Paul's Update - 08/29/07

Dear Friends:

Paul continues to have progress each day. We have new things each day it seems. Monday morning Dad got Paul up and dressed. It was my day off so we decided to take a ride to Skyline Drive. Dora went with us. Paul now gets into the car pretty much by himself. He was ready to get out of the house. We drove up through Warrenton to Luray and got on the Skyline Drive there. While we were there we got a handicap pass to the National Parks for Paul. Since he enjoys going to Skyline Drive this will get much use!! We didn't see a lot of wildlife but we DID see two young bucks (deer) that were right on the side of the road. They still had soft fuzz on their antlers. This was especially interesting for Dora since she has never seen deer that close up. We stopped at the visitor center and had lunch in their dining room. The walkway to the visitor center is very steep and Dad had to help Paul quite a bit but he walked the whole way. There was a large cloud hanging low over the visitor center so we couldn't see down into the valley. We enjoyed lunch anyway. When we got ready to leave we were walking in the parking lot and the cloud came down almost to the ground. Dora was very surprised ... she'd never seen that either!! We spent most of the day riding and got home about dinner time. Bill came over after dinner to work on my computer. While we were in the office to Paul came in to watch us work on the computer. We have a new bath chair that will lower Paul into the bathtub so he can take a BATH instead of having to take a shower ALL the time. He sat on the old bath chair that was in the in the office since there is not extra space in the bathroom to store it. When we were done with the computer Paul moved back to the living room and watched TV. He stayed up pretty late that night.

Tuesday Paul had a dentist appointment. This was the visit to have the permanent caps put on. The dentist was running late and Paul had to wait in the office for an extra 45 minutes before seeing the dentist. The dentist had to take the temporary caps off with his drill since they had sealed better than normal. Dad said Paul did well. Paul will have one more appointment to build up the base of his teeth in front of the caps and then he will be DONE with the work that we planned to do. After Paul was done at the dentist Dad took the van to get an oil change. We will be traveling with it over the weekend and want it to be ready. Dad brought Paul & Dora home after getting McDonalds for lunch then headed back out after lunch to do errands (getting Paul's medicine and supplies). Dora stayed with Paul. Just before dinner Carolyn, Billy, Alysa, Nadia (Alysa's friend) & Chris came by to bring Dad's truck back. Billy borrowed it on Monday to take his jet ski out. We ordered Chinese food for dinner. Dad was going to order Paul the Sesame chicken but when I asked Paul if he wanted that he said "No" so we got him beef and broccoli. He seemed to enjoy it! After he finished eating I got him up (all by myself!!) and we went outside to sit and visit. We stayed outside for about an hour. It is really nice that almost anyone can get Paul up ... it makes it easier to encourage him to get out of his chair and do things with us. After Carolyn & Billy left we came back in the house and Paul watched TV with us until almost 11pm.

Wednesday is therapy day. Dad & Dora got Paul up and dressed. They have to be at the hospital by 9:30am. The Occupational Therapist had Paul throw a balloon to her, he stretched a bit, then she had the sticky notes on the wall for him to identify. He had more trouble doing the identifying but he would take them off the wall and hand them to her. He sat at a table and had to pick up marbles one by one in each hand (all at once). He was able to handle nine marbles in each hand. He had to manage his hand to hold marbles while picking up more. After OT he headed to speech. He didn't want to work with the therapist today. She tries really hard but when he doesn't want to work ... there isn't much MAKING him!! After an hour went by they headed to the cafeteria for lunch. Paul had pizza and Dad had a cheeseburger. The cheeseburger upset Dad's stomach so when they got home they didn't do much. Paul watched TV with Dora until I got home. I decided to clean out the van so it would be ready for our trip. After I got done Paul decided he wanted to come out to the garage. He walked out there and down the steps. He headed to Dad's motorcycle and wanted to sit on it. He turned his back to it and sat on the seat. Then he pulled his left leg over the seat so he was sitting properly on it. He sat there for about 10 minutes while Dad talked to him about when he use to ride his own motorcycle. He doesn't seem to remember much about it but he WAS interested in it! We went out to dinner with Bill and Ronda about 8pm. We went to a new restaurant in town, The City Grille. We had a very nice dinner and got home around 10pm. We watched the news and Paul went to bed after 11:30pm.

Like I said before ... something good happens each day. Paul does so many wonderful things ... a little at a time ... day by day! What a miracle we are experiencing ... God is truly good to us!

Have a great day, Carl & Lynne

Paul's Update - 08/26/07

Dear Friends:

Friday morning Paul had Speech therapy. He wasn’t much interested in cooperating but the therapist is diligent and was able to get him to cooperate a little. It wasn’t one of his better sessions. After they had lunch in the cafeteria they headed off to the gym. Again, Paul didn’t want to cooperate. He refused to do any of his exercises and just sat while Dad worked on his own exercises. Dad asked Paul if he was feeling OK and he said “no”. They headed home so Paul could relax. Dad had some errands to run so he left Paul with Dora. Bill & Ronda left to go away for the weekend with two of their children, Vikki & Mike. It was a much overdue “family vacation”. Carl, Paul and I went out to Logan’s for dinner. Paul had the Catfish and ate every last bite ... he was very hungry!

Saturday morning after Paul was up and dressed he came into the living room for breakfast. Carolyn came over about 10:30am. She was going to the matinee at the Manassas Cinema but they advertised time for her movie was wrong in the listings. She was going to hang out until the 12:15pm showing. She and I went (with Chris) and saw the Nanny Diaries ... very cute! After we got home Dad & I went out to find a new filing cabinet for my office. Paul wasn’t interested in going out since it was very hot and humid. He stayed with Gradis. They watched the Shaggy Dog on the family channel. After that they watched the Ugly Dachshund. Both of these are pretty old classics that are very worth watching! I spent most of the evening working in my office getting it organized with my new filing cabinet. Paul & Dad were attempting to watch the Redskins play the preseason game. Bobby & Jen were at the game and they got soaked from a severe rain storm that stopped the game several times. The game was eventually called because of the rain in the third quarter. This was Bobby’s first time at a football game ... he usually watches them on TV. They still had a great time!

Sunday morning we didn’t go to breakfast since Bill & Ronda were still out of town. We went to the 8:30am service at church. After church I headed out to Wal-Mart to get birthday presents for several family members. Max came to spend the day with us and was at the house when we got home from church. We headed to Uncle Wally & Aunt Shirley’s house around 1pm. Max slept most of the way. There were lots of folks at Wally & Shirley’s house … and lots of children for Max to play with … ALL COUSINS!! They all played nice and Max really enjoyed it. Anna’s son Zechariah got a toy for his birthday that was still in packaging. He climbed up in Paul’s lap and handed it to Paul to open. Paul tried really hard to open the package for him but the twist ties gave him trouble so Dad helped him. Paul seemed to enjoy having all the kids around. After the BBQ dinner we sang happy birthday … 6 TIMES!! We aren’t good … and we don’t get better each time!! LOL We headed home around 6pm. Bobby & Jen came over to have Dad patch a hole in a tire. They visited with us for a while. Bill & Ronda got home in the afternoon and came over for coffee. Bill also worked on my computer while he was here! It was nice having company for the evening! Paul sat up and watched the football game again this evening. We had a busy weekend … it goes by so fast!

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 08/22/07

Dear Friends:

Wednesday is Paul's therapy day. Dad, Dora & Paul have to be at Fair Oaks Hospital at 9:30am for Occupational Therapy. Paul didn't really want to cooperate much. The therapist stretched him on the floor mat a little and had him do some stomach crunches. After that she had him sit at the edge of the mat and practice standing up and sitting down. The therapist put alphabet letters on sticky notes on the wall in random order and asked Paul to identify them. She asked him to point out the letters that she identified and he was able to point out the right letter. After he did C he said "D is for duck"!! This was volunteered. He was able to point out the letters A-G correctly. After he finished with OT they went downstairs to the speech therapist. They were about 15 minutes late because they stopped at the bathroom on the way. When they arrived Dad told the therapist how he did in OT and she told Paul "I see how it is ... you like her more than me"!! She tried to do post it notes on her desk with A, B, C on them and he didn't want anything to do with it. She took off the C and only had A & B and asked him to give her the B. He finally did it for her so they went over it several times. Dad told her that we may go away for a few days and will probably miss some therapy in September so she is going to put together some "homework" for him to do while we are gone. After therapy they went to the cafeteria for lunch before heading to the gym. Paul was not interested in doing leg presses so Dad worked him on the other machines. They increased the weights another 10lbs. When they were ready to ride the bicycles it turned out that all the bikes were in use already so Dad decided to skip that for today. Dad & I had an appointment this afternoon so they headed home. We left Paul with Dora while we were out. Dora is really good with Paul and not afraid to handle him by herself. When we returned home Max was here visiting. We fed him some dinner and he played for about an hour before time to head home. Maggie really is good with Max. As a matter of fact ... she seems good with everything!! Sam & Isis (our dog and cat) seem to get along very well with her and she has become very comfortable at our house. After dinner Carolyn came over to pick up Alysa's Nintendos game that she left over the weekend and dropped off a new Wii video game system for Paul that Billy bought for him. We are hopeful that he will be able to play the video games. This will give him something else to do besides watch TV when he is at home. Paul was up until after 11pm before getting ready for bed.

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 08/21/07

Dear Friends:

Well ... last night was interesting having a new dog in the house. Maggie seems very comfortable in our home. She was up during the night (after I accidentally woke her) and she was visiting us in our beds! Dad got up about 3am and took her outside but that seemed to only make her more awake! At about 4am she saw our cat on the deck and began to bark so I closed the venetion blinds on the doors to the deck. That seemed to make her quiet. We finally had to close our bedroom door to make her go somewhere and lay down! This morning Dad asked Paul if she bothered him during the night and Paul said "yes"! Eventually she may be a good companion during the night but right now she just wants to play!! Paul had an appointment with an orthodic specialist this morning. They left for the appointment around 8:30am. I leave about the same time. Maggie stayed in the body of the house during the time that Dad was gone and it appears that she did very well while they were gone. The orthopedic specialist made a cast of Paul's right foot and leg to make a brace with. The specialist said that the exercises Paul is doing at the gym and the pool are really helping and making his muscles strong! We knew that but it is nice when a professional acknowledges it! Dad spoke with Paul's eye doctor this afternoon. He wanted to find out what it would take to remove the floater that Paul has in his right eye. She said that it is a fairly simple procedure whereby they would remove all the fluid in the eye (including the floater) and let the eye regenerate the fluid on its own. But she recommended that we see a specialist that can do a laser removal. This specialist is in Falls Church so it would be local enough for us to consider. It would be nice for Paul to be able to see better. That eye seems to interfere with his vision quite often. This evening Paul watched TV with Dad. When it was time for bed they headed down the hall but he stopped at the office. Dad said he went in ... pushed his walker away from him and reached back to grab the office chair and sit down in front of the computer. He wasn't interested in playing on the computer but he just wanted to sit in there! He sat there for about 10 minutes and then headed to the bathroom and bed. I am including some pictures of Maggie. If you cannot see them you can go to the Snapfish website and see them.

