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