I could go on and on about today but I won’t. It was our eleventh anniversary and we celebrated that as well as our risen Lord. Happy Easter!
Anniversary dinner at Quail’s Gate.
Janet, A Success Story. April 19. #TSJ
wine
Janet, A Success Story. April 17. #TSJ
On a high after her speech last night Janet had a good day today. Her morning consisted of a routine visit to the gym and some speech therapy work on her own. When I checked in at lunchtime she was waiting for lunch and not sure what she ought to do the rest of the day. I suggested walking or Shuttle which of course failed to excite her. When I got to Connect I noticed the large tilt table being used in the living room and went to sneak up on Big Country and say “hi shorty” but to my surprise, a real shorty was in it, Janet.
Not happy but standing tall.
Tez figured she may as well try it in an effort to get more weight transferring through her right leg and it appeared to be working. Janet was in it for forty five minutes like the Standing Frame and after a little coaxing simply stepped off and sat in her wheelchair. Much easier than the other machine. She had walked from her room to the Den and gave her usual rating of “terrible” to that experience but I’m sure she did fine.
Even though we weren’t staying for dinner, Janet agreed to help Curtis prepare it as he was by himself and running a little behind schedule and Thursdays are Janet’s days to help. She did a great job chopping peppers and onions for a stir fry.
We made our escape after that and enjoyed a simple but tasty meal at home during which I read all the messages people sent in regards to her speech from last night. Janet is amazed and genuinely pleased that so many people liked it. She was definitely a more confident person today, even willing to try some red wine with dinner and liking it. Nice!
Happy
Her confidence and good mood lasted through the evening and Janet had a nice walk from the dining table to the couch before laughing and singing her way through The Voice. It’s awesome to have her home and I’m praying for a positive and productive weekend.
Janet, A Success Story. March 21. #TSJ
Janet got off to an early and fast start today instead of sleeping in on her first day home. She woke up at 7:30 having to go to the bathroom. I’m noticing a bit of a trend in that direction lately as she seems more aware of the need to go. After a successful visit to the bathroom it was off to make breakfast. Janet managed on her own very nicely and we spent a sunny morning sending emails, text messages and phoning people. It was fun and its a good thing we were up early as we never would have gotten anything else done otherwise.
With some time before lunch we decided to go visit John at KGH with the intention of taking him outside for some fresh air. It was OK with his nurses and John but by the time he was ready it was lunch time for him and two other visitors had arrived and we could tell John was getting a little overwhelmed so we said goodbye with a promise of trying again soon.
Lunch was not the usual grilled cheese today as Janet accepted my suggestion of a turkey breast wrap. She helped build them and said grilled cheese was still her favourite but those were a nice change. We did a little setting up for our wine club meeting tonight before reading some The Artisan Soul at nap time.
You would think a two hour nap would set Janet up well for the rest of the day but she never seemed totally herself tonight. She was a little grumpy at dinner despite doing a good job helping to make it. As our guests arrived she perked up and was fine for most of the evening and said she had fun but seemed a little off to me. I thought she would quickly crash right afterwards but she wanted to clean up a little then have me read more before falling asleep.
There was not a lot of walking today for Janet but she was busy in many ways, interacting with lots of different people and I’m grateful we have so many friends willing to spend time with us. Praying for a big night of sleep and a fun weekend with Laurel who is now scheduled to fly in tomorrow morning.
The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #Wine
Garrett took Janet, Wes and Umberto to Vernon this morning in hopes of seeing the hot air balloon launch for the Winter Carnival. We haven’t had much winter here this year except for today of course so the balloon launch was cancelled. Janet said she really enjoyed the outing “with the guys” and they stopped at a local coffee shop to make the trip worth while.
The down side of an outing like that means no gym for Janet today but she was in such a good mood I wasn’t about to risk ruining it. Once we got home she agreed to a nap in order to be rested for the inaugural meeting of our wine club tonight. Janet was very excited about this gathering and therefore only slept for twenty minutes or so as she kept thinking people were coming over any minute. She was a big help in making dinner and getting ready for the wine club. By the time people arrived I think Janet started to feel a little overwhelmed as she was kind of quiet most of the time. She did speak up a few times though and told me afterward that she really enjoyed the evening and thought it went well.
Praying for a night of uninterrupted sleep and lots of energy for tomorrow.
The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #guessinggame
I’m spending the first few days of this week bottling wine at CedarCreek Estate Winery so my time with Janet will start later in the day than usual. Today I got to Connect just as everyone was sitting down to dinner. Janet was excited to see me but I could tell wasn’t really missing me either, nor did I expect her to. I missed her though.
