“I made spaghetti, but…” he started.
“You cooked?” I interrupted, dropping the phone on the floor.
“I figure I can’t eat McDonalds every day,” he said. “But how…”
“Hold on, I have to write this date on the calendar,” I said. “This is bigger than our birthday.”
“I’m serious! I made spaghetti,” he said. “But how do you get the noodles cooked without the water boiling all over the stove?”
Now my brother is a smart guy. Best salesman his employer ever had. He can fix almost anything, and he’s so patient he doesn’t swear when he plays golf.
“I’m not sure what you’re asking me,” I said, perplexed.
“Well, I kept having to lift the pot off the stove when it boiled over,” he said, exasperated.
Silence.
“Why didn’t you just turn down the stove?”
Silence.
“Oh.”
Silence.
“Yeah.”
Silence.
“Man, I’m a bonehead.”
Last week, we learned Uncle Bonehead (as he calls himself to his nieces and nephews) has a lesion in the hippocampus region of his brain. Marty has suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy for 40 years. Three weeks ago he had a severe seizure and is still experiencing some amnesia caused by the lesion. His neurologist outlined his recovery plan on Friday and one of the laundry list of line items is to clean up his diet.
That’s where we come in.
I’m heading out to Minnesota tomorrow (Monday) and I’ve outlined a few things I’d like to do to help my brother with his recovery. I need your help with #8.
1. Take daily walks, preferably around the lakes
2. Bike several times, preferably around the lakes
3. Celebrate our birthday early (we were both born on August 14, 10 years apart) by going to a Twins game
4. Get him out golfing. I’ll caddy.
5. Teach him the fundamentals of shopping for healthy food. No more Slim Fast shakes! Seriously, the man drank them for breakfast every morning for years. He needs supplemental protein, but not with that garbage.
6. Inventory and upgrade his kitchen with basic cooking utensils and spices.
7. Teach him some fundamental cooking techniques.
8. Put together a binder filled with recipes for simple, healthy meals and snacks.
Marty isn’t a vegetarian, he likes a fairly wide variety of foods, and yes, he figured out how to make spaghetti without boiling over the water *grin*. I would appreciate it if you could share a favorite healthy meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) that is easy to prepare and doesn’t require exotic spices. Healthy snack ideas are welcome, too. You can leave a comment here or send me an email at lynn.haraldson@gmail.com.
Marty is a horse being led to water, and together maybe we can help him drink. I’ll keep you updated from the road. Thank you for your help!
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