Pictures #1
Pictures #2

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 08/20/07

Dear Friends:

Friday started out as usual. Dad & Dora got Paul dressed and ready to go out for speech therapy at 10:30am. Paul walked across the parking lot and into the hospital. He really does well with his new walker. The speech therapist was able to get Paul to talk quite a bit. She asked him what his name was and he said "ow". She said "Paul" and he repeated "Paul". Then she said "what is your name?" and he said "My name is Paul"!! This is so wonderful ... a complete sentence without help! He still has problems remembering things from one moment to the next most of the time but he IS remembering some things and being able to do more on his own ... including some spoken words. He is getting better about responding verbally to us as well. They worked on numbers and the alphabet and recognizing numbers in print. He gets some of them right but mostly he still just repeats what she says. Towards the end of the session she got out a piece of paper and asked him to trace a circle and a square on the page. He was able to trace both of the circles on the page but the square was more difficult and he didn't do that. After therapy Dad headed to the gym. They did most of the normal routine. He didn't want to do the leg presses but Dad got him to do one press at 235lbs. All the other weight machines he was able to do and Dad even added ten pounds to each machine. He is getting so much stronger ... even the arms are getting stronger. They went to lunch after their workout. We went to dinner with Bill & Ronda. We splurged and went to the Olive Garden. We didn't get home until 10:30 and Paul went to bed shortly after we got home.

Saturday started out quiet for Paul since I was having my carpet cleaned. He was able to have breakfast in bed and watch movies all morning while the carpet dried. Dad was working on the new front screen door with Uncle Jimmy most of the day. Gradis stayed in the bedroom with Paul watching movies and making sure Paul didn't need anything. She loves encouraging him to talk to her. She was trying to get him to tell her his name. She asked what his name was and after some working on it he said "my name is Paul". She also got him to say Mom, Dad, Gradis & Jimmy. She really is good with him when it comes to speech. Carolyn and I took a trip to Stafford (about 45 minutes away) to take a look at a dog that was at the adoption fair that PetsMart was holding. We didn't find anything that was a "fit" for us. We got to have a nice ride down and back and it was a beautiful day! After dinner Dad & I were able to sit out on the deck for a while since it was a nice evening. Paul didn't want to come out so he watched TV.

Sunday we headed out for breakfast at our normal time. We still come in the side door of the restaurant but Paul doesn't seem quite as restricted as he is in the wheelchair. He has two steps that he has to manage to get to the door and he has become the master of steps!! After church we had a BBQ at our house for the Choir members. Paul seemed to enjoy having company. There was lots of food and good fellowship. The weather cooperated and we were able to have some people sit outside on the deck. After everyone left Bill brought over his new video of Wild Hogs and we watched the movie. Later in the evening Paul decided he wanted to go outside into the garage. He walked all the way around the car, opened the door, got in and buckled his seat belt. We decided to go out for a ride. Paul directed us part of the way since he apparently wanted to go somewhere. He did good until we went the wrong way and took a dead end road. After that Paul didn't seem to know where to go. We rode out of town a bit and headed towards Warrenton. He seemed to enjoy the ride. We aren't sure where he wanted to go but he wanted to go bad enough to get in the car and expect to go somewhere. I have a great video which I will attempt to share.

Monday morning Dad had some errands to run while Dora stayed with Paul. I went out to do back to school shopping with Carolyn & Alysa. It is two weeks before school starts. Alysa will be in the second grade this year!! After we got back Dad said he had gotten a call from Uncle Wally. Apparently he knew we have been looking for a new dog and told us we could have a little dog that he had if we were interested in her. Dad & I took a ride down to their house and found the sweetest little dog. She is part Jack Russell terrier and part Pomeranian. She is already full grown, housebroken & has all her shots. Not only that she is very sweet! We brought her home for a "trial run" and Wally said if she doesn't work out we can bring her back to him. So far she seems to be a good "fit" for us! We are calling her Maggie and we hope she will become a good member of our family. Dad went out and got Maggie some toys, a bed, doggie treats and flea treatment. She got a bath and brushing which she seemed to enjoy. Paul enjoys watching her ... she is very energetic and fun to watch. Carolyn and I went out to dinner with the women at our church this evening so Dad & Paul were on their own for dinner. We had a quiet evening and both Dad & Paul were ready for bed by 11pm. It is amazing how good God has been to us lately ... many, many blessings!!

