I'm walking, yes indeed and I'm talking.........

After I wrote the blog yesterday about Paul not being able to continue his therapy at Shepherd Pathways, I realized a very positive thing that we could do for Paul's daily therapy. Something that I had mentioned before that I missed a lot ever since Paul's accident. Daily Mass. We started day one of home therapy with Mass. Yes, we got to "Come and See". It was a tough start to the morning, but Paul and I made it just as Fr. John started the Mass. Paul entered the sanctuary, stopped and bowed, then we went to the pew and he again made sure to genuflect. He pulled himself back up and was able to receive Holy Communion. We stayed and prayed for a few minutes after Mass. Paul had not tired like I thought he might. We visited with friends afterward and then we went home. I had wanted to get Paul walking in the parking lot for excercise, but he had not had much for breakfast and I wanted him to get all the fuel he would need to do a bit of walking today. The weather was beautiful and warm, and I wanted to take full advantage of that. We went home and Paul ate a very large breakfast, then we did some writing excercises and then while I cleaned the kitchen and did a load of laundry, Paul read a new guitar magazine. He then signed on to his computer and had some communications with a couple of friends. I fixed a bit of food for him since it had been a couple of hours since he had eaten. We were going to leave and go take our walk, but as we were driving out of our subdivision, we saw Paul's friends, Jake Arnold and Andrew Gibson, driving in. We came back home and they stayed for about an hour. Paul did not talk - just a couple of words. He was listening, but did not talk. He does very well while on a cell phone, but when faced with people, he listens and will nod yes or no in answer to questions. I explained that for awhile, Paul will be the one who benefits the most from these visits. He needs to reconnect with his friends, so that things that were familiar to him before will be back in his life. This will help him draw on past experiences and will help his memory. When I asked him if he knew who his friends were, he nodded yes, and he said their names. After they left, he even referred to them as his 'band mates'. That was encouraging since he said last week he didn't remember being in a band. He and I talked a good bit after they left, which was the most Paul had talked all day.

Paul and I went to St. Stephen's parking lot to do our walking, so that we could take Abby dog with us. I can't hold her leash and help stabilize Paul at the same time, and I knew she would stay near me if she wasn't on a leash, as long as there were not other people or dogs around. We have a park very close to us, but Abby would need to be on a leash. We walked around the parking lot one time, stopped for about minutes and walked it again. It was so beautiful outside and Paul and I talked as we walked the perimeter. He does not initiate conversation, but responded to everything I asked or commented on. I was not sure about the distance we walked, so when we got back into the car, I drove around the parking lot and it was 2/10 of a mile around. Since we walked it 2 times, Paul had walked 4/10 of a mile. I was delighted to see him complete 2 'laps' as there is a small incline to the parking lot. Paul actually worked up a sweat and was breathing harder, but not out of breath. It was a great first attempt and I am looking forward to getting him up to a mile as soon as he can. He had plenty of endurance for this and when we got back home, I fully expected him to want to lay down. It was about 3:30 and Paul had not had any nap up to this point, nor did he try to lay down.

When we got back into the house, I offered him some ice water. I was hoping that since he was thirsty enough, he might swallow it easily. While he could not swallow any water, he did stand at the kitchen sink for about 25-30 minutes, taking sip after sip in an effort to swallow the water. That is the first time he has taken so much time to try to overcome this problem. It shows he is aware something isn't right and was working to solve it.

I had him lay down to rest before dinner. He slept for about an hour and woke up feeling very good. He ate a large amount of dinner, which was terrific. Dinner is usually the meal he can't eat, since he either has a headache or is too tired.

One problem we have had with Paul in the last 3 days is that he keeps rubbing his left eye. We keep a thick cream in his eye, since he can't blink and his eye would get too dry. For no apparent reason, he will start rubbing his eye, and then it gets iritated and then we begin a vicious cycle of trying to explain to Paul to stop rubbing it. I have tried a number of patches to keep his eye from becoming iritated, but Paul can't remember to not touch his eye or rub it. He basically causes his own problem. During the night, he will pull the patch off and will rub it. So when he wakes up, there is no protection over his eye. I have made an opthamologist appointment today with our regular doctor, since the specialist we were referred to could not tell us what to do to keep the eye protected. I am prayerful we can find an answer to this, as Paul's eye needs to be left alone so it can heal. Please pray for us to be led in our search for an answer.

Last night 3 women from St. John Neumann's Life in the Spirit prayer group came to our home to pray over Paul. Jon, Mike and I sat with Paul, and we prayed some prays first, then the women laid their hands on Paul and prayed over him, calling on the Holy Spirit for a healing. We prayed that the Blessed Mother would intercede on our behalf and with the angels and saints, take our prayers to God. Paul sat very still and waited the 15-20 minutes, as prayers were being offered up for him. It was so peaceful during all of this, that I found myself renewed in my faith that God does hear our prayers and we will continue to wait. I know Paul's healing will truly be according to God's will.

Paul stayed up until 9:40 and fell asleep before we got the foot casts on him. (We are using those to keep his tendons stretched so that walking will continue to go well).

All in all, a good first day of therapy. He ate well, walked and talked more than he ususally does. (Except with his friends - that will come in due time, once he gets more exposure to his friends.) If any of Paul's friends are reading this, please call to let us know a good time to visit. Paul keeps his cell phone with him, and he is getting better about answering it. Or you can call my cell phone 678-481-1156.
Thank you so much for your continued support. Your visits will help Paul in his recovery, even though you may not get a lot of talking out of him. He does understand what you are saying, it is just tough for him to respond quickly or at all. His brain struggles to find the words and if he sees someone in front of him, there is more pressure on him and then he tends to 'freeze'. But with time and prayers, he will overcome his obstacles.

Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse.

God's blessings to all of you in this day. We are going to make an 'Olympic' effort trying to get up to a mile a day walk!
Love,
Jon and Rebecca Fidero