March 2010 Update

I live with the awareness that I have the great blessing in life of being prayed for by many people. What a gift it is that you have given and continue to give to me. I do not understand the workings of God and His desire to use prayer in His work--but, I do know that there is a definite and frequent intersection between God's involvement in our world and our intercession arising to heaven. God has used you in my life as you have sought Him on my behalf.

In light of the fact that so many of you are praying for us, I want to continue my pattern today of giving a monthly update as to how I am doing. I'm happy to say that I have much good to report this month.

New Winds of Encouragement are Blowing
My spirit has been frequently refreshed in these days. After a long drought last year, the Word of God has come alive to me again in recent months in such a joyful and life giving way. It has not always been true for me, and it may not be again in some future season God has for me, but for this season the highlight of my day is my time of prayer, worship, reading Scripture and selections from the saints. It's the best hour of my day right now. I'm reading through the Old Testament--a few chapters of history, one Psalm and a chapter or two from the prophets most days. And, the saints are full of surprises. I'll keep sharing excerpts from them from time to time. I praise God for the gift of this season of renewal for my spirit…all in direct answer to your prayers.

New Efforts at Recovery are Being Attempted
I just finished the third round of IVIG treatment in three months. I continue to experience very positive results from this. Again this month I had no side effects and feel the benefit within a week or so of receiving it.

Meanwhile, I've begun working with a ENT doctor (ear, nose, throat) who has this fancy scope he likes to run up my nose and down the back of my throat. He tells me, "I do this to five year olds and they don't cry, so you can handle it." This, of course, is doctor speak for "Man up, Buddy." I didn't cry and was actually fascinated by the two minute video he took of the inner workings of my nasal passages and throat. The bad news is that the epiglottis and esophagus still aren't functioning (in other words, I do not swallow yet), but the good news is that he found no evidence of injury or cancer in that area.

I've also begun working with a new speech/swallow therapist who is hitting my case with new energy and has me doing some exercises that could help. We'll see.

In addition to this, our daughter Anna is attempting to use her connections to get me into the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix for an appointment with a highly acclaimed specialist. We're not sure if everything is going to come together with insurance, etc. but we're giving it a try.

There are other medical changes/efforts I'm attempting at this time, but I'll save those conversations for later if I find them worth mentioning. Suffice it to say today that while I've felt like I should lean into prayer and trust God for healing, I should also use every means available to me that He provides. Faith in Him doesn't always mean passivity on our part. Often faith calls more action out of us. Discernment is obviously needed for each situation.

New Milestones are to be Celebrated
Okay, they may not seem like very big things to others, but for me they were physical and mental victories. First, earlier this week, I put on my own socks for the first time since November 2008. Every other pair I've worn have been put on by a nurse or Joanna. It took a little "finaggaling," and a couple of grunts, but in only a minute or so I got those little varmints on my feet. Happy day!

Then, while doing some neck exercises assigned by my speech/swallow therapist, I suddenly was able to do my first sit-up since 2008. It wasn't pretty. Don't ask me to do more than one or two. You might call it more of a "rock up" than a "sit up," but, hey, progress is progress even if it wouldn't win any contest!

And, my driving is going very well. Obviously anything can happen at any moment on the road, but I actually think that I'm a better driver now than before as some of my aggressiveness has been taken out of me. Notice I said, "some."

Meanwhile, Joanna is back working with the school district three days a week and I'm at the office a little more than half-time. Things are slowly returning to "normalcy," but it is definitely a new normal with a greatly altered perspective on life.

Grateful to be on this journey with you,
John