Paul's Update - 07/09/06

Dear Friends:

I'm sorry to have to report another setback. Paul had another seizure Sunday morning. Fortunately it was a lot less severe than the last time. He was taken to the hospital at 4am and was there all day. We took him home this evening at around 4:30pm. He spent most of the day sleeping from all the drugs that they gave him to stop the seizure. A CAT scan was done and the doctor said that there is no more damage than there was the last time he had seizures. Praise God for that!! Tabby had reduced his Depacote on Saturday morning by one tablet. He had been taking 1500mg and it was reduced to 1000mg. The doctor had said that the Dilantin level was a little low on Friday but he was comfortable reducing the Depacote. Unfortunately this morning with they did a blood test to see what the levels were, both the Depacote and the Dilantin levels had dropped from 60-80 down to 6-8. We certainly don't understand how it dropped so low. The doctor said maybe it was because Paul's body has built up a tolerance to the drugs. I'm still not sure I understand how it could drop that low! Now we not only have the level of Depacote back up to 1500mg but we also have the Dilantin level increased from 300mg to 400mg. Since he has done so well this past week, we pray that this increase won't be as devastating as when he first started taking these drugs. Saturday had been a very good day. Paul was up most of the day and Tabby, Bobby & his girlfriend, Carolyn & Billy & Dad took Paul to the movies. They went to see The Pirates of the Caribbean. He really enjoyed it but they went to the late movie so he was up until after midnight. Other than being tired he seemed well. Paul had actually said "no" earlier in the day when Dad asked him if he needed to go to the bathroom. It was a clearly understandable "no". He had also used his right arm to cover his left arm with his blanket. Tabby said his right hand has been getting stronger each day. We pray that this won't be a major setback. It is hard to believe that God would bring Paul this far and not continue his healing. Keep praying ... it means a lot to us and God has honored our prayers in so many ways!

Have a great day, Lynne & Carl