I am a 45 year old widow who is finally coming out of caregiver mode. In April 2002 I started Weight Watchers having to only lose 46 pounds. By the end of July I was within 10 pounds of my goal weight. During this time the following happened:
- My Father died of a massive heart attack
- My beloved Grandmother was diagnosed with stage 4 Lung Cancer
- My loving Husband was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and had most of his esophagus removed to remove the tumor
On August 1st, 2002 I got the phone call that I needed to get to my sister’s house, my Grandmother had taken a turn for the worse. We lost my Gram on August 3rd and for me, I shut down emotionally. I quit doing Weight Watchers and didn’t care about myself at all. My husband tried going back to work, and found he couldn’t, so he had to apply for Social Security Disability. The only good thing that happened after my Gram’s death was the birth of my youngest niece, on my wedding anniversary.
I started watching my niece to bring in extra money to the household. In 2004 my husband and I finally succeeded in quitting smoking. So by the time he passed away from esophageal/lung cancer (it had spread to his lungs) in 2006 I was now 100+ pounds over weight.
I’ve been caregiver mood, even though I no longer had anyone to care for since then. On July 14, 2008, the day before my 45th birthday, I spent it crying my eyes out in bed. I cried over the loss of my husband, and how upset I was over the way I had let myself go. When my youngest niece called me on my birthday, she called at 8:30 am. That was just enough time for me to get to the Weight Watchers meeting and take control of my life once again!