According to Janet she was in the gym “for a long time this morning”. As we talked it became apparent she had done the Shuttle and her mat exercises with Karl so that left the bike and standing frame for tonight. Something she was not pleased to hear. I was more concerned with what Janet had done in the afternoon and she exceeded my expectations greatly. I’ve often suggested to her that instead of watching daytime television she could work on her speech exercises or something like that. After lunch today she wheeled up to her desk and answered the questions on six or seven pages of work that Mary Lou had left in a binder for her to do as she pleased. I marked them for her, reading each question out loud and having her confirm her answer and found she scored as high as 100% and only as low as 80%. Nice work! She even did some very accurate underlining and some decent printing too.
Janet agreed to some one legged bike riding and I found her to be ineffective in trying to pull up using her right leg. Partly attitude and partly a result of the weekend maybe. Still good that she did it though. After a good session in the Standing Frame it was time to get ready for bed and to read Open which had Janet laughing out loud and listening intently for a good forty five minutes tonight. Fun.
Thanks to those of you that played the Where’s Janet game in her class photo yesterday. The consensus is third from the right, second row, but Janet still thinks she’s first on the left, front row. She is wavering a bit on that now and loved that people actually bothered to guess.
Praying for a night of deep and healing sleep that gives Janet lots of energy and a positive attitude and willingness to fully participate in whatever she’s asked to do tomorrow.
The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #dinnerout
Janet had just laid down for her afternoon nap and was not yet sleeping when I got to Connect this afternoon so I scooped her up and took her home so she could nap there before our dinner date tonight. She had done a decent amount of exercise during the morning and seemed quite bright and excited about going out for dinner. For a few months now our realtor, Les, has been trying to get us out for dinner with him and his wife, Dianne, as a closing present for us. The hook was that another couple would join us, his boss, Cliff, and his wife Barb who was in rehab at KGH with Janet almost the entire time Janet was there. Tonight was finally the night we could all connect at Bouchons. Janet was concerned with what she could wear as the shoes she needs to wear with her AFO are rather ugly and unfortunately I never thought of just using the ankle brace until it was too late. That meant no dress for Janet and both pairs of dress pants are too small for her now so she had to settle for regular pants and a nice shirt with a little bling. She looked fabulous of course as we headed out with Janet saying “I hope these people like me”. She knows Les of course but was having a hard time remembering Cliff and Barb and I assured her they remember her and always liked her a lot. As soon as Barb walked into the restaurant Janet’s face lit up as she remembered Barb from the countless unpleasant hospital meals they shared. Tonight was the polar opposite of that with both ladies demonstrating amazing recoveries. It was a very very enjoyable evening that tuckered Janet out to the point that when we got home she just wanted to get ready for bed and have me read to her. I did and she fell asleep within ten minutes then woke up and begged me to read more, I did and she fell asleep within three minutes then woke again saying read more. I did until she fell asleep for what I pray will be a night of re-energizing sleep so we can enjoy a productive Saturday.
The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #dinnerparty
Since today was going home for the weekend day I fully expected to find Janet packed up and ready to go this afternoon. Instead, she had just decided to have a nap before I got to Connect. She told me she was tired so I let her sleep for an hour which was all she needed. On the way home we stopped at Urban Fare to get a dessert for our dinner party tonight and Janet propelled herself around the store and back to the car very very well. Sometimes it’s hard for me to keep from helping her but I find the more I can let her go the better she gets and the more confident she gets too. At home we got right to work getting things ready and Janet was a big help in gathering ingredients and washing vegetables as well as setting the table.
Randy and Claudette and Barb and Gary joined us tonight for some good conversation and sharing of food. We hadn’t seen our former neighbours since our house dedication party so it was nice to catch up with them and especially nice of Barb to bring her yummy cinnamon buns and fresh baked bread. It was also nice to be able to sit and chat with Randy and Claudette without dust flying and compressors running. We are blessed to have a home we can share with friends. Janet really enjoyed the evening and even initiated the conversation a couple of times. She admitted as we went to bed that she felt a little drunk and I suppose three glasses of wine will do that to some people.
Praying for a solid night of sleep and a productive tomorrow.
The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #Christmas
A very merry Christmas it was here today. There was no mad rush to the tree to open presents so Janet was able to get up when she wanted and enjoy a leisurely breakfast prepared by Laurel and Heather. Courtney joined us near the end and then we did the presents thing. Janet loves opening stuff but more enjoys seeing others react to what she gave them and although we have scaled things way back it was still a fun time.
