Paul's Update - 02/27/07

Dear Friends:

Paul had a fairly quiet day. Dad had him get to the edge of the bed by himself (getting his legs off the side) so he could sit up. He was able to sit at the edge of the bed for a while. They didn't work on the floor mat today. He also didn't seem interested in talking. Dad worked on getting Paul to identify the largest and smallest of the cylinders in the bathroom again today. Dad mixed them up from the other day and asked Paul to pick the tallest one. He immediately picked out the tallest. Then he also was able to pick out the shortest one ... without any trouble at all! Dad decided to have him pick the black one out of two silver and one black cylinder, he picked out the silver one instead of the black one so he may be having trouble distinguishing color. Then Dad asked him to pick the cylinder that has a red top. Paul picked out the one that was purple ... so when Dad said "no, that one is purple" Paul immediately picked the red one. This could have something to do with some color blindness. Later this evening Dad asked Paul how he was feeling ... and asked if he was ok. Paul said "I'm achy" so Dad got him some Tylenol. It is interesting that he says things that we haven't really taught him ... he is NOT copying us!! Dad, Tabby & I have been talking about sending Dad to the Institutes for The Achievement of Human Potential in Pennsylvania. This is a is a non-profit organization providing teaching programs and literature which, it claims, improve the health and development of children who have sustained a brain injury. Their primary focus is younger children but we believe it may be something that Paul can benefit from. They have a week long seminar in April that Dad may go to. It would be nice to hear from professionals who have worked with brain injuries and have had success in improving the quality of the brain injured child. We have learned so much ... but there is so much yet to learn!!

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 02/26/07

Dear Friends:

Paul continues to do well. This morning Dad asked Paul "how are you doing?" and Paul said "I want raisins"!! How great is that?? Dad went looking for raisins but only found some fruit medley that has some raisins in it. Paul was OK with that so he gave him some. Dad said that Sunday Tabby asked Paul "how are you?" and since he hadn't had his medicines yet he said "I need medicine." Tabby immediately got his meds!! He told her later in the evening that he "opened a case". There is speculation that Gladys (the nurse) had Paul open the CD case that his movies are in. She likes to get him to do things for himself and it is possible he actually opened a case!! This afternoon I attended a funeral and after returning to Paul's house I went into his room to say hi. When I walked in he had a very big smile on his face. It is always good to see his smile, he has a beautiful smile. Dad said he was able to get him on the floor this afternoon and he rolled over a couple of times. He tried to do a push-up while on his stomach but he was not able to do that. Dad also tried to get him to do some sit-ups but he didn't WANT to do that!! Later Dad took him upstairs to watch TV and visit with us. He enjoys getting out of the bedroom. He spent all evening upstairs. He finally went back downstairs around 8:30pm. He was pretty tired. Tabby tried to get him to talk some but he wasn't very cooperative. At one point he said "I don't like" but we aren't sure what he doesn't like. He did tell her "I love medicine". It is an interesting statement....but he also nodded "yes" when asked "are your teeth bothering you?". Tabby got him some Tylenol ... that usually helps. Dad would like to try to find another dentist that is willing to do the sedation dentistry since the doctor he saw a few months ago was not comfortable working with Paul and they never could find an anesthesiologist that would be willing to work on him. Pap-paw had a busy day with Max as well ... it seems he is getting more teeth ... he was a bit fussy and didn't take a nap. Time with Mommy this evening was good ... he loves his bath and then he had his bottle with Mom. Snuggle time is GOOD!

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 02/25/07

Dear Friends:

