happy birthday to john!

today is john's birthday. glory be!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JOHN (cha cha cha)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JOHN (cha cha cha)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR JOOOOHN
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JOHN! (cha cha cha, oooh la la!)

what a difference a year makes.
last year john was violently ill, hospitalized, in terrible pain and virtually non-responsive on his birthday. the kids were scared, i was scared, we were all stressed out, the doctor wasn't certain john was going to live, ... it was horrible.

this year, ... today, ... we ate a super healthy breakfast together, went to chuck e. cheese and played played played, came home and had a party with my mom, dad and brother, ate a yummy dinner, sang, blew wishes, opened gifts gifts gifts, and Wii bowled until bed time. SUCH an improvement over last year!

the best part was the playing. it was just so wonderfully normal and happy and healthy. my dad commented that john looks so much better, "his color is so much better". it really is. dad hasn't seen john since he started the naturopath stuff. it's making such a difference. it's truly amazing.

today john started the next step of his wellness plan: milk thistle.
milk thistle helps the liver and john's was all out of whack so, bring on the thistle!
as we add one new thing per week to his plan, we're getting closer and closer to the end of the list which means, ... pretty soon, ... dunt dunt duuun... cod liver oil. but we'll get to that soon enough. for now, it's milk thistle.

john has not done any of the cleanses yet b/c he's seen the one i'm on knock me on my butt and he just cannot deal with that right now while he is trying to get his business back up and running. it will come with time. for now he's doing so well just introducing one new vitamin per week. he's down about 25 pounds just from eating healthier and, with the exception of the fatigue from working full shifts again, he seems to be regaining some quality of life. i am so curious to see what his blood shows after 6 months or so going in this direction.

we truly are exceptionally blessed. i am so thankful. we are so thankful.
and thank you, too, for those of you who check into this blog, care enough to worry the worries and celebrate the celebrations with us.
please continue to pray that we have found a solid course to wellness and quality of life for our whole family but most especially for john who continues to fight this disease and refuses to give in to the doubts and anxiety that accompany it. that kind of resilence takes fortitude.
to all my specific pray-ers out there, please pray for continued fortitude.

'happy birthday to john' ... sing it with me!!
k
xoxo