My ILs don't "believe" in medical doctors. They see a 'doctor' that treats them through finding their 'allergies.' This doctor diagnosises them and then cures them, and they all rave about how amazing he is. Examples- He told SIL that she was allergic to water. He told FIL that he had Graves Disease (even though he had no symptoms) and should stop eating corn. FIL did, and was "cured" of it.
When we first got married, MIL and I had some heated words about her pushing her medical ideals on me. Later, MIL called to apologize and we agreed to just never share our medical ideas with the other. So, she gets no information on when we are ill, what we have, etc. That means she can't babysit because I have a DS with asthma and another with autism, and she won't touch the treatments they need. She also doesn't get to see her new grandkids in the hospital because I don't even want to touch medical stuff with her. It limits their interaction in our lives, but that is her choice. (DH is completely on board, btw. He says he remembers when he was 9 and 10 thinking his parents were nuts for their opinions and has never used this "doctor" of theirs. As soon as he was legally old enough, he went out and got all of his immunizations and has used medical doctors ever since.)
Last week, DH was diagnosed with histoplasmosis. It is a rare lung disease that is not contagious from human to human. DH's case is weird because he is young and healthy, and shouldn't be having such a hard time fighting it off. They are now testing him to see if it has done deeper damage to his lungs.
So, now the crazy has come out. MIL and FIL insist he could cure it with garlic and apple juice. BIL now claims he has it. He did have a few days where SIL said he was sick because he missed a family event, but he claimed he wasn't the next time I saw him. But, now he is saying that he has it, and SIL has it, too, and they've "cured" it with this doctor's "treatment" plan. BIL and SIL have gone as far as starting to tell everyone about DH having it, and claiming that he isn't "getting proper care of it." They told our paster, the local police officer, all of DH's family, the people DH work with, etc. DH would rather keep it to himself anyway. He isn't contagious. He stays home when he needs to rest. But, the treatment for this can go on for months, and DH would rather not just stop living his life.
BIL and SIL are already on a time out (as much as possible in a small town where we both live). I mean, we are cordial to them when we are at the same school event, but we don't seek them out. (This is because of their children bullying ours, and then making false claims about things our kids did. And, even when there are witnesses to it, BIL and SIL insist we "discipline" our kids for things they didn't do. A few months ago, SIL called me up to "inform" me that she didn't feel it is good for our kids to play together. I agreed.) I avoid going to MIL's house because BIL and SIL practically live there.
Here's the problem- It is DS's birthday tomorrow. I had invited MIL and FIL over to my house, but MIL is very critical of my cleaning. I always clean a ton before she comes because it is just easier on all of us. I called to tell her that I didn't think I had the energy to do it, with DH being sick. She said we could do it at her place. I reluctantly agreed (only because DS was really excited about having both sets of grandparents do cake and ice cream with us). That was before BIL and SIL pulled all this crap with DH's illness. Of course, I found out that BIL and SIL are going to be there. I didn't think they would.
What do I do about tomorrow? My parents are coming down for dinner and then we are supposed to go over there for cake and ice cream.
WWYD?