Paul had a pretty good weekend. Saturday morning Dad showed Paul three different objects that were each taller than the other. He asked Paul which was the tallest and Paul pointed to the right one!! Then he asked him to point to the shortest ... and Paul pointed to the shortest one ... he got it right again!! Dad was very pleased ... maybe we can work on this more!! He seems to know an awful lot that we just have to ask the right questions to get answers on! Saturday started out a bit slow but the plan was to go out to breakfast at 9am. This is pretty early for Bobby, Jen & Tabby but we managed to be on our way around 9:30am. We went to Bob Evans. There were 9 (including Max) for breakfast so we had to wait a bit for a table. Paul enjoyed his breakfast and ate most of the crepes he had by himself. They are really good if you've never tried them! Max commanded the attention of the elder couple at the table next to us ... their "grandparent" side was showing. LOL After breakfast Tabby, Jen & I went to the Galaxy Furniture store that was going out of business but we didn't find anything interesting (at least nothing we couldn't live without!). Once we got home Tabby prepared to head out to West Virginia to visit her parents. It was William's birthday and they had a big day planned. Paul had a quiet afternoon. He wasn't much interested in talking although he seemed like there was something he wanted to tell me several times. When I would ask him what he wanted to say, he would just shrug his shoulders or shake his head "no". We were able to get him to say a few things but nothing really new. Dad stayed at Paul's house on Saturday night since the weather forecast was for snow and ice. Sunday morning there was snow coming down and as the morning progressed it got steadily worse. In all we had about 2 inches of heavy wet snow and then we got some freezing rain in the afternoon. Bobby, Jen, Tabby & Lawrence had a hockey game to go to. They had box seats compliments of the Nextel representative that Bobby works with at the cab company. They left around 10am. That left Dad & Gladys to manage Paul & Max. It was a pretty quiet day. This afternoon Gladys got a wonderful blessing. She was watching TV with Paul and he looked over at her and said "Gladys"!! She was so surprised ... she asked him if he needed something and he nodded "yes". So she asked him if he needed to go to the bathroom ... he nodded "yes". She went and got Dad and she was so excited that he said her name!!! They couldn't get him to do it again ... but it was so wonderful that he thought about it and said it even once!! It is really apparent that Paul is making some connections. Thanks for your continued prayers! It continues to give us strength!!

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 02/23/07

Dear Friends:

Paul was feeling much better today. Paul sat at the edge of the bed for a while. He seemed feel more like talking to Dad and repeated some words for him. Tabby talked to her attorney this morning. He is still working to get the health insurance company to settle for less than they said they want out of her payment from the girl who hit Paul's insurance. It would be so nice for her to finally get a settlement out of all this. Dad has been reading a book about brain injury patients. The doctor who writes the book talks about how the patient's inability to do things is not due to the physical injury ... it is due to the brain injury ... that is to say ... just because he cannot use his arm does not mean there is something wrong with the arm. You cannot make it well by treating the arm ... you must treat the brain ... WHERE THE INJURY IS! Also ... just because Paul cannot answer us ... it doesn't mean he doesn't understand us. Just because he says things we don't understand ... doesn't mean he doesn't understand what he is trying to say. Dad has been asking Paul while in the bathroom (pointing to the tub) do you know what that is? Paul answers "no". Today Dad said "I don't mean can you TELL me what it is ... I mean do you KNOW what it is?" to which Paul nodded "yes". A pretty good example of knowing but not being able to tell us! This evening when I came in I asked Paul how he was doing. He said "I ... medicine". I asked him if his head hurt and he nodded "yes" so I gave him some Ibuprofen. It is evident that he understands us! Tabby was working with him a little later. He seemed to feel better and was willing to work with speech a bit. They worked on counting and trying to say some small sentences. Tabby asked him how he was and he said "I ... love ... you". Not what we were expecting but something we always enjoy hearing! Tabby picked up the cat "Munchkin" and asked Paul if he wanted to pet him. Paul nodded "yes" and reached up to gently pet him. Paul has been much more gentle lately ... even with Max who loves crawling all over Daddy! He also enjoys hugging Tabby ... he smiles when he hugs her!!! He doesn't randomly smile much so it is nice to see! I've said it before ... but it is worth repeating ... Their love for each other is the best medicine Paul gets!!

Have a great weekend! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 02/22/07

Dear Friends:

Paul had a good day Wednesday. Dad was able to get him onto the exercise mat on the floor. He rolled over and got up onto his knees for a little bit. He rolled over from stomach to back a couple times. He rolled off the edge of the mat one time and Dad told him to get himself back onto the mat. He scooted himself over and back onto the mat by himself! He also did some stomach crunches. Overall he had a pretty good workout. He wasn't talking to Dad. He wouldn't say anything. Dad tried to get him to say "yes" & "no" but he refused. He has been shaking his head "no" each time we ask him to do anything lately. Usually we can get him to do things anyway but I guess he decided he wasn't going to cooperate! Dad took Max to Tabby's work Wednesday for lunch. Tabby's coworkers really enjoyed Max. He crawled all over the place. As soon as the weather is better Tabby wants Paul to be able to come for lunch also! Pastor Vickie came by to visit Wednesday afternoon. Paul wouldn't talk to her either! She asked him if she could pray with him and he nodded "yes" so she had a prayer with him. Thursday was a pretty slow day. Paul didn't seem to feel very good. Dad got him onto the exercise mat but he wouldn't do anything. He laid on his back for almost a half an hour and Dad rolled him over onto his stomach for a bit. He wouldn't help roll over and even struggle with Dad a bit. Once he was on his stomach he laid there for about ten minutes before Dad got him back up and into bed. This evening he was having trouble walking. He seemed VERY tired. Dad had to get the wheelchair to get him from the bathroom and back to the bedroom. When Tabby got home this evening she asked Paul how he was doing. He told her he wanted meds! He must be feeling bad. She gave him some Tylenol. Tabby tried to get Paul to do some speech therapy. He did a little work but wasn't really very cooperative with that either. Paul has been doing so well lately that it is difficult to have such a uncooperative day. It is possible that he is coming down with a virus that is making him feel bad, several people we know have been sick. We've actually been very blessed that Paul hasn't been sick much during his recovery.

