Jenny Slatten wants fans to know how grateful she is for her husband and caregiver Sumit Singh as her ALS progresses.
The 90 Day Fiance star took to Instagram earlier today to give a health update, sharing a video from a Cameo she recorded for a fan several years ago and comparing her ability to speak then with how well she’s able to speak now.
“This is how I used to sounds and this was one of the very first Cameos I ever did,” she wrote. “I remember I could talk so much better back then, but people used to make fun of the how I sounded. Today, because of ALS, I can barely talk, and speaking has become very difficult for me. But I’ve learned that people will judge you at every step of life.
“Just like people judged me then, I see people judging Sumit too, and it hurts me because he is my husband, he loves me, and I know he will always love me,” she continued. “He is also my only caregiver and helps me every day with my ALS and with things I can no longer do myself. People don’t she [sic] what happens behind the closed doors.
“So enjoy every day, appreciate what you have, and don’t let other people’s opinions take away from your happiness,” Jenny added. “Nothing stays the same forever. Today is the best—we don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”
Since announcing her diagnosis in May, Jenny has consistently shown her gratitude to Sumit for his care and support. Less than two weeks after sharing her health news, Jenny took to Instagram to defend her husband, writing, “Thank you all for supporting me. But he is the best companion I ever ask for . Don’t criticise [sic] him. He is the best”.
Fans have been particularly critical of the couple’s decision to stay in India and have Jenny seek treatment for her ALS there while Sumit awaits approval of an emergency tourist visa. The pair provided an update on Jenny’s health, the visa and their choice to stay together while waiting on the visa approval in August, which was recapped by The Ashley.
“So yeah, it’s progressing, but we were thinking that we could come to America to get proper treatment,” Sumit explained of his wife’s ALS. “I still try to have high hopes. I try to hope that America might have something better for Jenny and [that] she could get, at least, a better support system.”
The couple shared that Jenny was advised by her doctor not to travel alone. If Jenny did make it to America for treatment before Sumit got his visa and her condition worsened, they fear she may not be able to return to India and he may not be able to join her in America.
“It means that we’re going to be apart, apart forever,” Sumit said.
In the August update, Sumit stressed that he understands the seriousness of his wife’s diagnosis.
“A lot of people are saying that Jenny should go back home to America, to her daughters, to her family,” he said. “Like, why don’t you understand that we thought about that and we’re not doing a vacation [here]? We love each other, and obviously I want Jenny to start getting treated and I want Jenny to start feeling better, but at least, she needs a support system.”
In the same update, Jenny said that India is “[her] home.”
Though hopeful for a different outcome, Jenny’s family does understand her decision to stay with Sumit. Back in July, daughter Dominique wrote on Instagram that, “I would love to have you here and that’s what us children are for but I know you won’t be happy and you want to be with your husband. I get it 100 [percent] but I just wanted you to know don’t ever think you would be a burden in my life … .”
Dominique added, “Sumit, thank you for all you’re doing to take care of my mom.”
(Photos: Instagram)
I honestly don’t understand why people feel the need to be so cruel about this.
Jenny has ALS. She is facing one of the most devastating and debilitating diseases there is, and she wants her husband beside her. That should be enough for people to have a little compassion.
Sumit and Jenny love each other. I have never doubted that for a second. And yet people are acting like Sumit is somehow a terrible husband because he isn’t just sending Jenny to America without him. Do people really think he should put her on a plane, send her away from the person she loves, and let her face all of this without her husband by her side?
He is trying to get a visa so he can come with her. The sad reality is that there is a very good chance that visa isn’t going to happen. I can’t even imagine how helpless that must make both of them feel.
And honestly, whether they decide to stay in India or come to America is nobody else’s business.
Jenny is sick. Sumit loves his wife and wants to be with her. This is already heartbreaking enough without strangers making it even harder for them like they have a say in someone else’s life. People need to stop worrying about what they think someone should do and just have a little damn compassion for what that person is actually going through.