Paul's Update - 05/01/08

Dear Friends:

Thursday (the 24th) Paul went to therapy. Occupational Therapy started at 10:30. Amy, the therapist started working with Paul to toss a ball back and forth to her. She tried to get him to bounce the ball on the floor but he wouldn’t release it so she had him just turn his hand over and drop the ball so he can practice letting go of it. She had a balloon that she tossed to him and he was suppose to bat it with his hand. When she tossed it to him he tried to hit it with his hand but it tipped off of his hand and bounced back hitting him in the head. Dad said he got tickled and actually chuckled!! He never laughs so this was pretty significant … it is as close to a laugh as you can get! The therapist had to spend some of the session trying to get final authorization for payment for therapy from Medicaid so the time was cut short. The Physical Therapist worked on walking, balancing & tummy crunches. This takes most of the time since she has him walk in the hallway, down and back several times.

Friday night we went out to dinner with Bill, Ronda & Traci. We went to the Chinese Restaurant.

Saturday we spent the day at home, Bill & Ronda had a birthday party to go to in the afternoon so we didn’t get to go out for lunch. Later in the evening we went to visit Bobby & Jen at their apartment. We still had some wedding gifts to deliver to them. Paul has never been to their apartment since there are about 20 steps up to the second level. When we got to the bottom of the steps Dad put the walker to the side and Paul grabbed the railings on either side of the steps. He began walking up the stairs and did VERY well. He actually walked up the steps ALL BY HIMSELF!!! WOW ... what an accomplishment! It was an emotional moment for us! We stayed and visited with Bobby & Jen for a little while before it was time to head home. Amazingly, Paul was able to walk DOWN the steps by himself too!! Dad & Bobby were right there just in case he lost his balance but he did just fine. We went by Roy Rogers on the way home and had dinner. Paul got a large Strawberry shake. If you haven’t had shakes at Roy Rogers you need to know that they use REAL strawberries in their shakes ... Paul had to work really hard to drink the shake when the strawberries kept getting in the straw!! LOL

Sunday morning we went to breakfast at Yorkshire Restaurant. Max came after breakfast and went to church with us. He enjoyed Sunday School even though he was a little uncertain when I told him I was leaving. After getting a kiss from Grandma … he was fine and ready to play! He is talking more and more. He is quite a busy child but is very much a JOY in our lives! After church we headed home and had lunch. Pap-Paw and Max played for a while until they both went to lay down and take a little nap!!

Monday was a rainy day. I had a doctor appointment first thing. After coming home Dad & I went out to Best Buy so I could get a new printer. We also took a trip to Costco to get a new vacuum cleaner and a few grocery items. Paul stayed with Dora. She has become very good with Paul when Dad is gone and she is able to allow Paul to use his cane instead of the walker. She has learned to anticipate when Paul is losing his balance and if she corrects his balance in time he will recover by himself without her really having to “catch” him.

Tuesday Dad & Paul took another walk to the park. Dad has Paul use his walker and they are walking about a quarter of a mile. He walked to the park and sat on the bench to rest for a few minutes before walking back home. Dad had to go to Paul’s doctor’s office and get a new prescription for his medicine. Since he was out running errands he decided to come by my office and we went out to lunch together. We haven’t been able to do that much over the last year.

Wednesday morning Dad & Paul went for another walk. Again they took a break at the bench. Dad is hopeful that they will be able to start increasing the distance so he can work up to 2 miles. Later Dad, Paul & Dora went out shopping for a new shed. Carl wanted to see if it would be affordable to purchase a premade shed rather than build one himself. It was a nice opportunity for Paul to get out of the house as well. It has rained so much over the last week that Carl hasn’t been able to work in the yard much. Paul didn’t seem to feel very well later in the day. He has been going to bed around 10pm and waking up in the morning at 4am and, as tired as he was at 10pm, he didn’t want to go to bed until 11pm.

Today was another therapy day. The Occupational Therapist was sick so Paul only had Physical Therapy. The therapist had a walker without wheels. She had him position the walker to go between a stool, a pillow and a piece of Styrofoam. Then she had him balance the walker and stand on the pillow. He had to step up onto the stool and then step off. She had him climb the set of steps that they have and walk down. They went to the hallway and she had him “march”. She had him lift his knees up as high as he could and walk, then he had to go backwards. He stopped a couple of times and the therapist had to encourage him to keep going. She also had him do sidesteps while holding onto her hand. When he is holding her hands she can tell how much he is work he does to stabilize himself. He did better going to the left side than the right. We had bible study in the evening. Ronda made another delicious dinner ... pork chops & cheesy potatoes. Paul loved it! He stayed up until almost 11pm again. This week we will mark the two and a half year mark since the accident. We are also approaching the final steps of Paul & Tabby’s divorce. It is an emotional time for us. I am thankful for your prayers and continued support for Paul and our family! God has been good to us and Paul’s recovery has been full of wonderful miracles!

Have a great day, Lynne & Carl