Have a great weekend! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 02/20/07

Dear Friends:

Dad had a bit of trouble getting Paul out of bed today. He wasn't interested in doing exercises. He did sit at the edge of the bed for a while ... believe it or not that IS exercise. Paul counted to twenty with Dad. He used his own fingers and counted to ten without any help. He still needs a lot of help getting to twenty. Dad asked Paul if he looked familiar to him. He nodded "yes" but he didn't seem to know who he is. Maybe soon!! Another pretty good day. Paul continues to use new words each day. Tonight when I came in I asked Paul "how are you? He responded with "I ... (something)". I didn't understand what he said but it doesn't matter ... he answered me! When Tabby asked him he said "I am avatol (sp?)". Again ... doesn't make much sense but he said it all by himself! Tabby came in around 7pm. She got Max his bath and played with him a bit before time for bed. Max goes to bed around 8-8:30 every night and he actually goes to bed without much fuss. Tabby worked with names for a bit once Max was in bed. Paul copied her when she said "Tabby" .... then "Mom" but then she pointed to Max ... Paul said "Dad". He wasn't right BUT ... he wasn't copying Tabby ... she hadn't said "Dad" yet!!! A little later I was working with him. I pointed to Paul and said "what is your name?". He couldn't answer so I said "Paul" and he repeated it ... then I pointed to Dad and said "Dad" ... he repeated it. Then I pointed to myself and HE said "Mom"!! He remembered my name from our work before! Paul really likes hugs ... Tabby says "Can I have a hug?" and he nods "yes" so she asks him "what do we do for hugs?" and he holds his arms out and gives her a nice hug. She even told him to squeeze harder and he reached his arms more around her and squeezed harder. Tabby spent some time moving things around this evening. She moved Paul's exercise mat from upstairs to the basement. After she did that she was flexing her muscles ... she asked Paul to show her his muscles. He held up his arm and flexed his muscle!! It was great. When Paul needed to go to the bathroom tonight Tabby asked Paul to stand by himself. He put his hands down on the bed and leaned forward ... and attempted to stand up. He still leans backward as he stands which causes him to fall back a bit. Dad was in front of him and caught him to help him all the way up. It wasn't great but he at least tried by himself. Tabby rearranged the bedroom around a few days ago. Now Paul has to get out of bed on the right side instead of the left. He really does good getting out on that side! He has become very good using his right hand and leg. He even gets back in bed well from that side. I saved the best news for last ... Tabby decided to try to call the speech therapist that we had coming to the house last year. She explained the things that Paul is doing and asked her if she would be willing to come and help Paul. The therapist consented to come out March 10th and will work with him. Tabby will have to pay her without insurance coverage but it will be so worth it ... it is a good investment!! She also won't be bound by the rules the insurance company imposes ... she can work with him whether or not he progresses on any regular schedule. We had been talking about how good it would be to learn from a professional. If we knew what kinds of things a professional would focus on, we can continue to help Paul learn! What a blessing that will be! God is so good to provide such great resources!!

Have a great day, Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 02/19/07

Dear Friends:

Dad was able to get Paul onto the floor today. He rolled over several times and pushed himself up with his arms but wouldn't get up on his knees. We have an exercise mat which Dad may try to get him on and see if he does better. Dad & Max took a trip out this afternoon. Sunny's Surplus, which has outdoor and camping equipment, is going out of business so Carl wanted to check out what they had. It was disappointing and he didn't buy anything ... it was just a chance to get out!! Tonight Tabby got Paul to say his name was "Wilson". It is almost comical the things he says sometimes! She asked him where he got the name Wilson and he shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know!! Dad & I went out for dinner with Bill & Ronda this evening. We took Max with us. He really enjoyed sitting at the table and chewing on the tablecloth!! LOL. Bill shared his roll with Max ... little tiny bites of course. He seems to like Logan's rolls. They are really good! Pap-paw tried giving him a little of his baked potato ... he ate it but made a funny face initially. He is also now eating Stage 3 baby foods which has more texture and flavor. Most of the rest of the day was pretty quiet. We are starting to look forward to Spring ... it will be nice to be able to get Paul outside more! Right now we can't even get him outside since there is still so much ice on the driveway and walkway. There is hope ... the weather is suppose to be in the 50's most of the week!

