How do you care for a spouse with Type 2 diabetes?

When Brian Cooney was told that he had type 2 diabetes, not only did his life change but so did his wife’s. Carol Cooney wasn’t shocked by the news, as her husband’s wellbeing was already affected by prediabetes ‘but he didn’t do anything about it’ Carol says, but still Carol’s sense of mental wellness took a hit when she appointed herself Brian’s caregiver as: ‘We were bombarded with information about his diabetes’.

Carol recalls that the doctors felt Brian’s condition was too far gone to benefit from medication and lifestyle changes alone would help — he needed to learn to test his blood sugar and inject himself with insulin. The couple were met by a diabetes educator in the hospital, but the sheer volume of information, plus the two kinds of insulin, antibiotics, lancets, alcohol wipes, gauze, packing tape, sterile water, and bandages they left the hospital with left them feeling overwhelmed: ‘Neither of us was too confident we’d be that good at his diabetes management.’

So how did they do it? First of all, Carol switched to smaller 9-inch plates for portion control, as a smaller plate gives you the illusion of having plenty of food. She also bought the Diabetes & Heart Healthy Cookbook from the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association, and found a number of recipes that matched their tastes and their cooking abilities.

Brian’s high cholesterol levels meant his diet needs to be heart-healthy as well, so they put an end to eating fast food and began to sit down every weekend and plan their meals for the coming week. Carol says ‘Now we have things ready, and it’s so much easier to fix healthy dinners,’ and she uses the plate to measure out a balanced diet: half their plate at meals is salads or vegetables, a quarter is lean protein, and most of the time a quarter is a diabetes-friendly whole grain.

Next, exercise was a priority and Brian made the time a couple of nights a week to run when he gets home. Carol is somewhat limited by the arthritis in her knee, so they go for walks together when they can. Lastly, Carol recommends care-giving, but not henpecking, as she recalls seeing Brian sitting on the patio barefoot, and even though they were told at the hospital that foot care is really important for people with diabetes. She told Brian ‘I hate to sound crazy, but it makes me antsy, your being out here barefoot. I’m really scared something will happen to you’ and he took her comments to heart and put on shoes. Since making all of these changes, Brian has lost over 70 pounds in nine months, is now off insulin and able to control his diabetes with oral medications that he takes just once a day.