Hope Floats.........

Tuesday, September 5

Paul continues with his therapy, but he is not a happy camper. I was hoping he would write something about it. When I suggested he write about his cooking class on Friday, he said he would really feel like an idiot. He feels that they think he is stupid and since a lot of the therapy is of no interest to him, he dreads the days he has therapy. He gets about 5-6 assignments as homework (his least favorite part) and has to keep a daily log of things he has done. The assignments are a combination of math, budgeting, deductive reasoning problems, comprehensive reading skills, etc. He is capable of doing them all, he takes a bit longer to get them done though, than he normally would have before. His penmanship was never really great, and it looks about the same now, except you can tell he really doesn't care about these assignments by the way he writes the answers. I could not even read one answer and asked him to write it more clearly. He wrote it perfectly clearly and very neatly, but told me the whole thing is ridiculous. The problem is that they have not found an area of high interest to Paul. He was always that way. His 5th grade teacher said that one day Paul would find something that would really trip his trigger and he would take off. She said she wished she had been the teacher who had been able to discover it, so she could witness him blazing upward and soaring. Of course, it turned out to be his music. I am going to suggest they do more in that area if possible so that he might at least enjoy some of the therapy he is receiving.

We have pictures of him cooking last Friday, but have encountered technical difficulties getting them off the camera. Hopefully we will have them on here Wednesday.

I spent some time this weekend talking to Paul about whether he feels overwhelmed with all that has happened to him. I asked him if he felt like he was suffering from depression or was unusually sad or angry about his life. He said that he wasn't and knew God would help him with his future. God knew what he intended for Paul and he would pray about it so that he would know what it was God wanted. He said it very matter of factly and simply. I know that the rehab department has a full day of testing coming up for Paul to evaluate his levels of cognitive abilities, and also a battery of psychological tests to conduct. I am prayerful that they can zero in on the specific areas that Paul will need to have additional help with, so that we can focus on those and help him over come the bigger difficulties that are there. I have to admit that the therapy is a bit less challenging than I thought it would be. I was hoping to see them work more intensely on his physical needs, since he is still very weak on his left side. We were thinking that we may have to find a personal trainer who can work with Paul a couple of times a week to help him advance more quickly.

This past weekend I received an email from another family who read my request for names of good neurosurgeons on the Hydrocephalus Associations notepad. The father of a young boy told us that they had gone to a number of specialists at big name hospitals and universities and were referred a number of times to a doctor in Charlotte NC. He is supposed to be a very dedicated neurosurgeon who is known for taking the time to find answers. He specializes in adult and pediatric hydrocephalus. I am going to be contacting his office today to see if he can be of any help in truly determining why the ventricles in Paul's brain will not go down and if that is the source of his headaches, since Paul did not have headaches before he developed hydrocephalus. Also, I don't believe the medicine he is on is helping at all. He asks us often when he can get something that will actually 'do' something for his headaches. Or asks why he has to bother taking pills that don't make any difference in the level of pain. I just feel like we haven't gotten the correct answer to Paul's specific problems. I am not ready to accept that this is as good as it will get for Paul. Something inside me tells me to keep looking. I have asked God to show me more clearly the way, if there is a possibility of greater recovery concerning Paul's headaches. If there is someone out there who can help, place them in our pathway. When the referrals cease and we have no answer, then I will stop my search. But we have this new referral and also plan on making an appointment with Dr. Tanner who was suggested to us by the young lady at AMU who posted that suggestion.

Tuesday PM
I picked Paul up at therapy today and he was in a great mood. He said that his recreational therapy today was playing the piano. He said it was a lot of fun and he is supposed to bring some music with him tomorrow. He said 2 of his therapists told him they have really enjoyed his humor and he was glad about that.
We got home and then he said he had a headache. Yesterday, he was able to visit for a long time with his friend Susan and her family and he hung in there for 2 hours. He did not ask to go home or even mention a headache. When we got home, he wanted to go lay down. We do wonder if some of the times he has headaches, or if he just needs to retreat. Probably a bit of both. I am excited to see how much he enjoys playing piano again tomorrow. I am not so sure Paul isn't interested in music, as it is more a problem for him remembering how to play and it is to overwhelming. As with everything about this accident.........time will tell.

Today, Paul was talking about his accident and how it might have happened. He was also listing what complications he still has to overcome. He ended it by saying that all he has to do is wait for his eyesight and hearing to come back, which will happen . He said it very plainly and with simple belief. It reinforced my hope, that is for sure!

"I am sure I shall see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!" (Psalm 27)

Rejoicing in the Lord,
Jon and Rebecca