The weather was nice enough for a nice walk around the neighbourhood before a late lunch. Janet was having a rather relaxed day up until that point and I thought the fresh air would be good for her. She was a little quiet as we watched basketball and snacked so to improve the chances of an enjoyable evening I had Janet take a one hour rest break. She probably slept for most of that hour but was awake when I went in to check on her and she seemed ready to make the rest of the day fun.
Janet helped a little with the dinner prep and did some really good standing for more than ten minutes while Laurel and Heather made dinner. With some lively Christmas music playing, Janet even got a few dance moves going while holding onto a countertop and briefly a couple times not holding onto anything. The music and business of the kitchen were good distractions to any discomfort Janet was experiencing and she even executed a well controlled decent back into her wheelchair. High Five!
Dinner was outstanding and the conversation around the table very enjoyable as we all relaxed and enjoyed wine and laughter. Janet participated fully and even after a more wine than she probably should have she was fully engaged in what was happening and had a really fun time. She surprised us all by calling her own bedtime at ten o’clock when she seemed to be going pretty strong. Good for her to recognize when she’s tired though and she did fall asleep pretty quick.
We hope you enjoyed your Christmas as much as we did. Praying for a night of uninterrupted sleep and lots of energy for tomorrow.
The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #friends
No sleep in today but getting ready for breakfast seemed to take longer than normal so it was a little on the late side by the time we got that started. The house is a little fuller now that Cam is here and Janet enjoyed the extra activity this morning. Heather gave her mom a nice manicure after breakfast which included a trendy accent nail that Janet for some reason rejected. I thought it was cool but she felt it wasn’t her. Another sign of her getting better as a couple of months ago we could have gotten away with that one easily.
The afternoon was spent visiting with a few friends we haven’t been able to see in quite a while. Janet was happy to have a house full of people and the energy that brings. I think she may have been a little overwhelmed at times and it seemed like if things were too much for her she turned her attention to the Seahawks game. All day long she refused my offers of a glass of wine and that was likely a good call on her part as she was able to power through the day without a nap. I thought for sure she would crash soon after dinner but she got that second wind and made it through A Christmas Story when neither Heather or Laurel did. I think one thing that helped Janet gain that extra energy was a little time spent on the Karaoke Channel singing a few Christmas Carols. I asked her which one she wanted to sing and she simply said “just play one and I’ll sing it”. And that she did.
We are truly blessed to have a home with which we can welcome friends and family into and it was fun having good friends over today. Gatherings like that are far more valuable than any sort of Christmas present and are also an important part of Janet’s rehabilitation. Thanks to those that shared their time with us today. Praying for a night of uninterrupted sleep for Janet and more confidence in using her right leg.
The Team Save Janet Report is Out! #TSJ #shopping
Renovation Day 16. Randy continued work on the fireplace area cabinets and started some finishing touches on the kitchen island. We made decisions on location and size of drawers, cut out vents for the wine cabinet, prepared for the new floors and arranged for some plumbing work to be done. I also decided to not sand any more ceilings. Dirty job and too expensive to have someone else do it.
I managed to sneak up on Janet while she watched TV in the living room at Connect this afternoon. She’d had a busy day in the gym and around the house so was ready to go “look at something” with me. The something was a dining room light fixture and some glass for cabinets at the new house. I’ve never shopped for glass before and was expecting it to be complicated but it went very smoothly and we were out of the store in fifteen minutes after making a good choice. Light fixtures are always difficult but we got some good help and Janet narrowed the field really well and we went to the new house armed with a couple possibilities, one of which, I think we’ll buy. Janet was quite surprised by what she saw at the house. There’s been a lot of progress since she was last there and she’s quite excited. Not excited enough to give you a video tour yet but I’m working on her.
Before we left Connect I listed the things we were going to do and Janet was most excited about going out for dinner, so, with the shopping complete and the house inspected, off we went. We decided to go to Cactus Club as we hadn’t been there in a long time and wanted to use the gift card Joel and Kiko got us a long time ago. Thanks guys! I love taking Janet out even more now as she sits in regular chairs, doesn’t need a shirt saver and tries really hard to order her own food. I asked Janet which she liked best, the appy, the entrée, the wine or dessert. She quickly said dessert. No real surprise.
By the time we got back to Connect the wine had hit Janet and she was quite tired. I would’ve liked to have gotten her on the bike but there was no way that was happening and I think the outing and conversation we had was good therapy anyways. Praying for lots of rest tonight and a fun day tomorrow especially swimming.
Janet, a Success Story 