Paul's Update - 05/30/07

Dear Friends:

Tuesday was a good day for Paul. Dad had a doctor appointment at 7:30am and Paul was still in bed. Dora had gotten Paul dressed but she didn't try to get him up. I thought it was a good opportunity to see if she and I could get him up. He can stand up with only minimal help and if someone is there to steady him when he leans to far to any side. We managed to get him up and into the bathroom. Dora helped him in the bathroom ... (some things MOM doesn't do!!). Once he was done we were able to get him to the living room to get ready for breakfast. He didn't want his cereal yet ... gotta have coffee first!! I think if we needed to work with him when Dad goes out we really could do it. Most of the day was quiet. The speech therapist came at 4pm. She got a pair of socks, a shirt & some shoes out of her bag. She made the "s" sound and he was able to name all of them without any help. Brooke was pretty impressed. She is still working on object recognition. He gets things right more often even though he still struggles with most things. Brooke was really impressed last week when Paul was able to say who Dad was without any help. He didn't do it this week but he had done it again for me the other night. Dad really enjoys when Paul responds. Brooke worked for an hour. After she left Dad started getting dinner ready. He had gone out and bought steaks for the grill. He was planning to surprise me but I came home late and spoiled his plan. That's OK ... I like having my dinner done when I come in so it was still a nice plan!! Max was at our house and he ate the better part of half a steak!! He's a growing boy! After dinner we had strawberry shortcakes for dessert. The farmer's market had some delicious strawberries that I bought on Saturday. We were sitting in the living room. I got up to go to the kitchen and as I passed Paul I said "I love you". He said "I love you". Usually he says "love you". I really liked the fact that he said the whole thing. Dad went to watch TV in the bedroom around 10pm ... Paul & I both fell asleep in the living room. Dad finally got us both up and headed to bed around 11:30pm. Wednesday morning Paul had a dental appointment at 11:20. The dentist pulled two molars & filled a tooth. One of the molars was one that Paul had a root canal done prior on to the accident. Paul did so good. The dentist was impressed and said he thought Paul did even better this time than last. Paul didn't even flinch when they did the shot of novocaine and he held his mouth open during the whole procedure. When the dentist would stop working in his mouth Paul would close his mouth and swallow but when he heard the drill Paul opened his mouth again. Both of the molars had to be taken out in pieces and the one with the old root canal had an infection in it!! The dentist said he was sure that this was the reason Paul was having so much trouble with pain!! Maybe he won't have any more trouble. Tonight was bible study at our house. Paul was feeling pretty good. He didn't eat dinner with us since he has six stitches in his mouth. He goes back to the dentist Tuesday next week for more extractions and his stitches will come out then. Paul sat with us during our bible study and seemed to feel OK. He was up until about 10pm. Max was here again and was busy the whole evening. He is very curious and loves looking in drawers ... he found my Pots & Pans drawer. Oh boy ... what fun!! If you've never tried to pray with a toddler in the house ... you haven't lived!

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 05/28/07

Dear Friends:

Paul had a busy last few days. Friday was mostly quiet. Paul had a bit of an intestinal virus so he stayed at home and close to the bathroom. It didn't seem to last long but it interfered with being able to go out to dinner that night. Thankfully, he recovered quickly. That evening I asked him what he wanted for dinner and gave him a couple of choices. He kept shaking his head "no" and I pressed him to give me an answer. Finally he said "I don't know"! It didn't help me decide but at least he gave me an answer! Saturday morning Dad headed out on his motorcycle to get Paul's medicines at the drug store. What great therapy for Dad. It was a beautiful day. Gradis was with Paul while we were both gone for the morning. Carolyn's girlfriends Alicia & Jen gave a baby shower for her that afternoon so Dad & Paul went to El Agave with Bill, Matt, Tracey. Dad rode the bike while Paul & Gradis rode with Bill. Saturday night Dad, Paul & I went to our friends Karen & Butch's house for a BBQ. We stayed pretty late. At 10pm Dad asked Paul if he was ready to go and he said "no". He really enjoyed visiting. Sunday Dad & Paul had to get up early to leave for East Coast Harley Davidson Dealership in Dumfries. Each year thousands of motorcyclists come to DC for "Rolling Thunder". They stage at various places and ride to the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial. The dealership where Paul use to work is one of the staging areas and Paul was able to go to visit his coworkers prior to the big "pull-out". This is a big event for him! Dad bought matching hats for them since it was hot and they were in the sun. Funny ... Paul was still in the computer as an employee ... he got an employee discount!! Pretty nice huh? Monday was a holiday so Dora was not here. Dad wanted to get out of the house so we took a ride in the car. We drove up into the Front Royal & Culpepper area. It is mountainous and the countryside is very beautiful. It was a bit overcast and we had a little rain but that didn't spoil the ride. We were gone for about six hours. Paul seemed to enjoy most of the ride. He has been pretty quiet lately. He doesn't want to talk much and we are having to fight to get him to talk to us. Tonight when we were getting ready for dinner I asked him what he wanted for dinner, Chicken or Stew. He just shook his head "no". I asked him several times but he wouldn't answer me. Finally I asked "do you want either of them?" He shook his head "no" so I asked "how about spaghetti?". He SAID "yes" ... so that is what we had! We like for him to make the decisions whenever possible. Bobby & Jen took a trip to visit Grandma Johnson in Mineral. Bobby said she was feeling pretty good today and enjoyed their visit. Monday Dad has some tests at the hospital first thing in the morning and Paul will have Speech Therapy in the afternoon. Hopefully Brooke will be able to get Paul to talk to her!!

