s probably ready for. Janet likes Wendy and seems to have resigned herself to learning this technology as its a fact of life now. Wendy’s technique is all about repetition in small steps and I think Janet will respond well.

Our next appointment was at Ortho Design with Birgit for a fitting of Janet’s AFO. Janet was nervous going into the appointment, fearing what she would be asked to do. There was no reason for her fear and the appointment went smoothly. I was expecting some magic to occur when Janet got the AFO on and stood up but was quickly shown that like learning the iPad, this will be a slow process.
AFO
Janet was scared as she attempted her first steps and for five minutes or so I was contemplating asking for a refund, then she found her rhythm and you could see the confidence build. With me playing the part of a cane she walked in a continuously improving manner for a good fifteen minutes covering a distance of about forty feet or so. With some coaching from Tez and a lot of practice as well as some nice loose hamstrings I’m confident Janet will make significant progress. Birgit is making some final tweaks to the AFO and I’ll pick it up Wednesday for Janet to start using for real.

Since she had done “everything” with Jess in the gym this morning and completed that nice long walk with Birgit, Janet was looking forward to a “quiet evening”. I went along with her request and after dinner we completed an iTunes playlist for her to use when singing with John who has been running out of material to use with her. They now have printed lyrics of twenty five songs and can play them on Janet’s iPad to help learn the tune. It took a while to build the playlist as Janet started singing along to each song I played for her and I just couldn’t stop her in the middle of them. She gets so much joy from singing.

One of our favourite sporting events is the Australian Open tennis and we watched some of that tonight for our TV time. That set things up really nice for a good long read of Open which mentioned some of the players that are now coaching in the Aussie Open and also a commercial that Andre Agassi shot in 1990 and we were able to watch on YouTube. A great way to bring the book even more to life.

This was a good day for Janet and once again I left her smiling and happy and looking forward to tomorrow. Praying for a solid night’s sleep and a productive Tuesday.