Gently lead him to place where he discovers "himself" the true plight of his personal situation. Guide him to stare his fears in the face. This should galvanise his self-defense mechanisms and bring about a revolution within him.It will be stormy at first as the realisation of what he has become sets in.
He has lost touch with his own powers of regeneration and transformation, but they are as natural to him as breathing.
You know him best. Figure out what will motivate him to start this journey.
But never let him know you were solely responsible. That will make him feel weak and powerless and he may come to unfairly resent you for it.
You must have a faultless strategy to get this intitiated. But then watch the grey lizard metamorph into an Eagle. He will do the rest himself, and he won't stop until its done, especially with your unwavering support behind him and him knowing that.
He has the power within him to drag you from the Pit into the skies.
Good luck, and its nice to see you love him so much to have the courage to ask such a thing.
Swerve