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 05/24/07

Dear Friends:

Sorry I've fallen behind a bit. Not a lot of new stuff to report. Tuesday was therapy day. Paul did well for Cathy. He walked the length of the therapy room. She had him push a table that was waist high and walk with it. He did pretty good. He didn't want to get on his knees on the floor but she finally got him over on his knees and had him lean over the exercise ball. Once he was in position she had him balance on the ball and play War with cards. He does pretty good at this game. He can tell you who won most of the time. He tired out pretty easily and wasn't cooperative once he was tired. Later in the day the speech therapist came to the house. She bought a toy shopping basket that had plastic foods in it. She had Paul identify the foods. Then she had him lay them out on his lap desk. Once there was about seven of them on the desk she asked him to hand them to her one by one. He didn't get all of them right but got most right with some prompting. He actually got about 3 of them right without any help. Then she had him count them as she handed them to him and then he had to count them again when he gave them back to her. She worked with him for an hour. Wednesday was a pretty quiet day. He told Dad that it was "third-day". Dad had prompted him by saying that yesterday was Tuesday. Since we started teaching him the days of the week by using fingers 1-Monday, 2-Tuesday, 3-Wednesday ... etc, sometimes he gets the days confused with numbers. Paul felt pretty good and was able to walk pretty good. He is using the walker with wheels most of the time now. He occasionally loses his balance but Dad is right there to help when that happens. He seems to enjoy eating his meals in the living room lately. Ronda brought dinner and he sat in the living room while we sat at the dining room table. He joined us outside on the deck after dinner and stayed out there during our bible study. He enjoys participating with us. Max was at our house for a couple of hours in the evening so Tabby could run some errands. He was getting tired and cranky so Pap-Paw took him in the house to play. Bible study was over around 9pm and Paul was ready for bed before 10pm. He wanted to stay up but he was falling asleep in front of the TV. Thursday was another good day. Usually he has Physical Therapy on Thursday but Cathy is not there since her son is having surgery. She will be gone for two weeks and Dad decided to wait until she comes back to resume therapy. It doesn't make sense to work with a substitute since Paul doesn't do well with new therapists. Cousin Tony came by for a little visit this afternoon. Paul walked quite a bit and even got in a hurry at one point, Dad had to slow him down!! At dinner I asked him if he wanted to eat in the dining room or living room. He said (as he pointed) "you bring here"!! He created a sentence without ANY help! I was amazed and pleased!! Wouldn't it be great if he started doing this more and more? After dinner I went out. Paul and Dad sat out on the deck for a while. It was a beautiful night. Paul didn't want his coffee but sat out there anyway. He came back in around 8:30pm and watched American Chopper on TV. He was tired and ready for bed about 9:30. Paul seemed more cooperative today. It is so much easier when he cooperates!

Have a great (holiday) weekend!! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 05/21/07

Dear Friends:

Friday morning Paul was up, dressed and had already finished breakfast. Paul was sitting in the living room. We have a white board with the day & date on it that Dad changes every day. While I was on the way to work Dad called to tell me that he asked Paul what day it was and without prompting Paul said "May 18". This is pretty amazing ... he usually doesn't even get the day right much less the date!! Paul seemed to be more of himself. He had a good day and walked really well. I left to go out of town around noon. Dad called me again to say that Paul tried to run away from home ... he actually went to the door, opened it while moving the walker out of the way to get it open. He then unlocked the screen door and went outside. Dad held the door for him and he walked out the front door, down the walkway and into the driveway. Dad asked Paul where he was going. He said "home"! Dad tried to get him to go to the swing in the yard but he wouldn't budge. He stayed out in the driveway for a bit until it started to rain. He finally went back in the house. I think he actually thought he could walk home! This really saddened Dad ... imagine not being able to do anything about your surroundings and not wanting to be someplace when you'd rather be at home!! The neurologist called and told Dad that Paul's MRI showed signs that the shunt that he has is working. This shows that he is dependent on it and will probably have it his entire life. That's OK with us ... we'd rather not have any more surgeries anyway!! As long as the shunt functions the way it is suppose to ... we are OK with having it!!

