"We should do something," Kevin agreed.
And so, that's us. A happily married couple of 14 years, really, really thankful for that "in sickness and health" vow, always looking for the right course of food-based action (and occasionally off-roaded by distractions such as candy corn. For the love of mankind, who invented that stuff?).
We are thirty-something and prepared to start counting backwards at 40. (Our 8-year-old son was genuinely shocked yesterday to find that Michael Phelps is in fact younger than I am. Much younger? he wanted to know. How do you know about Michael Phelps? I asked. From the Wheaties box.). Anyway, while it may be too late to have a run on the pro-tennis circuit, it is certainly early enough to be as healthy as possible, be an example for our kids, and give our eating to God.
What does God say about candy corn? A burning question, but we'll have to address that one later...
And why are you writing a health blog? That one, I can definitely answer. Here's a bit of our story:
In 2011, Kevin got the ridiculously scary news that "the mole-looking thing" that he'd had for YEARS on the top of his ear was in fact malignant melanoma. You probably won't die was the basic message he was getting from his oncologist.
In 2011, we also came to understand that I was suffering from OCD. Not the hand-washing, Hollywood movie kind of OCD (which probably explains why it took us so long to figure it out), but a constant and highly debilitating inner battle with my busted caudate nucleus. Not to be outdone by cancer or mental illness, we also experienced miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy in the same year.
I will interject here to say that 2012 ROCKED. Nothing but happiness & ease! I believe the Biblical word for that would be "rest." He made us lie down in green pastures...and oh, was it nice!
In 2013, I had been working out diligently with a rockin' outfit down the road called Kosama. (Original meaning: "Land of 1,000 Burpees" or "I Will Eat You For Breakfast"). I had also worked up to consistent runs, and was really enjoying the challenge. But on a relaxing Wednesday in March, I began to have killer cramps on (what was supposed to be) a six-mile run. By the next day, I thought I was dying and Kevin got intimately acquainted with the ambulance drivers and the local ER.
Tests were run. Probably a virus. Sent home.
Long and involved story short, I was being opened up the following Tuesday and the finding was something called volvulus (or twisted intestine). Two and a half feet of dead small intestine were removed (sorry, you knew the TMI thing was going to happen at some point, right?), and I awoke with an ostomy bag, quite blessed to be alive. Five days later, I was being put back together again (Can I get an "Amen" for not being around a hundred years ago?) and the long recovery began.
Each of our "health" stories, while sometimes silly (as in, yes, the EMT in our living room really did spend time counseling Kevin in how to clean blood off of the carpet, because he used to work in furniture...), have actually been momentous occasions of God's very specific intervention in our lives. We are different now, fuller of faith, more often reminding each other of this precious miracle of TIME. We've seen the hand of God, and it is good. He lives and breathes and heals and loves and cares and counsels and comforts and IS.
Currently, as a result of the events of March, I have ulcers and something called Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth. (Doesn't that sound fun?). It causes all sorts of embarrassing stomach issues.
A dairy-free, grain/sugar-free diet would be my best natural course of action, as regular, cyclical courses of antibiotics are the current gold standard for treatment.
Back to the original question. Why pen a health blog when there must be a googleplex of kale salad and goat cheese recipes, youtube workouts, personal health stories, and free nutritional advice out there?
I don't know. I'm handing the mic to God on this one. And I'm pretty excited to see what He's going to do.
Can I go off dairy in my own power? Sure, you bet. Sort of.
Can I follow a sugar-free/grain-free diet in my own power? No. No, I can't. But I sense that God is calling us to join Him on this one, to choose the health that is in reach with His strength.
Kevin would like to beat cancer for life. He would like to experience relief from chronic pain from his neck down to his wrists (thoracic outlet syndrome). And I would like to
"Dear Friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well." 3 John 1:2
He cares. He cares! HOW COOL IS THAT?!
Thanks for joining us on this (overused word alert) journey! I pray that God will encourage you on your own health journey, and I sure hope you'll share those stories with me, too!
God is faithful!
jen
