In Sickness and In Health

When I joined FA seven years ago, I told my boyfriend, “One day, we’ll eat the same thing.” He was eating greasy flour and sugar products from a fast food restaurant that day and scoffed in reply, “Over my dead body.”

Fast forward seven years. He and I were engaged. He was losing weight rapidly despite bingeing on flour and sugar all day. He had never been obsessed about food before and would forget to eat if he was absorbed in his work. Now, he was craving sugar and eating like an ogre. He wanted to stop, but he could not. I was concerned he’d become a food addict. My fellows reminded me to keep my eyes on my own plate, to live and let live, and not criticize. I kept my mouth shut. 

His mental and physical health deteriorated. He had no energy and no desire. He was always tired. I knew something was wrong.

My faith was tested. I kept my spirits high. I pictured him in full health, and could think of him as a strong, handsome, and healthy man, although at that point he was very underweight and had lost all his muscle tone. He refused to go to the doctor. My sponsor helped me to act and move out of my own denial about his health. She advised me to take him to the hospital. It was hard for me to go against his will, but my “live and let live” mindset had reached its limit. He finally agreed to see the doctor and was immediately admitted to the hospital.

The diagnosis was type one diabetes. His body could not produce insulin anymore. He would have to take insulin shots five times a day and monitor his blood sugar for the rest of his life. That’s why he was craving sugar and eating huge quantities.

Although this is a serious medical condition, God was working in the background. The day after he was diagnosed, he told me, “Consider this as a sign before our wedding day that we are meant to be together. I could not wish for a more supportive wife than someone in FA.” Indeed, we have different problems, but a common solution. He must weigh his food to know what insulin dose he needs, and must abstain from flour and sugar, just like me.

We recently married and are closer than ever since his diagnosis. We now have breakfast, lunch, and dinner together, unlike before when we rarely ate together. We both weigh our food and cook vegetables for one another. We both chose not to have a wedding cake on our wedding day. We got married abstinently, and are living happily ever after.