Paul's Update - 04/17/06

Dear Friends:

Paul had a pretty good day. He had a doctor appointment at 1pm. The transport came at 11:45am and they didn't get home until 2:30pm. A lot of the time was waiting for the transport to come back! The doctor said she is going to discontinue the Parkinson's drug and the muscle relaxers. Which we are very OK with. She said these drugs have too many side effects and he isn't getting that much improvement from them which makes them not worth taking. She added Prozac to his current meds. He will continue to take the Provigal and the other medicine that is suppose to stimulate his brain. These meds should help him wake up and concentrate better. We will watch for changes, the doctor said the Prozac can't hurt even if it doesn't help but if it helps he will take it for the rest of his life. She said working with him is like working with a child ... he got really mad!! Tabby called Dr. Azzam (Paul's neurosurgeon) today to get a referral for a neurologist in Manassas. He now has an appointment for him on May 2. It seems that Tabby is having trouble scheduling a time for the orthopedist to take out the plate in Paul's foot. It looks like she is just going to have to schedule an appointment just to get him to set a date for that surgery. Bobby got Paul to work with the remote on the bed again today. He really seems to enjoy that. Dad also got him to use a pen and write some letters. He wasn't interested in it at first but Dad told Paul about the time he broke his arm and had to learn to write with his opposite hand. Dad helped him write a few names (Paul, Tabby, Maxwell, Bobby) After that he seemed more interested in writing and he made a "P" and a "B" by himself that were recognizable. He made a couple of letters that looked like L, I, & U. There were several other things that were not recognizable. A friend from church came by today. She is a Recreational Therapist and said she would work on some picture cards for Paul to us for communications like "yes", "no", "maybe", "stop" "I want to get up" & "I want to lay down". This might make it easier for Paul to communicate what his needs are! This evening Dad & Tabby were watching TV while Paul was in the bed. He reached up and rubbed his eye like he was going to cry. Tabby asked him if he wanted to get out of bed and sit with them. He nodded "yes" so they put him in a camp chair in the bedroom and he watched with them. When it was time to go back to the bed Dad asked him if he was ready and he shook his head "no", Dad had to promise to get him back up after they got him changed and put him back in the chair before he would consent to being moved!! They got him back up and he sat in the camp chair again until time for the last feeding and meds for today. He most certainly seems to understand everything that is going on around him and he knows what he wants and doesn't want!! It seems like Paul makes improvements each day. He stays alert most of the days now. Praise God!! Thanks for your continued prayers ... God is restoring him to us ... slowly but surely!!

Have a great day, Lynne & Carl