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 02/18/07

Dear Friends:

Sunday started out a bit bumpy. Dad arrived at Paul's before 7:00 am with Starbucks. Tabby was still sleeping and the nurse hadn't arrived yet. She was about 15 minutes late. Max was awake so Pap-Paw changed him and gave him a bottle before leaving for breakfast with Bill & Ronda. He headed back over to Paul's after breakfast to get Max ready for Sunday school & church. Tabby worked with Paul this morning and he was evidently very talkative. He has been saying several new things lately. Tabby asked him how he was and he said "I'm am well". She also got him to count using his OWN fingers. He can put up the appropriate finger and count to ten ... all by himself! Gladys (the nurse) put in a couple of movies for Paul this afternoon. He watched The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady. Paul seemed to enjoy them. We also worked with his matching book. He followed and repeated the names of the pictures but had a little trouble identifying the objects after we went over them. Every once in a while he gets one or two right but that is very inconsistently. He is making progress but it is slow. Tabby got him to say a sentence tonight that really made no sense BUT it was a four word sentence that he said by himself! She also got him to say "Tabby" and "Mom" several times in a row and then had him try it by himself. He got it right three times. Sometimes he remembers names for a couple of minutes and can recall who we are ... but again ... that is inconsistent! We will keep working on it. Tabby would love it if we could have a speech therapist again since he is getting so much better with his words and diction. Tonight she was working with him and she gave him a white board with a marker. She asked him to write something on the board. He shook his head "no". She pleaded with him and he kept shaking his head "no". Finally she asked him why he wouldn't do it and he SAID "I don't know". Tabby and I were so surprised by this statement ... he appeared to be very aware that he couldn't do it but wasn't sure why! It brought mixed emotions for us ... Tabby tried to reassure him that it was OK to not know ... but that he needed to keep working hard to learn again ... AND that we would be there to help him! Max is so cute these days. He will be walking very soon! Today he was standing and pushing a toy that has wheels on it ... he was "walking" it across the room. He has great body control and was walking without any real help! He also now has SIX teeth!! Monday is a holiday for me ... but nobody else. Dad will be "on the job" as usual. If you get the day off ... I hope you have a great day!

Love & Hugs, Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 02/17/07

Dear Friends:

Thursday was a more normal day. There continued to be lots of ice in our driveways but Dad was able to get out from Paul's and attempt to get some ice melt or salt. Since Dora was able to come Dad was able to get out. He wasn't successful at getting the salt but he and Max got a nice outing. Paul was feeling pretty good. Each day he seems to be saying more words. He hasn't done much exercise lately but he is doing well with his speech therapy. As nice as it would be to have a professional speech therapist ... Tabby is so good with him. Paul was able to go upstairs for some time during the day on Thursday. Dad was able to come home after spending two nights at Paul's house. He was glad to be back in his own bed!! Friday during the day Dad came into Paul's room after feeding Max to find that Paul had removed his wedding ring and replaced it onto his index finger! He has been wearing his wedding ring since very soon after the accident and he has never really paid any attention to it. It was causing his finger to be red and swollen so Dad needed to get it off. He put some lotion on it and tried to pull it off. Paul was fighting Dad which made it quite a struggle. Dad finally got it off and put it back on his ring finger but Paul took it back off and handed it to Dad. Dad asked him "do you want to leave it off for a while?" and Paul nodded "yes". So Dad said "we'll put it back on later" and Paul nodded "yes" again. When Tabby found out she asked him why he did that. It took some work but she finally got him to say "because ... I love you". I'm not sure if that is really why he did that but he knows to tell her "I love you" and it is nice to hear! Today was a busy day for Tabby. She headed out early for coffee with a friend and then to Carolyn's house to finish the work in Billy & Carolyn's bedroom. The painting is done and now they are ready to decorate ... curtains, pictures & a new bedspread. They will finish up on Sunday. Paul has been very vocal the last few days and is saying lots of things voluntarily. Friday he said "I dam", "I num" and "I ache". He repeated his name after Dad ... and was able to say his name a couple minutes later. It appears his memory is getting a little longer. Dad asked him "what is my name?" and Paul said "Jay"! At least he came up with a name!! Today I asked him "How are you?" and he said "I ... take". I wasn't able to get him to say more ... that's ok ... he at least answered me! Dad & I went out this evening to the Sweetheart Dinner at the church. When we got back we visited for a bit until time to get Paul ready for bed. When I was ready to leave Paul gave me a kiss and I told him "bye" ... he responded "bye". I said "I'll see you tomorrow" and he said "alright"!! It is amazing when he can say things that seem right on target ... it doesn't happen much ... but IS happening more! Tabby rearranged their bedroom one day this past week. Now Paul has to get out of bed on the opposite side. That means that he has to use his right side more. He does amazingly good getting in and out of the bed!! Just think ... a couple months ago he didn't use his right side (especially that hand) AT ALL!! When we get down ... I like to remember that he has really come a long way!! God IS answering our prayers!!

