Justice for Paul Taylor
Donation protected
https://www.wfaa.com/mobile/article/news/local/investigates/screwdriver-attack-prompts-questions-over-safety-of-disabled/287-596550058 
A quick summary for those that may not be familiar with Paul - he is our Mother’s second child of five. At the age of 3, Paul was diagnosed with autism and then epilepsy a year later. When my siblings and I were all moved out of the house, it made it difficult for our mother to work full-time while still providing the around-the-clock care that Paul required. The decision was made to place him in a group home that offered transitional programs and 24hr care for Paul and other children/adults with special needs, while still being close enough to home to visit on weekends and holidays. Like any circumstance, a lot can happen over the course of 10 years. There were inevitable bumps in the road and plenty of disagreements, but nothing could compare to what happened on this day.
On July 1st, 2018 - Paul was placed in a new group home with only 2 other residents. From recommendations of staff members, our family became hopeful of this transition and believed a home with fewer residents would be good for Paul.
A short week later, on July 8th, at 11:30AM, my mom received a call from the Dallas fire chief stating that, due to an altercation between Paul and another resident from his home, he was being transported by ambulance to Methodist Hospital. The Chief informed my mom that Paul was responsive and walked to the ambulance on his own, but they couldn't take him to the Hospital closest to the home because it didn't have a trauma wing. Paul was bloody, beaten, and stabbed more than 85 times by a Philips head screwdriver - all while clenching his favorite books and Sesame Street toy in his swollen hands. While cleaning the blood off of Paul, they found that he'd defcted on himself, hadn't been bathed in days, and was put to bed in the clothes he wore the day before. The medical staff then took Paul to get scans. There were concerns on internal bleeding, that the punctures in his neck rolled the corotid artery which would require emergency surgery, and that he could possibly lose the vision in his left eye.
With the exception of one word statements, Paul is non-verbal and incapable of telling us what happened to him that night or why no one was there to protect him. He doesn't know why this happened - why he had to stay in this tiny hospital room, why he needed wheelchair assistance to use the bathroom, or why it took 10 hours for someone to find him and call for help.
After hours of waiting and all scans came back, it was conclusive that, with 2 black & swollen eyes, bruising all over, and a total of 96 puncture wounds on his hands & arms, neck, head, face, and shoulder, not only would Paul survive this vicious attack, but he would suffer no physical or internal damage.
After an incident report was obtained from the home, we learned that the same resident gave Paul a black eye just days before the assault. We were never informed of this.
To WFAA-8 News, DPD and the officers that stayed at the hospital with us all day and are currently working on this case/investigation, THANK YOU. Your kindness and determination to find justice for Paul means so much to our family. The deep wounds have yet to heal, but he is on the road to recovery.
Paul is living back home with our mom who works full-time. It has been a longterm goal of hers to open her own home called "Paul's Place" for other children/adults with special needs. She published a book (House Guests & Ghosts) and ensured 100% of it's proceeds went toward the home. In the meantime, we are hoping to eventually get private home care for Paul to help assist my mom in the day-to-day. This is a life altering event and it took a huge toll on her - emotionally, mentally, and financially.
We have started this GoFundMe in hopes of getting private home care and to help with the anticipated medical and legal bills that will soon come our way.
Sharing Paul's story is just as important to us as donating, so please share. As tragic as this is for our family, abuse in these homes is more common than you would think. Please help our family be the voice for those that do not have one.
A quick summary for those that may not be familiar with Paul - he is our Mother’s second child of five. At the age of 3, Paul was diagnosed with autism and then epilepsy a year later. When my siblings and I were all moved out of the house, it made it difficult for our mother to work full-time while still providing the around-the-clock care that Paul required. The decision was made to place him in a group home that offered transitional programs and 24hr care for Paul and other children/adults with special needs, while still being close enough to home to visit on weekends and holidays. Like any circumstance, a lot can happen over the course of 10 years. There were inevitable bumps in the road and plenty of disagreements, but nothing could compare to what happened on this day.On July 1st, 2018 - Paul was placed in a new group home with only 2 other residents. From recommendations of staff members, our family became hopeful of this transition and believed a home with fewer residents would be good for Paul.
A short week later, on July 8th, at 11:30AM, my mom received a call from the Dallas fire chief stating that, due to an altercation between Paul and another resident from his home, he was being transported by ambulance to Methodist Hospital. The Chief informed my mom that Paul was responsive and walked to the ambulance on his own, but they couldn't take him to the Hospital closest to the home because it didn't have a trauma wing. Paul was bloody, beaten, and stabbed more than 85 times by a Philips head screwdriver - all while clenching his favorite books and Sesame Street toy in his swollen hands. While cleaning the blood off of Paul, they found that he'd defcted on himself, hadn't been bathed in days, and was put to bed in the clothes he wore the day before. The medical staff then took Paul to get scans. There were concerns on internal bleeding, that the punctures in his neck rolled the corotid artery which would require emergency surgery, and that he could possibly lose the vision in his left eye.
With the exception of one word statements, Paul is non-verbal and incapable of telling us what happened to him that night or why no one was there to protect him. He doesn't know why this happened - why he had to stay in this tiny hospital room, why he needed wheelchair assistance to use the bathroom, or why it took 10 hours for someone to find him and call for help.
After hours of waiting and all scans came back, it was conclusive that, with 2 black & swollen eyes, bruising all over, and a total of 96 puncture wounds on his hands & arms, neck, head, face, and shoulder, not only would Paul survive this vicious attack, but he would suffer no physical or internal damage.
After an incident report was obtained from the home, we learned that the same resident gave Paul a black eye just days before the assault. We were never informed of this.
To WFAA-8 News, DPD and the officers that stayed at the hospital with us all day and are currently working on this case/investigation, THANK YOU. Your kindness and determination to find justice for Paul means so much to our family. The deep wounds have yet to heal, but he is on the road to recovery.
Paul is living back home with our mom who works full-time. It has been a longterm goal of hers to open her own home called "Paul's Place" for other children/adults with special needs. She published a book (House Guests & Ghosts) and ensured 100% of it's proceeds went toward the home. In the meantime, we are hoping to eventually get private home care for Paul to help assist my mom in the day-to-day. This is a life altering event and it took a huge toll on her - emotionally, mentally, and financially.
We have started this GoFundMe in hopes of getting private home care and to help with the anticipated medical and legal bills that will soon come our way.
Sharing Paul's story is just as important to us as donating, so please share. As tragic as this is for our family, abuse in these homes is more common than you would think. Please help our family be the voice for those that do not have one.
Organizer
Liz Taylor
Organizer
Cedar Hill, TX