Paul's Update - 07/17/08

Dear Friends:

The last month has gone by quickly. Many things have happened. Paul & Dad went to a Father & Son picnic at the church to celebrate Father’s day on the 21st. It was VERY hot so the picnic turned into a fellowship dinner indoors. All had a good time. Sunday the 22nd there was a going away dinner for Pastor Vickie. Her last Sunday at our church was to be on June 29th and she moves on to a new church in Middleburg Virginia. We will miss her! Our new pastor Jim Johnson (no relation!) was scheduled to start on July 6th.

On June 25th Dad, Paul, Alysa & I left with Aunt Ann (Carl’s sister) to go to the family reunion in Indiana. This is Carl’s mother’s family that has a reunion every year in June. We left on Wednesday and headed toward Kentucky to take a sidebar trip to the Creation Museum. We stayed in a hotel Wednesday night. Alysa, Pap-Paw, Uncle Paul & I went to the pool once we got settled in. Alysa started learning a little about how to swim. She was able to put her face in the water (after some encouragement from Pap-Paw) and swam a little!! She needs more practice but is getting the idea. Paul was able to go down the steps into the pool and he walked around with Dad a little. He tired quickly and wanted to sit on the steps while Dad & Alysa played. We arrived at the museum on Thursday morning. When we got to the museum we inquired about a wheelchair in case Paul got tired. They said they had them but when we asked Paul if he wanted to get one he said “no”. He used his walker and walked the whole museum. It was designed with seating and shows strategically placed to give you a break every so often. Paul did great! After we saw the interior of the museum we went to the petting zoo in the back of the museum. Alysa got to pet and feed the animals there. Paul had to walk a long way to get there and sat under the picnic pavilion while Alysa, Ann and I went in to see the animals. We stayed in a hotel near where the reunion was going to be on Thursday night. When we arrived in the room Paul walked past the bed and parked his walker, then turned around WITHOUT it and proceeded to walk over to the bed to sit down. He doesn’t do that very often since he usually has his cane at home. Later in the evening he was in the bathroom while Dad & I sat in the room when suddenly we heard a “crash”. Dad ran to the bathroom to find Paul on the floor! Apparently he tried to get up from the toilet by himself. He NEVER does that at home! He was OK … only a little bruised but he gave us a good scare! Friday morning we headed towards Frankton Indiana to visit with Ronda’s Mom & Dad. It is about a half hour away from where Carl’s cousin lives. We had a very nice although short visit with them before heading to Greenfield. On arriving we found that Carl’s cousin was in a nursing home for complications of congestive heart failure. It was to be a temporary visit until he was strong enough to do some therapy. We were able to go to the nursing home and visit for a little bit. Paul went with us and I think Loren enjoyed having us visit. We went back to the farm after our visit and had dinner with more of the family that had arrived. Saturday we went for a ride around the farm so that Alysa could see how much land 3000 acres is! While we were riding around we saw a cow on the side of the road cleaning up her BRAND NEW CALF!! We stopped on the side of the road and watched the new mom take care of her baby and were there to see “baby” stand for the first time. We just missed seeing this calf being born! According to Loren’s nephew who runs the farm, this was the last calf that would be born this season! Alysa was fascinated ... as were we!! Saturday was the reunion. There was a small group of about 24 people that met at a local family restaurant. We were able to visit for about three hours before heading out to make our way home. We stopped in Ohio on the way home to visit more family.

We got home on Monday the 30th. Since then ... we’ve had only Occupational Therapy on Thursdays. We have been waiting to get someone to work with Paul on Speech. He finally got to the top of the list and will begin Speech Therapy on August 5th. Paul went back to the Neurologist for a follow-up. The doctor is always amazed at Paul’s progress. All of his blood tests continue to be in the normal/acceptable range. Paul also went to the dentist and had a small cavity filled. Dad has not been feeling well for the last couple of weeks. His doctor ran some tests and is sending him to a specialist for more tests. He has been having severe pain in his back near his ribs and there is no definitive cause. He has been allowing Dora to take care of Paul for most of the day. It is really nice that she can handle Paul by herself when we need her to.

We have been having Max every Sunday. He is a joy to have around. Paul really enjoys watching the children when they come over. It is really good for us as well. Max is talking more and more and loves to sing & dance. Chris is also starting to say some words. He hasn’t started walking yet but is VERY close. He is taking about two or three steps without holding onto anything!! Alysa is enjoying her summer. She is doing Judo and really loves it. Her Dad is doing Judo too! Bobby & Jen have been busy and we don’t see them often enough. They came over last Sunday and we had a nice visit. Bobby has been writing a “blog” for The Bleacher Report about the Redskins Football team. He has had a couple of them published online! I can send a link to them if you are interested.

On a sad note ... today was Tabby’s court date. She has been granted a decree of divorce and has begun changing her name back to Smith. It saddens us that the relationship that she and Paul had has come to such an end. It is a sad fact that brain injury often leads to the end of many marriages ... we’ve become another statistic! I am amazed that in a flash our lives have been so turned upside down. Many days we just accept the facts as they are ... but then we stop and think about it and become sad. I often wish God would reveal the purpose of this in our lives. We can only be hopeful that Paul will continue to recover and have a more normal life some day. Thanks for your continued love and prayers!!

Have a great day, Lynne & Carl