I'm Walking on Sunshine

Playing his classical guitar for Pam, his speech therapist









Jonathan Tarantino, Paul and Becca Rogers after a long walk on a warm sunny day






Paul and Sandy Rose, parents of Paul's dear friend Nathan (and Paul's second set of parents!) We have known them since the boys were 5 yrs old.






Paul, Jon and Abby waiting at Stone Mt for the Rosary Walk to begin






Jon, Paul and Kara, Mark and Patty Palmquist ready for the monthly Rosary Walk - March 11, 4 months to the day after Paul's accident.




Weekend Update

Friday's weather was absolutely wonderful and so were Paul's accomplishments. My niece, Becca Rogers, stopped by to say hello to Paul and so did his friend Jonathan Tarantino. They happened to be there while the speech therapist was working with Paul. When she first got there, she reminded Paul that he had said he would play a song on his guitar for her. She asked which guitar he wanted and he got his classical guitar out. This guitar has not been played since at least last summer, so when Paul strummed it, it was incredibly out of tune. He winced as he heard it and then started to get it back in tune. It took awhile, but he got it in tune. He sat for a moment playing some chords, as if trying to remember a song to play. He started to play one I had remembered him playing for his recital at the end of last Spring semester. He didn't remember all of it, but what he played went well. His therapist really enjoyed it, as did the rest of us. I was so pleased because it brought back a wonderful memory of a moment Paul and I shared. Last Spring, he was practicing a piece he had to play in class and he recorded it. He called me and told me to go to the computer and open the mail he had sent. I did and I was able to hear him playing the guitar. He told me he had just finished with the final practice of the song and recorded it for me to listen to. He wanted to know what I thought of it, as he had done his own interpretation for some of it. We talked about the piece for awhile and I remember feeling so blessed that he had thought to share his music with me. What a joy to hear him play again on Friday.

Then the speech therapist started to work on his swallowing and was doing different excercises with him. She worked very hard and didn't ease up until the end of the session. Paul had a headache and near the end of the session said he wanted some Tylenol. I asked if he thought he could swallow it whole or did he want it crushed and put into the feeding tube. He said he would swallow the pills. I was apprehensive, as he has not been successful before. Becca, Jonathan, the speech therapist and I sat watching him as he put the pills into his mouth and took a sip of water. He swallowed them fine and we all congratulated him! He has been getting his medicine by mouth all weekend. No more crushing his meds! One more thing to check off my list, which is more time saved.

After the therapist left, the 3 of us went on a long walk with Paul and Abby. Paul actually worked up a sweat and had to take his sweatshirt off. After the walk we all sat on the front porch, rocking and talking for about 20 minutes more. Then Becca and Jonathan had to leave. Paul and I went in and he asked what was for dinner. This was also a first for Paul. I asked what he wanted and he said we probably didn't have it. I asked what that would be and he said "steak". I said I would have his dad bring one home. I called Jon and he did just that. Paul slept for the hour before dinner, and he woke up refreshed. He ate the entire steak and potatoes and garlic bread. It was a huge meal for him. After dinner, he sat up with his dad for about 30 more minutes and then went to bed. Unfortunately, that meal seemed to keep him filled through the weekend, as we have really battled to get him to eat anything all weekend. He finally had a small dinner tonight (Sunday). He got almost all his nutrition through his feeding tube this weekend. But it was terrific watching him eat a fairly large steak Friday night.