Have a great day, Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 08/16/07

Dear Friends:

Paul continues to be busy and do well each day. Wednesday was a particularly busy day. It is therapy day. Dad & Dora got Paul up, showered and dressed. After breakfast they headed out to Fair Oaks Hospital for Occupational Therapy at 9:30. The therapist had Paul bend his knees from a standing position to reach over and pick up balls out of a milk crate and put them on the table next to him. She wants him to practice bending his knees instead of just leaning over. Then he had to put them back in the crate. She had him sit on the edge of the exercise table and practice balancing himself. He doesn't like sitting on the edge of things ... he usually sits back against something. After OT he has speech. The therapist had him count without using her hands to cheat. He was able to count to ten without her prompting him. He seems to respond faster to her these days. He also did the alphabet & repeat words that she would say. Sometime this involves just repeating words over and over. Then she tried to have him identify numbers. She worked with 0, 1 & 2 to see if he can recognize the numbers. She shows him the number and tells him what it is and then has him repeat it. Again this seems boring but he seems to be improving from this type of workout. The therapist keeps a box of Kleenex on the table near them and Paul began to drool a bit so he reached over and took a Kleenex (by himself) and wiped his mouth. This doesn't seem like much but he doesn't do much without encouragement and ANYTHING he does without prompting is encouraging for us! When they were done she asked Paul if he was going straight to the gym and he said "no". Dad, Dora & Paul went to the cafeteria for lunch before heading to the gym. It was exercise day and Paul started out with his normal arm & leg workout. When he got to the leg press Dad got him up to 210lbs. He does this exercise very slowly but that is actually good ... it strengthens the muscles better. Dad said Paul actually likes doing the leg extensions best which exercises the upper thigh. At the end of the workout they ride the Exercise Cycle and did about a ten minute workout. They got home around 3pm. Later in the evening Dad & Billy took the dog and the cat to the vet for their regular checkups and rabies shots. Paul stayed home with Dora. She has gotten very good with Paul and is able to get him up and take him to the bathroom by herself! What a nice change...this enables Dad to be gone and not have to worry about Paul needing to go to the bathroom while he is gone! Dad got a new cell phone and spent some time setting it up while we watched TV for the evening.

Thursday Paul got up and had breakfast. After he finished he decided to take a walk to the garage. He got down the steps only to find that my car was in the way so he maneuvered the walker to be able to sit down on the steps. When he went to get up he realized that there wasn't enough room to turn the walker around so he side stepped it over past the steps to where there was enough room for him to rotate the walker. He managed to figure out how to do that without ANY help! He had a doctor appointment with a foot doctor at 11am. He has been pulling his toes up on his right foot and is having some trouble with dragging that foot when he walks. The doctor said that she believes that he has just developed a bad habit but has asked Dad to go to a specialist that can make an orthodic with a brace that will have a little spring in it to help prevent him from dragging the toes. Dad called and made an appointment for the 21st. She examined his legs & knees to see that they where symmetrical. She had him flex his foot and try to hold it while she pulled against his foot. She remarked that he doesn't have a muscle problem ... he's very strong and she couldn't pull his foot down! On the way home from the doctor Dad stopped at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. There was one little dog that would be good for us but he was being adopted as Dad walked in. They took a little ride to the Prince William County Animal Shelter and found there was one dog that would have been a good match but it was also being adopted before he got there! It was raining pretty hard so Paul waited in the car with Dora. The search continues!! They stopped at McDonalds for lunch and headed home. This evening Max came over for a visit. He ate dinner with us and stayed for about an hour. Paul was a little more talkative this evening and repeated several words. He doesn't do much interaction with Max but he watches him wherever he goes! Max's face lights up when he sees Pap-Paw though ... Pap-Paw loves that! He really misses the amount of time they used to spend together! We had bible study and Paul sat with us. He had his coffee while we were talking. Once everyone went home Paul wanted to watch some TV before bed.

Have a great weekend ... TGIF Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 08/14/07

Dear Friends:

Sorry ... I've fallen behind. It seems like our days are so busy and by the time night comes I don't always get around to my emails. Our weekend was as busy as usual. Saturday morning Dad, Paul, Gradis & I went out for a ride. We rode down towards Rt. 1 and headed towards Fredericksburg. It takes us through some small towns and the traffic was backed up for miles. I guess everyone decided it was a beautiful day for a ride!! We headed towards Warrenton on the way back so we could meet up with Bill & Ronda for lunch at El Agave. Paul was able to get in and out of the car by himself and managed his walker fairly well. After we got home Paul, Dad & I rested up a bit. Carolyn & Billy brought over Alysa & Chris to stay with us for the evening. Alysa spent the night with us and when it was time for Paul to go to bed he stopped by the office door where Alysa was on my computer and he told her "goodnight"!! Usually she goes to his room to say goodnight.

Sunday we went to breakfast. Paul didn't want to go so we took Alysa and left Paul at home with Gradis. We met Bill, Ronda & Lew there. After breakfast we went home to get ready for Sunday School and Church. Paul didn't want to walk to church. He stopped by the van and tried to open the door so Dad helped him get into the van and they drove to church. Once they were there he walked into the church and sat in the pew with us. After church was over Dad, Paul & Gradis met up with Billy, Alysa, Mike, AJ & Nadia to take our boat out to Occoquan for a ride. Carolyn, Chris & I stayed home and Carolyn baked cookies!! Dad, Billy & Mike were able to work together to get Paul into the boat. He seemed to really enjoy it. Dad said he even kept his water from spilling by holding his finger over the bottle while they were cruising across the water. The girls wanted to get in the water so they stopped at a state park that had a sandy beach ... only to find that there was no swimming allowed at that beach!! Instead they went out into the water and let the kids jump off the boat (with their life preservers of course). They had a blast. Gradis seemed to have the most fun of everyone. Dad said she must have taken close to a thousand pictures ... probably an exaggeration but she DOES love her camera!! Once they got home around 7pm Gradis' husband was here to pick her up. Dad went out and got Paul a sandwich while he was refueling the boat. Everyone was pretty tired that night and Paul went to bed pretty early.

