Melissa’s father died from complications related to diabetes. He had been on dialysis 3-5 times per week and eventually had to undergo an amputation of his left leg. He really never got past that hurdle of losing his leg and fell into a deep depression. One month before he died he got gangrene in his spine, and it paralyzed him. That left him with the choice of either having his other leg amputated or going to hospice. He chose hospice.

“I now recognize what is important to me.”

This event caused Melissa to reevaluate her own life. What was she doing that was of value or importance? Melissa had been active on five committees in her community. However, she slowly left all the committees on which she had served. Any activity that required her leaving her kids at 7:30 in the morning or at 5 o’clock in the evening would be turned down. She still assists the community when she can but now recognizes what is important to her.

Melissa was pretty much the caretaker for her father and spent between 10-40 hours with him each week especially on Friday and Saturday nights which didn’t give her much time to spend with her own family. Now she’s exercising more, reading and making more positive changes rather than doing something that would leave her feeling depressed.

“I discovered part of the problem was I was too busy running around and not eating properly.”

Right after her father died, she won a contest that was staged by the American Heart Association called “A Better You Lifestyle Challenge.” This contest called for creative ways to incorporate more healthy meals in the family. She soon discovered that part of the problem was that she was just too busy running around and she wasn’t eating correctly. She needed a meal plan. She took on the challenge and her family hasn’t had a single frozen or canned food. To her, this was a significant accomplishment.

Melissa C. was interviewed for the ASPECTS OF CHANGE book and consented to share her experience. Many things have changed since the interview.