walk

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #Connect #sleepy #walk

Jess reports Janet was quite sleepy most of the day today and that she asked to lay down after her singing with John session. Sure enough, Janet was sort of sleeping when I snuck into her room. She looked super cozy all wrapped up in her blankets and true to form as soon as I let go of the door handle she opened her eyes. We chatted for a while and it was clear she wasn’t going to sleep so up she got so we could sit in the sun and talk some more. I had lots of news to tell her, most important was that I finally made contact with the owner of a house we’ve had our eye on. She is going to sell but was waiting until Spring. I’m praying that the good conversation we had this morning will encourage her to sell sooner, like now. She kindly gave me a tour of her house and I liked what I saw, especially how wheelchair friendly it is. Her husband was in a chair for five years there so most of the house is easily accessible for Janet who was very excited to hear my report.

Understanding that she needs to make two trips to the gym each day Janet elected to do the Shuttle and Standing Frame before dinner. Again today, not her best ever performance but decent. I’m very happy with her Standing Frame tolerance though. Nice and straight for forty five minutes and no complaints until she let herself down and that’s just the pressure coming off of her knees. By the time she was done all that the other residents had finished dinner so we had the table mostly to ourselves. I’ll have to watch the timing a little better in the future as I like Janet to be a part of the community table.

We went for a nice long walk after dinner and noticed the cooler temperature and lack of daylight. Janet agreed that it will be difficult when it’s dark at five o’clock to find something interesting to do. We’ve enjoyed a lot of time outside this summer and are kind of dreading the end. It will be a big adjustment.

That was pretty much it for Janet as with not sleeping well last night then not really napping this afternoon she was ready to call it before nine o’clock. She’s doing a great job with her pole transfers even when tired and her bedtime routine is quickly becoming more independent as well. She told me tonight she “needs to walk” and knows she has to work hard to get there. Tonight was a good effort and hopefully that continues.

Praying for rest, healing, strength and a positive attitude. Thanking Jesus for all we are blessed with.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #moving #skype #hottub #botox

Janet seemed to have one of the best nights’ of sleep she’s had in a while last night. She was asleep before prayer time and I don’t recall her waking until around seven this morning and then she promptly fell back to sleep until nine thirty. Good for her, except that gets our day off to a late start but I’m happy she slept. That sleep probably gave her the good strong voice and brightness she displayed during our Skype chat with Leslie. Fun to listen to.

For work today we decided to finish off Laurel and Heathers’ old room which went quite smoothly as it was mostly a matter of bagging things and getting them out of there. That leaves two major rooms still to be purged, Cams’, which we’ll tackle when he’s home next week and the garage, which will wait till much closer to moving date.

After lunch we drove to what we think would be nice as our future neighborhood and went for a walk. It was nice to be out in the sun and fresh air and that set Janet up nicely for an afternoon nap. Heather was next on the Skype list and Janet was into it enough that I could leave them chat and start dinner. We finished in plenty of time for a relaxing hot tub followed by watching AGT with Janet’s legs in the extenders. With almost two months to go before the next round of Botox I’m a little concerned about the amount of tone in Janet’s legs. It seems like the effect is wearing off sooner this time or things are just different, I don’t know. Her functionality seems the same with a little more command of the right leg and that is good. The hamstrings however seem tighter than they should be at this point. I’m looking forward to Tez joining us at the pool tomorrow and getting his opinion on it all.

Praying for a restful and healing sleep and thankful for the relaxing sunny day we had today.

The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #workout #moving

I snuck into Janet’s room this afternoon and managed to not wake her as she enjoyed a well deserved afternoon nap. Her morning had been busy with the usual Tuesday routine followed by singing with John. Not quite as tiring as swimming but enough to warrant a nap. We had a nice chat when she woke up around 3:30 and then sat in the sun on the patio and talked some more. Janet’s memory is really improving and a good example of that today was when she spontaneously told me that Garrett was changing shifts so he’d be working days starting next week. She had been told that earlier in the day and it stuck. She pretty much always gets the day of the week right with me now and usually knows roughly what she is doing that day as well. Her attitude towards the gym has shifted from hating and fighting against going to disliking but going anyways and given the choice of when to go today she chose before dinner.

