З життя
«Мій син страждає від гастриту, а його харчують фастфудом: це нестерпно спостерігати»
Мене звуть Людмила Степанівна. Моєму синові Андрію минуло 28 років. Півроку тому він одружився з дівчиною на ім’я Оксана. Вона розумна, гарна, з добрим вихованням. Зараз закічнює шостий курс медінституту, буде лікарем. І начебто все має бути гаразд, але я не можу знайти спокою: серце моє тривожиться. Бо я бачу — вона не доглядає мого сина так, як треба.
Андрій з дитинства страждає на хронічний гастрит. Спадкове, від батькиного боку. Це не просто «шлунок боляє», як багато хто вчє сьогодні. Це хвороба, яка під час загострення робить життя справжнім пеклом. Навесні та восени йому особливо важко: печія, біль, блювання, безсоння. Я знаю, що він переживає, бо сама годувала його роками. Поки жив зі мною, я слідкувала за його харчуванням: дієта, нічого смаженого, шкідливого, їжа за розкладом — кашки, варене м’ясо, супи, киселі. Я не просто годувала — я берегла його.
Перед весіллям я попередила Оксану:
— У Андрія слабкий шлунок. Треба обережно, особливо на межсезоння. Будь ласка, годуй його правильно.
Вона усміхнулась і обіцяла, що все буде під контролем. Я повірила.
Але через місяць зайшла до них у гості й остовпіла. На кухні брудний посуд, у холодильнику — лише кетчуп, пиво та засохлий батон. У смітті — коробки від піци та пакети зі шкідливою їжею. А на плиті — пусто. Я запитала:
— А де Андрій?
— На роботі, скоро буде, — спокійно відповіла Оксана.
— Він хочаб сьогодні їв?
— Та начебто щось… зранку…
У мені все стигло. Я знала, чим це закінчиться. І не помилялась. Через три місяці — лікарня. Гостре загострення. Краплі, дієта, біль. Я майже постійно була поруч, поки він лежав. А Оксана приходила — на годину, максимум дві, потім казала, що їй треба «готуватись до іспитів». Мені стало страшно.
Після виписки я принесла їм курча. Справжнього, свіжого, купленого на ринку. Попросила зварити легкий бульйон. Вона кивнула. Минув тиждень. Я заглянула у морозилку — курча лежало, як було, недоторкане. Навіть не розморожене. Не кажу вже бульйон.
Я запропонувала допомогу:
— Оксано, давай я приготую. Розумію, ти зайнята, навчання, іспити…
— Не треба! — різко відповіла вона. — Я сама впораюсь.
Та бачу, що вона не впорається. І мені боляч…Врешті-решт, я зібрала волю в кулак і сказала: «Оксано, або ти зміниш ставлення до здоров’я мого сина, або я візьму це в свої руки».
Why Does It Matter Who Looked After Gran? By Law, That Flat Should Be Mine! — My Mum Argues With Me Over My Grandmother’s Home My Own Mother is Threatening to Sue Me — All Because My Gran’s Flat Went Not to Her, or Even to Me, But to My Daughter. Mum Claims It’s Unfair, Insists the Flat Should Be Hers. But Gran Made a Different Choice. Why? Perhaps Because My Husband and I Lived With Her and Cared for Her Those Last Five Years. You Could Easily Call My Mum Selfish — Her Needs Were Always Far More Important Than Anyone Else’s. Mum’s Been Married Three Times, But Only Had Two Daughters: My Younger Sister and Me. We Get On Brilliantly, But Neither of Us Has a Great Relationship With Mum. I Don’t Even Remember My Dad — He Split From Mum When I Was Two. Up Until I Was Six, I Lived With Mum at Gran’s. For Some Reason, I Thought Gran Was Awful — Probably Because Mum Was Always Crying. Only When I Grew Up Did I Understand: Gran Was Good, She Just Wanted to Help Her Daughter Make a Better Life. Later, Mum Married Again and We All Moved In With My Stepfather. That’s When My Sister Was Born. But After Seven Years, Mum Got Divorced Again. This Time, We Didn’t Go Back to Gran’s. Stepfather Went Off to Work and Let Us Stay in His Flat for a Bit. Three Years Later, Mum Married Husband Number Three and We Moved In With Him. He Wasn’t Pleased Mum Had Children, Though He Never Hurt Us — He Just Ignored Us. So Did Mum. She Was Obsessed With Her New Husband, Always Jealous, Always