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