Have a blessed day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 02/14/07

Dear Friends:

Bad weather has been the word for the last two days. Dad got to Paul's OK on Tuesday. The snow and ice started around the middle of the day. Dora came and things were pretty normal. Paul had told Dad the day before that he was glad to have him back ... he nodded a definite "yes" when Dad asked "did you miss me?". I know he did!! Not much new happened. Tabby works each night with Paul to do his words, numbers and identification of objects. He seems to be getting better but still has such a long way to go. Dad ended up spending the night at Paul's house since the weather forecast was for sleet and freezing rain during the night. It was a good thing he did that because we got about an inch of ice on the ground during the night. The roads were completely covered with ice. Wednesday morning Dora didn't show up (no surprise!!). The roads were terrible. Tabby got stuck in the driveway (well ... half way in and half way out). Luckily Dad & a good Samaritan were able to get her back in the driveway. Her boss came to pick her up so she wouldn't lose the whole day of work. Dad had full charge of Paul & Max for the day. It is a lot to handle but if anybody can handle it ... it's Dad. Most of the exercise Paul got during the day was walking back and forth to the bathroom. Dad said he seemed to be having trouble walking but he really hasn't done much of that the last few days. After Tabby got home this evening she was able to do some speech therapy with Paul. The did the usual alphabet & counting. He counted to twenty with a bit of help. He is getting better at this although he still needs help with some of the numbers and isn't really able to identify how many fingers you hold up yet. Tabby and Dad got Paul to stand up a few times with the walker. He did two times and wasn't interested in doing more. They got him down on the floor. He was able to get onto his hands and knees. Dad said he did really well with that!! He couldn't crawl yet but we are hopeful that he will eventually be able to coordinate that skill! He was also able to help some when it came time to get back up. He actually has a lot of strength in his legs! Dad will spend the night again since the roads are expected to refreeze and there is suspicion that Dora will not be in again on Thursday.

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 02/12/07

Dear Friends:

This morning started a bit different. We had Jessie lined up to baby-sit for Max but she has been sick all weekend. Tabby arranged with her boss to be out of the office today so she was home with Paul & Max. Dad got home around 1pm. He and Bill drove all night to get home. He went to Paul's as soon as he was home. Paul told Dad that he missed him. Shortly after Dad got there he gave Paul a shave ... nobody did that while he was gone! Later in the day Paul said he wanted to go upstairs so Dad got him in the chair lift and took him up to the living room. While Max was in the high chair Pap-Paw was playing Peek-a-Boo with him. Dad tried to get Paul to say "peek-a-boo" but Paul could only manage "boo". It didn't matter since Max still enjoyed it and would laugh when Daddy said "boo". When I got there this evening Paul was still upstairs. He had already finished dinner and Max was in the high chair eating Cheerios. Cheerios can keep him busy for a very long time!! He loves them! Bobby was waiting for Jen to arrive so they could go out to dinner. It was Jen's birthday and they were doing a birthday/valentines dinner at Olive Garden. While they were gone the rest of us decorated the house so that we could surprise Jen for her birthday. We had balloons, streamers, decorations & cake ... oh and of course presents!! She was very surprised and we had a great time. Paul enjoyed his ice cream cake! He even got to blow some bubbles ... he did pretty good with it. Tabby has been practicing with him to blow a whistle and this is another good blowing action for him! Tonight Tabby asked Paul if he was happy with her and he said "I ... love ... you" without any prompting! It is exciting when he generates words without prompting! Tuesday all things should go back to normal ... well except for the bad weather that we are expecting! Have a great day!