Monday morning Dad headed out early to pick up our new screen door for the front of the house. Once I was up and everyone had breakfast Dad, Paul, Dora & I went out to take a look at a dog that we were thinking about getting. It turns out the dog is not exactly what we want so we went to a couple of shelters to take a look. No luck but we still may get a small dog for Paul to have for "pet therapy". Paul was a little hesitant to pet the dogs but I think if he had one that would sit in his lap he probably would enjoy it. The afternoon was pretty quiet. Paul continues to try to think of new ways to maneuver his walker ... especially in the bathroom. He has begun to position the walker so he can let go of it and try to walk to the toilet. He has tried several places for the walker and is getting pretty clever about how he manages it. Max came over for a little while just before dinner. He was playing Frisbee with Pap-Paw ... he so loves Pap-Paw!! What fun he is these days! Dad went out and got some dinner at Chipotle's. We spent the evening at home. About 9:30 we noticed that there was going to be a rescue helicopter landing in the ball field behind the school that is up the road from us. Dad took Paul in his wheelchair to go and watch the helicopter take off. There was an accident on the highway about ½ mile from our house. Paul was ready for bed by about 10:30.

Tuesday was another quiet day for Paul. After breakfast Paul decided he wanted to go out to the garage. He walked out to the laundry room and opened the door leading to the garage, walked down the steps and pointed to the garage door. Dad opened the garage door but once it was open Paul changed his mind and didn't want to go outside. He turned around and came back into the house. Interesting!! Dad had a doctor appointment at 10am. After that he ran some errands. By the time he got home it was lunch time. Paul wasn't interested in going to the pool today. He didn't seem to feel good so Dad didn't push him. After lunch they watched TV for a bit. About 3pm Paul took another walk through the living room to the laundry room. He positioned his walker in the alcove where my washer & dryer are which is next to the door leading to our garage. He proceeded to walk down the steps and out the garage door to the truck and got in! Dad asked him if he wanted to go for a ride and he said "yes". So Dad got in the truck (along with Dora) and they headed out the driveway. Dad asked him which way he wanted to go, right or left, and he said "left" so Dad took a left out of the driveway. When they got to the end of the street Dad asked him again which way he wanted to go and he shook his head "no" so Dad asked him if he didn't care ... he shook his head "no" again. Dad decided to go across town towards Warrenton and made a loop coming back into Manassas. They rode for about an hour and then it was time to head home for dinner. We had another quiet evening. At one point I asked Paul how he was and he said "I ... love" and I asked "what do you love?". He could only say "ou" ... but he at least tried to start something. He is doing so many great things and although we wish he could communicate verbally with us ... we certainly cannot complain!

Have a great day, Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 08/10/07

Dear Friends:

Friday morning Paul has Speech therapy at 10:30. Once Paul was up and ready Dad, Dora & Paul headed to Fair Oaks Hospital. Of course there is never any handicap parking at the hospital ... duh! Dad parked at the lower end of the parking lot and Paul walked all the way to the main entrance of the hospital and to the elevator to go upstairs to the therapy room. He does really well with the new walker. It allows him to have a more normal stride. The therapist was able to get Paul to talk to her quite a lot. She commented that she has notice a lot of improvement since she started seeing him. They did the usual alphabet and counting. She asked him lots of questions that he had to SAY yes or no. They counted to twenty several times. She tried to get him to go farther but he only got to twenty-two. When they were almost done she asked Paul what they were going to do after therapy. She said "are you going to the gym?". Evidently the other day when she asked that he said "yes" and then Dad was too busy to get to the gym so when he answered ... he said "maybe!". It is always interesting when Paul answers with anything other than yes or no. It shows us that he is thinking about what is said and not just an automatic response. After therapy they went to the cafeteria and had lunch. They DID indeed go to the gym after lunch. Dad said he started off with the normal leg and arm exercises. When he got to the leg press Dad set the machine to 185lbs of weight. Paul argued with Dad the whole time but he did the work anyway. After he had done about 10 leg presses Dad asked him if he wanted to increase the weight. Paul said "yes" so Dad worked him up to an incredible 260lbs. The last thing they do is the exercise bike. Dad put the setting on level 3 and Paul peddled for ten minutes. This equates to about a mile. Dad said it seems that Paul has lost some of his stomach fat. The shorts that he was wearing were loose on him and had to have the drawstring tightened to keep them up! Carolyn called me this afternoon to say she took Chris to the doctor for his two month checkup. He now weighs 11lbs 5oz. The doctor said he looks great. He got four shots ... that should make for an interesting evening!! We went out for dinner with Ronda, Bill, Vikki & Mike. We went to Logan's Roadhouse. When we went to get in the car to go home Dad got Paul next to the car and Paul grabbed the door and proceeded to step into the car sideways ... just like you and I would. He managed to get into the car all by himself!! If that wasn't good enough ... when we got home I opened the door to the car and he turned his legs out the side of the car, grabbed the door and stood up all by himself!! PLUS ... once he was up, he turned himself around and sat down in the wheelchair ... all by himself. He is working so hard to do things without any help. Paul stayed up until after midnight watching TV. We have had another really busy week and Paul continues to amaze us every day!

