Paul's Update - 02/26/06

Dear Friends:

Sundays start pretty late for us. After going to worship this morning we headed to the hospital. Tabby was out doing some errands so when we got there Paul was alone. He was awake and watching basketball on the TV (hmmm I don't really think he's a basketball fan ... must be the nurses idea!!) Anyway, we sat with him for a while until Tabby came. We had asked him if he wanted to get out of bed and he said "no" so we watched TV with him for a while. Dad worked to exercise his arms and legs a bit since he has been so stiff. When Tabby arrived he seemed to have a renewed interest in getting up ... I think Tabby has a positive effect on him (ya think???). Since the speech therapist had suggested that it would be easier to work the muscles in his face if he was shaved ... that is what we did today. He got a clean shave! Afterward, we took him for a walk around the hospital and sat in the lobby for a while. He seemed to enjoy getting out of the room. Dad worked on his left arm while we were in the lobby a little bit. He has a bit of saliva that sometimes needs to be wiped and Tabby put a cloth in his hand. He tried real hard to get the cloth to his mouth but since that arm is so stiff he cannot get it to his face. He really tries hard. When we got back to the room he sat up for a bit before we got back to bed. Tabby has bought some "scrubs" for him to wear. They fit loosely and are pretty comfortable for him. When he needs to change clothes he is now able to help quite a bit. He moves his arms to make it easier to take them out of the sleeves and he can lift his bottom up to make it easier to put the pants on. tonight he actually reached to pull the pants up! It just shows how much he is aware of his personal needs!! Monday will start EARLY ... he has something called ADL therapy at 9am. The nurse called it Activities for Daily Living. They will dress him and do hygiene things with him. Then he has speech therapy at 11am. Physical therapy is at 2pm. He also has the IVC filter removal sometime during the day but we haven't been told when it is scheduled for yet. Another piece of hardware that we will get rid of! Yahoo! Have a great day!

Love, Lynne & Carl