The Shuttle is working well for Janet and she had another strong workout on it this afternoon, some of her best sets to date. Garrett came in after a while and gave Janet a good stretch, something we need to do more consistently. Standing on her own for over three minutes, Janet did a great job shifting her weight between her right and left leg. She’s still quite nervous about falling but gaining confidence for sure.

Our after dinner walk was nice and sunny but with the temperature in the low twenties and a breeze blowing, Janet had goose bumps when we were out of the sun and with the shorter days its getting harder to stay in the sun. Might have to switch to before dinner walks soon.

It was Andrew’s birthday today so we had a little Skype chat with him. Janet talked very well and nicely updated Andrew on our house sale situation. The Standing Frame rounded out the night with Janet correctly announcing when it was time to get down.

Today was a solid day for Janet with good workouts, good conversations and clear signs of improvement. Praying for deep and healing sleep tonight and lots of energy for tomorrow.

Reluctant Progress. Janet grins and bears it. #TSJ

Tez had Janet in the standing frame again this morning and by all accounts it went well. Mary Lou did her usual Speech session with Janet as well and after some negotiating with Jess, Janet agreed to have a nap. She says she didn’t sleep but Jess checked on her an hour in and she was snoring away. By the time I arrived Janet was watching TV in the living room and seeming quite happy. She had trouble telling me about her day but with some prompting got the major points out. She did know she was watching Dr. Oz and he was talking about Aspirin. High five. I told her some good news from Dr. McCann’s office that I got this morning. I had given a report on the effect of the Botox and also mentioned I had not noticed any negative reaction to Janet being on a lesser dose of Methylphenidate for the last three weeks so he agreed to discontinue it all together. One less pill for Janet to swallow!

I took Janet out in the sun for a walk before our first order of business, the weekly Skype chat with Leslie. We walked around part of the neighborhood we have not explored yet and agreed we don’t want to live there. It would have been nice to stay outside to Skype but the wifi connection was too slow so we had to go to Janet’s room. Before we could get back out Garrett offered to take Janet to the gym to ride the bike. I was disappointed that Janet fought the invitation the way she did. I felt she did really well yesterday and that she seemed very comfortable on the bike. As the argument progressed it became quite apparent that Janet is really lacking confidence in doing the gym activities. She feels she should be better than she is and doesn’t see the progress she’s making. The great thing about the bike is it shows you exactly how you are performing and once Janet reluctantly agreed to go, Garrett and I were able to show her the numbers to watch. She made a steady twelve rpm for twenty two minutes today. We didn’t measure yesterday’s session but today’s seemed better and Janet was reasonably happy afterwards. I don’t want her to focus too much on the numbers as some days will be better than others, today was better but I got a sense she was being obedient rather than fully participatory. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow.

The bike ride definitely gave Janet a boost of energy and appetite. After dinner we went for a walk to Beasley Park and watched the last twenty minutes of a soccer game. It was really nice sitting in the sun doing that but it was hard to see as the grandstand is on the east side of the fields and at that time of day the sun is shining right in your face. Still lots better than watching soccer in the North Vancouver rain like we used to.

Janet wanted to read when we got back to Connect and we got a good chunk of Slow Dance done. Almost finished. My cousin Sharon, shared a video with us that features a really cool bike that I could use with Janet. More importantly the video is a beautiful story of love. Janet and I both teared up watching it. Your turn.

Praying for a solid night’s rest and an energetic tomorrow.

Day Off. Janet shuts it down for a day. #TSJ

We planned on a sleep in today but Janet was awake at seven. Thankfully she agreed to go back to sleep and we got up at 8:30. Not exactly what I had in mind but this isn’t my show. Her morning routine went well and the first course of breakfast was served while I got myself ready for the day. I then had Janet help make us some pancakes. She was very enthusiastic about it and happily mixed the dry ingredients together then stirred things up after I added the wet ones. Her pouring aim is a little off and I’ve noticed what may be a change in her vision. There seems to be more neglect slightly right of centre than I’ve noticed before but if I can get Janet to physically turn her head she seems to be fine. Three pancakes later a full Janet was happy to watch a little TV while I cleaned up then by noon she was asking for a rest time. Yes, asking. She didn’t seem overly tired or anything, I was happy with the energy she showed on her standing transfers to the toilet but she was kind of quiet this morning and didn’t want to make any decisions about what to do today. I lay down with her for a bit then let her sleep until 2:30.

