It's been over a month that we've been home. The joy and excitement of being home lasted about two weeks. It was so great to get back into our lives, seeing our friends, co-workers, my students, getting phone calls from well-wishers. John loved sharing his story with his classmates and anyone else who would listen, like people in line at Target or the 800# callers who got through (regardless of being on the no-call list). It was a good two weeks. We loved the quiet, we loved hearing English again, no gunfire, John loved not having an IV in his arm. I loved showering in my own bathroom! We both really liked having American water back - Mexican water seemed dirty, whether you were bathing in it or drinking it. There was constant sand in it, but here, we got our constant snow back. It was all good. Then, reality hit. Work: every day. Making dinner: every day. Paying bills: too often. You know what I mean...
Live is surely back to normal now. We are both wishing to go back - not only for the warmth, but for the nutritious meals that neither of us had to cook or clean up. John's body, on the other hand, is not back to normal which is good, good, good!! He continues to poop everyday - some days he's blessed and gets to go twice! We continue to give praise to God that He got us to Mexico - all the details that had to fall into place happened only by the grace of Him. John is doing so well and we are so proud of him. We got back at the end of January and his 11th birthday was only 2 weeks later. He is on a strict diet, called Aliviazatos, which is not very 11-year-old-birthday friendly. He decided to celebrate with his friends at High Roller Skating Rink. They serve pizza, slushies and pop to all the kids. John could have none of it. The amazing, wonderful thing about it, though, was John was cool with it. Kids in 5th grade still bring treats to their classmates...John decided to share one of the things he can eat with his classmates. He brought SunButter Cookies to school for his class. What a kid! He's working really hard to make sure the live cells regenerate in the best conditions possible. Have I mentioned how proud we are of him?
So, other than the strong reminder of how much John and I hate winter, we are very glad to be back. We are so thankful John continues to do well. The clinic truly does God's work and saves lives. It's so incredibly sad to hear people are dying from cancer, suffering from illnesses when they DON'T NEED TO!!! To anyone reading this who is chronically ill or knows someone who is, you don't have to be sick. You don't. You need to gather a lot of money, make a phone call and get plane tickets. It's easy. And don't roll your eyes about the money issue. If doctors here are doing such a great job for you, why are you still sick or in pain? Just think of the money as all the money you would spend for the rest of your life trying to feel better. Now you take all that money, pool it into one lump sum and off to Mexico you go. Feeling better already, aren't you? You should cuz you don't need to be sick or feel awful or be in pain or whatever your deal is. You don't. Still don't believe me? Maybe you'll believe Dr. Rodriquez - one of the clinic founders. He's coming to La Crosse on May 23 from 9-12. He's speaking about the clinic and all it's services for free at the Radisson. If you want more info, please contact me. If you don't know how to, leave a message on the blog and I'll get in touch with you.
In the meantime, be healthy. Take charge of your health care, question your doctor, demand results that keep you safe and keep you healthy.
Until next posting...
