Happy Birthday: A Guest Blog

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So I basically have one of the sweetest, kindest husbands ever.  I've been blogging since 2009 & every so often he hops on here & writes me a guest blog as a gift.  Tomorrow is my 34th birthday & this guest blog is one of my gifts.  Very honestly, I could not pull off the healing I have achieved so far or even my dedication to Autoimmune Protocol without his steadfast support.      

January 28^th, 1979 – That was the day my wife and your blogger was born.  I didn’t meet her until much, much later, but when I did I fell in love with her at first sight.  Since then the past seven or so years have been the most fulfilling and amazing of my life.  Every year, she has sacrificed so much to follow my dreams and for those of our daughter.  But last year changed everything . . . my wife . . . her mother . . . our foundation . . . faltered.  Culminating in one of the scariest moments of our lives as she became sicker and sicker in a country with almost no healthcare.  Since then the family switched our focus for the first time onto mom/wife and most importantly her health.  What that focus revealed was an incredibly strong and resilient woman.  To celebrate Angie’s birthday, I thought I would share five reasons why I admire my wife and best friend . . .

1.)   Her Perseverance and Strength - Doctor after doctor continually denied her any validation of her very real health problems.  After some time they even stopped listening to her and by all accounts dismissed her are as a headcase.  She knew better though, she listened to her body and pushed on.  Eventually, by some miracle a doctor finally gave us a very clear diagnosis once and for all . . . Celiac Disease.  Her perseverance and intuition finally gave her all the validation that so many (including, sad to say, myself) were unable and/or willing to give.

2.)   Her Creativity – I have always known my wife was an extremely talented writer.  For sometime, I was lucky enough to have and to be the soul focus of this creativity.  As she grew and our life’s adventures took us to new and exciting places it was time she shared her gift with a wider audience.  Her writing about our experience in Africa was the first incarnation of this blog & she shared her creativity with family and friends.  After her arduous journey towards a diagnosis, it was evident that she should open this blog to a wider audience to raise awareness on the issue of autoimmunity and paths to healing.

3.)   Her Healing – Though Angie is an ardent advocate and faithful follower of AIP, she has her bad days too.  It almost seems that for every two steps forward, she takes one step backwards, but she never gives up . . . just like in her pursuit for a diagnosis, her healing is non-negotiable.

4.)   Her Success  – Did I mention that through this all, not only has she increased her blog readership by huge leaps and bounds, but also she was successful in her professional life.  Even when she was getting sicker and sicker, she not only got a job, but also was able to jump right back into her previous career role.  It was so essential to our integration back into life in the States.  She rocks at all her jobs . . .

5.)   Her Wife-ing and Mom-ing – And no matter how sick, tried, and frustrated she was . . . Angie never forgot about us.  She still gave us as much love as she could muster.  She always made sure our daughter’s needs and education were number one and gave her the time she needed to feel loved.  I never felt neglected as a husband, as she always provided the love and support I needed.

So there you have five of the millions of reasons I admire my wife and best friend.  Happy Birthday Angie!  I am thankful for the adventure of past year of your life and am looking forward to the years of adventures we have to come.