Janet helped make herself some KD for a late lunch, then enjoyed a brief visit from Kiko as she dropped off what would be our dinner tonight. Lamb curry. Kiko is such a good friend I offered her Nash as compensation for all she’s done for us. She declined however and Janet says we have to keep him, “because he’s ours”. Maybe after a few more rude awakenings she’ll change her mind.

It had been a while since we were able to connect with Andrew so today’s Skype chat with him was welcomed. It’s still hard for Janet to initiate a conversation once past the greeting stage but she is getting more and more responsive to questions and comments even if she doesn’t make total sense all the time. That pattern continued through a chat with Laurel and Janet is truly excited to have her and Heather coming out to visit in three weeks.

The sun came out this afternoon and so did we. Janet enjoyed driving Nash around the neighbourhood and continues to keep good control of him, especially as we cross busy streets. Janet wasn’t sure about the lamb part of the curry dinner but liked it after the second bite and ate a huge plate of it. She must have been full as I really had to talk her into having some ice cream before bed.

Janet crashed pretty hard tonight and I didn’t expect that at all. Her energy level never really matched that of the last few days but she seemed happy throughout and managed to help quite a bit in the kitchen and enjoyed getting out into the sun. In fact she wanted the sun so bad she actually wheeled over to a window where it was streaming in and just sat there for a few minutes soaking it up. That’s my Janet.

Praying for a solid night of rest that provides lots of energy for swimming tomorrow morning.

Let’s Get This Party Started! Silly Janet. #TSJ

Janet awoke with a nice smile this morning and got through the morning routine nicely, eating some fruit and yogurt by nine ish. We had all agreed to have pancakes with sausages and bacon this morning as this was our only morning with Raj and Laurel where we could take our time with breakfast. I’d forgotten how long it takes to make all that stuff and thought I could shower while Janet was eating her yogurt then whip everything up. Not quite. It was 10:15 by the time the rest of us could join Janet but it was all good and fun.

Laurel was a big help to me this morning as she went through the last of Janet’s clothes with her and filled another garbage bag for donation and created another pile of try on before deciding stuff. That’s pretty much it for purging the main floor and there’s just a little bit left downstairs which of course means the garage is a disaster area but that was the plan all along and I’m sure I can deal with that over a couple of days sometime.

It was another beautiful Spring day here so Raj, Laurel, Janet and Nash went for a walk to the beach while I did a little yard work and cleaned the inside of the car which hadn’t been done since the end of last summer. We all sat outside for a while when they got back and had a nice Skype chat with Heather. That lead into a well timed late lunch which set up nap time for Janet in preparation for going out for dinner tonight. I had to work pretty hard to get her calmed down enough to sleep which she did for forty five minutes only. Not sure what woke her that first time but the next three times in one and a half hours was Nash barking for no legitimate reason. Even Janet was upset the last couple of times.

Despite the inconsistent sleep Janet had lots of energy and was quite bright as we headed off to The Minstrel Cafe for dinner and some live music. We sat at the same table as when we were there for Jon and Lisa’s wedding a little while ago and Janet seemed quite happy the whole time. She had done really well drinking her water today so wine was allowed with dinner and apparently not enough of it for Janet as she tried to get more out of the empty carafe.

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Janet had a nice long play time with Nash when we got home and did a good job getting his treat then letting him outside by herself with only a little coaching along the way. Sleep came fast to her tonight after a pretty busy and fun day.

Praying for lots of energy tomorrow as we get to celebrate the Resurrection and through video be a part of the message at Trinity. I pray that Janet’s declaration of hope will inspire others.

Button Race. A nice family day for Janet. #TSJ

Laurel and Raj went out to Connect to pick Janet up just before lunch today. Janet told me she was surprised to see them but didn’t cry. She was showered and had been to the gym so was off to a good start. Lunch was at Joey’s where Janet enjoyed some fish tacos and was quite alert and responsive throughout the meal. Once home it was pretty much nap time and for once she didn’t need much convincing.

After a good nap Laurel and I took Janet and Nash for a sunny and warm walk around the neighborhood then settled in for some March Madness and a good sushi dinner. Janet ate a lot, I was surprised by the amount, and even enjoyed a little wine with the meal. Her water intake for the day was the barely the minimum but I didn’t have to nag her quite so much. She seems to give in easier when others are around.

