Take A Look At Me Now

I have been unable to get the short movie we took of Paul at the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament on. I will continue to work on it. We were happy to see how relaxed he was - much like he used to be when he performed.

On Friday, Paul went with all the other employees at DTSi to the company Christmas party that was held in north Georgia. They had cabins rented and Paul really wanted to go. It was easy for us to say yes, because...................PAUL IS OFF ALL PRESCRIPTION DRUGS! He had missed a couple of doses in the last 2 weeks and we saw it didn't affect the level of his headaches. So we started to split the doses in half and then moved him off of the medications all together. Even without his prescriptions, his headaches only get up to a level 4. He mostly has had a dull pain that he says in around 2 - 2.5. If it gets higher, he is using Advil to help. So, he is now using Advil once or twice a day. He is now going without taping his eye closed at all, so since he is so low maintenance, we decided he would be fine going on his first 'solo' trip. No parents, no Jerry, no Judy. We talked to Paul about remembering his eye drops throughout the day and he said he was ready for that - he knows to use them every one to 2 hours. He got himself packed and ready and headed off to work on Friday morning and were told he would be home Saturday, late afternoon. He told me he was sorry he would not be home for my birthday on Saturday and I responded that I was receiving a beautiful gift instead............more independence for him.

On Friday night, I was out with my sister Bev, and my dear friend Meredith Tarantino, and my cell phone rang. It was about 9 PM and I saw that it was Paul. The conversation started with, "Mom, this is Paul and I thought I should call you about something that has happened." I immediately thought, "We have a 3 hour drive ahead of us." I asked what was the matter and he said, "Nothing is really the matter. But something has happened and I wanted to tell you. I don't have any headache at all. None. My head does not hurt even a little bit. Awhile ago, my head was hurting at about a 3.0 and I was going to get some Advil. But then I waited until after dinner and now my head does not hurt at all. I have been laughing and having a good time and even the laughing didn't cause my head to hurt like it always does. I just wanted you to know that." I asked him, "So after 2 years Paul, how does it feel to have no headache?"
FAN - FLIPPIN-TASTIC was his respsonse. He was laughing as he said it. He then told me that when he opened the door of his cabin earlier, he had seen a bobcat. He was pretty excited about that too. It was quite a huge weekend for Paul and he came home as happy as can be. I have to tell you, we are so blessed with the companies we work for. DTSi has stuck by Paul through it all and they held his job open for him. It was a slow walk back for him, but he is now working on new duties and is very excited to accomplish new tasks. He told us he really wants to do a good job because he loves everybody at his job and he wants to pay them back by doing a good job. I have been blessed with my job, as they have allowed me to get Paul back and forth to his job when Judy or Jerry can't. Jon's company, Ikon Office Solutions, has allowed him to take a lot of time off to take turns with me getting Paul to Charlotte. More gifts from God!

I had the best birthday ever. It started with Judy dropping by my office on Friday morning and bringing me roses! I was so surprised. We all love her so much - she is truly like another mother to Paul and Michael. Michael came home from college on Friday and Jerry took us out to lunch. Then on Saturday, I got flowers from Jon and Marie - they had 3 roses included - one from each of them...............smile. Saturday morning, Jon and I went to First Saturday Mass and I have to tell you, I had tears flowing like a river. I spent a good portion of the day remembering 2 years ago when Paul was able to silently mouth 'happy birthday mom'. Yes, take a look at him now! I also spent a good portion of the day thanking God. I was in conversation with Him so often throughout the day. How could I not be? I can't help but 'Take a Look At Him Now!' I know His presence so much better. I feel His presence often. Praise be to God and to His Son who saved us and to the Holy Spirit who moves our souls closer to Our Father.

Paul, Michael and Jerry went to see a comedian on Saturday night and Jon and I went to see the Turtle Island string quartet/ Leo Kottke concert. We all met back at our house and shared our stories. One more time, we have been graced with a joyful ending to a joyful day.

Last night, Paul came into the house with his dear friend Nathan Rose. Paul got sidetracked playing his guitar, so Nathan and I were talking. He said he sees a lot of Paul's personality coming through and also the changes. I mentioned that Paul says he doesn't have a passion for music, yet look at him - anytime he picks up his guitar, he gets lost in the music. Nathan said something that really may be the case. He said that he thinks Paul is aware that God wanted him to change. He had this passion for music before and was heading in that direction and then God stopped him. Maybe Paul thinks God wants him to do something else and that is why he allowed the accident to happen. While Paul still loves music, maybe he thinks God wants him to do something completely different. We had not thought about it like that before. When Jon and I talked about it after Paul and Nathan left, Jon said that maybe God just wants Paul to do something a 'little' different with his music, since Paul was given this talent. Time and prayers for direction will tell us.

The tests they ran on Paul's lungs showed he does have mild asthmas and it just flared up over the Fall season. His lungs are in very good shape after all the damage done to them. While he won't be able to compete in 5k runs, he is certainly free to enjoy anything he wants to try.
We are taking him to his last (hopefully) visit to Charlotte tomorrow. He will see both the neurosurgeon and reconstructive surgeon. We are looking forward to a lot less travel in that direction in the new year!

With our most heartfelt thanks to everyone who has prayed us this far forward,
we remain your brothers and sisters in Christ. All of the intentions of those who have thought of us and prayed for us were included in our 5 mile Rosary walk on Saturday and in the hour of adoration we spent in front of the Blessed Sacrament yesterday.
May you be blessed with far greater abundance than us!
Love,
Jon and Rebecca