Good Vibrations (continued)

Mike and Paul coming back from visiting with Bob










It was a terrific weekend for Paul, filled with activity and laughter. My sister, Mary Beth and Mike and their son, James, left on Friday to drive home to Michigan. As it was First Friday, we went to Mass together before they left. After Mass, I was talking to a friend and Paul leaned over and asked who the woman was that was standing near by. I told him and he said, "That's right, I know her now." He walked over to her and started a conversation! Then he came back over to me and asked, "Who are those girls over there?" I told him they were the sisters of a young man that Paul would go to Mass with when he was at Georgia State University. He said, "I remember now." He walked over to them and struck up a conversation with them. It was great to see him intiate the conversations so comfortably. I was able to visit with friends for quite awhile, since Paul was not telling me it was time to go because his head hurt, which is how it has been all along. When he was finished with his visit, we left. After my sister and family left, Paul was still feeling well, so I asked him if he wanted to go do something. He said he couldn't think of anything, so I suggested we go surprise his co-workers at DTSi. He agreed it would be fun to see them. We went there and it really was a surprise for them. Paul went back to his office and surprised Lisa Hanrahan and then checked out his computer. He immediately asked who added all the icons to his desktop! He knew it had changed! Richard Watson was not in the office, but had called in, so Paul talked to him also.

Afterward, we went home for lunch. We went on a couple of walks in the afternoon, but then settled in for a quiet evening. On Saturday, Paul came outside while we were working on the deck. He had called Geneva (who he had been dating before his accident) and he wanted to know if it would be alright if she went to Mass with us at 8:30 AM Sunday. Once again, Paul was initiating contact with other people. I don't know if you remember that we were told by the therapists at Shepherd Center that memory and initiation were severely affected and that Paul would have a hard time recovering in these areas. Paul is ever so slowly showing signs of improvement! Also, on Saturday, his friend Brendan called and I heard Paul tell him that unfortunately he doesn't remember the last 6 months of his life, but the last 3 weeks he can remember. And for the most part, that is very true. He has asked questions about people he has seen or activities, because he is remembering them. One thing he does do and that is repeat himself. Especially when he wants to thank someone or tell us he is sorry for all that we are going through because of him. I don't believe he remembers he has told us as often as he has. But there is definite improvement in his ability to remember things from a couple of weeks ago.

The main event of the weekend came on Saturday afternoon. Jon and I wanted to go to church for the sacrament of Reconciliation. I told Paul we were going and it was a pleasant day, so if he wanted to sit in the car, he would be comfortable. He said that he would come in with us. I told him that that would be a better idea anyway. We walked in and there was a fairly long line. I immediately had a thought that Paul would not want to sit that long while he waited for us. The big surprise was when he said he actually wanted to go to confession also! I made sure we heard him correctly and then told him he could sit until it was his turn. Well, God in His infinite goodness provided an easy solution. The man who was first in line was a friend of ours and he motioned to Paul to come stand in front of him, so that Paul would not have to wait so long. Jon walked Paul to the front of the line and Paul was able to go to Reconciliation almost right away. There were 2 priests hearing confessions, so I went to the other line and when Paul was done, he sat and waited for Jon and I. We prayed together for a little while after we were all done and then left. I asked Paul how it went and he said, "It went fine. I really wanted to tell God I was sorry for any sins, even the ones I can't remember." Jon and I smiled and I know we were feeling the same thing - what an incredible blessing that was for all of us. It was absolutely just an awesome afteroon.

We tried to use the eyelid weight that was reordered. It still did not work, but in an effort to make it work, I found a new way to keep Paul's eyelid closed. I used 3 very thin strips of light weight bandaging tape to hold Paul's eyelid down. It worked really well and Paul was finally able to wear his sunglasses without the big patch over his eye. It was so much more comfortable for him. He was so excited about it that he told me to stop the next door neighbors (Ron and Connie) who were driving away. He wanted them to see that he did not have to wear his patch anymore. Jon ran out to the street and stopped them, and Paul walked out and shared his good news. Then he wanted to take a walk, so we walked over to another neighbor (Bob)who was outside and Paul told him about it too. We sat outside with Bob and his wife for awhile, then headed home for lunch.

It was late Saturday night, around 10:30 PM and Paul got out of bed and told me that since we would be rushed in the morning, he wanted to pick out his clothes for Mass. I was happy that he was showing more initiative, so I gladly got out of bed to help him with this little project. He picked out what he wanted to wear, tried the pants on to make sure they weren't too big, then went back to bed. I know he wanted to look nice for Geneva. He had not shown this much interest before!

Sunday morning came too early for me! We were all very tired. We went to Mass and joined my sister Bev and her husband Joe. After Mass, we took pictures and visited with so many people. Usually we leave right away because Paul is so uncomfortable. If he was at that point, he did not tell us. I know he was putting out a huge effort because Geneva was with him. We had breakfast and a little later, Geneva had to leave. Paul really enjoyed his visit with her and said he really wants to get better so he can maybe go visit her in Florida.

In the afternoon, Brendan came to pick up Paul to take him to the movies. Paul really wanted to see X-Men, which is what they saw. After the movie, he called me to see what was for dinner and to let me know they were on their way home. I told him we were having vegetable lasagna and from his tone of voice, knew it was not what he had in mind. He said okay, then hung up. I smiled and told Jon that I would not be surprised if he called back to say that Brendan was going to take him to Wendy's for a hamburger. I got the phone call 2 minutes later and Paul asked if it would be okay if he ate at the Hanrahans house, since they were ordering food from Outback Steakhouse. I laughed and told Paul that sounded like a much better deal! Jon and I had a 4 1/2 hour break, so we took full advantage of it and continued with the job of getting the deck stained.

Our nine day novena to the Holy Spirit ended on Pentecost Sunday and we truly were graced with the workings of the Holy Spirit. We remain so hopeful about Paul getting relief from his headaches with the surgery tomorrow morning and our prayer, "Come Holy Spirit, come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Your well beloved spouse" will continue to be on our lips.
Jon will be with Paul tomorrow, while James, Michael and I go to the 6:30 AM Mass. We will include the intentions of all of you who have prayed and continue to pray for our family.

Come Holy Spirit, renew the face of the earth.
Love,
Jon and Rebecca Fidero