Love, Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 02/11/07

Dear Friends:

Saturday morning was a bit different without Dad but Tabby & Gladys rose to the challenge. I went over around 10am to be with Max since Tabby had promised Carolyn that she would help her paint her bedroom. Max played for a while upstairs with me. He is such a joy and he keeps himself entertained very well. He has lots of learning toys that make noises and he loves them but sometimes the simple joy of a Teddy Bear is most fun! By about 11am Max was tired and in need of a nap so I put him down in his bed. He went right to sleep ... without even a little fuss! He is so good when you put him down ... we are sorta spoiled since he seems to like going to his bed still! He slept for about 2-1/2 hours. While he slept I went down and kept Paul and Gladys company. The cable TV was not working so Gladys and I had to learn how to run the DVD! We watched a couple movies before the cable guy came and replaced the cable box in the bedroom. It seemed to be a day that our electronics didn't want to work!! The Craftmatic bed that Paul & Tabby own was also not working! Tabby figured it was because the remote control had been dropped on the floor one too many times!! Gladys managed to fix the remote ... it appears that the battery compartment isn't holding the batteries in place. She was so thrilled that she was able to fix it ... we were too! After Tabby got back I went out with Ronda to my sister Cathy's house to pick her up. We went to my niece Lizzie's Choir Concert at the High School. Lizzie has a beautiful singing voice and she surprised us all when she came out on the stage to play her flute while the Soprano/Alto choir sang. She didn't tell her mom about this special honor! We really enjoyed the concert! Ronda and I went out to dinner after the concert and I got back to the house around 8pm. Tabby worked on words with Paul after dinner. She was trying to get him to say her name and mine. She would say "Tabby" pointing to herself and he would repeat her name. Then she pointed to me and said "Mom" and he repeated my name. She did that several times and he could repeat it each time but when she just pointed to herself without saying anything he got a confused look on his face and couldn't remember her name. It is evident that his memory is extremely short but he is remembering some words and hopefully over time he will make the name and word associations. Sunday Carolyn went to Paul's to get Max for church. Tabby had been cleaning the house last night and was tired. The plan was for Max to go to church, then when Carolyn brought him back and after I arrived they would go back to Carolyn's and continue the painting. I stayed with Paul and Max (and Gladys) again. Gladys played with Max most of the time. She hasn't had much "baby time" lately. I worked with Paul this afternoon on his words & numbers. He counted with me to 30. He gets 1-10 by himself. He also got eleven & twelve but then I had to help him. He got some of the numbers in the teens correct without any help but I had to help him most of the way through the twenties. We also worked on identifying the features of the face ... eyes, nose, mouth, cheek, ears. I would point and ask him what they were and sometimes he got them right. But then right after he would get it right he would call all the other parts by the name that he just got right. Then he would randomly call something by one of the other names ... for instance I would point to ears and he would say "nose". He knew the words just not the right name of what I was pointing at. Tabby worked on the names again tonight and he is getting a bit better with that as well. Dad will be home sometime tomorrow night. I think Paul will be glad to have him back by Tuesday!! We just cannot do all the things that Dad does ... and Paul misses him!

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 02/09/07

Dear Friends:

Thursday was a quiet day for the most part. Dad was preparing for his trip to Florida with Bill. Paul was unhappy when Dad told him he was going away. I think Dad is going to have a hard time being away for that long!! As usual Dad tried to work with Paul to use his words. Sometimes he actually uses his words and it is exciting when he does. It shows that he is still doing improvement!! Dad came into the room and asked Paul if he needed to go to the bathroom and Paul nodded "yes". Dad said "what do we say?" and Paul nodded again. So Dad asked again ... "what do we SAY?" and Paul SAID "bathroom"!! He doesn't always get it right ... but it is so encouraging when he does! Ronda & Jessie came by to get an idea of the routine around the house for Max so they would be ready on Friday & Monday while Dad is gone. Max was doing really good with them while Pap-Paw was out of the room but when he came back into the room Max suddenly became upset ... I guess Max hadn't realized that Pap-Paw had been gone!! He recovered when Jessie started playing with him!! Friday morning started early for Ronda & Me. Ronda got to the house before Tabby left for work. I was scheduled to go and give Paul his medicines at 8:30 before heading to work. When I arrived Ronda was feeding Max. Paul had already done breakfast and Dora (the nurse) was there. Ronda was going to do the morning shift with Max since Jessie had to work until 12pm. Jessie took the afternoon shift. It was a very different day for all of us since Dora isn't usually there all day with Paul without any help and Dad usually has full time care of Max. PLUS ... Tabby decided to give Ozzie to a lady whose children were wanting a dog. Ozzie is a very busy little puppy and is quite a handful with all the other things that go on in the house. Hopefully this family will have more time to care for him. Anyway ... the house was pretty quiet without him! I think we will miss him quite a bit! Maybe some day she can get a little older dog that is calmer and will be able to sit with Paul more. It would be good to have a "therapy" dog. After dinner Tabby was working with Paul. He did his counting and got all the way to ten without ANY help! She tried to get him to say lots of new words, even some that have multiple syllables. He could repeat most of the words ... he even got three of the syllables in the word pronunciation". Try it ... it is a hard word!! She tried to get him to identify her eyes, nose, ears and cheeks. He can say the words but when she pointed to them he couldn't identify them. Max has a book that you identify pictures with and Tabby was using it to see if Paul could pick out pictures by pointing to them when she asked him to. There were three pictures on each page for him to identify. He got several of them right! His accuracy needs more work but he seems to be able to identify some things! By 9:30 it was time for medicines and bedtime.

