Paul's Update - 03/01/06

Dear Friends:

Today was better. Paul started out the day with Physical Therapy. He was able to work better since he wasn't already tired. The therapist got him on his feet to stand. While he was standing he shifted his weight from his left foot. Dad asked him if he was having pain and he said "yes". His orthopedist had told us before that he may have pain in that left foot for some time. We will try some Tylenol prior to the next standing session! Speech therapy went fairly well. He was able to say "ahh" about six times with a little push on his stomach. Paul was able to get his hand to his mouth a bit better today. They continue to work on exercising his cheeks and tongue. As of tonight Paul has had the plug on his trach for over 24 hours. He is able to control his saliva and swallow very well. This is very good and it will take him closer to having the trach removed within a few days. Hopefully he will get better and better at chewing and swallowing so he can start eating by mouth soon too! Occupational Therapy was late today ... they came around 1pm. He was pretty tired but he was able to stretch out his arms a little. He started muscle relaxers on Tuesday night and it seems to help a little. There were two therapists working during OT today. They got him on a mat and had him roll from side to side. He seems to like being on his side and he can move almost by himself. They also worked at a table with him sitting up to push his arms across the table. This stretches out the arms without much stress on them. By the time they had done that much he was totally exhausted and couldn't even stay awake. He took a three hour nap after that!! Tabby came after work and stayed until visiting hours were over. It is so amazing to see how he responds to her. It is so warm and you can see a loving look between them. Love is a great healer!! Thursday will start off with OT. That should get him woke up and limbered up. Then he will have PT at 11am. Speech will be at 1pm. This should be a good schedule for him since most of the speech therapy is done from the bed or in the wheelchair. Each day is different but still we have good things happen every day!!

God Bless, Lynne & Carl