How I’m Integrating New Healthy Habits Into My Established Routine

I am at the point where whatever anyone offers, I will gladly accept — at least if I think it will benefit me.

Recently, a new friend offered to help me with the effects of multiple sclerosis (MS), particularly as it affects my digestion and nutrition. She showed up at my home with at least $300 worth of groceries, ranging from organic blueberries to brown basmati rice to kale and fig paste. She was putting me on a plant-based diet. She realized that things were not moving properly with my digestion, since I spend most of my time in a wheelchair. She has great ambitions for me, because I can still move a little bit, but I wonder if this is just another exercise in futility.

Is It Too Late to Try New Things?

I am now in the advanced stages of MS, and I truly don’t know how to take all this. In a way, Sophie is putting new life into someone who is tired of all this. And while I appreciate her passion for me and my disease, I don’t know how to act.

The first day had me following a no-caffeine, nothing unnatural diet, with smoothies and other healthy options. I will say that she has a method to her madness, because everything is well-thought-out and researched.

I guess what I am trying to ask is: When is enough enough? What is the breaking point for me? I am pretty sure that I will see this to the end. Medical science has continued to let me down, and being diagnosed in 1986 did not allow me to avail myself of new therapies. If I’d had some of the medications others had in the 1990s, my current plight would be much better.

The situation in front of me is whether or not I will put up with another experiment, such as the plant-based diet, and hope to see success.

How does all this fit in with my embracing acceptance?

It is always difficult to look at one’s mortality, but that is exactly what I have to do. I am looking at my quality of life with my MS as well as how much time I have left on earth. Do-gooders and well-wishers play a very important role in my life, but sometimes their efforts can have negative effects.

When New Habits Disrupt a Routine That Worked 

I am a very scheduled person with a routine. I have written about this previously. I have always been this way in my life. Now I depend on my routine more than ever. My routine is like my North Star; it is the axis on which my world revolves. So if my routine is altered, everything is out of whack.

That is what is happening here. I am drinking more liquids than normal, which my previously thought-out schedule didn’t accommodate and which led to several “accidents” that I was not used to. This affected my self-confidence. I felt that what little independence I had was going away.

The more I look at things, the more I realize how I was affected emotionally in all this.

My speech is compromised, so my ability to say what I want is compromised as well. What better way than to put my thoughts in writing? So that is exactly what I did.

Integrating New and Old for a Win-Win

I am expecting Sophie to come tomorrow, which is Sunday. From my heart to hers, she has to understand that her suggestions for smaller portions or particular types of food have not been ignored, but rather, they’ve been incorporated into my program.

Some points to remember for both of us are:

1. I need to have protein at most meals, particularly breakfast.
2. Water consumption will be at my discretion, given my neurogenic bladder and how I’ve learned to handle it.
3. My need for a routine should always be respected.

I said what I had to, and Sophie agreed to my points mentioned above. She just wanted to make sure I maintained my brain health, and her basic foundation includes flax, chia seeds, blueberries, and pineapple.

So in the end I incorporated her ideas into mine and made it a win-win!