Have a great weekend! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 08/09/07

Dear Friends:

Tuesday morning Paul had a doctor appointment. Once Paul was up, dressed and had breakfast they left to go to Dr. Stonerock's office. She is Paul's general practitioner. She checked Paul to see how he is doing on the Adderal (the medicine for ADD). She took a few minutes to fill out an evaluation form that is needed for the court as part of the process for us to obtain guardianship of Paul. Our attorney is waiting for this paperwork so she can finalize the guardianship process. After they finished at the doctor's office Dad decided it was a good day to get out of the house. Dad, Paul and Dora went to pick up Carolyn, Alysa & Chris. They took the van and went for a ride towards Front Royal and back down through Warrenton and into Manassas. It was a very hot day (close to 100 degrees) but that didn't spoil their day. They rode for a couple of hours. When I got home from work (somebody has to work!! LOL) I told Dad that we were invited to dinner at Bill & Ronda's. It was Vikki's birthday ... her 18th birthday. This is a big day for her! We celebrated with sloppy joes (her choice) and we had an ice cream cake once she spent two tries to blow out her candles! Paul enjoyed his dinner & cake. There were several of Vikki's friends there to celebrate with her and Paul seemed to enjoy the energy in the house. Missy was also there with Lou & Serenity! Paul had to WALK up the stairs in their house. They have about 10 steps up to the living room (it is a split foyer) and he was able to manage them with Dad behind him keeping him steady. Wow ... being able to do steps opens up a whole new world for us! We stayed until almost 11pm and when we got home Paul didn't want to go to bed. Dad let him sit up for a while but soon Dad was too tired to stay up himself and he took Paul to bed.

Wednesday morning was Occupational Therapy at 9:30am. Dad said he parked at the far end of the parking lot and Paul walked all the way across and upstairs to the therapy room. He is getting so strong!! He used the new walker that used to be Grandma Johnson's. He seems to do really well with it. Paul did really good for the therapist. She had him do some "connect the dots" on a piece of paper. She also had him set a table setting. She gave him a fork, spoon, plate & napkin and he had to set the place setting while standing up. He had to separate the cups that were stacked together and placed them on the table. She had him take a deck of cards and she wanted him to shuffle them. He wouldn't do that but she told him to deal out five cards. He proceeded to count out five cards ... and then stopped when he got to five!! They played a game of War and Paul beat her! After OT they went to speech. He did good for her and repeated everything she asked him to. They did the alphabet and looked at pictures that he had to identify (i.e., eyes, nose, ears). They counted to twenty. Most of therapy is him just repeating things over and over. After therapy Dad had errands to run so they didn't go to the gym. Dora wanted to leave at 5pm and it would not allow enough time to do his exercises and get back home. I came home from work to find Paul & Dad sitting on the deck. It was HOT out there! Paul wanted to go out there but they came back in the house in a short time!! We had a quiet dinner at home and spent the night watching TV. While Paul was watching TV the base rocker chair appeared to break. Dad needed to turn it over and check and found that two screws came loose on it. Paul needed to move to the couch so dad could do that. When he was standing Dad gave him the quad cane and Paul took about five steps using the cane. He still has a lot of balance problems and the cane makes him have to rely on balance more than walker. He actually did OK and we will practice this more.

Thursday Dad got Paul up and dressed and headed out about 9:30 to pick up Carolyn, Alysa & Chris. They headed up to Skyline Drive for a ride. There were no appointments so it was a good day for that. It was a bit hazy but they could still see down into the valley. They saw one deer and a groundhog but not many animals were out. Carolyn packed lunches for everyone so they had a picnic on the mountain. Paul had to walk at the picnic grounds to the restroom and it was a long way. It was probably 800ft ±. After getting home Dad took a little nap while Dora sat with Paul. It was bible study night and Ronda brought some home made noodles & chicken for dinner. I was telling Ronda after the study about our visit with Tye, Laura, Nikki & Kerrin last weekend. While we were visiting Kerrin told Paul that if he smiled for her she would give him a kiss on the cheek. Of course we know ... he loves kisses (not to mention pretty girls) and he immediately gave her the biggest smile. He even did this TWICE!! When I told Ronda about this I looked over at Paul ... and he was smiling like a Cheshire cat! He apparently liked remembering that event! I love when he smiles ... especially when it is done without us asking him to! After all went home from bible study we watched TV for a bit and Paul started falling asleep in his chair about 11:15pm so Dad took him off to bed. Friday will be speech and they will go to the gym.

Have a great weekend! TGIF Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 08/05/07

Dear Friends:

Saturday morning Gradis showed up at just after 7am. She immediately begins working with Paul to get bathed and dressed. Dad slept in late so she and I worked with Paul to get breakfast. He was able to eat breakfast and have his coffee in bed while we watched TV. Gradis and I sat in there with him and watched Mission Impossible until 10am. Once the movie was over we were able to get Paul up and she helped him in the bathroom. He actually does most of the work himself now but someone still has to help so Gradis does that!! Dad had to go out and do some errands once he was up and dressed. Since Bill & Ronda were out of town we didn't go out to Warrenton for lunch. Instead we went out to visit Paul's old neighbors Tye, Laura, Nikki & Karen who lived across the street from him on Lomond Drive. We haven't seen them since Paul moved out and we had a really nice visit. He walked with the walker to the front porch and had to WALK up about ten steps to get to their front door. This is also something new. He has only done a couple of steps on our deck and garage and has managed well enough that Dad felt he could do more steps. He did GREAT! Of course ... once you go up ... you have to come down!! He also did well coming down. After our visit we went to lunch at Yorkshire Restaurant. This was also the first time he WALKED into the restaurant. All of the staff there knows us and were amazed ... almost to tears ... that he was doing so well. The waitress was so moved that she promised Paul a piece of pie to celebrate once he finished his lunch! Once he finished his open faced roast beef sandwich she got him a piece of cherry pie! The staff there really doesn't know Paul's story and as Dad was paying the bill he was able to tell them a lot about what has gone on over the last twenty months. Carolyn & Billy went out for the evening so we had Alysa & Chris for a few hours. It was really good Grandma & Pap Paw time! The got home around 10pm and took Chris home but Alysa spent the night with us.

