Bringing It All Back Home

THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE;
LET US REJOICE AND BE GLAD!

THE FIDERO FAMILY
INVITES YOU TO A
CELEBRATION OF
PAUL'S LIFE !

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who
has stayed the course with us through unceasing prayerfulness
and so many acts of kindness. Please join us for lunch.

Where: St. Stephen's Catholic Church / Fellowship Hall
When: October 14, 2006
Time: 12-3 PM
RSVP: no later than October 5
rafidero@mindspring.com
or fider0@mindspring.com


We would like to celebrate all the wonderful blessings our family has been graced with in the past 11 months. So many people have helped us in so many ways and we would like to gather together this wonderful community of believers who knew Paul would find his way to recovery. We want to tell you personally what it has done for us.

Please respond only if you will be able to attend so that we can be prepared. While we have seen some miracles in this past year, we can't count on a duplication of the fish and loaves miracle! So please let us know if you are able to attend as soon as possible.

For those of you who live out of town or are not able to come, know that we pray for your intentions always. You have been listed in books of prayer, have had candles lit, rosaries said and hours of adoration spent in prayerfulness for God to hear and answer you ten fold. We offer our love and heartfelt thanks for what you have shared with our family. Your written words in the comment sections are a huge treasure to us. Paul sat for an hour today reading through the blog. It is fun to hear him laugh or comment on what he is reading. Yes indeed - this is a real treasure for our family.

Yesterday, Paul had an ear doctor appointment. They did an audiology test and it showed that Paul is basically deaf in his left ear. That did not come as a surprise, but I was hoping that through surgery he would be able to recover his hearing. There are hearing aids that he could wear that would transmit (wireless) any sound heard on his left side and it would actually seem to be normal hearing for Paul. He would experience sound as he did before. There is research occuring for the nerve regeneration in his ear, but it is some years out before that will be successful. But he is young, so that is a real possibility for him. As we left the office, he asked me if he understood the doctor correctly that he would not have hearing in his left ear. I said at this time, that is how it looks. I mentioned the hearing aids to him and he said, "No, not right now. I will just keep praying. I was supposed to be blind and God gave me 20/20 vision." I told Paul that in the meantime, the hearing aids would be helpful and we learned also that in the state of Georgia, hearing aids can be returned for full cost after one month trial. It is worth the try and we will work with the audiologist to get them ordered.

Paul has had some really good days. Today he was at work from 9 until 2 pm. That is the first time he has stayed so long. I have to be truthful here.........they said they were ordering pizza at 1:00 P.M. I believe at that point, they had Paul 'hooked on the line'. He called me and said I didn't need to come right away, he would be eating lunch at work. He had taken some Tylenol and was feeling okay, so wanted to stay. Paul has put on a good amount of weight and looks so much more healthy these days. It may be a good thing we are getting ready to work with a personal trainer! That should start in the next week or two. Also, we are very hopeful to schedule music lessons on the same day.

We have faxed the medical records (radiology reports and doctor notes from the surgeries) to the doctor in Charlotte NC. They will let us know by Friday if they feel they can be of any help to us. We are also scheduling an appointment with a Kinesiologist in the next town over. We have heard some really great things about this doctor and how he has helped people where so many other doctors have failed. He uses a more naturalistic approach. I have never been very keen on all the medicines they have prescribed for Paul. When we weaned him off of everything they had given him early on, his hands stopped shaking and he seemed to have clearer thinking processes. In my research, I found that 2 of the medicines he was on were not supposed to be taken together at all. We have moved all his prescriptions to a pharmacist that we have come to trust and have asked him to review what Paul is on and explain what each does for him. They are all medicines to block pain. Funny thing is - Tylenol works the best and Paul feels noticeable relief 15-20 minutes after taking that. He never feels any relief after taking the other pills. If he is going to end up needing medication to get rid of his headaches, these are not the ones! When I was talking to the ear doctor, she was very sympathetic about our search for the doctor who might be able to help resolve the complications of Paul's hydrocephalus. She experienced sudden hearing loss in her right ear 3 years ago after being extremely ill. She said that the world of medicine is very frustrating and that those who stay persistent are the ones who find help. She said we should not accept the answer "I don't know." She applauded our efforts and encouraged us to continue. She also confirmed that the opthamologist we just saw (which is the one I had placed a lot of trust in back in November) is known to be the kind of doctor who will go the extra mile to find answers.

I heard back from the reconstruction plastic surgeon and he feels that the orbital structure is fine and does not appear to need rebuilding. He said that if the opthamologist who does the surgery to place the left globe in the socket correctly needs his assistance, he will be happy to help in any way.

We hope to have the eye surgery done before Christmas, so will try to get it scheduled soon. The opthamologist said we should try to get confirmation that there is no CSF leak before we proceed with the eye surgery. If there is a leak in the orbital, they don't need to find that out as they begin that surgery. So - we will wait to hear from the Charlotte doctor. If he does not think he can help us, I will just get back on my knees and ask one more time for God to lead us. Hindsight is truly 20/20 - and we can SEE all the answers God has provided!

On the Feast of the Guardian Angels, Paul and I went to St. Stephen's and lit some candles to thank God for all that he has done and for all the guidance our angels provide to us. Afterwards, Paul and I walked around the parking lot a couple of time. At one point, right after I prayed out loud while looking up at the beautiful clouds, a monarch butterfly flew right in front of Paul and me! Paul and I said to each other at the same time, "Did you see that!" He knows that I have had so many experiences where butterflies appear while I am praying, or just afterwards. It has happened so often that I cannot believe it is coincidence any longer. He laughed when this one flew past our heads and I said, "See, there it is! Later, we were sitting on the picnic bench while Abby drank some water from her bowl that we brought. We were talking about Paul's headaches and he held my hand and started to pray. When we were finished, we stood up to go back to the car and a monarch butterfly flew right over our heads! Paul smiled and all I could say was, "God is too good."

While we were waiting for the ear doctor, Paul was reading the beginning pages of my prayer book. There is a special section in this month's edition that includes some of the written and spoken meditations of the saints. He found what St. Pio of Peitrelcina wrote and said as he showed me, "This is very true."
"If the soul longs for nothing else than to love its God, then don't worry and be quite sure that this soul possesses everything, that it possesses God himself."

I am learning so much from my son what God's Son came to teach us.

Love,
Jon and Rebecca