Saturday morning Dad asked Paul what day it was and he said "May 15th" so Dad said "no, it's the 19th". Oh well ... he was close. Paul was walking with the walker that has wheels all day. He does pretty good with it. It is actually more like normal walking. Dad had to go out so Paul stayed with the nurse. Later in the afternoon Dad, Paul & Gradis (the nurse) joined Bill, Vicky, Christie & Traci at the Mexican Restaurant. Ronda was with me at the retreat!! Saturday evening the church was having a community picnic followed by a free movie. Paul was able to go and enjoyed the fellowship and the movie too!! It is nice to be able to do these kinds of things ... it gets Paul out. He really gets to do that a lot with us. Sunday morning was the usual breakfast at Yorkshire Restaurant ... but Bill couldn't come (Lew got sick). Max came and was able to come to church with Pap-Paw & Daddy. He stayed the afternoon until about 3pm. Unfortunately I didn't get home until after he had gone home. Bobby & Jen came by and visited for a while after church. They couldn't stay long. So I missed them too (sigh)! After I got home Dad & I were able to sit outside on the swing while Paul watched a movie with the nurse. Apparently the nurse who we thought was "GLadis" ... is actually "GRadis". Since she is from Ghana her accent was misunderstood and we've been calling her by the wrong name all these months!! She answers to Gladis ... so we didn't realize we were saying it wrong!! After dinner Paul & I worked on the alphabet. Carolyn had bought some plastic tiles that have alphabet letters on them. Paul was able to identify some of the letters without help. He did pretty good on A through K. After that I helped him with most of the rest of the alphabet. It appears that he is getting a little better with it. He still seems a bit stubborn and uncooperative at times. Later in the evening he didn't want to talk at all and wouldn't help Dad when it was time to get up to go to the bathroom or bed. Monday morning started out as usual ... but Paul still didn't want to talk to Dad. We had some errands to run so Paul stayed with Dora & she fed him lunch. Paul used the walker with wheels again but had a little more trouble with balance and had to use the other walker by evening. We had Max for most of the afternoon and evening. Dad went to the daycare and picked him up. He is such a joy to have around!! Paul likes watching him play. I think he's as fascinated by all of Max's energy as we are!! After dinner we were able sit outside on the deck. Bill & Ronda came for a bit and we were able to have coffee out there. It was a quiet, clear night and the sky was clear enough to enjoy the stars!! We really enjoy our new deck!! Paul was exhausted by 9:30pm. Evidently he was up around 5:30am since he had gone to bed the night before at 9:30pm. Tuesday he will go to therapy. Cathy should be there and hopefully he will have a good session with her.

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 05/17/07

Dear Friends:

Thursday was a better day. When I got up this morning Paul was eating his breakfast in the living room. He ate all of his cereal without any help from Dora. She was so pleased ... she praised him for doing so well. Paul headed to therapy at 10am. Cathy was back and ready to work hard. She started by having him walk the length of the therapy room to a shelf that had screws in it at various heights and sizes. Paul had to stand in front of it and screw on the nuts. She started on the ones that were at eye level. He was able to do those pretty good. Then she wanted him to do some that were above his head. He could almost get to it but his arm wouldn't straighten out enough to reach it well enough to do it. After he had done that he had to walk back to the other end of the room. Cathy had some puzzles for him to do. A four piece, an eight piece and a sixteen piece puzzle of a person. He was standing at a table. She dumped the pieces on the table and he reached and picked up a piece and then another ... before you know it he had the four piece one done. No challenge!! Next was the eight piece ... Paul reached with his hand and started grouping the pieces on the table then picked them up and put them in the puzzle ... not much challenge!! The sixteen piece puzzle she put on his right side. He wanted to use his left hand so he reached across his body and picked up the pieces ... still not much of a challenge ... he seemed to know exactly where to put the pieces. He worked on the peddle machine for a bit. Cathy put the tension level at about 1/2 the strongest level. This slowed him down a little but he was able to do it. He would slow down and then start again ... he didn't do as much as last time but he did OK. Cathy wants him to work out a full five minutes on this machine. It looks like we will have a substitute soon since Cathy's son is having surgery soon. Hopefully it will be temporary, she will discuss it more next week. Paul was pretty tired after therapy and spent the afternoon relaxing. We went to dinner with Bill, Ronda & Vicky. Max came too ... and was very entertaining! It was a long dinner and we started out late. Bill was in traffic (duh!) coming home from work and didn't arrive until about 8pm. Paul ate a good dinner of Salmon & Mac 'n Cheese. He ate most of it without any help. We were out pretty late ... it was 9:30 before we got home. Paul wasn't ready for bed and he stayed up until 11pm. He still seems disinterested in doing a lot of things but he had a much better day! I will be gone for the next couple of days so I probably won't have an update until Sunday night. Ronda & I are going away with a couple of other women from our church for a Christian Women's Retreat at Sandy Cove in Maryland. We are looking forward to spending time together!