Sunday morning we headed out for breakfast at Yorkshire Restaurant and once we returned home Tabby was waiting to drop Max with us for the day. He went to Sunday School with us and got to play with his friends in the nursery during worship. Paul walked to church with the new walker that Aunt Ann gave him. It was Grandma Johnson's walker. It has four wheels and hand brakes. It also has a piece that turns into a seat if he should get tired while walking. He had a little trouble controlling it when he was going downhill to the church. Dad said it got away from him a bit and he fell down but he got back up and continued all the way to the church. He was able to manage the brakes and we believe he will get better the more he uses it. After church we came home, got lunch and headed out to Louisa Virginia for Grandma's viewing. The family gathered from 5 to 7pm. There were many friends whose lives she touched over her 92+ years. Our family ... Bobby & Jen, Carolyn, Billy, Alysa & Chris, Paul & Max and Carl & I were there. The kids were able to play inside the lobby of the funeral home since we were the only family there. After the viewing we went to diner with two of our dear friends. Max ate most of Karen's french fries & croutons! He was so good and he is so cute. We didn't get home until almost 11pm and headed right to bed!

Monday was Grandma's funeral. We headed out at 8am. Dora had the day off since we were planning to be gone all day. We got to Louisa right at 10am which was when the funeral service was scheduled. The director was willing to hold the start of the service so that we could get Paul into the chapel. The service was a beautiful tribute to a wonderful Mom, Grandma, Sister, Aunt & Friend to many people. The graveside service was to be in Fairfax at 2pm so as soon as the funeral service was over in Louisa we got back in the car to drive the two hours back. We stopped for lunch along the way and got to the cemetery right at 2pm. We had a short service at the graveside. It was very hot and it drizzled a bit but we didn't get any rain. Many of the family was there ... and several friends also came. What a tribute to Mom! The ladies at St. Mark's church in Manassas (our church) made food for the family. We gathered, ate and visited with the family! It was a very busy day and Paul held up very well with all the driving and the heat (it was 97 degrees in the afternoon!). Paul had a quiet evening at home. I had a meeting at the church and when I returned Paul was still up and didn't want to go to bed even though he was falling asleep in his chair!! Tuesday will be a visit to Paul's General Practitioner. She wants to follow up on his progress ... she should be surprised!!

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 08/03/07

Dear Friends:

Friday morning started with Dad getting Paul up and to the bathroom then back to bed to watch a movie until Dora came. She arrives a little after 7am and immediately starts getting Paul cleaned up and dressed. After breakfast he had about an hour before time to leave for Speech Therapy. Paul cooperated very nicely with the therapist. He talked to her and repeated everything she wanted him to say. She was very encouraged by his cooperation. After therapy Dad decided to skip going to the gym and took a trip to Paul's work instead. They haven't been down to visit in quite a while. Paul got to visit with several of his coworkers and also some folks that he really didn't know but they all know him. After they finished at the Harley Davidson Dealership they went down to Classic Iron where one of Paul's friends worked and visited there too. Dad left about 4pm to meet his sister in Louisa Virginia at the funeral home. They needed to complete the plans for Mom's funeral. I came home early and found that Dora was taking Paul to the bathroom by herself. She was doing a great job and really didn't need me! Paul wanted leftover pizza for dinner ... so we had pizza!! He seems to really enjoy finger foods lately! Carolyn & Billy came over after dinner to help with Paul after Dora left at 7pm. Billy helped Paul get up and get to the bathroom. When he was done in the bathroom he tried to walk without his walker. He isn't really ready for that and Billy had to give him the walker and remind him that he can't do that yet!! It is great that Paul is able to do so much for himself and more people are able to help him. Dad was gone until about 11:15pm and Paul was still up. He was ready to go to bed soon after Dad got home.

For those who are interested in the funeral plans for Mom (Margaret Johnson) here is a list of activities and times:

Viewing Sunday 5-7pm
Funeral Monday 10am
Woodward Funeral Home:
200 Fredericksburg Ave, Louisa, VA 23093
540-967-0085

Burial Monday 2pm (meet at the office to line up)
Fairfax Memorial Park
9900 Braddock Rd, Fairfax, VA 22032
703-425-9702

Have a great weekend, Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 08/02/07

Dear Friends:

