Thursday August 13

Some of the greatest gifts we receive in being close to John are some of the hardest to recognize. I would say (and I'm quite sure most of us would agree) that patience has been the hardest thing to have but it has now become drilled into our psyche and we are more patient than we were prior to June 2, 2009. There are many sayings about this including the whole, "Take time to smell the roses", or my recent favorite..."Slow and steady wins the race", but the thing is that this is a daily learning experience for everyone involved and every aspect of our spirituality, sustenance and simple life activities are challenged and then exonerated by John's level of progress. While we try hard not to take any of his progress for granted, when he reaches plateaus after making progress for extended periods of time, it can be frustrating. We simply continue to wait and give John the time and love he needs to progress and heal at whatever rate his body and mind are capable of and we continue to be amazed at the support and love we receive from those around us.

I will tell you that you that Holly notices everything about John's progress and she has never for even a second thought that John won't be back to where he was before his heart attack. She is capable of seeing things in her husband that would be impossible for others to see and she would tell you that there has not been a day when John has not progressed. There is a level of heart ache attached to those close to people who have heart attacks which must be similar to men supporting their wives during pregnancy. While they aren't actually experiencing the baby growing inside of them they are solely reliant upon the level of communication derived from their relationships and must wait for that final product and Holly does the same.