The doctor performed an ultrasound, and declared that my mother had a severe, 90% blockage of one of her carotid arteries, and required an immediate, emergency angioplasty. There was no time to lose.
“Don’t do it, Dotty!” my father said, right in front of the doctor. “He’s just trying to make money.”
“I resent that. I’m trying to do what’s best for the patient!” the cardiologist protested.
“If you let him do it, I’ll divorce you!” my father shouted. “Don’t be a sucker! The man’s going to kill you!”
At this point, the doctor was royally pissed off, and he turned his back on my father to plead directly with my mother. It was her decision to make, after all. “Who are you going to listen to, him or me? He’s not a doctor! Your life could be at stake!”
My mother was in a tough spot. The doctor, after all, was the son of her beloved childhood friend; her husband, on the other hand, was the father of her now-and-then beloved children. The doctor clearly had more medical credibility. But she didn’t have to live with him; she had to live with my father. Unless, of course, he would really divorce her over an angioplasty. It was hard to know if he was bluffing. Still, the doctor said her life could be at stake, and he definitely wasn’t bluffing. My mother never liked to make tough decisions, and this one must have challenged her to the hilt. But she trusted her instincts and came up with her answer.
“I’m sorry, I don’t want to get divorced,” she told the doctor. “I couldn’t handle it, emotionally. We just got new furniture.”
- EXCERPT FROM OWN YOUR HEALTH
About the Book
In Own Your Health, Glen Merzer narrates his own journey to health, and tells the stories of how his parents saved each other’s lives and how his wife Joanna overcame lupus. He explains why the science of nutrition is more settled than you think, suggests the best way to deal with doctors, and takes on some of the leading historic opponents of the plant-based diet. Glen blows apart the silly and misguided attacks on “carbs,” and shares an action plan to reverse the epidemics of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease while obliterating demand for the kind of food-raising that risks future pandemics. Chef AJ’s recipes conclude the book with delicious, simple, and practical ways you can satiate your palate and take your health into your own hands.
Third in a trilogy of self-health books, Own Your Health follows two previous collaborations with Chef AJ: Unprocessed and The Secrets to Ultimate Weight Loss. Each book contains more than 100 vegan, whole-plant-food, oil-free, sugar-free, salt-free fabulous recipes!
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