Fat and Sick
As some of you may know, I recently was discharged from the hospital. I went to the ER on Sunday, March 15 because I was short of breath and had tightness in my chest. As I have Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) I knew these symptoms were from being full of fluid. I had also gained about 30 lbs. of water weight in just over a month. I have been to the ER several times for these symptoms and they usually keep me for 3 days or so to give me IV Lasix, a diuretic to cause my body to purge all that fluid/weight.
They also gave me a chest X-ray and an EKG. They admitted me and explored further. It turns out I had pneumonia. A couple of days later, my heart started racing up to 150-160 beats per minute. They slowed it down with copious amounts of medication. When they gave me an echocardiogram of my heart, they discovered my heart is functioning at about 30% and this, along with all the drugs began to damage my kidneys which were already frail. There was talk of giving me a session of dialysis. I was in the hospital for twelve days.
I began to gain weight when I was in the fifth grade and never was able to stop getting fatter and fatter. A large part of this was because I am a person who did not deny myself. I refer to myself as a man of indulgences because I hardly ever said “no” to my appetites. If it tasted good or felt good I satiated those appetites most of the time.
When I was younger, I was able to carry all that weight very well. I walked long distances without getting winded. My legs didn’t ache and I played sports such as golf, softball, basketball, football and racquetball, I’m not saying I was quick on my feet but I held my own on whatever court or field I happened to be playing on in spite of weighing between 350 and 400 pounds. Now, at age 58 and 460 pounds, my body is giving up on me. I have diabetes, CHF, sleep apnea, heart disease, and neuropathy (causing me to be unable to feel my feet). All these maladies are directly related to my fatness and I can only blame myself.
In spite of many “wakeup calls,” such as trips to the ER, my inability now to do 75% of the activities I formerly was able to do, I continued to stuff myself with food, soda, candy and whatever I wanted to. Not even the support of family, friends and common sense were able to get me to care for myself like I should have. Now, I am paying a high price. I feel bad most of the time, have very little energy and sometime get depressed. The good news is that I have finally made the commitment to live a healthier lifestyle than I used to.
I have sworn off candy, soft drinks, and have not eaten any red meat in over three weeks because to digest it it hard on my kidneys. I am not exaggerating when I say I have eaten more vegetables in the last three weeks than I did for the previous year. I am doing this for myself, my family which includes seven beautiful grandchildren who love me, and my friends who have encouraged me for many years so lose weight.
I have also developed a sincere desire to serve God which is stronger than ever. If I am sick and invalid, my ability to this is hampered because all I think about is me and the spot I am in. One of my characteristics is that I love people. And since I believe that Jesus Christ lived as a human, died as a sacrifice for all of us and was resurrected three days later so anyone who accepts him as Savior will, after their death, go to heaven to be with Him forever. My life goal now is to help people to make a commitment to God, the Father of Jesus. I can honestly say that if I were not a Christian, I probably with have killed myself by now. But He gives me hope that I will live with Him forever and not be sick anymore-ever. I want everyone I know to have the same thing.
I hope this post will encourage those who don’t know God and have not asked Him to come into their life will do so. You don’t have to take my word for it. Pick up a Bible and begin to read the first for books of the New testament - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. God loves you and He wants to have a relationship with you. God bless you.
They also gave me a chest X-ray and an EKG. They admitted me and explored further. It turns out I had pneumonia. A couple of days later, my heart started racing up to 150-160 beats per minute. They slowed it down with copious amounts of medication. When they gave me an echocardiogram of my heart, they discovered my heart is functioning at about 30% and this, along with all the drugs began to damage my kidneys which were already frail. There was talk of giving me a session of dialysis. I was in the hospital for twelve days.
I began to gain weight when I was in the fifth grade and never was able to stop getting fatter and fatter. A large part of this was because I am a person who did not deny myself. I refer to myself as a man of indulgences because I hardly ever said “no” to my appetites. If it tasted good or felt good I satiated those appetites most of the time.
When I was younger, I was able to carry all that weight very well. I walked long distances without getting winded. My legs didn’t ache and I played sports such as golf, softball, basketball, football and racquetball, I’m not saying I was quick on my feet but I held my own on whatever court or field I happened to be playing on in spite of weighing between 350 and 400 pounds. Now, at age 58 and 460 pounds, my body is giving up on me. I have diabetes, CHF, sleep apnea, heart disease, and neuropathy (causing me to be unable to feel my feet). All these maladies are directly related to my fatness and I can only blame myself.
In spite of many “wakeup calls,” such as trips to the ER, my inability now to do 75% of the activities I formerly was able to do, I continued to stuff myself with food, soda, candy and whatever I wanted to. Not even the support of family, friends and common sense were able to get me to care for myself like I should have. Now, I am paying a high price. I feel bad most of the time, have very little energy and sometime get depressed. The good news is that I have finally made the commitment to live a healthier lifestyle than I used to.
I have sworn off candy, soft drinks, and have not eaten any red meat in over three weeks because to digest it it hard on my kidneys. I am not exaggerating when I say I have eaten more vegetables in the last three weeks than I did for the previous year. I am doing this for myself, my family which includes seven beautiful grandchildren who love me, and my friends who have encouraged me for many years so lose weight.
I have also developed a sincere desire to serve God which is stronger than ever. If I am sick and invalid, my ability to this is hampered because all I think about is me and the spot I am in. One of my characteristics is that I love people. And since I believe that Jesus Christ lived as a human, died as a sacrifice for all of us and was resurrected three days later so anyone who accepts him as Savior will, after their death, go to heaven to be with Him forever. My life goal now is to help people to make a commitment to God, the Father of Jesus. I can honestly say that if I were not a Christian, I probably with have killed myself by now. But He gives me hope that I will live with Him forever and not be sick anymore-ever. I want everyone I know to have the same thing.
I hope this post will encourage those who don’t know God and have not asked Him to come into their life will do so. You don’t have to take my word for it. Pick up a Bible and begin to read the first for books of the New testament - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. God loves you and He wants to have a relationship with you. God bless you.
Comments
I am here for you and I am so happy you are making changes for yourself. We all want to see you around for a lot longer.
love you- Deb