Blue Jay
Ralph has not been feeling well so I finally convinced him to go to Urgent Care about a week and a half ago.
Eastern Kingbird 
Great Egret 
Fledgling Carolina Wren
Good thing. His blood sugar was nearly off the charts. Turns out he was diagnosed with diabetes thirty years ago and either wasn't told or didn't understand. Whenever he was hospitalized in those days I had to run the farm in his absence so I wasn't there to listen to advice...
Alder/Willow Flycatcher 
Female Northern Cardinal 
Quavontavius
He seems markedly better now that he is getting treatment, but I am astonished that he soldiered on all those years, running a dairy farm, growing the crops to feed the cows and caring for them, and doing things with our family, and none of us, including him, had any idea. Only recently has he had any noticeable effects from it.
Red-eyed Vireo 
Cedar Waxwing 
Great Egret
Anyhow, he had to give up his beloved Mt. Dew and go on a low carb diet. Rough on rats for everyone. I was already eating pretty carefully, but it is downright hard to cook for him. I LIKE vegetables and usually have a complex salad for supper. Him not so much.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 
Purple Finch 
One of twin fawns that were probably orphaned
We go tomorrow to learn more about coping. Meanwhile, we have done a small amount of birding on the road, and of course I chase here at the house just to maintain a small level of sanity. That is all, thanks.
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8 comments:
Oh Marianne . .. so good to know that Ralph is feeling better! Wow. Truly amazing what did and didn't happen here. Be well and thanks for the wonderful nature sharings. Hugs from Ohio
Cathy, this is a huge challenge for me as much as for him. He has CRS too, (can't remember sh*t) so I have to watch over him as well as feeding him. Worth it of course, but a big job.
Tender Hugs to you both Marianne . . Holding you in my thoughts and prayers.
Thanks, Cathy, that is just what we need. It is going to be a real challenge, but he is doing the best he can.
I guess it's better late than never that he found out his health issues. It's tough getting men to change their habits. I can't get Ted to eat proper salads- he thinks a small handful of Romaine lettuce smothered in blue cheese dressing is a salad. And if he had to quit Coke I would be really pleased and he would probably lose a bunch of weight....
Good thing they have us wimmens to look after them.
Shirley, he is being so good about it! It is hard for me to adjust my cooking habits, but for him...I feel sorry for him.
How amazing that your guy coped as well as he did all that time. I'm glad to know he's getting on the right track now before this destructive ailment does its worst. There are lots of good suggestions on line for making complex carbs taste really good, but I know how hard it is to come up with healthy meals day after day. Best of luck to you both.
Jacqueline, it astonishes me that he routinely worked twelve or fourteen hour days, often seven days a week, doing hard physical labor, and never had any idea what was going on. We are having a challenge balancing his food intake though. If he eats the things his nutritionist says are okay, his sugar tends to go way up, such as cornflakes for breakfast. If he eats a couple sausage patties from McDonald's, it's fine. Go figure...He is getting tired, I think, of things like broccoli though, no matter how we cook them. Guess we will just have to do the best we can.
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