Have a great weekend! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 02/07/07

Dear Friends:

Dad headed over to Paul's early this morning. It snowed about an inch of powdery snow during the night but the roads weren't bad. Dad was able to get Paul up and out of bed today. This morning he wanted to go upstairs so Dad helped him get to the chair lift and they went upstairs. Paul had lunch and stayed up there until about 3pm. They watched TV most of the day. He was talking a bit with Tabby this morning. She practices a lot with him. He still doesn't seem to know who we are or who the people around us are and he has a lot of trouble with names. When Paul was upstairs this morning Dad asked him if he remembered putting together the Lego motorcycles that are on the bookcase. He nodded "yes". Then Dad asked "did it take you a long time?" and he nodded a definite "yes". It seems obvious that he remembers some things but we aren't sure exactly WHAT he remembers. He appears to be certain of some things based on his facial expressions or body language. It sure will be nice when he can confirm things with verbal communication. Dad is preparing to take a trip to Florida on Thursday evening. He is already concerned about how much he will miss Paul & Max over the next few days. Ronda, Jessie & I will be filling in for Dad on Friday and Monday while he is gone. It takes three of us to accomplish what Dad does each day (sigh!). Actually the nurse will handle most of Paul's needs but we will be helping out with Max ... oh the tragedy ... having to play with ... uh I mean take care of the baby!!! LOL

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 02/06/07

Dear Friends:

Monday was a pretty quiet day. Dad said Paul was feeling better. He wouldn't do any talking for Dad all day. Tabby was able to get him to talk when she got home. He seems to have lots of problems with names so Tabby has been working on that quite a bit.

Tuesday morning Paul was much more talkative. He said "I love you" to Tabby without any prompting. He has been practicing more words and is able to say lots of new words. He still has a problem remembering words after he says them. He still cannot say many words without repeating them but every once in a while he can say a few small things. It is apparent that he is thinking about what he wants to say ... he just doesn't always manage to say what makes sense. Today while Paul was in the bathroom Dad pointed to the hamper and asked "is that the hamper?" and Paul said "yes" but then he pointed to the bathtub and asked him "what is that?" Paul thought for a while and then slowly said "It ... makes ... money". I'm not sure where that came from since we haven't taught him the word money. Dad brought Paul upstairs this afternoon around 3pm and he was able to watch the big screen TV. He stayed upstairs until after 9pm. Tabby tried to work with him to say our names ... Dad, Tabby, Mom. He could repeat each name and he would look at each of us but when she would point to us and say "who is that?" he wasn't able to say the names. Later, before bedtime, she tried again. She pointed to me and said Mom, he said "mom". She pointed to herself and said "Tabby" and he said "Tabby". Then she pointed to me and said "Mom" he repeated "Mom", but when she pointed to herself she didn't say anything so Paul said "you". It was pretty funny ... and she gave him credit for that since he actually got it right!! LOL It still seems like he is working hard and we are very hopeful that he will continue to learn more. Tabby works very hard with him!

Have a great day, Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 02/04/07

Dear Friends:

Sunday was a pretty good day for all. Dad went to Paul's late this morning (after breakfast). He picked up Max and brought him to church with him. Max really enjoys playing in the nursery with the other children and Alysa is a protective cousin. She likes being wherever Max is! After service we had a "souper bowl" luncheon at the church. This really has nothing to do with football ... except it falls on the same day ... it is really a Soup Luncheon! Max and Pap-Paw stayed and ate lunch before heading home. While they were gone this morning Tabby reports that Paul said "I ... bathroom" very clearly. So she and Gladys (the nurse) walked him to the bathroom. This is something she doesn't do much because if he has trouble walking it is hard for her to control him but she said that he walked really good and she didn't have any problem!! The afternoon was spent watching TV and relaxing. Bobby and Jen were getting ready for the Super Bowl Game! Paul was able to come upstairs and watch the game with all of us. Carolyn & Tabby came late since they were painting Carolyn & Billy's new bedroom. Billy had to work until 5pm but came to Paul's when he got off. We were all able to watch the game in the living room! Tabby sat on the couch next to Paul. At one point she whispered in Paul's ear "Do you love me?" and he clearly and without hesitation said "yes"!! I think he is beginning to put his words together a bit more each day. It is really a miracle in the making after all these months! Tonight Tabby was kissing Paul and she would kiss him repeatedly for about 4 or 5 times ... he finally got smart and just puckered and stayed that way ... then when she stopped kissing him he sat back and had the nicest smile on his face. I think he was being clever ... and I think he thought so too!! LOL Smiling is so nice because we don't often get random smiles ... he will smile if you tell him to but he doesn't usually smile spontaneously. This was one of the best days he has had in almost a week. He complained of his teeth bothering him most of the day but Motrin helped that and he felt pretty good otherwise. Getting out of the bedroom and being with the family was really good for him!!