Have a great weekend! TGIF Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 05/16/07

Dear Friends:

Tuesday morning was Paul's physical therapy. After breakfast Dad got Paul ready and went to the hospital for his appointment. Cathy (the therapist) was not there and there was a substitute. Paul has been very stubborn the last few days and he refused to cooperate with the therapist. She tried but was a bit afraid of having him walk by himself. He CAN do it but she was unsure and was trying to hold the walker and him at the same time. He only walked about 10 feet. She tried to get him to transfer from wheelchair to the bed. He wouldn't do that. He got on the peddle machine and worked for a bit. He did about 80 steps but really wasn't interested in doing it. Once he was home he was still not interested in doing anything that Dad asked him to do. It was all Dad could do to get him to go to the bathroom. The speech therapist showed up at 4:30. It didn't take her long to realize that he wasn't going to do any work so she decided to cancel the session and reschedule for next week. Fortunately she didn't charge for the visit. We ordered Pizza for dinner and sat in the living room. He seemed to like doing that. I had a special choir practice on Tuesday instead of Thursday this week. After I came home we asked Paul if he wanted to go out to Denny's. We usually do that after choir but he didn't want to do that. He did want to come outside and sit with us at the swing in the front yard. It was a beautiful night and Paul enjoyed being out there. Wednesday morning Paul didn't want to sit in the living room OR at the table for his coffee. He walked right past the living room & dining room and went directly to the deck. He sat outside and had his coffee and breakfast. It was a delightful morning to sit outside! He seemed to be more cooperative. Dad went out for a while and visited the Water Authority Treatment Plant where he use to work. Paul stayed with Dora. When Dad came home ... Paul was being stubborn again. Most of the day he refused to do what Dad asked. He wanted to sit in the living room for dinner. Dad, Ronda and I sat in the dining room while Paul sat in the living room with Dora. He enjoyed the dinner that Ronda made ... even if Dora had to help him! He joined us for our bible study but was very quiet. He got up during the study to go to the bathroom and didn't want to sit in the living room with us when he came back. He headed right past us to the dining room and sat there until we did dessert! After everyone left it was almost 9:30 and Paul was VERY tired but wouldn't let Dad take him to bed. We are really not sure why Paul is so uncooperative lately ... I guess since he CAN be defiant ... he IS! Thursday Paul has another physical therapy session ... hopefully he will cooperate. It would be a shame to waste the therapy sessions since Medicaid will only pay for a total of sixteen ... and that is ONLY if he is making progress! I hope he snaps out of this mood soon!

Have a great day Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 05/14/07

Dear Friends:

Sunday started out early at our hotel in Columbia South Carolina. Dad got Paul up and dressed while I slept. Once Paul was dressed Dad went to the lobby to get goodies from the Continental Breakfast to bring to the room. We had juice, cereal, muffins & coffee. You could say I had breakfast in bed!! Once Cathy & Lizzie were ready we headed to the van to start our trip home. Lizzie wanted to stop at Starbucks (she twisted our arms LOL) so we went around the corner to the Starbucks prior to leaving town. The trip was mostly uneventful. Paul rode very well and we made plenty of bathroom stops in between our meal & gas stops. We only ran into traffic between Richmond and Fredericksburg. This was not unexpected since the traffic there is always bad. We arrived home around 6pm. Once Cathy & Lizzie were home we went to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner. We met up with Bill, Ronda & Connie for dinner. It was a nice way to end our trip! Monday morning I headed back to work. I had plenty of work to do and a seminar to attend in the afternoon so I decided I could make up some of the hours I will lose later in the week. Paul had a quiet day. Dad said he didn't really want to cooperate with anything he was asked to do today. He wouldn't talk to Dad or do any exercises. He walked to the back door this morning like he was going to go outside but by the time he got there and realized it was chilly outside he changed his mind and headed back to the living room. He spent most of the day watching TV. Dad tries to encourage him that we only want to help him get better but he needs to try to talk as much as possible. We aren't sure why he had suddenly been so stubborn. He could be tired from the trip I suppose. Nothing else has changed! Tuesday will be PT & Speech. Hopefully he will work for the therapists!

