Paul's Update - 05/02/06

Dear Friends:

Monday was a good day. OT came at lunch to watch Paul eat. Paul was eating country fried steak, mashed potatoes & corn. He was impressed at how well Paul eats and drinks. After watching him eat the therapist said he is going to try to get approval to come an extra day each week (three times instead of two). The Nurse came by to see Paul. He watched Paul drink water and was also impressed. He checked all Paul's vitals and said everything was great. He and the other therapists are happy to see the progress Paul has made since they started working with him. The attribute a lot of it to the family support. One of the men from church came by and delivered some medical supplies that he & his wife had and while he was there he mowed the grass ... what a blessing for Tabby. Another friend from church came by. She is a recreational therapist and brought some pictures to help with communication. She had a "yes" card and a "no" card along with other pictures that he could point to when he wants something. When you ask him if he can read them he nods "yes" but when you ask him to touch them he wouldn't do that. Tabby asked him to tell her what they say and when she pointed to the "yes" card he nodded "yes" then the "no" card and he shook his head "no". The therapist wants us to work on other things besides "are you hungry?". Since he communicates to us that he is hungry or thirsty she would like to see him be able to communicate other things like "I want to watch TV" or "I want to get up". Twice Paul stole someone else's drink. Dad was clearing the table at dinner and he had his tea at the far side of the table. When Dad came back Paul was drinking his tea and had a smirk on his face ... I think Dad's drink must have been better. Then when Tabby had a diet soda on the table ... she turned her back on Paul ... he put down his water and took her soda!! Paul also grabbed Tabby's hand and she thought he was going to nibble her hand but instead he pulled it towards himself and kissed it.

Today was a very busy day. We (Dad, Tabby, Bobby, Carolyn & Myself) met with the case manager from Brain Injury Services. We told her our concerns about getting a gastroenterologist, speech therapist, transportation, Dental care and vision care. She is going to check on the different doctors to see if there are some that handle, specifically, brain injury patients. She is also going to check on locating a van. Since we have the opportunity to get a speech therapist on our own (according to the insurance company) she is willing to make calls to some of the ones that work in the school system and see what she can line up for Tabby since she hasn't had the time to do this. After she left Dad, Tabby, Carolyn & Bobby went to Area Access which specializes in products that promote independent living. They provide scooters, starilifts, accessible vans, elevators etc. Tabby is considering a stairlift or elevator to move Paul to the upstairs portion of the house. Paul had a doctor appointment with the neurologist at 3pm. The trip with logisticare was not pleasant. The driver was less than efficient ... he didn't even strap Paul into a seatbelt and the van was dirty and smelly! The doctor did an evaluation and said he wanted to take Paul off some of the drugs he is currently taking. He is discontinuing the Arasept and the Provigel. He is not convinced by everything he has read that these drugs have ever been proved to be successful and he doesn't like the risk of side affects if the drug doesn't do anything. If we see a dramatic change he will consider starting them back. This means Paul is only taking the Prozac (for depression) and Nexium (for indigestion). The doctor's staff recommended that Paul go to see an opthamologist. It turns out they recommend the very same doctor that Bobby saw as a child (who we loved by the way!!). Thursday Paul has a dentist appointment to see if he can have some work done on his molars. He is going to the dentist that he had been going to before the accident and this dentist said he wants to do an evaluation prior to saying he will do the work. Tabby tried to call logisticare to arrange transportation and they cannot move him because the dentist is not covered by Medicaid. Dad & Tabby practiced getting Paul into the truck and also the car and it IS possible to move him in a private vehicle. He sits up well once you get him into the vehicle. It is challenging to get him in and out of the vehicles but Dad is strong enough to manage him. When Paul got home he was able to be outside (after dinner that is) and he stayed out until almost dark. He had a very long day and was up all day. When we left tonight he was playing with the new massager that Tabby bought for him. He had figured out how to turn it on and off and was playing with the buttons. He was pretty tired though and was dozing off.

Thanking God for our Blessings! Lynne & Carl