There are things worse than being fat......

I have been pretty self-absorbed lately.  And I felt I was entitled to focus on me since I had spent so much of my life focusing on others.  I am still working on me and will continue to.......

Yes, obesity can lead to all kinds of health issues.  I am trying to avoid those now and hope I haven't waited too long to get it right.

This week I am thinking about others battles.....ones for which they did not volunteer, had no choice in taking on.....call it fate, call it lousy luck, call it sad, unfortunate and the cards they were dealt.

Almost all of these people faced or are facing their enemy head on.........

Cancer- is there an uglier word in the world???? It took my Dad way too young, my Mom when she still had so much more to give ( not to do), a cousin and couple of dear friends who fought until they could fight no more. Gone too young. I have two sister-in-laws and a dear friend who stared cancer down and won their battles.  They are survivors and warriors.  They took all that cancer could throw at them and fought back through chemo, sickness, hair loss and all the aches and pains that were part of the war.  I watched a dear friend lose her son to that horrible, dreadful and relentless disease. I live with someone who medically has had a positive outcome from two bouts of cancer but is a victim none the less.  The anger and fear mixed together have changed him into a person I hardly know anymore.

Cystic Fibrosis- another disease I hate.  It took my niece from us at a time when she should have been spreading her wings in flight.  Maria battled until she could fight no more. I never look at Cheese Fries in a package near to pretzels in a super market or a kids lemonade stand without thinking of Maria.


Now add MG to the list- Myasthenia Gravis- a disease that is so hard to diagnose.....just ask my niece, Jill, who went though a few years of going from doctor to doctor trying to find an answer. It is a disease that can go into remission but is never cured.  Muscle weakness, difficulty swallowing and at times issues with speech.  Jill is one tough cookie.  She works in a demanding job and is on the move constantly when I am sure she would just like to stay in bed some days.   She has had to endure weeks in the hospital getting infusions but with Tim by her side......they make it an adventure instead of looking at it as unfair and wrong.  I see much of my Dad in Jill.......not one to complain, not one to give up and most definitely gives MG a run for it's money every single day.

And finally for my list of hates today, Alzheimer's Disease........my sister-in-law has been diagnosed with this horrible, unforgiving disease.  I can't imagine a point in my life when I will no longer feel emotions or recognize my family and friends.  It is a slow progression that is as difficult for the person with the disease as it is for those around them.  There are no cures right now but there are clinical trials going on and we can all hope and pray that one of these trials will lead to a cure. Family and friends of my sister-in-law are raising money to be used toward research not just for Marge but for all the Marge's we know.

Part of me feels guilty for thinking so much about myself and not thinking about what others face every day.  I guess that is normal in life.....if we carried all these burdens everyday who would want to face each day???

One thing I am sure of is that each person I referenced above got out of bed and appreciated each day......and those still with us continue to be grateful for sunrises and sunsets.  They are our teachers, the people we should look up to, the people who know how to fight and know how to live. They are our hero's......

So while I fight my own battle to get healthy, I absolutely recognize that their road is much harder than mine.  So what if I am up a little at the scale......is the world going to stop spinning???

I will say I was down at the scale this morning and  I went to the movie's alone for the first time in my life yesterday. Big steps for me but compared to footprints left by Dad, Mom, Eric, Evie, Maureen, Gina, Lauren and Maria or the paths walked  Kathy, Patty, Terry, Jill and Marge..... my progress is not really important in the scheme of things....is it??

I may think I was brave walking into a movie theatre alone for the first time........my accomplishment is small in comparison to what they all did or continue to do......but maybe it is their example that helps me each day, each hour, each minute to make right choices and to not give up and for that I will be eternally grateful.......

See you next week......