On Saturday, friends we have known since we moved to Georgia came by to see Paul. Their son Nathan Rose has been Paul's friend since Paul was 5 years old. They had not seen Paul since the second day at the hospital and they were absolutely amazed at how well he looked and that he remembered them. He was coming down the stairs as they came in and he went right to Sandy and hugged her, then hugged Paul Rose. It was so much fun spending time with them and watching them interact with Paul. I know they were so glad to see Paul in such great shape. Paul Rose had been to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on a business trip and he brought Paul some guitar picks from there. Paul smiled as he opened the bag and saw the picks. We had a great visit and then Paul was very tired and he went to bed. I wanted him to get a nap because we had planned something a week ago with our friends from church. Patty and Mark Palmquist started to do a rosary walk around Stone Mountain (a five mile walk) 3 years ago. We pray the rosary and Divine Mercy chaplet as we walk. All of our boys have joined us at different times and it is always a joy when they have been with us. I have really missed our monthly walk with the prayer group and it was my hope that on March 11, the 4th month after Paul's accident, we could join them for a small part of the walk. We did make it and Paul walked almost a mile. We were able to pray the Divine Mercy and it was in the 3 o'clock hour that we prayed it. What a glorious event for Jon and me and those who were with us. I know Mark and Patty have prayed for this day to come ever since the accident and their prayers were answered. We will remain prayerful that Paul can walk a little farther the next time. As we walked back to the van, Paul was very hot. When we got home, he went right to bed and didn't really do much more.

Saturday night, my sister stayed with Paul so that Jon and I could go to dinner with some friends who have waited until Paul was well enough to take us to dinner. We had a terrific time on this first night out since the accident. During the night, I started to feel really bad. I had been experiencing some cold symptoms since Thursday, and it finally caught up with me. I knew I had an upper respiratory infection. Paul woke up with an intense headache and his eyes showed he was not feeling well. He was also experiencing the same symptoms I started with 3 days ago, so we have had an antibiotic called in for both of us. It is our hopes that Paul won't get as sick as I am, since we are catching his at the onset. Please pray that Paul will not have any difficulty getting over this so that we don't have a huge relapse. He has gained 10 pounds this month and we have worked so hard that we don't want to give one pound back due to illness. We pretty much slept this day away and tonight Paul did have a small meal, as I stated earlier. Tonight after dinner, Paul's roommate from college, Josh Schmidt, came by for a quick visit. He came with Jonathan Tarantino. He has not seen Paul since a couple of days after the accident. Paul was glad to see them both and they had a good visit. Paul stood up and said he was going to bed and that ended it all. He hugged his friends goodbye and went directly to his room. The official end of a very busy weekend.

I am glad he will be seeing his neurologist tomorrow, so that we can hopefully get some help with Paul's headaches. He has had headaches everyday for a couple of weeks and this is new for him. It was so bad that on Saturday night around midnight, he actually got up and was going to walk downstairs to get some more Tylenol. He has never gotten out of bed before during the night. They are really bad headaches, so we are asking for your prayers concerning this also.

One other thing that happened was another one of Paul's friends called and let us know he had heard about the accident only 2 days ago. Conner was shocked and was very upset about it all. He said he will be by to visit next weekend and hee also told us that he had been in touch with the first guitar teacher Paul ever had. Both sons, Jon and Paul, went to David Poole to get their first lessons. David is an accomplished and incredible guitarist who has had classical training. We were very grateful that the boys were able to have him as their teacher. He teaches at the Atlanta Institute of Music and Paul actually went to AIM during is Junior year of high school. He had to put in very long days to handle the workload of high school and the courses at this school of music. Conner was the one who had introduced Jon and Paul to David. Late this afternoon, we also got a call from David Poole, who also was devasted by the news of Paul's accident. He told me that his father had been in a car accident where a dump truck hit him. His father also suffered a brain injury and broken bones in his leg. His father recovered in a year. He wanted to let us know this and to also say that from their first lesson, he knew Paul would be a very good guitarist, along with Jon. He has great faith in God that Paul will recover from all of this since he knows just how intelligent Paul is plus he has youth on his side. He has also agreed to get together with Paul when he is ready and will help retrain Paul in music theory and playing the guitar. This news was MUSIC TO OUR EARS as Paul will benefit from this immensely. God's goodness and mercy are too awesome for us to comprehend and we continually thank Him for all his blessings.

Once again we have to sing out, Glory to God in the highest.

We continue to pray for all of you who are lifting us up in prayer and who are helping us in so many ways. Everytime we look at Paul, we remember that it was all your prayers and kind deeds that have allowed us to watch joyfully all the accomplisments and triumphs he has experienced. To be able to smile at him and have him smile in return is a truly grand gift from God.

So once again we wish you and your families God's blessings.
Jon and Rebecca