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 05/12/07

Dear Friends:

Saturday morning we got up early to get ready for Sarah's graduation. Everyone slept well. Dad & I shared a hotel room with Paul. It was not handicap accessible but we did OK. Once we were dressed we headed to IHOP for breakfast. The ceremony was scheduled for 10:20am so we headed towards the auditorium around 9:30am. Parking was interesting and we had to let Paul & Dad out about a block away from the auditorium. They went ahead to meet up with Aunt Ann who had gotten there early to get us good seats in the handicap section. Paul sat through the ceremony ... we had GREAT seats!! Sarah was actually sitting only about 7 rows below us. Paul did well until he decided to adjust himself in the wheelchair. when he attempted to push himself back up in the seat his wheel on the left side was not locked and the wheelchair moved away from him ... thus dumping him onto the floor!! We weren't really watching him when this happened but he was trying to catch himself when we looked over and realized he was on the floor! Dad helped him get back up which actually went well. Fortunately he was not hurt! After the ceremony we went back to the Ellisor's house. Carol had fixed food for the family to enjoy. Everything was nice. Sarah came shortly after we arrived and we spent about three hours visiting, eating and watching Sarah open gifts. We stayed until about 4:45pm and then headed back to the hotel. We spent the evening visiting with my mother, Ann, Cathy, Lizzie, Sarah & Brian (a friend of Sarah's). Everyone was pretty tired but we had a great day full of great memories! Paul was ready for bed around 10pm. Sunday we will be heading home.

Have a great Mother's day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 05/11/07

Dear Friends:

Thursday Paul got up early as usual. After he was bathed and dressed he had his coffee in the living room. After breakfast it was time to go to Physical Therapy. Cathy had him work on stomach crunches while he had his legs propped on an exercise ball. Once he had done several she managed to get him up on his KNEES!! He usually fights Dad when we try to do that. She had him lay on his stomach over the exercise ball and worked on balancing himself there. She had a box full of rice that had sharks teeth hidden in it. He was suppose to fish through the rice and find all the sharks teeth. He seemed to really enjoy that. After they were done on the floor exercises she had him to the exercise stepper. He peddled 262 steps and at one point was peddling at 91 steps per minute. After physical therapy was over Dad went to get Max from the daycare so that they could take a trip to visit Grandma Johnson in Mineral Virginia. Carolyn went along too. Since Carolyn's baby is due in June this would be the last opportunity she would have for a long time to visit with her grandmother. They had a good time. Grandma was feeling pretty good. She really enjoyed seeing Max. He really is fun! The evening was filled with activity to get ready for our trip to South Carolina. My niece Sarah is graduating from the University of South Carolina!! We are so proud of her!! Dad spent the evening packing up Paul's clothes and gathering his medicines for the trip. He stayed up until around 10:30 and even though he was very tired, he WALKED to bed. It is getting so that we use the wheelchair in the house very little. Friday morning started earlier than I am use to but Dad & Paul were up and ready to go by 7am. Dad, Paul & I went to pick up my sister Cathy in Woodbridge and my niece Lizzie to go with us for the weekend. We actually left around 7:20 to head to Cathy's house. We had to stop for Starbucks for Lizzie (along with Dad, Paul & me). It took us almost 10 hours to get to Columbia but we made lots of stops including a breakfast stop at Aunt Sarah's Pancake House. We arrived in Columbia around 6pm and went to Steve & Carol's house. They are longtime friends of Ann's and they were gracious enough to give us dinner! We share some fellowship time with them before heading to our hotel which is actually near the college campus. Paul had a good trip. He didn't sleep in the van but a couple of others did! We got to the hotel around 10pm and Paul sat up watching TV until around 11pm.

Have a great weekend

Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 05/09/07

Dear Friends:

