Bottom of the Eighth! No hits, no errors.
There has been no word from the doctors in Charlotte today, except to make another appointment to do a routine shunt tap next Tuesday. They want to check the brain fluid one more time. Then he will see the reconstructive surgeon for more of the electrical treatments. No mention of any growth of bacteria! We are down to the last inning on Friday and the infectious disease doctor said he was very optimistic that everything would be fine.
Paul had a fairly good day today. He was having to take Advil pretty much around the clock for his headache, but was able to go to work and went swimming again. He called me to let me know that he did a lot of excercises in the pool, rather than laps and he was pleased with how long he was able to stay in the pool. He saw a friend of his from high school,who is a life guard there. His friend has been very encouraging of Paul's efforts. It's interesting how Paul is now taking a bigger concern about his physical health. He has picked up all of his weight and is now in the mid 160's. (What a relief that is. His lowest weight was exactly one year ago and he weighed 117 lbs. It was frightening to see!) With the weight gain, he is now conscious of the fact that he lacks 'tone'. Anyone who knows Paul can attest to the fact that he is not a big vegetable eater. He loves steak and potatoes, or hamburgers and french fries. That has not changed after the accident...........smile. He is also not fond of eating fruit. He will eat a little fruit salad if it is served with dinner, but he won't just grab a piece of fruit to eat as a snack. So, on Wednesday night, as he and Jon were heading back home from Charlotte, he called to see what we were going to have for dinner, as they would be home around 8 PM. I asked him what he would want to eat, as I could have it ready for him. He said that he noticed he is getting heavier and he wanted something that wouldn't be a lot of calories. I was surprised to hear him say that, and then was thankful I was sitting down when he said, "I think I just want a salad." I chuckled and asked, "You want a salad?" He said that he wanted something that was really healthy. I thought to myself, "surely the doctor has made a mistake and the effects of the infection have set in..........Paul is becoming disoriented and delirious with fever!" I asked him what his dad wanted and Jon agreed that he too would like a salad. I waited for a moment, expecting them to start laughing and telling me they were joking. They weren't. So I suggested we have grilled chicken with it for some substance, as none of us had eaten for hours and it would be late when we ate. They agreed that would be good and so they came home to a healthy meal and Paul ate a huge portion of salad! Then today, he packed his lunch and Jerry said he packed an apple and a banana in with it. Shocked? Why yes, yes I am. Especially since there is no high fever or mental confusion associated with this behavior!
One other improvement that we are noticing is that Paul's tone of voice is coming back. His voice was so weak last year and he was not able to say more than a few words before he would stop and take another breath. His lung capacity was very low due to the severe damage to his left lung. As he does more physical training, he is helping to expand his lungs, which in turn is helping the tone and strength of his voice. We use the only recording of his voice prior to the accident, which is his outgoing message on his cellphone, as our benchmark. The first few times I heard it after the accident, it made me cry. Then, I would call his cellphone just to hear his voice, especially when he wasn't talking at all. Now I call his phone to get his voicemail so I can see how much more he has improved! And I leave a message for Paul to call me back so I can tell him how much I love him.
He also has to work harder at annunciating his words due to the paralysis. He will catch himself 'mumbling' words and realize that his sentence came out somewhat slurred. In most instances, he will correct himself and repeat his sentence without us having to ask, "what did you say?" This has been another area that he has noticed he has a weakness and needs to work harder to compensate for the deficiency. He does not get discouraged about any of it, just states matter of factly that he has to work harder now since he has these lingering problems. Jerry said that Paul mentioned the other day that he really wants to get his facial nerve and muscles back. It would make him so happy to have that again. He said he really wants to use both eyes again too. We hear you Paul ...and all of us want that for you!!! Tonight, after we said the blessing before eating dinner, we added a prayer for James, Jon and Marie and also for Jerry's mother, who had to have foot surgery today. After we finished our list of things we needed and also were thankful for, Paul tapped my hand and then pointed to himself and kind of nodded his head. He wanted to remind me to add him to the list! So I said, "and also, please God, heal our son Paul very, very soon." Paul smiled and then did the sign of the cross to end our meal blessing.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit -
We will find strength and healing.
With great love to all of you,
Jon and Rebecca
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6 comments:
you go, paul! you are doing awesome! i admire your fight and your perserverance. i also read the post below this one. paul's insight on suffering to save him from purgatory is just amazing. to be so young and have that beautiful perspective on it is just awesome. i did not suffer so beautifully like paul is. i wish i did. i guess i did the best i could. the pain was just unbearable that some days all i could yell out was "Help!". paul, i get chills thinking about the HUGE plan God has in store for you. you are inspiring countless people. i have no doubt that even greater things are in your future. and as always i pray daily for your full and total recovery!
Amen, Amen, I say to you Amen. What wonderous deeds our God has done.
I remembered one other instance to prove how much Paul previously did not like to eat fruit. Jerry told me that one night, after I was heading back into the kitchen to get the rest of the food I was serving for dinner, Paul quickly 'dumped' his fruit salad out of his bowl back into the serving bowl. He didn't think anyone was watching, but Jerry did and like a good friend, stayed 'mum' about it until a couple of months later when he knew I would find it funny!
Now that Paul is asking for fruit and vegetables, I am thinking of submitting this new occurrence to our Archbishop to decide if we have a true miraculous cure that can be documented.......
Rebecca, Mother of St. Paul
I am so happy about all the salad eating!!
I am just writing this comment because my I read what was written on the 22nd. It said that I don't like fruit or vegetables (except that one salad), and only like meat, potatoes and/or junk food. Sadly, that is inaccurate. I do like fruit but I have a hard time eating fruit because the juice makes me choke. I eat apples due to the fact that they dont leave tons of juice in my mouth, and I can eat bananas for the same reason. I eat one of those just about every day. I have veggies with dinner every night as well. So, in my defense, I do like fruits and veggies, I just dont eat many DIFFERENT KINDS of fruits because of the juice left behind that makes me choke and cough. Anyone who has ever had a headache knows that coughing makes your head hurt even worse!!! Anyway, God Bless You All. Hopefully, I'll write on this fantastic, ridiculously awesome website soon :). Bye!
Paul responds by hitting another one out of the park -
Pablo to the wablo rides again!
(Family humor)
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