Cindy Said, "... it's bad enough from strangers, but when it comes from your
own family, it's more then I can bare." Betty said, "As soon as they
found out I had a neurological impairment, they decided that they would throw
every vitamin regimen and mountain man cure at me they could think of. "
Anee tells of her grandfather's outlook on disability. Bobby said, "We all
are related to opinionated people."
Funny, you would think family should know better, but that is rarely true.
My mother still insists my diet is all wrong! And if I would only subscribe
to these "diets for arthritis, etc" my pain would magically disappear. She
tends to overlook the spasms and muscle tightness as the real cause of the
pain. Still, I know she means well. So I just take all the articles she
clips, read them over, then file them away in the "round-file" (trash can).
And like Anee, I had a very stubborn grandparent. My grandmother was the
picture of health for 70 years. She didn't even take ANY medication, and she
walked more than five miles a day (she never learned to drive). She was
diagnosed with cervical cancer, underwent all sorts of treatment and in less
than two years she was horribly incapacitated. I tried so hard to help her
come to grips with the limitations she had. She was so independent and never
took help from anyone. When she did need help, it broke her spirit. I tried
to tell her I understood how difficult it was (since I'd recently had to quit
working and alter my own life). Of course CP is not cancer, but I tried to
relate to her on the limitations. My grandmother was more angry and afraid
of not being able to do what she wanted by herself, than she was of dieing
from cancer. I felt very bad for her because her last year of life was so
miserable. More than the chemo and her impending death, her loss of control
and independance is what made her so miserable. I think part of why I am
more comfortable with my own limitations today is because I saw how
devastating not letting go and accepting was to gram. - Denise.
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