Is it fair to ask your spouse/partner/significant other to completely change their lifestyle because if you don't you could be disabled?
Here is what sparked this question -
I read Chekoala's post reminding me of Dr. Swank - and found it impressive he, himself lived to be 99.
Then I read Chekoala's post speaking of the Gawler retreat. Which lead me to....
THIS website and a realization that I may be the single person responsible for not giving my body all it needs in this world to survive MS or at the very least slow it's progression and disability.
Which leads me to the opening question in this post... read above again...
I can't do this alone and I need to be held accountable and if the situation were reversed I know how I would feel, but, isn't it worth doing together if it means you'll have a longer, less disabled life together? I wonder if this one falls under those vows we took "in sickness and in health". If I want to get to the health part...it may have to be done.
Now let me throw this in to the mix, if said diet would help your spouse/partner/significant other because the have Diabetes... how does that change your answer to my first question?
3 comments:
Myself having got MS at age 23, three weeks after we married, like your husband, mine knew going in that "something" was wrong.
He loves me anyway as I am sure your guy loves you.
My hubby tells me he thinks of it this way.....he is doing for me what he would like me to do for him if the positions were reversed.
Also, as an aside, he says that IF he ever gets ill with something, he does EXPECT me to reciprocate in kind to him as he has done for me for the past 33 years.
Just a thought to pass along.
Take care and don't sweat the small stuff. Yeah, this is small stuff compared to life and all the other things that can go wrong....jobs, housing, food, etc.
Today's economy and the fix we have all found ourselves in kind of makes me more aware of that instead of what ever ails me.
I hope this note has helped for things to look up re: MS and caretakers/caregivers.
Hi Lanette
Thanks for reading my post about Swank.
Agree that changing diets significantly does take some prepping and maybe weaning rather than drastic action all at once.
I've been diabetic since I was six, so my siblings all grew up with 'diabetic eating' around them to some degree - although generally it just meant eating healthily and regularly for everyone - sometimes there were foods that I avoided and everyone else ate or I only had a tiny morsel of.
Following Jelinek/Swank's guidelines means asking more questions than we usually have been doing about supermarkets are selling us but no trickier than say having a family member join Weight Watchers, where perhaps some food served everyone eats and some food is more specific - say that giant red steak for one and those tofu burgers for another!
I find everyone tends to enjoy the soups, salads, veges and bakes. There are simple dressings and sauces that can be prepped (rather than bought or the ingredient list checked before automatically grabbing them off the shelf) that suit the Swank diet and that everyone can eat without noticing the difference (except that it is quietly better for everyone).
I think it has lots of elements in common with the Slow Food movement, as far as nourishing ourselves with simple, whole foods that are as unprocessed as possible - and not leaving it to marketers and advertisers to numb us to what we are putting in out mouths?
PS
Dorothy Edgelow's 'A Recipe for Life' is a great aid on how to prepare foods and adapt recipes so everyone still enjoys - brownies, scones, crumbles, stir frys, casseroles et al.
Also really helpful sections on preparing a grocery list, a four-week food plan and clear explanations about the benefits and drawbacks of different food groups. Also recipes are for two.
cheers
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