When I woke up this morning my 1^st thought was “I’m taking the day off”!  I didn’t sleep well. I kept having dreams through the night. I went to the bathroom at 0300 and couldn’t get back to sleep until nearly 0500.  I woke up tired and down.  I laid there wondering where is this big burst of energy others talk so much about? Why aren’t I jumping out of bed full of pep ready to face the day? I’m sick of washing vegetables and fruit to make juice.  I’m sick of juicing those fruits and veggies.  I’m sick of cleaning up after getting the juice made.  I’m sick of having to go to the grocery store nearly every day to buy what we need for the juice.  Today I am just sick of it all and wanted to take the day off.  Then the words from my beloved sister-in-law came back to me – “when you take one day off it’s easier to take another day off, and so on and so one until you’re back to your old ways”. 

Now I’ve said the same thing about 100 times to patients, friends and family members.  I guess I needed to hear them again for myself.  I know that it was just 5 days ago that I was also discouraged, but today was different – I nearly talked myself into just not doing it today.  It’s funny, I’m having the same day today that Tiffany had yesterday.  Yesterday she woke up tired, discouraged and not wanting to do much of anything.  I had to prod her out for our walk in the morning and then for our time in the sun.  Today she must be the strong one that keeps me moving.  That is an answer to prayer. Prior to our arrival here, I had prayed that when I was weak, she would be strong and vice versa and that has occurred.  Ultimately this whole thing is not about me, it’s about healing Tiff’s heart.  Our 2-week stats are encouraging.  We are seeing results.  I just keep waiting for a really big shift in our energy and it’s just not happening yet. 

Day before yesterday Tiffany made “mock tuna salad”.  It’s made with chickpeas and other “tuna salad” ingredients.  You would be surprised how much it tastes like a non-vegan salad.  We have eaten it on bread like a sandwich and scooped it up with healthy crackers.  It’s really good.  Today we’re having pot roast without the roast.  Tiff did some homework prior to coming and looked up some good vegan recipes.  Today the crock pot is full of potatoes, carrots, onion, and green beans.  She seasoned up vegetable broth with some spices and poured it over the vegetables.  The house smells wonderful, as if a roast were really cooking here. 

 A week or so ago I told you about the situation I have with my eyes.  I have Juxtafoveal Telangiectasia.  This condition is worsening.  A few days ago, I noticed that I now have a small blind spot in my left eye.  If you’re looking at an analog clock the spot is just left of the number 3.  It is my hope that this plan will at least slow down this process – ideally it will reverse it.  Most people who adopt a whole food, plant-based diet see marked improvement in their vision over a period of about a year.  I don’t know of anyone with this particular condition who has healed themselves from it, but then again it is not a very common malady.  I really enjoy reading and am hoping that I can halt the process.  It will also affect my ability to do my job.  Depth perception is affected by this condition and I sure don’t want to be putting an IV in someone’s arm and misjudging the depth.  Right now, my right eye is only mildly affected and there are no vision interruptions in that eye.

In June, a few weeks after each of us return home, we are each seeing doctors.  Tiff will see her cardiologist and they will be doing an echocardiogram – we will have measurable results of her improvement.  My appointment is with my optometrist.  He will run the entire set of tests on both of my eyes and I hope to also have some measurable improvements – I will settle for a slowing of the progress.

Day 16 is done, day 17 is on the way.  As C.S. Lewis once said “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny”