Tuesday, September 21

Paul fought hard for the past 15+ months and passed away today at about 5pm. He went peacefully with no pain or distress. He took his final breath in comfort and with family by his side. We will miss him, but know that he is now in a better place.

We're in the process of making arrangements and will post the details as soon as we know them. We all appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers.

Paul continues to hang in there, as he is a very strong man.  He had another seizure last Thursday night, and they feel that he is now in the final decline.  It may take weeks, but he is no longer eating any food or drinking any water.  He still has his moments where he will say something quite funny.  He sleeps most of the time now and isn't too interested in his sports any more.  We know he is declining when he doesn't care much about the Reds, Bengals or Purdue.  He is not in any pain, and he looks very peaceful.  Sister Mary Lou told me the other day that she believes he is more with the Lord than with us at this point.  One of the nurses told me that a patient said to her one time that being at the Hospice House is like being on the front porch of heaven.  It is the best place for him to be right now because it is so peaceful, and they take excellent care of him. We continue to spend many hours a day with him, and my brother, Jim, is here again to help out. This is just a funny picture when we caught Jim catching a few zzzz's along with Paul, his Theta Chi fraternity brother.

Paul has had many visitors at the Hospice House but Labor Day weekend brought very good friends from Finland, Bengt and Gerd Lindholm.  We enjoyed spending time with them again, and Paul perked up when Bengt showed him videos of the granddaughters. 
He had a rough day on Tuesday, having six seizures and a possible stroke.  Today Brian and I are waiting and working at the Hospice House to see if he will come out of this spell, or what the future will bring. Andy was here for several hours yesterday, and is only minutes away.  Jeff is checking in regularly, but is now back in Georgia doing regular duty.  Paul is resting very comfortably right now, and he looks very peaceful.  We are praying that he will not experience pain and will continue to be at peace.
Thank you to everyone who continues to support us through these tough times.  We will try to update the blog as we are able to learn more.
Carole

Sunday August 22nd

Paul has moved this week to the Denny and Donna Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy in Hiawatha, near home. Paul has had a few struggles this week and is in the right place to get the care he needs. Paul suffered his first seizure since his diagnosis and is still somewhat recovering from that episode. He is sleeping considerable portions of the day, but still maintains a sense of humor and good spirit when awake. It has been a slow sports week with the Reds west coast road trip and preseason football being so boring. He has mostly quit watching ESPN due to the Brett Favre coverage that he has no interest in hearing about. Cathy had to return to Ohio for school and Jeff will join her there today to start moving back to Georgia. Brian stopped by Friday but then had to leave Saturday for a week of work in Ireland. Andy has been busy as well with a short trip to Charlotte and the constant drive back and forth to Iowa City. Carole has started school again and has completed the first week with students. Carole's brother Jim came to Cedar Rapids for a few days this week to help Jeff while Carole was in school and as always he was a big help. Thanks Bubba. Below is a picture of Dad having fun with the controls to his bed, he raised himself up about 5 feet of the ground and had a huge grin while sitting above all of us. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers Hooah.

Monday, August 16th

Paul continues to have a lot of family visiting him and helping to care for him.  Carole's brother, Jim, and his wife Nancy came out for several days.  They helped with Paul and also trimmed a lot of the bushes and took care of lawn duties.  Brian and Karen came for a long weekend to spend time and to help.  Brian as always, brought great food to grill.  Andy and Tory help every week, and Paul's sister, Beth, and her husband, Jeff, also came out for a day.
The biggest news of all is that Jeff and Cathy came from Georgia.  Jeff was the only one who didn't think the summer heat was so oppressive after spending his time in the desert of Iraq and the swamp of Georgia.  Cathy left tonight to fly to Canton to get an exam taken on schedule.  Jeff will spend a few more days taking care of his dad.

Sunday, July 25th

My room at the Hospice House

The week of July 12-17 I gave my family a little break and went to the Hospice House of Mercy in Hiawatha for a five night respite stay.  I did just fine there, and even enjoyed a whirlpool bath a couple of times. 
We talked to Jeff last night and today, and are very thankful that he is now back in Georgia with Cathy.  They plan on coming out here as soon as he can take leave.  I continue to watch my sports on the television, and have watched the British Open last weekend, and also many Reds victories.  I get a lot of feedback that people enjoy this blog update, even though there isn't much new to say.  My family and I still appreciate all the kind thoughts and prayers coming our way.

Friday, July 9th

I celebrated my 60th birthday on Tuesday, July 6th, with a lot of good company and good food.  Over the weekend my brother Mark, and sister-in-law, Brenda came out to visit.  Then on Monday my mother and two sisters, Barb and Rita, came and stayed through my birthday.  We have had a lot of good meals and many sweets. I received many cards including a very full signature card from my co-workers at Genencor.

I have still enjoyed watching sports on my television, and I am looking forward to the World Cup final on Sunday.  I also try to sling the Reds almost every day that they are on. They are fun to watch and I am so glad that Joey Votto won the vote to go to the all star game. He deserves it.
Andy, Brian and Tory continue to come frequently to help Carole.  Jeff will be leaving Iraq soon, and we are really looking forward to Jeff and Cathy coming.  All the kids know what I like in Bengals and Reds gear, cookies and a new small laptop.

Thanks again for all the support and good thoughts going on in my behalf.