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Dear Doctor Love,
My husband has had a few health issues in his golden years but until we moved to Belize he was careful to keep them under control with healthy eating, medications and regular light exercise. Since coming to San Pedro he has fallen into an unhealthy lifestyle—eating fatty foods, drinking more alcohol than he should and often forgetting or neglecting to take his medication. He quit exercising so he has gained weight, which his doctor back home warned against.
He knows he’s at risk for another heart attack but when I remind him he brushes me off and rolls his eyes at me.
I am not a nagging wife but I feel like I should do something. How do I handle this delicately?
/s/Worried Wife
Dear Worried Wife,
To handle this delicately stand back, quietly wringing your hands. The occasional soulful look as he trots off to get a heaping helping of fried chicken will go a long way towards making him realize that he is risking both of your futures and jeopardizing a long and rewarding retirement in the beautiful Caribbean. Tsk and sigh deeply under your breath when he forgets those pesky pills and he’ll get the idea that you’re displeased.
Handling the situation delicately is a complete waste of time.
Since when does an old married couple have to “handle things delicately?” He’s playing fast and loose with the future, yours as well as his. Grab that silly sod by his now portly scruff and give him the earful he deserves. Ask him why he thinks the rules no longer apply to him. Does his new sense of freedom in a tropical paradise make him feel invincible?
The standard of healthcare in Belize is getting better but emergency services have a long way to go. The wait for an air-lift to the mainland can cost him his life and a heart attack that doesn’t end his life could put him in a wheelchair for the remainder of it.
He has kept his medical ducks in a row until now and all he has to do to enjoy a longer life is continue to eat healthier, walk a little each day and take a pill.
He’s being stupid and he needs a wakeup, so give him one. If he won’t listen, enlist one of the wonderful doctors on the island to remind him how easily he can go from sixty to dead unless he does a few little things to remain on this side of the grass. It’s time to get tough and leave the delicates in the laundry.