Paul's Update - 02/16/07

Dear Friends:

The weeks go by so fast and we’ve been pretty busy since we returned from our vacation. Monday we left South Carolina about 9:30am. We made lots of stops and had a leisurely drive home. Paul rode in the front of the truck most of the trip but at one of our stops he suddenly decided he wanted to sit in the back seat. Carl’s truck has a back seat and separate doors that open to the back. It is really easy to get into and there is plenty of room for him to sit back there. He rode there for about an hour before he was ready to be in the front again!! We stopped at McDonald’s for lunch but at dinner we stopped at Cracker Barrel. On the way home we stopped at Carl’s sister, Ann’s house for a bit and we got home about 10:30pm. We were all very tired. Paul was very glad to be back in his own bed!

Tuesday we were back to “business”!! Paul had a dentist appointment at 12PM. The dentist office called that morning and asked if he could come a little early so Dad, Paul & Dora got to the dentist about 11:30am. This was just a regular cleaning visit. After the dentist Paul had therapy. Physical therapy was at 2pm. They worked on walking. The therapist timed his walking and said he is getting a bit quicker with his walking. He walks the wall while holding the rail on the wall. She times how long he can walk without losing balance. Occupational therapy was at 3pm. She has been working with getting Paul to reach his arms out. She has him put things on a shelf and move them to other shelves. He had to reach almost as far as he can reach and put a soda bottle on the top of a cabinet without dropping it. It was quite a challenge but he did well. They worked on the peg board which he enjoys and does well. He had to chose the colors as she asked him to pick them. He got the colors all right. Later in the evening Max came over until Mommy came home. He was excited to see Pap-Paw since he hadn’t seen us for almost two weeks. Paul was glad to see him too!!

Wednesday morning Paul had therapy at 9:30 and 10:30. Occupational therapy was first. The therapist was suspicious that Paul is seeing double. She took a pen and had him follow it with his eyes. He was able to follow it but his right eye doesn’t respond the way it should. He seems to need to close that eye to focus on things. She took a piece of paper and put a big “E” on it and had him practice telling her which was it was turned. He actually did pretty good with that exercise and he may be able to go to the eye doctor sometime in the future. The Physical Therapist worked on balance exercises. She is seeing improvement in his balance. They are unable to use the corner where they practice standing without holding on to anything ... the hospital put a Christmas tree there!! They walked down the hall with the railing. Wednesday evening we met Bill & Ronda for dessert and coffee after dinner.

Thursday and Friday were quiet days at home for Paul. He earned it!! Dad went out and did some shopping on Thursday. Paul stayed home with Dora. We had bible study in the evening and of course Ronda made dinner for us! It is hard to believe we are so close to Christmas!! Friday Dad worked in the yard a good part of the day. He has a new leaf blower so he cleaned up the yard. It was much needed ... we came home to leaves all up next to the front door. That means ... every time you open the front door ... leaves come in!! I had choir practice to go to in the evening. Our choir was preparing for the Christmas Program. We managed to get in dinner at Yorkshire Restaurant before I went to the church.

Saturday morning Dad got Paul ready to go out. They took a trip to visit Paul’s work. Dad, Paul & Gradis left the house about 10:30am. There weren’t many of the mechanics there but Paul visited with the guy at the parts counter for a bit. Paul got to visit with the owner a bit and then went back into the mechanics shop. There was only one guy there so they didn’t visit long. On the way out the owner’s wife saw Paul and came over to visit a bit. They are very pleased to see him doing well. She prayed with him before they left and told him that they were still holding a job for him when he’s ready to come back!!! Wouldn’t that be nice?? After they left Dad took Paul to the Pizza place nearby where Paul use to go for lunch. The lady at the counter said she remembered Paul and asked how Tabby & Paul were. She was very glad to see him. After lunch they went to Classic Iron (another motorcycle shop nearby). Paul had been there the day of his accident. He has a good friend there. They visited with his friend for a bit. The girl that works at the counter showed up before they left (she’d gone out to get lunch) and was pleased to see Paul also! None of these people have seen Paul since he started walking with the cane. Later in the evening we had Christmas carolers show up at the house. They sang for Paul and brought him a Christmas present from the Youth group. Paul enjoyed having the company. What a nice blessing!!

Sunday was busy as usual. We went to breakfast with Bill & Ronda. Alysa (our granddaughter) had spent the night with us and came to breakfast too. We headed out to church about 9:30am. Max came with Pap-paw & Daddy. After church Dad went out to get lunch at McDonald’s. Max loves his chicken nuggets & French fries! It was a nice quiet afternoon. Max & Pap-Paw napped. Alysa played on the computer and I attempted to get in a little nap. We had our Christmas program at the church in the evening. It was wonderful and Paul seemed to enjoy it. After the program we had refreshments in the social hall. Paul wanted to walk down the line of food on the table and he picked out the foods he wanted to eat. Dad said he was very particular about which cookies he wanted!! We had a wonderful fellowship time and Santa showed up to delight the kids! All of our grandchildren were there and we got pictures of them with Santa! We got home about 9:30pm and watched the balance of the football game.

Paul has been feeling pretty good lately and although there is not much “new” activity, he continues to improve. We are so blessed by all the things he is able to do. I am constantly mindful that we are where we are because of God’s grace and the prayers of our friends and family. Thanks for all your love!!

Have a great day, Lynne & Carl