Paul's Update - 08/09/06

Dear Friends:

Tuesday was a pretty quiet day. Paul was pretty tired and not willing to do much. Dad couldn't manage to get him out of bed. He seems alert when he is awake and he is doing better with his swallowing. No word from the doctor about the medicines. The doctor did call to say he wrote a report for the insurance company in regard to the speech disability that Paul has. The Accidental Death & Dismemberment policy that Tabby had taken out should pay at least half the benefit amount for the loss of speech. Evidently the doctor's letter was pretty specific that Paul's injury was VERY devastating and that he will most likely be disabled for the rest of his life. This doctor hasn't given up on Paul's recovery but in his medical opinion there is no reason to believe based on the evidence of injury that he will ever be ABLE to recover. It will be interesting to see how the insurance company views it. At bedtime Tabby laid right next to Paul with her back to him. He reached up and stroked her arm. Tabby really enjoyed that!! It is one of those "tender moments".

Wednesday started early. Dad arrived at 4:30 to find Max awake. It was a beautiful day so Dad took Paul outside for about two hours. The nurse changed the bed linens and cleaned up while they were out there. Tabby is fighting a cold and so she was a bit under the weather. Paul seemed to enjoy watching the motorcycles going by the house. It is nice to see him enjoy little things like that! The doctor called to say that we can now start decreasing the Depacote by 250mg per week. As long as he doesn't have any seizures we can continue until we completely get rid of it. If he does have a seizure we will have to accept that the Dilantin doesn't work for Paul and we will be back at square one. Dad tried to weigh Paul today since the doctor advised that he needed to lose weight at the last visit. Paul has decided he doesn't want snacks and has lost about 9lbs already! It seems that Paul comprehended what the doctor said and he will voluntarily say "no" to snacks ... well ... most of the time!! LOL We heard tonight that one of the fellows on the benefit Motorcycle Ride for Paul & Tabby was involved in an accident along the way. Fortunately he was not critically injured and will be flying home to be with his family. Praise God that he is OK! We pray that the other two guys will have a safe journey the rest of the trip. The occupational therapist called to see if he could come by but Dad told him that Paul is not doing well enough to get much out of the therapy and suggested he come next week instead. My brother and his family are here from Alaska to visit. They plan to go to Paul & Tabby's house for coffee on Thursday morning. Paul was pretty tired by the time they got back from sightseeing in DC. When I asked him if he remembers Uncle Keith ... he nodded "yes". It should be a good visit!

Have a great day! Love, Lynne & Carl