Twin Blessings

Wednesday 4:30 PM

Late yesterday, Paul had the CT scan to see if the programmable shunt was working as hoped or was overdraining the ventricles. They gave the copy to me to take with us this morning. I had seen Paul's previous scans so I knew what to look for. As I told you before, I don't like suspense and while I have to wait to see what the full recovery God intends for Paul somewhere down the road, I did not wait to see what the results were. I looked at them as soon as I got home. My heart was absolutely pounding as I pulled the film out of the envelope. I immediately recognized that the ventricles were very full, which was a good thing. It meant we did not have an over drainage problem and that the neurologist would need to adjust the shunt down a notch. That is the direction we needed to go. Since it was set at the hightest level, which means the least amount of fluid was being drained, it would have been a real problem for Paul if it drained too much off at that setting. But with being able to move down off that setting, it gives us room to grow in the future if need be. Today, the neurologist moved the setting down one level and said it will take a few days for the difference to be felt. It should ease his headaches since there will be less pressure. We will continue to pray that the settings will move downward and the correct balance will be found without any complications. We are to see the doctor in a month, unless anything changes. They also removed Paul's stitches, so we are free to get him a full shower where he can wash his hair. He is now free to grow his hair to whatever length he chooses!

I also asked about when rehabilitation could be brought back into Paul's life. The doctor said there is no reason Paul cannot continue. As long as the headaches start to ease, he should be able to work on rebuilding his strength. The timing is great because we have been contacted by the clinical manager at Emory, and he has set up an appointment with the head of the Neurology unit, which has a lot of experience in the use and monitoring of shunts. They will help us coordinate all of Paul's needs as he moves forward and oversee the appointments needed with different doctors to settle the problems with Paul's eye and his ear. We have not even addressed that issue yet. He may need to have surgery to repair some damage in the middle ear. In an initial appointment Paul had while at Shepherd Center, we were told that there is possibly a way to help recover some of Paul's hearing and we are now hoping to pursue that avenue as well. We had the delay caused by the pneumonia, followed by hydrocephalus. It is our prayerful hope that we can get back on the track with the overall movement forward in Paul's healing and rehabilitation. The main area of focus will be in the area of speech therapy, most especially in keeping his muscles toned on the left side of his face. We are praying for a full recovery of the 7th cranial nerve and if that occurs, keeping the muslces toned will be very beneficial.
Speech therapy also covers areas of cognitive thinking and he will need to work on areas that were impacted by the brain injury. To what extent of damage there is, we are not really sure. Memory issues will be a major factor, that is certain. There is a lot of therapy that can help Paul get his independence back and help him function in the community again. He will be helped to regain the skills needed to go back to work and hopefully school. He does have a long road ahead, but if we are truly blessed with a stabilization of the complications of the shunt, we can at least begin to plan out what the next strategy will be in moving Paul towards the western border of Alabama!

As always, I find peace in the thought that we only have today, and today was good in that we had a positive outcome with the use of the programmable shunt.

Actually, there were some other positive things that happened in the last 24 hours. Paul did not need any pain medication yesterday and only needed some Tylenol today after lunch. Paul was able to sit at the table last night and eat dinner with us. Our friend, Sharon Nixon, kindly brought dinner to us and Paul hugged her and she even got him to laugh. He has not done that in weeks, nor had he joined us at the table for that long. The 3 surgeries in 4 weeks had him absolutely wiped out. He also stayed up until 10 P.M. last night with his cousin Courtney, who was staying with him while we went to Michael's Spring Band Concert. Of course, the concert was a terrific diversion for me. Aunt Bev, Uncle Joe, Jon and I went and Michael had not told us that it was going to be a very special event. The Parkview Band won an award that has been given to only 1 other Georgia high school band. They were presented with The Sudler Flag of Honor, which is administered by The John Philip Sousa Foundation. The award is an international award recognizing high school concert bands of outstanding musical excellence. Only 2 schools in Georgia have ever received this award, and Michael was part of the concert band that received this award this year at Parkview High School. We were so thrilled to watch as Dr. John Culvahouse, who is on the Board of Directors of The John Philip Sousa Foundation and also the National Band Association had the flag presented. The Georgia Senate also voted on a piece of legislation that states that April 25th will be honored as Parkview Band Day!

We all enjoyed the evening so much. I admit it, me especially, since I had taken a sneak peek at Paul's CT scan and was feeling so much at ease knowing it was working as we had hoped! I had to thank God that I was allowed to know this ahead of today's appointment. While I have complete trust that He is directing the show, I appreciated being allowed the concession of knowing a little part before it played out! As stated before............I don't like suspense, but am working really hard on total acceptance of what is placed on our pathway each day. Mind you, the CT scans were placed in my pathway........and directly into my hands!

Interestingly, the meditation of the day in my Magnificat prayer book is written by Fr. Zlatko Sudac. He is a priest who lives in Croatia, and he gave a retreat that our son Jon attended while he was in Medjugorje. He writes:

" The one who lives for people receives a great deal from people. These are the things of value which are eternal. One of the main reasons for our existence on earth is to be people who love and who live for other people. Today, this is very necessary. I pray to God for the grace to have a heart for every human being.
I asked myself if I would want to be a person who was loved (by others) out of habit. How does God feel when we love him out of habit? Then I understood that love for God is something that is alive and original, something which changes our life, and which gives us the power to bear witness to other people. To love God in the present moment. To be alive now, not tomorrow or in the past. To live every step with God. It means to be God's messenger. That is something which has always awakened withiin me a certain adventure for God. God's the Father of all people who wish to proclaim Jesus Christ. One needs to have a great depth of spirit to live for everyone, because Jesus died for everyone."

Our thanks to all of you who have 'had a heart' for us through prayers and actions. You also need to know that not only we have received so many blessings from your prayers, but also Marie's sister Diane. She gave birth to the twins last week (a boy and a girl) and they are healthy and at home. They weighed at least 6 lbs each! I know I can hardly hold onto the joy this news brought to me!

Thanks be to God,
Jon and Rebecca