Overall Janet seemed pretty quiet again today with some really good moments thrown in just to let us know she’s still doing OK. Laurel and Raj showed us some pictures of their trip to the BVI and Janet enjoyed seeing the beautiful beaches and colorful water and insists that we move there. Oh no, that was me ten years ago. Still would be nice to visit but I don’t know about doing such a long trip with Janet like that. It took Laurel and Raj 28 hours door to door from Calgary, not sure Janet could tolerate that. She faded pretty fast tonight and agreed to get ready for bed at 8:45. One of our bedtime rituals is to have a race doing up buttons on Janet’s PJ tops. I start at the bottom and she starts at the top. Whoever does up theirs up the fastest wins. Tonight, for the first time, she beat me! Praying for a restful night that brings lots of energy for an active and fun day tomorrow.

First Better Than Second. A day at home. #TSJ

The energy Janet had at last night’s dinner party carried over into this morning as she woke up way earlier than I expected. 7:30! I was fine with that as I was sort of up anyways in case I was able to connect with a friend who’s traveling in China right now. That didn’t work out but Janet and I got off to a good and early start.

Over a long breakfast we sorted through her massive mess of recipes in advance of our possible move. A lot of her collection were pages ripped from magazines that had never been looked at since the first time so it was easy to throw a lot of stuff out. I let her call the shots on all the books so we are keeping way more than I would have but we also found some recipes I had been looking for recently and some we had totally forgotten about. We now have a collection that can be organized and used as opposed to just taking up space. Janet was surprisingly determined to get this job done passing on a couple opportunities to take a break or do something else.

Between cookbook purging and all the usual morning tasks, noon arrived quickly and with obvious signs of a weather change I convinced Janet we should go for a walk then or we may not get a chance. It was not as nice as it was yesterday but still felt good to get some fresh air. Janet did a great job of “driving” Nash, having to reign him in on his leash a few times. Our lunchtime entertainment was some NCAA basketball then Janet was clearly ready for a nap.

Once again nap time was interrupted by the barking dog but only once and I think Janet had a good rest but as the day wore on I could see she wasn’t going to have the stamina she did yesterday. She was up in time to watch a pretty impressive hail storm outside that quickly made the pool cover white. It was fun to watch the transition and interesting to watch Janet take it all in. She was kind of groggy the rest of the evening, needing help to eat dinner and not talking very well. There was a nice burst of energy when she chose to make a play list of songs to sing with John. I was surprised she wanted to do that and as we sat at the computer with a glass of pop she smiled and sang along to quite a few songs that I will put on her iPod for John to play with her. Of course she had enough energy to eat some ice cream before bed but just barely as she was asleep before I laid her down once we had her pj’s on.

I suspect it took a while for the late night yesterday to catch up with her and I hope that is what’s behind the fast fade over the second half of the day. Praying for a solid night’s sleep that provides lots of energy for an active day tomorrow.

A Reason for Everything. Janet under the weather. #TSJ

Our day started off great. Janet slept well last night and was pretty chipper this morning enjoying our breakfast time together. She enthusiastically helped start the purge of her closet for our morning activity and had a good chuckle over some of the things we found. Some things I’ve never seen her wear before and I’m glad of that. She was able to say goodbye to a lot of stuff and we only did one half the closet.

Lunchtime came and Janet was starting to fade. Even at the height of her chipperness this morning I noticed her speech was mostly in Klingon. She was fine with one or two words but when she tried to put a sentence together it came out a real mess. Not scrambled words at all but unidentifiable ones. I am a little concerned about this as I’ve noticed it happening throughout this past week.

Janet did not fade too rapidly and agreed to go for a walk as it was quite the nice warm day here. We were out for over an hour enjoying the sun and mild temperatures. Really nice to be doing that again.

That was about it for Janet today. As planned, it was nap time after our walk, 3:00, and after the usual “why are you putting me to shelter?” complaint (shelter is not the usual word) she was asleep in minutes and stayed that way till after five. In fact she is still in bed as I write this and I suspect will be for the night. She says she’s not feeling well but has no specific complaint. She wakes up a couple times an hour and each time her speech is better. She’s managed some water and her dinner time meds so I’m thinking the sleep and rest is all good healing and tomorrow she will stay chipper all day. I’m glad she is doing this at home rather than a Calgary hotel room so there’s one silver lining from yesterday’s adventure.

Despite the enormous rest she’s already had I’m still praying for a restful night as Janet clearly needs it. Also praying for a bright and chipper day tomorrow.