November Update

Well, as you may have noticed, I haven't done much writing this week. However, Joanna and I have done plenty of reminiscing as this week marks the one year point of when things really got intense.

It was a year ago Wednesday that I had my last meal by mouth. It was an Ensure/ice cream shake (strawberry) that a kind nurse at OHSU made me. I remember it well. The next day, Joanna got the call at about 9:30 in the morning that she should come immediately. I was failing rapidly. Family and friends gathered, but I knew none of this as I was incoherent for 5 days or so. My birthday came and went without my knowing it--which leads to one of those great philosophical questions of life like "if a man says something but there is no woman present to hear it, is he still wrong?" My question is, "If a person has a birthday but isn't awake for it, does he still have to count it?"

And so, this week passed with lots of story-telling and some clear reminders that God has led us a long way these last 12 months. I'm glad that I don't have to relive them, but I'm a better man for them.

Meanwhile, life rolls along here. I'm very encouraged on two fronts. First, my new physical therapy has been fabulous. Mike has me in a pool twice a week--not to swim but to walk and, yes, even run a little. The pool has a treadmill in it. He has me going frontwards, sideways and backwards. It's a great workout and I feel myself getting stronger. The longest I've run is 45 seconds, but it's a start.

The second area of encouragement is in driving. You'll remember that a few months ago I took a tour of the LDS Church parking lot that was….well, we'll just call it an adventure. With my increased strength I figured it was time to try it again. This time the results were completely different. I could handle the brake and steering wheel with limited effort. But, just to make certain individuals a little more confident in my abilities, I took a reaction test from an occupational therapist. It is an hour long test designed for people who have had to give up driving for a while but want to determine if they are road ready again. After passing the test, the therapist said, "Congratulations" and I've been driving Joanna ever since. "Driving her crazy?" you ask. Well, that's possible, but she actually looks pretty relaxed and at home over there in that passenger seat.

Sadly, I'm not able to report such good news with my general health and ability to swallow. No progress to report in these areas. Thank you for your ongoing prayers for healing and for God's grace in the meantime.

With Thanksgiving coming and some family time planned, I'm going to take a two week break from writing this blog. I'll catch back up with ya in early December. However, beginning the day after Thanksgiving, you can log onto the Salem Alliance site and read a daily Advent devotional written by the wonderful people who read this blog. We received a wide variety of submissions and are excited to be able to post many of them. So, while I "sign off" for a bit, you can "sign on" with your blog community friends.

Your love and support has meant so much to us this year. We are grateful for you all.

John (for Jo, too)

PS On Thanksgiving Day, the Statesman Journal (Salem's newspaper) is doing a story on us. I have no idea how it will turn out, but the reporter and photographers sure were nice. I just hope they don't use those photos of me in the pool. Somehow I'm not excited to see my shirtless, muscle-less, tube-hanging frame in print for all to see. Vain, I know. Talk to ya in a couple weeks.