Tuesday was a good day. Paul had physical therapy at 9:30. Cathy worked him pretty hard again. She had him work on upper trunk muscles. He would They also played Connect Four while sitting on the exercise ball. This is a favorite game from Paul's childhood ... a really good choice. He won two out of three games. He had to pick his color pieces out of the box to play. He was the black pieces and he picked out all his own pieces while playing. He used strategy while playing so he could beat her!! He had to stand at the U-shaped box and played blackjack. Dad shuffled the cards and Paul cut the deck. Dad dealt the cards and let Paul choose whether to pick another card to try to beat Dad. He beat Dad every time!! After that they played War. Paul held all his cards in one hand and would lay a card on the table with the other hand. He had to stand without holding onto the box in order to do that. He did that a couple of times before he had to hold onto the box to stabilize himself. He would tell Dad who won each time by saying "I won" or "you won". Afterwards he went to the peddle bike and worked for five minutes. The bike has handles on it so if you use them it works out the upper body. After the session was over Paul walked back out to the waiting room before using the wheelchair. Paul didn't want to come to the table for dinner. Since he had the tooth extraction he has not felt like sitting at the table. That is OK ... sometimes we like to sit in the living room and eat our dinner too! After dinner I asked him if he was OK. He said "no". I asked "what is wrong?". He thought for a minute and said "ear". I asked him if he had an earache and he said "yes". Since he had a tooth extracted I suspected that his mouth may be hurting so I asked "which ear?". He couldn't tell me but I asked "right or left?". He said "right". That is the side where he had the tooth pulled. We gave him some Ibuprofen and that seemed to help. We spent the evening watching TV. It was American Idol & House night. Paul wanted to struggle to watch all of House but by 10:45 it was all he could do to keep his eyes open. Wednesday we had to start out early to take Paul to the neurologist. This was the review of Paul's MRI. He didn't really tell us anything we didn't expect. He said that a very large portion of Paul's brain matter had been damaged and has died off. There is evidence of damage and also holes in his brain. The right side of his brain has a very large hole and the left side has a slightly smaller hole. There is lots of damage to the frontal lobes where the behavioral activities occur which accounts for Paul's inappropriate behavior and lack of judgment. He said that it appeared that the shunt is working correctly and there isn't anything that can be "fixed". For now we will continue to monitor his blood every three months and just keep doing what we are doing!! After Dad got Paul home and did some errands he came to my work so we could have lunch together. Dora stayed home and made sure that Paul had lunch. Paul has been doing more and more walking with minimal assistance. He uses his walker and Dad just walks behind him to catch him if he loses his balance. He also is getting better with his standing and sitting. Tonight Paul joined us for bible study. We sat outside in the front yard since it was a beautiful night. While we were talking Paul was looking out to the street. Dad asked "what do you see?" Paul said "new mail". Dad asked "what did you say?" and Paul said "I want to open mail"!!! What an amazing thing to come up with all by himself! I believe it shows he is being more able to process thoughts to words! Thursday Dad, Paul, Carolyn & Max are taking a trip to visit Grandma Johnson at Lake Anna right after physical therapy. It should be a nice outing for all!

Have a great day Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 05/07/07

Dear Friends:

Paul was up, dressed and at the dining room table when I got up this morning. Evidently he decided that he didn't want to sit in his normal place at the table ... he was sitting where I usually sit!! Dad had a hard time getting Paul to decide on what to have for breakfast. Dad hadn't let him sit in the living room and enjoy his coffee first so maybe he just wasn't ready to eat yet! Paul's dental appointment was at 10:30am. The doctor scheduled an hour and a half for the work to be done. Paul did GREAT. He sat with his mouth open for the dentist to do three fillings and an extraction of one wisdom tooth. He did everything the dentist asked him to. It is amazing that he can cooperate so well ... it was only about three months ago when Paul bit Gladys while she was trying to get something out of his mouth. I'm so glad he cooperates for the dentist ... it really makes the process easier!! When he arrived home he still had a piece of gauze in his mouth to absorb the blood from the extraction. We took Paul out onto the deck to enjoy the nice weather. Suddenly we realized THE GAUZE WAS GONE!! Oh my gosh ... he swallowed it?? We sure thought so. Dad put in a call to the dentist who wasn't too concerned. He felt that it would eventually pass through his system. Shortly after the incident we were back in the living room and Paul needed to go to the bathroom. When Dora moved the wheelchair (which was next to his chair) she noticed the gauze on the floor next to his chair!!! Boy ... what a relief!! LOL At dinner Dad asked Paul if he was ready to go to the table. Paul said "I want fun". It took a bit to realize he just didn't want to go to the table ... he wanted to eat in the living room. That's OK with us ... especially since he was still not feeling well from the dental visit! Later I asked him if he needed something. He said "yes" so I asked "what?". He said "I want drink". This is pretty amazing ... he did that without ANY help! He sat and watched TV with Dad most of the evening. At bedtime Paul told Dad "I need Adinol (sp?)". Dad thought for a minute and asked "do you want Advil?" and Paul said "yes". Some of his words don't make sense but he is really trying to say things more and more. Tuesday Dad will take Paul to Physical Therapy. We now have approval from Medicaid to take Paul to Physical Therapy for 12 sessions. He will do two sessions a week. Yahoo!! Paul's neurologist called tonight to say he wanted to talk with us about his MRI that was done last Friday. He didn't say WHAT he feels we need to discuss ... we are meeting him on Wednesday morning.

