Paul's Update - 03/11/06

Note: Due to unexpected difficulties related to the fact that mom is traveling and the apparent fact that hotel owners in Georgia still believe the internet is the underwear portion of a pair of swim trunks. Bobby will be composing tonight's e-mail.

This morning came earlier than a workday morning. Paul's first therapy started at 9am, so we had to leave by 7:30 (to compensate for the caffine and crissandwich stop essential to our mission). I may not know much, but I do know that 7 o'clock looks a lot better in the evening (where it belongs) than it does in the morning. Paul's schedule had him slated for Speech therapy at 9, and physical therapy at 1:30. Arriving at the hospital around 8:40 we found Paul dressed and ready to go. He looked really good this morning. Speech therapy concentrated on swallowing today, so he got to eat an entire popsicle. His therapist tried to get him to use his left arm (because he seems to be stronger with that one) and he seemed to do pretty well for the most part. He was able to hold the popsicle, but wasn't quite able to get it all the way to his mouth. He would lean his head towards it, while still trying to bring his arm up and she would assist him once he couldn't get it any further. He did okay for the most part, swallowing most of it, but he still managed to make a bit of a mess around his mouth. She got a washcloth and asked him to use it to clean off his face. She put the washcloth in his left hand and he got it close to his mouth, but not quite far enough to do any actual washing. Then he kinda shocked us. He raised his right hand (the weaker arm that he doesn't move very often) all the way up to his face and touched his thumb to his ear! He then ran the thumb down his jawline to his lips and looked up at us (almost like he was trying to figure out where his beard went). This is exciting because it seems to show some awareness. He didn't seem to be in a noise-making (talking) mood today, and his therapist didn't really push him that hard on it. He didn't really do much exciting during PT (physical therapy). They practiced standing and sitting, and he seemed to do okay, but required assistance to do them. He did rub his face with his right hand again during PT. After that we went outside. We toured the garden they have outside the main lobby, sat in the sun for a bit and enjoyed the breeze. We stayed outside for about a half an hour or so, and went back in 'cause he was looking kind of tired. Around 6 this evening I decided to head down to the cafeteria for dinner (the food is great here, by the way) so I told Paul I'd be back in 15-20 minutes and headed down. I met a guy who was recently paralyzed from the waist down and started shooting the breeze with him. Before I knew it, I had been gone an hour and a half. I raced back upstairs and found Paul halfway out of bed. He had kicked his blanket off and had both his legs hanging off the right side (remember, his weaker side) and had slid down the bed a little. He was really just one good roll-over away from being out of the bed, on the floow. His face was really red and he looked pretty angry. I felt so bad for leaving him that long. I got some nurses and we got him back into bed. I spent the last hour apologizing for being gone for so long. All in all, He looked really good today. He seemed to be alert , he got to eat ice cream, and go outside. I'd say we had a pretty good day. Thanks again to everybody, for your thoughts and prayers. Keep 'em coming' 'cuz they seem to be workin'.

Love, Bobby