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