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 05/06/07

Dear Friends:

Friday when I greeted Paul he was eating his breakfast. I asked him "what are you eating?" ... he said "cereal". I asked him what kind it was. He wasn't able to tell me that but when I prompted him with "rai" he said "raisin bran". I love that he is able to say words with some prompting. It is amazing the words he actually knows when you get him started. Dad took Paul to the hospital around 1pm for his MRI. Filling out the paperwork is scary since you have to list every surgery you've ever had and whether you have any metal prosthetics. The MRI machine is a giant magnet (of sorts) and if you have metal in your body it can pull it out. Fortunately, Paul doesn't have anything that the doctors were concerned about. Dad said that Paul did GREAT. The machine is VERY loud and the test takes about 20 minutes. Paul laid very still during the entire procedure. That evening we were planning to go out to dinner with Bill & Ronda. Their daughters Vicky and Missy (along with Lou) wanted to come with us. We planned to go to Logan's but when we got there it was a 90 minute wait. We decided we would go to Yorkshire Restaurant instead ... NO WAIT!!! We are pretty familiar faces there and the owner allows us to go through the bathroom hallway to get to the non-smoking area. I think he plans to install a ramp soon!! Saturday Dad was up early to help set up the yard sale at our church. After he got home Gladys, Paul & Dad took a trip to Paul's work in Dumfries. All the people at the Harley Shop were really glad to see Paul. Dad had him WALK into the store and back to the mechanics area. He walked about 100 ft with his walker. The owner's wife didn't even recognize Paul. The last time they saw him he still stared into space and didn't seem to pay attention to anyone. After they got back it was time to go to Warrenton for Mexican lunch. We had a good time and Paul enjoyed the outing. We spent a quiet evening at home. Sunday morning is always busy. We head out to breakfast at 8am. We head to Sunday School at 9:30. We had Max today so he went to the Nursery Class. He has lots of friends there. Paul WALKED most of the way to church. He started out in our yard and walked past the neighbors house and half way past the next house. Dad estimated Paul probably walked about 200 ft. He did really good but he got tired. After church Paul had the option to go out to lunch but he wanted to go home. Max napped after lunch and we spent most of the day watching movies. In the evening Dad played some more of the card game "War" with Paul. He seems to like this game and he does really good at knowing who wins. Dad also had him practice walking with the walker that has wheels on it. Currently he uses the walker that doesn't have wheels because he pushes it too far ahead of himself and loses his balance. He did real well with the wheels today. Cathy (the physical therapist) wants to get Paul to the point of being able to walk with only a cane. It is ambitious but ... boy that would be nice!! Monday Paul goes back to the dentist. He will have a couple fillings and a tooth extraction. This is the first of many visits to come where there will be lots of work.

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 05/03/07

Dear Friends:

Paul had Physical Therapy today. Cathy is a hard worker!! She had Paul peddle on the exercise bike for 6 minutes. They worked on the exercise ball again. He has to sit on it and keep his balance. They played the card game "war" while he sat on the ball. Each person draws a card and the one who has the higher card "wins". Each time he drew a card she would ask him "who won?" and he would tell her either you or us (dad was helping him). He was right every time except once!! He wouldn't shuffle the cards for her but he was willing to cut the deck. He stood at the free standing table and removed bolts, moved them to the other side of the box and put them back. Paul had to stand by himself in front of the box, the therapist was there in case he lost his balance but he did good most of the time. After they got home Paul and Dad sat out on the deck for a while. Cousin Tony came by to visit for a bit. Paul did lots of walking again today. He is really not using the wheelchair much. When he came to the dinner table tonight he was able to walk all the way to the table, turn around and he sat down with minimal assistance! Aunt Shirley and cousin Anna came by to visit for a while. They were in the area since Anna had a doctor appointment in Arlington this afternoon. After dinner I went to choir practice. I got home around 9pm. The house was full of people!! Carolyn's friends Jennifer & Alicia were here. Alicia had her son Damian who is just over a year old. Max was also here, it was fun keeping an eye on two toddlers (uh ... busy toddlers!). We really enjoyed them! Paul seemed to enjoy all the company. Paul stayed up until almost 10pm. He was pretty tired. Friday Dad will take Paul to the hospital to have an MRI done. This is a follow-up that he normally does when a patient is about a year into recovery to make sure that everything is working OK. Since Paul has a PV shunt he will check to make sure that it is working correctly. Paul still seems to have a lot of headaches and this is a possible cause for concern. Hopefully we will find that there is nothing to worry about!!

