Long time, no see. Sometimes life gets
in the way of other pursuits. Like blogging.
This blog site was never intended to be
all about my mother, even though it seems to have turned into that.
Then again, this blog is really all about my mother, and countless
others just like her who thought they were eating right and doing
well by following everything (or most things) their doctor told them
to do, only to discover down the line that they have a debilitating
illness or condition that could have been prevented by not eating
what is suggested by their doctor, nutritionist, or even the ADA.
The outward physical issues began to
manifest nearly three years ago, when my mother was 66 years old, and
things just seem to keep getting worse: a heart attack, double
bypass, fem-fem bypasses, several other types of bypasses, and an
amputation of a leg later, my mother lies, at this very moment, in a
hospital bed, recovering from surgery to attempt to unblock one of
her grafts. Her surgery was Sunday. It was only partially successful.
She nearly bled to death on the operating table. Today marks a week
since she was admitted.
She had difficulty breathing this
morning and was whisked into x-ray and had blood drawn for diagnostic
tests. The results came back with the following Dx: Pneumonia. You go
to the hospital because you're sick and sometimes end up getting even
more sick. Hospital borne infections are not uncommon. Hopefully it
is the only one she winds up with during her stay; she has contracted
MRSA before, and VRE. She's lucky to have lived through any of it,
but even if she gets through this one she is sentenced to pain and
suffering for her remaining days on this planet.
She lamented to me today, “I don't
know why this has happened to me. I mean, I didn't eat badly anytime
during my life.”
To which I replied, “I know you ate
what you thought was good, what you were told was good, but it wasn't
good for you. Doctors don't get nutrition training in med school.
They told you the best they knew. You did the best you knew how to
do.”
That's pretty much all I could tell
her, because the damage is now done, and it's fairly likely it's too
far gone to correct no matter what she eats now. She's diabetic and
has horrible Neuropathy and vision issues. She's had several strokes
including a brain stem stroke. She has Atherosclerosis and Heart
Disease. Her left leg was amputated below the knee because she had
no circulation left in her lower limb and dry gangrene set in. She
now has a spot of dry gangrene on her pinky toe of her right foot,
and her foot is swollen and angry looking. If she lives long enough
she will end up a double amputee.
The double heart bypass helped keep her
heart beating, but the third artery leading to her heart is 90%
blocked, and there isn't a damn thing they can do about that one
without killing her.
She's tough, though. She has a will to
live like no one else I've known. But that will only get her so far.
None of us make it out of here alive. The difference, though, is that
we have a choice whether to make our passing a long and painful one,
or a quick and painless one. The choice is yours.
It doesn't matter whether you're fat or
thin, if you are eating crap you are going to live out your last days
in misery. I'd lay money on it, and I'm not a betting woman. But I
don't want to do that. I don't want to see anyone suffer. I don't
want to see you writhing in pain every time your pain meds wear off,
like I see happen to my mother. I don't want your loved ones to feel
helpless watching your suffering. Listen to me now, thank me later...
Quit eating grains (wheat, corn, rice,
pasta, bread), legumes, starchy vegetables, and sugar (including high
sugar fruits). Do not ingest vegetable oils, margarine, or
hydrogenated fats. Do not eat at fast food restaurants. Ever.
Eat whole foods. Eat meat, foul, seafood, pork (if it's not against your religion), non-starchy
vegetables, low sugar fruits on occasion, and good animal fats like
butter, lard, tallow, and the only non-animal fats you should consume
should be olive oil and coconut oil.
Get up and move, but if you can't bring
yourself to do that, at least eat the way I've stated above.
Eventually you will feel like moving again if you do that.
There is no better time to start than
now. If you are living and breathing still, just do it. Below are
links to help get you started on the path to a better, less painful
life.
And check My Fave Reads in the right column.