A Tribute To My Mom

I am undertaking a three week challenge as a way of support for my dear mother.  I would include a picture here of her if I could, but she would not appreciate that (though I do have permission to write this post) Years ago, as a wee little lass, she had the misfortune of contracting polio.  While she was able to regain normal function and led a very normal life for most of her years, polio has reared its ugly head once more in her life, this time in the form of post-polio syndrome.  Click here for a link to just what post-polio is.  For those of you who prefer a one sentence summary of PPS, it's mainly a continual weakening of the muscles that were affected when polio was first contracted - it can range from mild to quite debilitating.  My mom has been struggling with full blown PPS for a couple of years now.  There is really no cure at all, few medicines to help, just learning to listen to your body in what it now has decided that it can no longer do and trying to keep your activity level in check.

All that to say, it's been a hard couple of past years for my mom filled with frustrations at a body that just won't do what she wants it to be able to do.  She used to love walking as a way of exercising, but now that is pretty much impossible as walking any sort of distance does more harm than good to her body now.  She has struggled with working on being physically fit since just about every form of exercise is out.

So that brings her to present day.  She is sick and tired of feeling bad and is ready to make some serious changes to her diet.  She got ahold of this book that challenges readers to make dramatic health improvements with a 21 day kickstart of going completely vegan.  This is completely foreign territory to her and as a way of showing moral support I am joining her in this venture so she won't feel so alone in it.  We are also cutting out most sugars during the 21 days as well. 

Today marks Day 1 of our journey.  My mom's goal is to just feel better physically and if she loses weight in the process, that will be a bonus.  My goal is to find delicious foods/recipes/ideas to share with her and make the process more fun.  I'm looking forward to seeing if I can tell a difference in how I feel versus eating how I normally eat. 

I had debated about writing about this since I didn't want to make a big deal about it and don't want people to change what they make because of me (we get together a lot with friends and tend to have lots of meals with people).  So there will be challenges of what to do when I'm offered a meal with friends during this time.  I haven't decided what I will do yet.  But after thinking about it for awhile, I decided that I am going to go ahead and make this public for two reasons.  1) as a way to hold me accountable to this - it would be easy to slip in a little dairy here and there and the biggest reason is 2) as a way to honor, support, and help my mom.  I'm so proud of her for being willing to do this and I want to do anything possible to help her along the journey as she tries healthy ways of getting a better grip on her health.

So here's what I need from you:  Show your support for my mom.  Leave an encouraging note here (her name is Cindy) - even if you don't know her.  She reads this blog religiously and will see all comments you leave her and feel very blessed by them.  Encourage her in this hard time of transition.  Be a cheerleader for her!  I'll try to keep you all posted on how we are doing.