Have a great weekend! TGIF Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 05/02/07

Dear Friends:

Tuesday Paul started out with his coffee before going to the dining room for breakfast. He seems to enjoy this. It also seems he likes sitting in different chairs. He sits in Dad's chair for a while and then wants to move to my chair, or the couch. He likes to sit in the dining room chairs to eat instead of the wheelchair! Dad worked with Paul to do his numbers & letters after breakfast. He sat at the table and worked on some worksheets that Brooke gave us. They are from a workbook to teach a child how to count. Paul walked a lot. He now walks from the living room to the bathroom almost without any help. Dad stays close behind him just in case he loses his balance. He also walks from the bathroom to the porch and back. Dad has been encouraging Paul to sit down with more control instead of just turning around and flopping down. If he flops down in the chair Dad makes him try it again. He is getting better control with getting up and sitting down. Brooke (speech therapist) came around 4pm. Dad had gone out to get a tatoo so Carolyn was here with Max. Brooke had Paul do some puzzles. They are the wooden puzzles that Tabby bought for him. They only have about 8-10 pieces but he can do them almost by himself. One of them has numbers that are different colors. We are trying to get him to recognize the numbers by seeing them. Brooke also worked on some object recognition ... identifying items in the room and also identifying his facial features. Carolyn suggested that he may recognize eyes, nose, mouth etc better by using a doll ... she is going to see if Alysa has a doll that has prominent features that we can use. Brooke also wants us to start having Paul identify objects in the rooms that he goes into.

Wednesday was a mostly quiet day. Dad had some phone calls to make and then he went out to try to find some large storage tubs. He plans to put Paul's things in them so they are more protected than they are in the cardboard boxes. Since they are in the garage they are subject to more dust, heat & cold. Dad said that Paul didn't even use the wheelchair AT ALL today. He walked everywhere he went ... all day! He didn't do any other exercises ... I don't think he needed to!! Dad also noted that Paul tried to reach back with his hands to hold onto the chair when he went to sit down. He doesn't usually do that. It would help him sit more gently if he used his hands! Tonight was bible study night and Ronda brought dinner. What a blessing it is to have such a good friend! We were able to eat out on the deck. We were going to stay out there for our study but Paul wanted to go inside so we moved back to the living room. Paul sits with us during our bible study. He sat up for a while after everyone left. It was about 10:30pm when he told Dad he was ready for bed. Thursday Paul will have physical therapy. I think Cathy will be pleased at Paul's progress with walking!

Have a great day, Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 04/30/07

Dear Friends:

Today was my day off and we were busy. Paul started out his day pretty much as usual. He really enjoys sitting in our dining room chairs for breakfast and that is where I found him when I got up. I guess he decided he needed milk to drink so he drank the milk in his cereal bowl. It was pretty dry when I greeted him so I got him some more. After I got my coffee I went out on the deck with Dad. It was a beautiful morning. Paul wasn't interested in coming outside so after breakfast he sat in the living room with Dora. Dad went out to Sears to pick up his new pressure washer. Carolyn came over about 10:30am and she brought Max. She and I were heading out to Southern States. I bought some new bushes for our yard and she bought a new plant stand for her front porch. Max stayed with Dad & Paul. It was a good opportunity for them to visit! When we got home Max was sleeping but he didn't sleep long ... just a little "cat nap". It gave him energy to play a little more before it was time for Carolyn to head home. Dad & I spent the afternoon doing errands. We bought some more chairs for our deck and we also bought a new hose caddy for the front yard. We are really enjoying the opportunity to be outside either on the deck or on the swing in the front yard! Paul doesn't always join us but he likes going outside too! Now that the weather is warm he will be outside more! Dad had planned to do exercises with Paul today but instead he just had him walk everywhere he wanted to go instead. This is good exercise all by itself and he is getting plenty of it!! He walked to the bathroom and back ... then to the deck. Later he went from the deck to the bathroom which is basically the whole length of our house!! This evening we sat on the deck to have our dinner. We were having coffee when Tabby came by with Max for a short visit. She stayed about an hour. Max crawled all over the deck while we visited. Paul was able to hold Max in his lap for a bit and he really did good with him. Bobby & Jen are at Virginia Beach. Bobby is training another cab company to use the automatic dispatch system that Manassas Cab has been using. It is a "working trip" but they are also getting a mini vacation out of it!! Tuesday Paul will have speech therapy. Brooke (the therapist) plans to be here for a half hour session unless Paul is doing so well that she can continue and make it an hour. I really like the fact that he is getting therapy again. He is doing so well with it!

Have a great day, Lynne & Carl