transfers

Green Lights. Janet moving forward. #TSJ

According to Janet I “got here just in time” today. She said it with such a big smile on her face I thought I was in for some big news but it was just her way of saying she was glad I was there. Jess said they’d had a busy day so far. Shower, breakfast, gym, clean room, laundry, label drawers and cupboards, lunch. I know that pace is good for Janet and she was happy to hear all those things listed off and recanted her comment that she was having “a weird day”.

Brian met us in her room and we had Janet transferring from wheelchair to bed and back a number of different ways as well as laying down then getting back up again. Tez even dropped by and offered a few pointers. Janet worked really hard and did a great job with everything. We even tried a transfer disc that she stands on then you spin her to line up with wherever she’s going and plunk her down. She’s not ready to do that routinely but Brian will procure some better discs then have that incorporated into Janet’s gym workouts. The standing transfer I’ve been using is not very good for my back and has no therapeutic value for Janet so I will use it only for toileting. Janet does really well with the sliding board and the focus is on that now as its something she’s close to doing completely on her own.

Nurse Jen stopped by as we finished with the transfers to have a look at Janet’s former peg site and without hesitation gave Janet the green light to go “swimming”! I think I’m more excited about this than Janet is but am confident she’ll enjoy it and it also means she can have a bath instead of the showers she’s complained about.

After a lot of ups and downs and rolling around it was time for a nap. Janet welcomed that opportunity and was snoring within minutes. I used that time to call Jim the KGH pool guy. He was very open to times that Janet could go there and suggested Thursdays at noon as that is a fairly quiet session which is probably good for Janet to start with. He mentioned a routine that made it clear to me he didn’t know any details about Janet’s condition so I filled him in and we agreed that the first session would be just floating and familiarizing with future sessions leading towards leg and arm exercises. Tez agreed and suggested trying to get Janet to float on her back and kick her legs. We’ll see how it goes next Thursday and Tez will try and drop by.

In a further conversation with nurse Jen I told her Janet’s Dilantin levels still seem high and her next blood test isn’t until Wednesday. She looked at the requisition for that test and noted there is no date on it so I’m taking Janet tomorrow. Hopefully her doctor will have the results Monday and we can chat about the situation. I will also ask for a referral to the neurologist as there are too many unknowns out there for me to keep going like this. Janet has lost learning opportunities because of the overdose and its time to get this straight.

Janet’s across the hall neighbor, Clint, is moving out tomorrow so I had Janet present him with a happy face lollipop. She started giving it to Karl first then clued in and said some nice words to Clint. Good to see her talking to others. Curtis took a brave Janet to the gym after dinner and had a good workout with her after I assured her it would not be a big one as she’d already worked hard today. She came back pleased with herself and seemingly realizing some benefits to all this. We sat on the couch in the living room watching TV while she munched on an apple before bed.

The afternoon nap was Janet’s last sleep in a hospital bed, he writes with confidence. Brian found a regular bed and frame for Janet and with some modifications from Ray she is sleeping tonight in a real bed which she says is very comfy. It is also the perfect height for transferring her to and from her wheelchair. Another step forward.

Today was a good one and I think Janet gained some confidence through all the activity. Praying for a good rest in her new bed and a fun day tomorrow.

Two Sleeps #TSJ

Janet met me in the hallway as she returned from a reading session in the Den. She was quite smiley and chatty saying she was having a good day. She mentioned going to the gym and having lunch and reading and while she tried hard to say what she had for lunch, just couldn’t get it out. Lorne reminded her it was grilled cheese and she smiled big when she heard that. Sensing she needed a bit of a break after reading I lead her to the living room to watch some TV before Brian’s scheduled session at three.

It was good to chat with Brian this afternoon so we could all get up to speed with each other. He reads this Blog daily so is well aware of what Janet has been up to and that enabled us to talk about bigger picture items such as the wheelchair, food and transfers. I requested a few tweaks to the chair before we purchase it and Brian is confident those will be done without problem. He had read about the beef stew incident and I was able to tell him about Garrett’s meal plan that is in writing somewhere and he said he’d find it and follow up on its implementation. He encouraged a discussion with Tez over which form of transfer Janet should be focusing on now. I’ve been using mostly a standing transfer where Tez would prefer using the sliding board probably feeling it’s too early for Janet to do the standing thing and he’s probably right. I paid close attention to our transfers today and although Janet is stepping with her left leg without cueing now I notice she is not really holding her body that straight, I’m doing most of that, and her right leg is taking virtually no weight at all. I’ll use the sliding board between her bed and wheelchair and other chairs and will stand her for toilet transfers.

Time for a bio break after Brian’s visit. Success again! I then had Janet put her laundry away which she seemed quite pleased to do and was happy when she completed that task. I need to find more chores like that for her to do as she is now not at all interested in the board games. The last couple of days she has demonstrated some real assertiveness and I can sense her wanting to do more constructive things. After a brief rest time she started getting up from bed and got a little mad at me for being in her way. I now realize that reaction came from a “I can do this myself” perspective and she did. I backed right off and said nothing and she got herself all the way to sitting and was quite pleased.

We headed down to see what was happening in the kitchen where Garrett was preparing a nice salmon dinner. Janet asked if she could help with anything but most of it was done by that time so we watched a little more TV until dinner was served. Janet really enjoyed the meal and was too full for dessert. We hung out in the living room for a little while after and I threw some family geography questions at her. She did pretty well, correctly answering where she was born, where Andrew lives and where we met. We had a heated argument over where her mom and Keith live with her finally relenting when she remembered we visited them in Collingwood a couple of summers ago.

I have been counting down until Thursday when Janet gets her peg tube removed and think I am more excited about it than she is. Only two sleeps to go! Originally I figured that was because I deal with it way more than she does but tonight it came to the surface that she’s afraid it will hurt when it comes out. I explained as much of the procedure as I know to her and then changed the subject to focus on the more fun things we are doing that day and she calmed down then. The time I’m spending with Janet is split pretty evenly now between moments of heightened awareness and real insightfullness and moments where she just isn’t processing things effectively. We had another talk on the importance of the afternoon rest time this evening as she lost her energy before 7:30 tonight where as when she has that rest she can go strong until 8:30. I got a little bit of a “so what” from her but I think deep down she knows the rest makes a difference. Before bed I read to her a Christmas letter she started writing a couple of years ago that I found while purging some cupboards today. Janet’s writing has always been very difficult to read and this was no different and we both had a good laugh trying to decipher what she had scribbled. Janet says she remembers writing that letter and I believe her as she wrote some things there that are true Janet things to say and I could see the recognition on her face before she even said anything. Cool.

Praying for rest tonight and an active day of learning and recovery tomorrow.