Memorial Day - Another long one but it's been awhile

• It seems wierd to not be having a BBQ today or going to a BBQ. Today is the beginning of Ric's second set of 5 days without supplements. It's also the beginning of a 2 day detox routine - the last one of this months - from here on out he will only have to do one detox per month (other than twice a day coffee enemas). The first month you do all 3 detox routines (Liver flush, Clean Sweep & Purge) to really clean out the body of all the toxins that have been building up over the years. This one is the Purge - a gallon of fresh citrus juice (grapefruit, oranges and lemons) to drink each day for today and tomorrow with nothing to eat except maybe an orange for dinner. He can also drink as much water as he needs. This one puts his body at rest and aids in the rapid removal of metabolic wastes from his body. It also pushes his body into an alkaline state so that repair and rebuilding of his damaged tissues occurs rapidly. He may feel symptoms such as nausea, headaches, muscle aches and pains. So we will see how this one affects him. The other two he pretty much breezed through.
• I've been meaning to update the blog for awhile now but it seems I have little time to do so. This 5 day break is nice as it will allow us to have a bit more freedom to not have to stick to such a rigid schedule as we do when Ric is on the supplements. It's easy to get off schedule as it only takes a minor hiccup to put him behind an hour or two which shifts everything. We've found getting back on schedule is a bit difficult but then he has only done two of the 10 day supplement schedules so far. Also having to make sure he gets meals at specific times can be challenging when things are already behind schedule. But we are doing the best we can to adjust to the new routine and we still feel that this is the best treatment for Ric. We can see the difference in him every day. The one thing that has really bothered him is that he is always cold. But when you lose 24 lbs in only a few weeks that will take a toll on you and the weather has really sucked so that isn't helping. He has gained 2 lbs back - Praise God! His appetite has picked way up - there are some days that he amazes me that he is actually putting away that much food since he started out with so little of an appetite.
• The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2010 there will have been 1,529,560 new cancer cases in the United States. Does anyone else find that statistic just out of control? Why are a million and a half people going to get cancer? 34,500 will have been in the State of Washington. I thought we were one of the healthiest states in the U.S. Have you taken a look at what you are putting into your body? There is so much crap in the food we eat especially processed foods and fast foods. I read labels before but not like I do these days. There are so many preservatives put into foods - which are NOT good for you. If it preserves the food what is it doing to your body? Sorry if you feel like I am preaching to you but just like everything else you should do your own research and not think that just because it is in your grocery store it must be safe. There are some drugs that do good things for people who need them but they all have their side effects that may cause more problems for you. Don't take the quick and easy way for things. I know that goes against the American Way but all you are doing is hurting yourself and affecting your loved ones. If you get cancer or another critical illness you will be affecting EVERYONE around you. Take control of your health and do the right thing for your body.
• We are so thankful and blessed by all the support, love and prayers we are getting from everyone. We know that there are some out there who are wondering if Ric is taking the "right" path in his treatment. Everyone should take control of their own healthcare and do what they believe is right for them. This is what we believe and what Ric is doing. We are thankful that we have options and are not forced to go one path only. We have been truly blessed to be able to choose the option that is best for Ric.
• One last thing because it is Memorial Day - we thank God for all those throughout our country's history who have made the ultimate sacrifice in giving up their lives to defend our freedoms in this country. Never ever take those freedoms for granted.

Saturday

Yea finally a day to sleep in a little and not have a million things to do (only a couple hundred) :) We had pancakes for breakfast today! Found a whole grain pancake mix at Whole Foods that did not have nasty stuff in it and it actually tastes really good. Ric was craving pancakes so was glad I found it for him. Ah the little things that bring us joy! Finally got myself organized and set up a full weeks menu so that I'm not trying to wing it every day. Winging it is not my style but it has been a teaching moment - I did it and I survived it but in order to save my sanity I must be organized. Also then my poor husband does not get the same thing every other day. Been finding some good recipes - thanks to all my friends who have assisted in that! Mom came over for a couple days to help us with things and that was certainly a blessing. Tomorrow Ric will be off the supplements for 5 days which means not having to wake up at 1:30am to take the enzymes so I know he will enjoy that. But since he's been doing that for the last 10 days I am sure that his body will wake him up anyway. We put in almost a full week of work - was off on Monday - not full days yet but about 5-6 hrs at the office. He really enjoys being back at work. It has been 8 weeks since "C" day and 7 weeks since surgery. Ric looks better every day and is getting stronger every day. Still trying to put on some weight but it's a bit difficult when the majority of your diet is vegetables and fruits. With his appetite increasing hopefully that will start happening - he would feel more comfortable with about 5-7 lbs back on. Please keep the prayers coming especially regarding continued healing and some weight gain!

Busy Busy Busy

Sorry it's been so long since I last updated the blog. We have been busy! First just trying to get used to Ric's new schedule of all the things he has to do in a day and because the best food is fresh food, I feel like when I'm home I'm preparing food for that day and then getting ready for the next day. Ric has to take 16 pancreatic enzymes every 4 hours and then takes 27 supplement capsules at breakfast & dinner and 23 at lunch. The supplements are various ones - vitamins and minerals that he is deficient in or to help build up his system. Since he's never been a "pill" taker going from nothing to 181 every day pretty much throughout the day has been a real challenge. For him just getting them down and for me as the control freak trying to make sure he's taking them when he's supposed to take them. Along with trying to make sure he gets the proper servings of the various foods that he is supposed to eat during the day so far it's been rather overwhelming. But we both know that it's a matter of getting used to the schedule and getting more organized so it all just eventually flows. We also headed to Southern California on Friday afternoon for a long weekend so that just made things a little more complicated. We were really getting stressed (especially me since this is the only thing I can control at this point) until my wonderful husband put it all into perspective while we were down south. "We have only been into this program for about 12 days now and we can't expect it to be perfect right away! We need to do the best we can at getting used to it but we also need to relax and enjoy ourselves." So we did just that. We did have a great time in So. Cal. Holly & I were originally going down to attend her college roommate Marciea's Master's of Education graduation from Loyola Marymount University. Since I was going to stay home with Ric, he decided he wanted to go with us. We had recently found out that his former boss at Southland, Frank was fighting cancer also so we were able to meet up with him. Ric & Frank had a great time comparing their surgery scars and talking about all the "fun" they've been going through lately - their scars are basically the same - they had me take a picture of them showing their bellys - boys will be boys. Frank was diagnosed in November last year so he's a little farther along in his surgery recovery. We enjoyed hanging out with Marciea (one of our other daughters), her parents Wendy & Lester (Holly's California parents) and our former coworker at Southland Nancy and her husband John (also known as Holly's California grandparents). We also got to see a few of Holly's Vanguard University softball teammates so that was fun. Ric did really well in the traveling and the activities that we did while there. We got back late last night and were back at work today. Ric put in a pretty decent day today and is feeling stronger every day. His appetite really picked up this weekend which was good to see. He's really getting antsy to get back on the riding lawnmower to mow the yard - ummm maybe in another couple weeks. Anyway that's where we are at now. Thanks so much for your thoughts, prayers, phone calls, etc. It's so nice to have so many people supporting us!