This week has been all about walking a mile in M’s shoes and I’m pleased to say that we’ve done it.  There have been highs and lows to the week, but it’s been a lesson for us all and a challenge that I’m glad we accepted.  We have now become old hands at eating M’s diet and the biggest challenge of today was the evening meal as we ate with my Mum and other family members.

Breakfast and lunch were fairly straight forward as we ate at home from our store cupboard, which, given we’ve been eating as M all week, was mostly filled with M-friendly food.  Dinner, however, was a different matter and, I have to confess here, that we fell off the wagon a little.  Mum had bought salmon for the meal, but they came with flavoured butters – minor failing number 1.  This was accompanied with new potatoes for Mike and M and rice for me; grilled tomatoes and Caesar salad – minor failing number 2, though I did avoid the croutons.

The thing is, I did feel quite guilty for eating something I knew M isn’t allowed to eat, even though tomorrow I will feel no remorse at all, or at least, I’m not expecting too.

What have I achieved from this week walking a mile in M’s shoes?  An even greater understanding of the daily battles he faces at such a young age and those he will continue to face as he grows older and has more life experiences.  It wasn’t just about adapting my cooking to accommodate his dietary requirements, though that has been difficult enough at times, but has also been about thinking how we live our daily lives and how we would have to modify those if we were to live as M does.  A  big part has been about educating others, of introducing them to the challenges of living with a complicated diet and of making them stop and think about the things we take for granted – the cups of tea, the cakes or even just a slice of toast in the morning.

I can’t pretend that I’m not glad to be returning to a less restrictive regime tomorrow, but I will be taking some principles of M’s diet back into my regular routine.  I will go back to my salads for lunch, but will accompany them with crispbreads or rice cakes rather than 2 slices of bread -a prime example of how I can and will make some changes.