I Believe

Monday evening, Dee Huggings came to our house to bring a rosary she took to the Eucharistic Congress Healing Mass and had it blessed. She also brought us a book called 'Smile and Jump High'. It is about a student who attended the University of Georgia in Athens who had an accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Her accident date was 11/12/95 - ten years before Paul's. It too is a story filled with much hope and a miraculous recovery for this young lady. Dee's son, as you will remember, also suffered a traumatic brain injury and is recovering very well after 2 years. You don't know the comfort it brings to me and the family hearing about these stories and their positive outcomes. It brings us hope and the strength to continue being joyful at all the little steps forward that Paul makes. It is truly like watching your child start all over at a very young age and make their way back. Dee reminded me that while Paul can do a good portion of what he used to physically, he will still be taking it step by step mentally and emotionally. He will basically relive his youth, with the level of maturity that accompanies each stage. I had started to wonder why Paul was starting to act somewhat corny - like an 8 year old. He has also become incredibly attached to me, which I would expect to some extent since I have been his primary caregiver and mother. But it was just like he was as a young boy. After talking to Dee, I felt much more reassured that this too will pass, as he enters a new stage of mental recovery. She said he will go through the stages, even the behavior of his teenage years. I said that it would sure be convenient for him to get to the level of a 17 yr old so that Jon and I could be done with this age for Mike and Paul all at once! Senior year for each of the Fidero sons has always been a tough year for me - must be something about young men. Maybe it is just the struggle of them beginning to break away in anticipation of their college years and me realizing I won't have much influence on their lives after they leave. Anyway, it was helpful to be reminded that there will be many stages Paul will pass through and that each will bring joys and struggles for us all. Hearing other people's stories really helps us keep our faith and hope alive though!

I believe that it has been prayer that has carried us this far. I was praying the Creed and the words that stuck in my mind yesterday were, "I believe in ....THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS". It is the powerfulness of those words that really gave me hope. Not only have the saints in heaven heard our plea, then prayed for us and with us, but everyone else who heard we needed prayers and responded. We are all called to be saints and when we respond with love and prayer for those in need on earth, we become more like those holy men and women who went before us. They all understood that a strong prayer life is the way to stay on the path, a way to hear God along the way. Paul reaffirmed what I was thinking when he told me something on Sunday. He was resting on the couch and Abby was laying on the floor next to him. I came over to see if Paul needed anything and he said, "You see how Abby is laying here next to me? She just came over here a minute ago. It was really neat because I had been thinking of her and remembered that she is getting old and that she hurts at the end of the day after running around. I felt bad that she hurts and asked God to help her with her pain, even though she isn't human. I asked God to let her live for a lot longer too. After I finished my prayer for her, I started to pray to God about something else and Abby just came over to me and laid by me! Isn't that cool? It's like she knew I had prayed for her." I told Paul that more than that - it was a sure sign that God had heard him! Paul smiled and said, "You're right."
Paul prays a lot these days. Something will strike a chord and he will stop whatever he is doing and will pray for that particular instance. I had mentioned to Dee that our case manager with Blue Cross and Blue Shield had been so helpful and has worked so hard for us. Paul heard me and said how nice it was of her to help us even though she didn't know us. He said, "Can we say a prayer for her?" So he led Dee and I in an Our Father and a Hail Mary. When he hears about something that someone has done for him, he will include them in a prayer during the day. Or if he hears about someone in need, he will remember to include them in prayer. I have learned so much from Paul, in the way he spontaneously stops to say a quick prayer about something. It doesn't matter what he is doing or who is with him. He is never embarrassed about it or hides his faith. I don't know if this is just a stage he will pass through, but my prayer is - he won't.

James, Stephanie and Kelly are going to try to get Paul to the pool today. Time ran out yesterday, so today they will try again. We have to prepare the area around the tube to make sure we can keep water away from it. I am not sure how much protection he needs, since he takes showers with it. But we are going to use waterproof bandaging to seal it as best we can. Paul kept asking yesterday when they were going, so he is a willing participant. He said at first that he wasn't ready, but he must have prepared himself mentally during the day. I have no doubt the Holy Spirit is helping Paul find the strength to get on with new things in his life. I know that mentally, they are huge undertakings for Paul.

Today is the feast day of St. Joachim and St. Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I pray that they will send up prayers for all of us who are parents, that we too may do all in our power to help our children be the holy men and women God intends them to be!

Father in heaven, lead us to do Your will in our day, so that our children and those around us can learn from our example, all for your glory and honor. Amen.

Love,
Jon and Rebecca