Causing Rows and Breaking Crockery. Once a Month Mum Would Start Packing, But Stepfather Always Talked Her Round. My Sister and I Got Used to It and Stopped Noticing. I Ended Up Looking After My Sister — Mum Didn’t Have the Time. Thank Goodness for Our Grandmothers, Who Helped Us So Much. Eventually, I Left for University, and My Sister Moved In With Gran. Our Dad Always Supported Her; Mum Would Call Us Only at Christmas. I Accepted Mum For Who She Was and Stopped Expecting Her to Care, But My Sister Never Did. She Was Always Hurt, Especially When Mum Skipped Her School Leavers’ Party. We Grew Up. My Sister Got Married and Moved Away. I Was Living With My Long-Term Boyfriend; We Visited Gran Often and Stayed Close, Though I Tried Not to Be a Nuisance. When Gran Fell Ill and Went Into Hospital, I Visited Every Day: Shopping, Cooking, Cleaning, Chatting, Making Sure She Took Her Medicine. Sometimes My Boyfriend Helped Out Too. After Six Months, Gran Suggested We Move In to Save for Our Own Place, So We Did. Six Months Later, I Was Pregnant. We Got Married, Had a Simple Family Do — Mum Didn’t Come, Not Even a Phone Call. When My Daughter Was Two Months Old, Gran Broke Her Leg. Caring for Both Was Hard and I Desperately Needed Mum’s Help, But She Refused, Saying She Wasn’t Well and Would Come Later. She Never Did. Six Months On, Gran Had a Stroke and Was Bedridden. If Not for My Husband, I Don’t Know How I’d Have Coped. Gran Slowly Improved, She Even Got to See Her Great-Granddaughter Take Her First Steps, and Lived Another Two-and-a-Half Years. She Passed Away Peacefully in Her Sleep. My Husband and I Were Devastated By Her Loss. Mum Only Came for the Funeral. A Month Later, She Tried to Evict Me So She Could Have the Flat. Mum Hadn’t Realised Gran Had Left It to My Daughter Right After She Was Born. Naturally Mum Was Furious, Demanding I Give Up the Flat or She’d Sue Me. “Look How Deceitful You Are! You Duped the Old Woman, Took Her Flat, And Now You Live In It Yourself! You Won’t Get Away With This! It Doesn’t Matter Who Looked After Gran — That Flat Should Be Mine!” But Mum Won’t Get That Flat, I Know That for Certain. I’ve Spoken to a Solicitor and a Notary. We’ll Stay in the Home Gran Gave Us, and If Our Second Child Is a Girl, She’ll Be Named After Gran.
What matter is it who cared for Grandmother? By rights, the house ought to be mine! My mothers voice, strident...
Relatives Demanded My Bedroom for the Holidays and Left Empty-Handed: How I Refused Pushy Family, Set Boundaries, and Saved My Peace of Mind in London
Where on earth am I supposed to put this massive bowl of jellied beef? Theres no space at all in...
How My Husband Secretly Supported His Mother While I Had Nothing to Dress Our Child In
10 March Lately, Ive been feeling as though the weight of the world rests on my shoulders. Laura and I...
Mother-in-Law Sneakily Stuffed Her Bag with Gourmet Treats from My Fridge Before Leaving
Mother-in-law slipped the delicacies from my fridge into her bag before heading out It must have happened nearly twenty years...
My Father’s Partner Became My Second Mum: How Auntie Mary Took Me In, Raised Me as Her Own, and Gave Me and Her Son a True Family After Tragedy
My fathers wife became my second mother When I was just eight years old, my mother passed away. My father...
My Husband Compared Me to His Friend’s Wife at Dinner—So I Served Him a Salad Straight to His Lap
My husband compared me to his friends wife at the dinner table and ended up with a bowl of salad...
My Husband Compared Me to His Friend’s Wife at Dinner—So I Served Him a Salad Straight to His Lap
My husband compared me to his friends wife at the dinner table and ended up with a bowl of salad...
More Than Just a Nanny
Not Just a Nanny Alice sat at a desk in the university library, surrounded by a fortress of textbooks and...