Trail Monster
This could be the story of my whole family. They all smoked and are all overweight,most probably obese. My grandmother is diabetic,my aunt is Pre-diabetic. My mom is dealing with weight induced health issues. My FIL just had 5 bypasses and two toes amputated. My grandmother had several stents and a pacemaker implanted. DH and I are the first ones to break the mold.
2013 races:
3/17 Shamrock Marathon
4/20 North Coast 24 Hour
7/27 Burning RIver 100M
8/24 Baker 50M
10/5 Oil Creek (distance to be determined)
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Brands I Heart:
FitFluential
INKnBURN
Altra Zero Drop
Wow, good for you. That's a helluva family tree to break away from.
I know of woman who recently died, after many years of diabetes and I don't know what else. She ended up in a nursing home, on oxygen, unable to walk. The doctor tried several years ago to just get her to walk the length of her house a few times day, but that was too much trouble. She was in her late 60's.
The similarities are uncanny. For years I tried to convince my mother to just...."move". All to no avail. I moved here into this nursing facility up here right after Thanksgiving. This may sound hard to believe but I'm not exaggerating when I say that she has not left her room once. She claims that she too week and the more she lies there, the weaker she becomes. She's now on oxygen as well. I fear it's just a matter of time.
All I can say is to those of you who took these experiences and "did something" to improve yourselves...hats off to you all.
Warrior Princess
My mother was an oveweight smoker with high blood pressure. She died at age 60.
A year later, I joined weight watchers and started running.
I went to visit her today. Her bed at home broke and she has been sleeping in a lift chair that her father had before he died. Medicaid apparently won't buy her a bariatric bed for another two years (not sure of the reasoning behind that and didn't probe). She has a broken ankle and her tibia is broken in three places because she fell trying to walk down a ramp at her house. She was trying to walk down a ramp because her motorized wheelchair wasn't working. She fell despite two people trying to assist her. One might think that this much suffering might, just might, cause her to realize that she needs to make some changes. One would be wrong.
Her primary goal right now is to get a bariatric bed. She has asked me to research and see if I can find something for her that's not several thousand dollars. I wanted to say, "rather than a bariatric bed, how about thinking about some lifestyle changes." I didn't. I'll look for the bed.
After I go for a run.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
Her primary goal right now is to get a bariatric bed.
That is so sad.
Drink up moho's!!
Sorry to hear about this Brad. I have a fat family as well and it just sucks seeing them slowly take their lives.
Sorry to hear the news. One of the reasons I do what I do is to be an example for my kids and hopefully another person or two along the way. Hopefully her "oh shit" moment happens soon.
Damn that sucks Brad. Unfortunately, that is about 1/2 of my family. One cousin who was 350ish finally had his oh shit moment. He has lost 27 pounds and dreams of hiking part of the Appalachian Trail - even invited me to come along. That will be in a few years, but it is great to see him moving in the right direction. I have several more cousins, uncles, my brother, brother's housemate, all obese diabetics ranging from 290 to 400+ pounds. My brother and one cousin are very brittle diabetics and require a TON of insulin. It's so sad, but I'll be shocked if my 48 year old brother sees 60.
Wow. Just, wow. I'm the same age as you, Brad, and I can't imagine at this point in my life, having zero quality of life. Getting a power bed is what she looks forward to? I know she's done this to herself, but I feel very, very sorry for her.
YAYpril - B-Plus
I'm sorry to hear that. Sad that her main goal is just to get a bariatric bed. Not to fix her lifestyle and get healthy...
My whole family is overweight and heart disease is rampant. My husband's entire family is overweight. My sister-in-law's best friend actually said one day "I wish I could get on The Biggest Loser so I could finally lose some weight." Sigh. All I can do is feel sad for these people. Nothing I say or do would inspire them.
I'm sorry to hear about your cousin. I can relate. My grandmother passed away in December and her sister came for the funeral. She lives out of town and the last time I saw her about two years ago, we didn't think she'd ever be able to make the trip again. She weighs about 450 pounds. She can't walk a few steps without being out of breath, and that is with oxygen. She has diabetes so bad, she lost one of her fingers and her legs are going to be a close second as they are already black and dying. My gramma had diabetes but she kept it in check with insulin and diet. My mom's sister was diagnosed several years ago with colon cancer, brought on by too much fat, not enough fiber. She went through 9 months of chemo and did not change her habits at all. She just finished her second round of chemo and has most of her colon removed. She hasn't changed her eating habits. In fact, she is one surgery away from a colostomy bag. I don't understand it. I am not perfect with my eating. In fact, I could be a ton better, but I also am aware enough of what I need to be doing and I do that. But to let it get that far just amazes me.
Proud Calgarian
I'm sorry to hear about your cousin, in the end you can only truly change yourself and you personally have done a great job reforming yourself. The worst thing I've found is that you can't totally escape that past - from my own experience, I still see the "fat guy" in the mirror. Worse yet, my metabolism has slowed to such an extreme that I figure it's an ironic punishment for being such a glutton and competitive eater in my earlier life.
2015 Goals and PRs:
5k - 17:59 (18:05); 10k - 35:59 (36:42); HM - 1:19:19 (1:19:59); FM - 2:49:59 (3:05:46)
Brad, sorry to hear your story. I guess all we can really do is take care of ourselves and hope that people do the same. You are doing a good thing supporting her. Family is family no matter what stupid decisions they make... Good luck with the bed. Try telling her it is down the hall, "lets go have a look".
I love family gatherings where certain ones make funny comments about me being up so early to run, and how they wouldn't run unless somebody was chasing them, and on and on.........
Then later in the day a few of them sit around scratching their heads trying to learn the rules of the latest diet and talk endlessly about their doctor visits, etc, etc,..............in between eating, gulping down cokes, and stepping outside for a smoke.