Hello people, this is paully, people, its so nice to type to you again this day

Tuesday

As louis Armstrong said "Hello Dolly" I'm saying "Hello people" to all of you who read this website. I have rehab today at 10:00. I know rehab is supposed to help and get me better or whatever, but I gotta tell you, I hate rehab. But supposedly, it's going to get me better. Rehab went okay today. We went to the grocery store and bought food that we will cook on Friday. We will be eating hamburgers, chessy broccoli and french fries that we will make from potatos and some vanilla pudding. I have to cook the hamburgers. Anyway, please keep me in your prayers because we all need prayers. Of course, don't worry. I pray for all the readers of this website every day.

I love my job at DTSi and I went and worked there today. I am going again tomorrow. I will work as many hours as I can.

I hope to go to Ave Maria sometime for college. I need to figure out what I'm going to major in and what kind of job I would like to do. Throw me some ideas please. Another very weird thing for me is that I don't really want to do music as my career. I don't have any idea what I could enjoy as much as i used to enjoy music. Maybe when my headaches aren't so bad I will like it again.

(From Rebecca - Paul has not gotten back to finishing this post, so I wanted to publish it before too much time passed.)

He has gone to work for the past 2 days for a a couple of hours each day. He will go today, Thursday and also on Friday. He went to Mass yesterday, then to work and was taken out to lunch by some of the men at DTSi, then went swimming at Mt. Park Pool. Jerry was with him and he said that the water was very cold and Paul was shivering, but he keep moving until he warmed up. He did not give up. He came home and we thought he would head straight to bed after his very long day. Instead, he put on the latest DVD of his favorite group, Dream Theater and watched it with Mike, Jon and Jerry while I fixed dinner. Jerry had purchased the DVD for Paul and Paul was very excited about it and put it in at the first opportunity. We were amazed at the fact that he hung in there for pretty much the whole day. He was able to rest for a little while in between work and swimming. He did go to bed around 8:30 PM and that was the end.

His newest trend is to play jokes on us. His humor has really kept us all laughing in the last few days. Sadly though, his headaches continue to plague him. He wants to lay down a lot, but will keep trying hard to keep up with the schedule we have each day. I am going to continue my research and calls to people who might have an answer for the issue of enlarged ventricles and no relief from the shunt. I can't believe there is no answer. We have not gotten any explanations why it is like this, only that this is as good as it gets. If the first shunt caused the ventricles to overdrain, why can't they get the ventricles to drain down to a normal size? No one has been able to answer that question yet. They just say there is nothing more they can do. Please keep praying for us to find someone who can solve this problem. While Paul is putting in a gallant effort to keep active, I know he is suffering with a lot of head pain. I pray that God will continue to give him the strength to bear up under his constant pain and not lose hope. He remains very prayerful about everything. On nights he has difficulty falling asleep, I have sat by him and prayed the rosary very softly and he will eventually sleep. I am at a loss sometimes as to what to do about the pain. He seems to watch the clock for the next time he can take his medicine. It relieves it to a point he can function, but the pain is almost always there.

As we head into the Fall season, we watch with great hope to Paul's future. In
2 1/2 months it will be a full year! It amazes me first of all, that everyone has remained with us in prayerfulness and support. You will never know who much you have done for this family. We talk about this blog and all of you so often. We open the site for Paul everyday so he can keep up. He remembers to mention 'all those people who are praying for me' when he says the rosary or even at the mealtime prayers. When he sees people, he always thanks them for their prayers and tells them to keep praying with this statement -"Because as you know everyone needs prayers."

Paul has come by my office a couple of times and walks around to the desks of people he knows. Everyone is amazed at how well he is getting around by himself these days and that he can carry on conversations with them. His dry wit is what is noticed most of all and his gentle nature. He hugs people very freely if he knows them, which is also noticed. He enjoys walking over to Bob's house evry day to say hello to him. Bob is retired and has a chair out front that he uses for resting in between all the jobs he does around his home during the day. Paul always stops to see if he is there so he can wave to him. If he has the time, he asks to go over there. Bob has put a couple extra chairs on his front porch so there is always a place for us to sit and visit. It is another example of how people are so ready to help Paul. We have had so many offers of help - getting him to Mass everyday or staying to watch him if need be. Jerry has been a gigantic help to us, as he is with Paul every Wednesday and Friday. He drives him to therapy and waits for him, takes him swimming, to DTSi and makes sure he gets his medicine on time. He won't accept anything in return. Again, I have to mention that these beautiful examples of giving have taught us to much. We thought we knew about charity before - but we know so much better now. The same with everyone who keeps up with our story - your being there for us is huge! Please know that if you are ever close by, you are so very welcome to come to our home. Come get a hug from Paul!

We are hoping to have a wonderful celebration for Paul's 22nd birthday in October. We will let you know the date and place soon because we plan on welcoming everyone who is aware of it! It will be our way of personally thanking you.

Psalm 145
"Every day will I bless you
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
Generation after generation praises your works
and proclaims your might.
They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty
and tell of your wonderous works.
They publish the fame of your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your justice."

This is why we keep the blog going - it has been God's story all along and we want to share all that we have seen of His grace and mercy.

May His grace and love be with you throughout this day.
Love,
Jon and Rebecca