help through difficult times

Tami,

I'm so sorry your having to experience this right now. I'm here for your support. Some times in hardships we turn to food. As long as its not a habit you will be ok. Just do your best to get through this and your MFP friends will be here to pick you back up when its over and help you get back on track.

Best wishes to you and your family.

Message me if you need anything.

So sorry to hear again that he's got so little time left. It reminds us all about how fragile life is. I completely understand the food for comfort thing. My mom was recently diagnosed with a very rare lung disease called pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in your lungs). It's very debilitating and her heart is severely enlarged because of it. She's never smoked a day in her life and the disease is just a very random misfortune (much like leukemia) with no cure so the best they can do is help make her comfortable. She watches my daughter during the day, but has to take things slow and I am constantly worried that something will happen with my mom while she's watching my daughter so I just feel on edge at all times now.... Loooong story short, I turn to food for comfort, as I always have. My mom means the world to me and I can't bear the thought of losing her. I do know that one thing that calms me and keeps me going is when I am regularly exercising. My only advice to you is to make every possible effort to at least go on a brief walk every day. Take your family members with you when you can and talk about what's going on, talk about how painful this is. Getting some of that negative energy out of your body helps to clear your mind and make you feel more able to deal with the awful situation at hand. I know personally that this is much easier said than done, but I hope you can at least find some time here and there to get some deep breaths in to help you cope. Good luck to you and your family during this hard time. I'm sending good thoughts your way.

Do what makes you happy, what helps you get through this time. I am SO sorry for what you, your brother, and your family are going through.

When my brother had a heart attack, about a year ago, it was an extremely severe one. He was unconscious and under a chilling regimen to try to mitigate brain damage, if he did regain consciousness. We spent many a day and night at the hospital, and once the chilling stopped, and he did eventually regain consciousness, I was the family member who stayed with him, as I was able to take a couple months off work. The hospital luckily had a salad bar and potato bar with salsa. I ate those, and avoided the desserts like it was my mission, and playing that game with myself helped me to get through the time. It wasn't really a matter of depriving myself as much as it was a way distract myself. Also, my brother was healthy as a horse, which is the only reason he survived his heart attack, but was a vegetarian who ate too much cheese. His cholesterol had recently jumped with his increase of cheese consumption, and he didn't pay attention to the doctor who told him he needed to watch it. The whole experience renewed my commitment to my vegan lifestyle. On the day I went home, after he was removed from ICU, the step down unit, and was recognizing people and relearning to talk, I found myself some vegan cupcakes in the city, and they were a delicious treat at the end of everything. Not health food, but certainly food for the soul. My brother is largely recovered now, able to live on his own, cook for himself, manage his own bills, and drive, but hasn't been able to return to his work yet. He still shows signs of improvement all the time though.

What I'm trying to say is, eat what you need to. If challenging yourself will distract you from your pain though, and let you better focus on your brother and your family, perhaps with an edge of pride...try it!

Again, I am so sorry to hear what you, your family, and your brother are experiencing right now. I hope he knows he is surrounded by love.

Your family is in my prayers during this difficult time.