Paul's Update - 04/28/07

Dear Friends:

Friday was a quiet day. After Dora got Paul cleaned up and dressed Dad had him walk to the living room. Recently he has decided that he likes the swivel rocker that I have in the living room. He goes right to it and sits down. Dad brings him his coffee (something he always enjoys!) and he drinks it in the living room before he goes to the table for breakfast. Dad had to go out after breakfast to run some errands. He went to Costco and got some groceries that we were in need of. It seems we go through a lot more stuff with Paul in the house! LOL After lunch Dad worked with Paul on counting and drawing on paper. He struggles to write on paper. Dad had him sit at the table and work. He seems to enjoy sitting in there more than in his wheelchair (guess I can't blame him for that!). Friday evening I went out with Ronda. Our choir director had a voice recital that several of our choir members attended in support of him. He did a great job and we were proud to be there! I got home around 10pm and Paul had already gone to bed. I didn't expect him to be awake but when I went in his room he looked up at me. I enjoy the time I have with him before he goes to sleep! Saturday morning came early for Dad. He didn't sleep well and woke around 4:30am. Gladys comes in around 7am and she gets started bathing and dressing Paul. Once he was dressed he wanted to sit in the living room chair before breakfast and drink his coffee again! It is a nice change from sitting in the recliner or on the couch all the time. After breakfast Dad had Paul try to write on paper again. He didn't want to do it but Dad said "you can practice and write anything you want". He sat there alone for a while and when Dad came back in he had made several lines on his paper!! I think he will eventually figure that out! Dad worked in the living room on the floor mat with Paul a little later. Paul didn't want to roll over on his stomach. We managed to get him to roll over on his stomach briefly but then he immediately rolled back over on his side. After attempting him to roll back over on his stomach again we gave up and decided to have him take the exercise ball and hand it over his head to me while he was on his back. This actually turned into a good exercise. He had to reach over his head to hand it to me and then he had to reach over his head again to take it back from me. After we did that about ten times Dad told him to hand it sideways to Gladys and then to the other side and give it to me. Each time he did it we moved a little farther away from him so he had to reach a bit farther. At one point we were far enough away that he had to roll on his side in order to reach us!! He worked on that for a bit then we had him lay on his back and do pelvic lifts. This is something that the therapist wants him doing to strengthen his lower back muscles. He wasn't much interested in doing it but Dad told him to lift up and he would put a pillow under him. He seemed interested in doing that and he did it about ten times. This afternoon Paul worked with some magnetic blocks and did some work on colors and the alphabet while he sat at the dining room table for a snack. He knows the colors but doesn't associate the color with the object just yet. He can say "blue" or "red" or "yellow" but he can't tell you which block is the color you asked for. Dad & I went over to see Bobby's new apartment this evening. It is a very nice (and big) apartment. It is in a new community that is gated. I think he and Jen will be very happy there. Tonight Tabby came by for a short visit to bring some things for Paul that she picked up at the grocery store. She was tired from helping Bobby move. She stayed for a couple of minutes to say hi to Paul and then headed back out. It is very difficult seeing her right now. Our relationship has been strained to the point that we are all uncomfortable with each other. I pray that an emotional healing will come soon. Sunday we will do breakfast with Bill & Ronda. We didn't go out for Mexican Food this afternoon so we plan to do that after church!

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl