Paul's Update - 03/30/06

Dear Friends:

Well ... today wasn't as good as yesterday but Paul had a fairly good day. When Dad & I arrived today Paul was already dressed and in his wheelchair working with the speech therapist who came in at 8:00 am. She was almost done. She said that Paul wouldn't swallow the popsicle today but he reached for it with his tongue. He is doing a bit better at controlling his tongue but we still have lots of work to do on swallowing. He had a good strong blow on the whistle today though. He wouldn't use the bell today and only did the buzzer some of the time. He wasn't able to answer any questions but when Dad told him to push it three times he did that. She worked to massage his tongue and cheeks a bit. OT was at 9:00 am. This was the same time that we were scheduled to meet with the lady from Brain Injury Services (BIS). The therapist took Paul to the therapy room while Dad & I talked to the BIS representative. She got lots of info from us and said that they can assign a case manager that will help us to understand what services are available in the area that deal specifically with brain injury patients etc. First their review board will meet the second Tuesday in April to see if Paul qualifies for their services and determine how soon he can be assigned to a case worker. Hopefully they will recommend him right away so we will have someone to help us when he comes home. The OT said that Paul did OK today until he was tired of her moving his arm. PT was at 11:00 am and we had another substitute today. She started by sitting him on the therapy bench and stretching his back and shoulder muscles. He did really good holding his head up today. They walked about 40 feet but he didn't help much ... he was probably tired since he'd been up since about 7:30 am. When therapy was done we took him to his room and back into bed to rest for a bit. Dad & I went to lunch. After lunch we took Paul outside for a walk around the hospital grounds. There are horses on a farm across from the hospital so we crossed the road so he could see them. When asked if he saw the horses he nodded his head "yes". We sat outside in the little garden for a bit and listened to the airplanes and birds. There was a gentle breeze and Paul stayed awake and held his head up during the whole outing!! This evening the nurse came in and instructed Dad & Me (mostly Dad) how to do Bolus feeding through the feed tube. This feeding is five times a day instead of a constant feed at night. This is more like a regular feeding schedule that most of us have and the body does well with. He had his first feeding today and held it down really well. The doctor had increased the muscle relaxer last night and also started Paul on the new medicine that is used for Parkinson's patients. This is suppose to help wake him up more. He seems to be doing OK with both of these changes but we will see over the next few days. Friday Paul will have four therapy sessions. The OT wants to do more ADL sessions since Paul does so well with them. I suspect that is what is going to happen ... the schedule actually says ... Speech-10:00am, OT-11:00 am, PT-1:00 pm & OT again at 3:00 pm. That makes for a long day but Paul has been staying awake most of the day anyway. Over the weekend Tabby plans to work on the house again. She needs to do ...

1) Painting in Kitchen Area and Stairway. Painting Ceiling, Trim, and Walls. It's a bit difficult especially with the Ceiling and Trim; 2) Installation of Exterior Door. (Concrete Entry Way) This is out of our expertise and she will need someone who will know what type and size door to buy; 3) Installation of Interior Door for Downstairs Bathroom. (30" Rough In); 4) If we can have the bedroom door switched around, that would be quite helpful too. (That's a time and volunteer issue.); 5) Cleaning the house ... there is lots of drywall dust all over the house.

If you would like to help ... Please email me and we can get you Tabby's phone number. It would also be good if you send a contact phone number for her in case she finds that she already has enough help and needs to contact you so you don't waste a trip. Paul's still scheduled to come home next Thursday and it will be nice to have the house completely ready. Next week will be a whirlwind of activity getting all the medical equipment delivered and beginning to work with the agency that will coordinate Paul's in-home care needs. Please also keep us in prayer as we prepare for all the changes!!

Blessings, Lynne & Carl