Have a great Monday! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 02/03/07

Dear Friends:

I must apologize ... I was not feeling good the other night and wrote the 2-1 update but titled it 1-31 ... so there were TWO updates labeled 1-31 ... I was evidently VERY tired!! LOL Paul was feeling pretty tired today. He even SAID SO ... I asked him "how are you?" and he said "Tired"!! Dad said he took a very long nap this afternoon. He never sleeps during the day so he must be feeling really bad. All week he has not been wanting to do much and Dad now says he has a little bit of a rash on his face. This will bear some watching over the next few days. Tabby went to a baby shower this afternoon with Carolyn, Ronda and me. Dad stayed home with Paul & Max ... of course Gladys (the nurse) was there to help as well. After the girls all returned from the baby shower Dad & I went out with Ronda & Bill to El Agave (our favorite Mexican Restaurant). Dad went back to Paul's after we got back and stayed until Paul was ready for bed. He was still eating his dinner when Dad got there ... at 8PM!! He's been kind of lazy about eating lately ... he waits for everyone to feed him. Tabby has been trying to get him to eat by himself ... no matter how long it takes. He didn't finish until almost 10pm. He took his medicines in between and he finally finished but he was pretty tired by that time. Tabby said today that Paul has been saying more random things ... most of which don't make much sense ... like "I want table". It seems funny but when we were watching other brain injured patients recover we noticed a period of them saying things that made NO sense. I suspect we are seeing some of the early signs of him being able to say things that he is thinking. Although he may think he is saying things that make sense they don't come out correctly. This is known as Aphasia (definition). This CAN be a temporary situation ... we certainly pray that is so! He does appear to be getting more vocal even if it is a slow process. This is nothing new ... everything has been slow! As difficult as it is to bear some days, we will take slow since we are still seeing progress each day! Our prayers are being answered!! Praise God!

Have a great day!! Lynne & Carl

"Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that impairs a person's ability to process language, but does not affect intelligence. Aphasia impairs the ability to speak and understand others, and most people with aphasia experienced difficulty reading and writing."

Paul's Update - 02/01/07

Dear Friends:

Paul continues to feel a bit Blah. He wasn't interested in exercising so the most he got was walking back and forth to the bathroom. He doesn't seem to have a cold but he has not been feeling good for most of the week. Tonight Tabby told Paul "I love you". He thought about it for a couple of minutes and then he said "I love you" back. When you talk to him you can tell he is paying attention and trying to come up with something to say. We pray that this will become easier for him as time goes by. Tonight Tabby went shopping before coming home and was able to spend some time with Bobby, Jen & Max when she got home. Once Paul had his meds tonight Dad headed home. Dad was suppose to be going to Florida with Bill tonight but that has been postponed until next weekend.

Have a great weekend! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 01/31/07

Dear Friends:

Paul had a somewhat quiet day. He wasn't interested in doing his exercises but Dad was able to get him to sit at the side of the bed for a while. It isn't much exercise but it is good for balance and upper body strength. Dad also made him get himself back into bed whenever he was up. He has gotten a bit lazy since Dad & Dora usually pull his legs up onto the bed and position him so he doesn't HAVE to do any of the work. He had indicated that he wanted to try standing up with the walker but when Dad got it out Paul wasn't interested in doing that anymore. It seems he isn't feeling real good this week. That could account for his disinterest in working out. Max was a bit fussy this evening. Dad thinks he may be getting yet another tooth!! He rubs his gums on his bottle and your fingers if you leg him ... which isn't a good idea since he now has enough teeth to BITE you!! Dad left early this evening since we had Bible Study so I'm not sure if Tabby worked with Paul and how that went. She is pretty diligent so I'm sure they worked on some speaking skills. He has been doing so well with his words! I just know one of these days he will tell us all the things he's been thinking about!!

Have a great day, Lynne & Carl