Every Day Is A New Day

On Thursday, Jon and I had to stay at the hospital from 7:30 A.M. until 7:30 P.M. so that we could learn more about all that will need to be done for Paul once he is home. Unfortunately, Paul had some setbacks while we were gone and that means that his stomach tube will not be out before he comes home next Wednesday. He had been eating very well before we left for the wedding, but has developed a problem with swallowing liquids. When we came back from the wedding on Tuesday, I was able to get Paul to start eating his meals again. At first everyone thought he had stopped eating because he missed his family. After working with him these past 3 days, I found that the real problem was that he cannot swallow liquids. What was happening was Paul would take a sip of milk or juice and then not be able to swallow it. He could not tell anyone that he had something in his mouth, so would just shake his head no when asked to eat. So the nurses thought he was not in the mood to eat. I noticed on Tuesday, that he ate very well, but that it took a lot of coaxing to help him get the liquids swallowed. So I just kept his drink away until he was finished eating because it takes a good 20 minutes for him to swallow liquids if he has someone sitting there talking him through it. As long as he does not take a sip of drink, he can finish all his food. But that leaves the problem of hydration. I worked with the speech therapist yesterday about this problem and she is going to work with Paul, but has no idea why this problem has developed. They need to see that Paul can get enough nutrition and hydration before the stomach tube is removed and it does not look like that will happen before we take him home Wednesday.

This sets up the issue of his getting into the full day program at Shepherd Pathways. He cannot have a stomach tube. They could keep Paul at the hospital until the original discharge date of January 19, but they feel that Paul might progress better if he is at home. So they have not changed the date of discharge from January 11, but it means that Paul will get only a 3 hour session of physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy each day and will then be taken back home. Once he gets his stomach tube removed, he will be allowed to be in the full 6 1/2 hour program of rehabilitation. If Paul is able to overcome this new problem in the next few days, he can start the full day program by 1/16.

There was another developement that we felt would be an issue but could not be determined until Paul could talk. He had an appointment with an ENT doctor yesterday also and it was determined that he has suffered a significant hearing loss in his left ear due to the impact to that side of his head. There will be a CAT scan taken today to see the damage done to the ear, which can be corrected possibly with surgery. We also heard that the nerve that controls the facial movement on Paul's left side might also be able to be helped with surgery, so that his eyelid would be able to open and close again. We will remain hopeful that something might be able to be done for Paul concerning these 2 issues. As they were testing Paul in the sound proof room, I was feeling such despair as I watched Paul. I could see that he was not signaling that he was hearing the tones when they were testing his left side. I knew it meant hearing loss and I was remembering him telling me that a music teacher had told him he was gifted in that area of music. He he was able to hear notes and accurately tell her which ones they were. I felt such sadness as I thought about all that Paul had lost due to this accident and the pain he has been suffering. He had cried out to his dad as the ENT had to take a tube down his nose to get a picture of his vocal chords. The whole procedure left Paul very anxious about the rest of the exam and we could tell he was about done with all the probing and testing that has been done to him. When I looked at Paul's face, I could see the confusion and fear he was experiencing. I could have easily started to cry, but found myself calling out to God to help me be strong for Paul. I looked out the window and the sky was so beautiful - blue with wispy white clouds. I was reminded that all is right in God's world. His love is as immense and comforting as that big sky we see everyday. Even if I can't see the blue sky because of clouds, I know it is blue above them. I can count on that, as I can count on God's eternal love. As I hugged Paul and reassured him we were right there with him, I knew God was there also. Later, as I reflected on the day, I was reminded that all of this is God's will and I won't give up my trust in Him. What seems like a loss to me, is only His hand at work and His ways are more beautiful than anything we can imagine.

Physically, Paul has good strength. He is walking all around now, as long as someone is with him holding the strap around his chest for balance. Occasionally, he tends to cross his right leg over to his left as he walks and his upper body balance is still not steady. But it is easy to keep him steadied as he walks. We practiced going up and down the emergency exit stairways. He went down 6 flights of stairs and back up again. It left him only mildly winded......no worse than I was! We also wheeled him over to his doctor appointment, which meant going out the front door and crossing over to the other side of the street, to a building down the block. It felt so good being out in the crisp, fresh air. Paul seemed to enjoy being outside and was looking all around him, taking it all in. We had to sit for about 45 minutes in the waiting room, and Paul sat quietly and patiently. (I was wondering how long he would last, as the minutes dragged on,but he did very well.) He had not had either of his 2 scheduled naps, so when we got back from the doctor's office at 4:30, Paul wheeled himself straight to his room and motioned for us to help him into bed. He was wiped out. Even the nurses noted this so they brought his meal to his room, so he could stay in bed. He was almost finished with eating and then he curled up on his side and he took the last few bites laying like that. We got him cleaned up and before we left, we prayed the Hail Mary with him, which he actually said out loud with us and we blessed him with the water from Lourdes. After I blessed him, he said "Thank you mom." I immediately had tears in my eyes, because it had been a long time since I had heard those words and they made up for all the disappointments we experienced that day. All's right in God's world.

The peace of God's love be with you.
Love,
Jon and Rebecca Fidero

p.s. - Thank you to everyone for the love you shared with us while we were in New Hampshire. It was so great getting to see all the family, all the students from Ave Maria University, and the people whose names we have come to know from the blogspot. Your prayers are helping us everyday as we grow in our faith and love of God.