This was a tear-jerker. You wrote this so well. Johnnie sounds like an amazing person. And the fact that she was able to forgive her mother for everything? Beautiful.
You’re doing such meaningful work. I appreciate you sharing these stories with us 💜 I suspect you might be an angel 👼🏻
I am so grateful for this story. As a dietitian who works in sport performance nutrition, far far away from policy nutrition, I appreciate the eye opening, raw, honest, and curiosity provoking story that has me already reaching out to my colleagues to learn more about how I can help. I also find the messages of @drjessicaknurick profoundly helpful to my quest for learning and understanding. Thank you for your stories ❤️
I don't think I told you the first time I read Johnnie's story - it was so chaotically beautiful! But, you and Johnnie helped me, my daughter, my son-in-law, and grandson understand my son's-in-law sister. She is 48 now and has lived with us for three years.
She was ostracized and estranged from her own family for years and years. All I ever heard about her was that she was mean and hateful and lazy and made really bad choices.
About 3 1/2 years ago I met her at a family function. Everyone in the family kept their distance from her so she came and sat by me. It took me about 20 minutes to realize she had physical and emotional problems and her family had never recognized her issues and so -- she got "mean" and "hateful" etc...
Long story short, Christine has been tested from stem to stern has had many surgeries and therapies and has clothes and shoes that fit her, is required to do nothing except make her bed and shower well each day (she does need reminding) and attends Adult Day Health 5 days per week.
The one thing we cannot make her understand is that we have food, if she eats something, it will just be replaced and she doesn't have to eat hard and fast every meal. No one will lock her out of cupboards (that has happened to her), complain about how much she eats or shame her for wanting to have an extra helping of anything. She can keep cookies in her pocket and she doesn't have to run to her room and hide food so we won't hear her rattle the package as she opens it.
I wish I knew how to make her feel okay but it's the one thing I cannot. If you or Johnnie have any suggestions, we would welcome them. What we have chosen to do is completely ignore it all -- only occasionally reminding her that it's only food and can be easily replaced.
Wow -- that was a lot. Sorry. It just helped me to know so much that there's another person out there like our Christine, who has food issues too.
My situation not as bad as Johnnie’s but many similarities. When I graduated from high school I was over 6 feet tall and weighed 127 pounds. I remember some time the kids, including me sent to bed early, hungry with growling stomach, but I’d wake up in the night to the smell of eggs frying in Crisco, food for my mother and the fat alcoholic she married after my father killed in a car accident when I was eight. I remember times filling my mouth with C-H sugar. I remember times opening the refrigerator and only finding beer.
Thank you for this insightful peace that you have written on the education you have provided me
This is incredibly powerful. Thank you so much for telling us this story and contextualizing it so beautifully.
This was a tear-jerker. You wrote this so well. Johnnie sounds like an amazing person. And the fact that she was able to forgive her mother for everything? Beautiful.
You’re doing such meaningful work. I appreciate you sharing these stories with us 💜 I suspect you might be an angel 👼🏻
Kim, you are amazing.
I am so grateful for this story. As a dietitian who works in sport performance nutrition, far far away from policy nutrition, I appreciate the eye opening, raw, honest, and curiosity provoking story that has me already reaching out to my colleagues to learn more about how I can help. I also find the messages of @drjessicaknurick profoundly helpful to my quest for learning and understanding. Thank you for your stories ❤️
I don't think I told you the first time I read Johnnie's story - it was so chaotically beautiful! But, you and Johnnie helped me, my daughter, my son-in-law, and grandson understand my son's-in-law sister. She is 48 now and has lived with us for three years.
She was ostracized and estranged from her own family for years and years. All I ever heard about her was that she was mean and hateful and lazy and made really bad choices.
About 3 1/2 years ago I met her at a family function. Everyone in the family kept their distance from her so she came and sat by me. It took me about 20 minutes to realize she had physical and emotional problems and her family had never recognized her issues and so -- she got "mean" and "hateful" etc...
Long story short, Christine has been tested from stem to stern has had many surgeries and therapies and has clothes and shoes that fit her, is required to do nothing except make her bed and shower well each day (she does need reminding) and attends Adult Day Health 5 days per week.
The one thing we cannot make her understand is that we have food, if she eats something, it will just be replaced and she doesn't have to eat hard and fast every meal. No one will lock her out of cupboards (that has happened to her), complain about how much she eats or shame her for wanting to have an extra helping of anything. She can keep cookies in her pocket and she doesn't have to run to her room and hide food so we won't hear her rattle the package as she opens it.
I wish I knew how to make her feel okay but it's the one thing I cannot. If you or Johnnie have any suggestions, we would welcome them. What we have chosen to do is completely ignore it all -- only occasionally reminding her that it's only food and can be easily replaced.
Wow -- that was a lot. Sorry. It just helped me to know so much that there's another person out there like our Christine, who has food issues too.
My situation not as bad as Johnnie’s but many similarities. When I graduated from high school I was over 6 feet tall and weighed 127 pounds. I remember some time the kids, including me sent to bed early, hungry with growling stomach, but I’d wake up in the night to the smell of eggs frying in Crisco, food for my mother and the fat alcoholic she married after my father killed in a car accident when I was eight. I remember times filling my mouth with C-H sugar. I remember times opening the refrigerator and only finding beer.
Many more similarities but enough said.