Paul's Update - 03/22/07

Dear Friends:

Carolyn & I stayed an extra day in SC and were able to go and see the "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" house that is near Myrtle Beach. The house will be featured on the show this weekend (3/25) and it was fun being able to get a "sneak preview" of it! We headed home today and arrived around 7pm. Wednesday was a good day for Paul but Dad had quite an emotional day. It is difficult to deal with our emotions even though Paul is doing well. We continue to believe that Paul will improve significantly ... he improves a little each day. The difficulty is that his improvement is slow and we become impatient. God commands us to be patient ... it is truly a virtue that is part of a Christian's life. Patience begins with the affirmation that God is sovereign and in control and working in our lives. We believe that Paul first of all is HERE because God is in control. I believe that he is also in control of Paul's healing. Please continue to pray for our patience! Much of Dad's day is working with Max. He is a busy baby! He is such a joy for Pap-Paw! When Dad was working with Paul on Wednesday afternoon he asked him "how are you?", Paul responded "I look good". It doesn't make a lot of sense ... but it is better than just "good". The Speech therapist came later in the evening and worked with Paul. She brought some cards for Paul to work with. She suggested we ask Paul periodically during the day if he knows what day it is. If he cannot remember we can remind him. She got him to point out numbers on flash cards. He was about 40% right on the numbers. She would ask him to pick out a specific number and sometimes he did it right and sometimes he didn't. She wants us to keep working on that until he can get about 90% right. She did days of the week and March and April cards for him to start recognizing the cards and names on them. Today (Thursday) Paul's day started early. It was the date for his dental appointment. This was to have an evaluation with the Sedation Dentist that Tabby found. When the nurse came in to see Paul she introduced herself to him. She held out her hand to shake his and he held out his hand and said "Paul". WOW ... this means he really does know who he is ... he INTRODUCED himself to her! Dad was moved to tears. He has not ever said his own name without being prompted! The nurse did lots of X-rays and she had to have Paul cooperate in order to do that. He did everything she asked him to do without any fuss. When they were probing his mouth she said he would pull away or move his head when it would hurt. She was a bit concerned that unless he was completely sedated the work that needs to be done could not be accomplished without hurting him. Dad, Tabby & Paul were at the dentist from 9am until 12pm. Considering the quote that we received as well as the level of cooperation that Paul was able to exhibit, we have decided that we will try to get another opinion about seeing a regular dentist ... maybe one that has experience with difficult patients or even children! Dad worked with numbers and dates tonight. They also looked through Paul's Harley Davidson (motorcycle) Encyclopedia. Dad pointed to one of the engines and asked Paul if he knew what it was. Paul shook his head "yes" so Dad asked him what it was. Paul shook his head "no" so Dad asked him to try to say what it was. Paul took his finger and pointed to the top of the engine. Dad asked him if it had something to do with the head ... he shook his head "yes". It turns out that it was a Shovel Head. We can't tell if he really knows what it is but wouldn't that be great if he remembers about the motorcycles that he loved so much! This evening Tabby took Max to her parent's house in West Virginia. He will spend the weekend with Grandma & Grandpa Smith. Today our nephew Tony was able to come to our home and put a handicap toilet in our hallway bathroom for Paul. Friday we will start packing Paul's clothing and the things that we will need at our house to prepare to move them on Saturday. Although we believe that our home will be a good place for Paul, it is very difficult to be moving him out of his home. I pray that we will continue to have wisdom as we make the changes that we feel we need to make. I pray that God will bless and guide ALL of us in this change as He continues to bless Paul in his recovery. Have a great day! TGIF

Lynne & Carl