The last post here showcased an inspirational figure of mine and how he has helped guide me on my path of life over the last seven years. This post though, introduces a more pivotal figure and one that has always been a lifelong inspiration: my mother.
Since my earliest days in the mid 60's, she has always been there for me and raised me, along with my father, to be a decent human being and to always love others, never judge, be as kind as possible and just enjoy life. She has had her ups and downs like we all have through living in these times and is no more immune than anyone else. Yet she always struggled along with little complaining and with a positive attitude, doing the best she could to raise my brother and me. We were actually not trouble makers during the teen years and didn't cause them much grief. At least I don't think we did. :-P Better ask her that if you want to. Nonetheless, here we are in 2016 and time has marched on to the drum of progress.
Yet, some things seem to stay constant and with my mum, one thing she has always fought in her life is weight control. She knows this full well as do millions of others around the globe. No matter what the reasons are for it, the battle still exists and is fought, whether in the home, work or hospital room. This was a battle my mum had been fighting for a long time, near on 60+ years and it never seemed to get any better. Sure, there were some times where she lost a bit here and there, making the world a bit better. But that does not always make the self confidence go up with the loss of the pounds. She struggled with that as well. yet she did her best and still does. At almost 70 years of age, it sure gets a LOT tougher .
Since the year 2008, when my father passed on from this present world, she has had a fight not only with her weight, but with diabetes, MS and various other ailments that put her in the emergency room more times than I can count. We nearly lost her many of those times, preparing ourselves for such a sad event. But, she hung in there and fought. Eventually things stabilized and she moved to a retirement/senior complex and life changed considerably.
She was on a large dose of insulin every day, many times daily, had to take a handful of medications and was in constant pain. I truly wondered how much more she could take. She still kept smiling,though. Even at over 400 pounds, she smiled...
This photo at right shows that smile despite the weight and health issues. No, she didn't like her body nor those problems but didn't let that get her down . Sure, she had bad days like we all do. Still moved forward. This photo was taken in December of 2014, about 16 months ago.
Then, in January of 2015, my mum decided she'd had enough. She started to change some things in her life and was determined not to end her life here in this way, being super sick and feeling lousy. She knew for her (not all are this way) that the weight was a big part of her health problems. Some people have no health issues with extra weight or obesity problems and that's simply wonderful! As long as they are comfortable and love themselves, more power to them! <3 But mum knew she wanted to change for more than those listed above. So she started a dietary modification and began to watch all she took in. She started to exercise, to move more and to visit the Dr when she could. Mind you, I didn't state this till now, but my mum has been wheelchair and scooter bound since 2008, so this was not an easy things to do. She could hardly move up and down and had major pain if she did, even falling down many times requiring assistance from the fire dept or myself,family to get her up safe and to the hospital.
She was done with that! No more! And so as she swept through 2015, she watched things change. Her weight started to go down, she saw a change in her health as it dropped and she exercised more. She still needed and will for years, a caregiver daily. But the journey down the new path was proving very positive and making her feel so much better. Nothing says that a person requiring a caregiver need be ill, in super poor health or be at death's door. Not at all. Some just cannot do the normal things in life due to age or disabilities. Now, speed along to the present, the last few months. Mum has been doing a tremendous job in watching her health and maintaining the Dr visits, medications and tests. This has enabled her to lose a LOT of weight since that above photo. In fact, she now has dropped from 400+ pounds to 264 lbs as of this last week! Think about that: 136+ pounds lost in 15 months!
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Now look at her! She has even been able to drop back her insulin by more than half and is able to stand sometimes. She still needs a wheelchair, scooter and a walker, not being able to stand most of the time due to very bad joints and knees. This will never change and makes the need for a caregiver a lifelong one. But damn, look at my mum! How grand is this!
I'm so amazingly proud of her it brings tears to my eyes and makes me happy. She has taken a potentially deadly situation and turned it around. Quite an achievement!!
I had wanted to post this awhile back but waited till more progress had been made. She knew I was going to post this but not HOW i would do so. Well, here it is mum. You are to be congratulated on what you have done and for the wonderful life you have made. Thank you for all of your efforts in raising us and being the best mum in the world.
Love you!! <3 <3 <3
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