Wednesday was another busy day for Paul. He and Dad went out to Fair Oaks Hospital for his 9:30am appointment with the occupational therapist. She started out with a yard tick that had post-it notes with numbers 1, 2 & 3 on it. She had him lay on the exercise mat and she wanted him to point to numbers that she would call out. At first he kept trying to grab the yard stick but she explained to him that she only wanted him to point to the numbers and then he was able to do what she asked. He got 1, 2 & 3 right so she took the three off and moved two to the end and he got 1 & 2 she put 3 back on in the middle. When she asked him to pick 3 he was able to identify it. She was impressed that he got the numbers right 100%. Then she worked on massaging his arms and shoulders a bit before she started moving his arms and legs up and down almost like doing jumping jacks while laying on your back. She hopes to get his brain to understand the movements of his body and also the "cross movements" of his body by moving the opposite arm and leg at the same time. She felt his muscles were very tight and suggested that Paul might go to get a massage. After OT Dad and Paul walked downstairs to the speech therapist. She got Paul to say the alphabet without any trouble but she asked him to say sunglasses but he refused to say it. After some time he finally said "sunglasses" and she asked him to repeat it ... he refused to repeat it. She tried to explain to him that he needs to try to repeat what we ask him to so he will become more comfortable. She is frustrated that she KNOWS he CAN say things but doesn't know why he refuses to say things. This makes it really hard for her to work on speech ... Dad is concerned that she will give up soon! After therapy Dad took Paul to the cafeteria for lunch before heading out to the gym. They worked on their regular routine. Paul argued with Dad about doing things but he still did a good workout. After the workout they did the bicycle. When his ten minutes were up Dad said "OK, we're done" and Paul shook his head "no". He wanted to keep peddling. He really likes the bike. Paul was pretty tired by the time they got home. It was almost 3pm by that time. I made Tuna Helper for dinner which Paul really enjoyed. He has figured out that he can eat faster with his hands ... doh! He makes a mess but he really enjoys his food! When it was bedtime Dad took him down the hall to go to the bathroom. When he got to the bathroom door he set his walker to the side of the door (on the outside) and held onto the door jam. He wanted to walk into the bathroom without the walker!! At first he was holding onto the right side of the door jam and the handicap bar across from the toilet is on the right wall of the bathroom. It was too far away for Paul to reach so Dad suggested that he grab the door knob and then grab the bar. He was able to do that and managed to get himself in place to sit on the toilet!! He has been so amazing lately! He really seems to want to give up his walker!!

Thursday morning Dad took Paul to the Hair Cuttery to get a haircut. He seemed to really enjoy the hair washing!! Could be that it was nice to get his hair washed without having water & soap going all into his eyes!! Dad said Paul used his walker all day. They went to the pool after his haircut. They did four laps (backwards) without Dad holding him. He kicked his feet a little more, it isn't much but it is a good exercise. The pool was very cold again and Paul is becoming more vocal about his displeasure! Dad tried to get him into a shower before going into the pool with the hope that the water wouldn't feel so cold but Paul refused to get in the shower. He shivers and makes groaning noises as the machine lowers him into the water. I suspect that although it isn't fun for Paul ... it probably is good for him since this sends sensory stimulus to his brain! After they finished with the pool Dad took Paul to McDonalds and got some lunch. They had a massage scheduled for 4pm so Dad headed back to the Freedom Center after lunch. Paul had a half hour session for a massage. The masseur worked on Paul's arms, shoulders and upper back the entire time. He said Paul was very stiff (we knew that!). Paul laid on his stomach the entire time and allowed the guy to work on his muscles. By the time the half hour was over Paul was tired of being on his stomach! The evening was difficult for our entire family. Carl's mother, who has been ill for some time, passed away about 4:30pm. We have been expecting this but it is never easy losing someone dear to you. She was a wonderful, strong spirited woman who loved her family. She will be very missed. Carolyn & Chris were at our house when I arrived home from work. Bobby & Jen arrived after dinner. It was nice to be able to visit together and remember Grandma. Paul was very tired and went to bed around 10pm. He has had a pretty busy week.

Have a great day! TGIF Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 07/31/07

Dear Friends:

Today was pool day. Dad took Paul to the gym about 10am. The water was extremely cold and Paul was not happy while they were lowering him into the water. It was actually taking his breath away as they lowered him. Once he was in the water Dad walked him around the pool a while before he finally relaxed his arms. He kicked his feet while Dad pulled him backwards. Then Dad got him to do the backstroke a bit ... Dad moved his arms but Paul didn't fight it. Dad also let Paul push himself backwards the length of the pool. Once he got to the wall he just stood there and wouldn't go any farther so Dad had him exercise his legs while standing at the edge of the pool. He did that for a couple minutes but then decided he wasn't interested in doing that anymore. When they were done at the pool Dad took Paul back home. I took off early so that I could stay with Dora & Paul for the afternoon. Dad's mother (who is almost 93 years old) has been failing a lot over the last week and he wanted to go to visit her. He left about 12:40pm. I fixed Paul lunch and we spent the afternoon watching TV. I spent a little time straightening up my office while Paul was watching Star Trek ... I don't really care to watch that! Since Paul has gotten so strong it is easier for Dora and me to get Paul up so that he can go to the bathroom. I don't help him once he is in the bathroom ... I want to preserve his dignity so I let Dora work with him and I just get supplies as needed and assist in the walk to and from the bathroom. He is also getting better at sitting down ... instead of "flopping" in his chair he has better control and balance! Dad picked up Tacos on his way home and Paul seemed to really enjoy that. After dinner Ronda & Bill came over with dessert and we had coffee. Paul enjoyed Ronda's cake!! He was picking it up with his hands and taking big bites! Paul was pretty quiet most of the day. He has been pretty quiet lately. I guess since he is doing so well physically we really cannot complain that he doesn't talk to us! I pray that one day he will suddenly begin to figure out how to communicate with us better ... he is doing so well with walking and exercise ... maybe the same improvement will happen with speech some day!! Wednesday will be Occupational & Speech therapy. We are now doing one day a week for OT but thankfully we will continue to have Speech twice a week.

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl