Their farm looks good - the neighbors have all been taking turns putting up hay and make sure the the Johnson family gets the help they need when they need it keeping the dairy herd milked on time everyday.
Julie took the pot of coffee on the stove and walked to the table on their porch to join us.
"How are you doing, John?"
"Well, holding my own right now, I guess. The blood counts are slowly making progress, but not enough to make the doctors happy. That means I need blood transfusions."
"Oh. Is that a good thing?"
"It is right now. The transfusions should help me get some strength back while the doctors make a plan for future treatment. There's a possibility of a bone marrow transplant too, but I'm not sure about that yet."
The community knew about bone marrow transplants. Several years back a young girl needed one to survive and there wasn't a match for her within her family.
We had a test day at the school with men and women lined up around the block to give a sample to see if they might be a match for her or someone else on the waiting list.
A good match was never found.
John and Julie are an optimistic couple and it's shown through in the months since his diagnosis.
We changed the subject to agriculture. Grain prices are down, but milk prices are up.
That's good news for most of us who use our corn to feed our cows and depend on selling milk to pay the bills and raise our families.
We talked about the plan to harvest the corn and soybeans planted last spring. The late spring doesn't seem to be hurting the crops at the end of the season as recent warm weather helped get the crops back on schedule.
Another pot of coffee and some of Julie's home-made cinnamon rolls later, we had the field work plan in place and figured out a way for them to rest in knowing if they need anything at all they know who to call around here for help.
John said the money Oscar raised with a lot of community support for his summer bike ride has been the difference for the kids getting ready for school and helping keep things normal around the farm.
"That's what we're going to do, John. We are your friends and neighbors - your family. I know we can't really solve any problems, but we will walk with you and do all we can to make this journey easier on the two of you.
"We'll get a blood drive to re-supply the blood bank and get people tested for miles around to find a blood match. We'll help get those crops in and keep your cows milked. I don't know where this walks takes us, my friend, but we take it together."
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