Sadly, though I could help his body to heal it was next to
impossible to stem the tides of Jake's appetites or to pleasantly
withstand his tantrums when he was denied; he always wanted more in
terms of quantity, more in terms of variety, and at more frequent
intervals. Though his organs had healed significantly, his digestive
capacity was not nearly as large as he remembered himself enjoying
before he got sick. And never would be. Jake was not happy about the
dietary restrictions necessary for him to retain his newly attained
health, and unwilling to stay within the limits of his digestive
system's ability to process foods. He had gained weight and was back
up to 120 pounds. It was time for him to go home before I lost my
good humor.
Jake left with a lot of "good lucks" and stern admonitions to stick
to his stringent diet and supplement program. It was a big moment
for Jake. He had arrived in a wheelchair three months before. Now he
walked unaided to the airplane, something he had not been able to do
for two years.
Back at home Jake had no one courageous enough to set limits for
him. His immediate family and every one of his brow beaten
associates were compelled to give him everything that he wanted. So
his appetite and lack of personal discipline got the better of him.
He started eating lots of dates and figs. These had been eliminated
from his diet because he was unable to process foods which such a
high sugar content. He also ate larger and larger quantities of
grains, nuts and avocados, although I had warned him of specific
quantity limits on rich foods. Most sadly, he returned to enjoying
spaghetti with lots of cheese grated on top. Within months of
leaving my care his paralysis and weakness returned, except that
unfortunately for him, he still retained the ability to assimilate
food and maintain his body weight. Ironically, the only ultimate
benefit of his fasting with me was to permit him to suffer a far
longer existence in a wheelchair without wasting away and escaping
into death.
I would be failing my readers if I did not explain why Jake became
ill in the first place. Jake had started what grew to become a very
successful chain of spaghetti restaurants with a unique noodles and
sauces made to his own formula. He ate a lot of his own spaghetti
over the years, and had been reared in a good Italian family with
lots of other kinds of rich food. Jake had a reputation for being
able to outeat everybody in terms of quantity and in the amount of
time spent eating. In childhood, this ability had made his Italian
mother very happy because it showed appreciation for her great
culinary skill.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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