My friend is in a really bad position

Tweet

I have a dear friend who is terminally ill. Her illness requires her to take steroids, which cause her to bloat, and other medications make her skin break out. When she got married, about 15 years ago, she was thin, healthy, athletic and beautiful. They had a child and shortly after that, she was diagnosed with MS--actually two rare forms of MS. It is very very bad. She can hardly walk anymore. Her husband is a very shallow person. He doesn't believe that she is bloated because of the steroids. He thinks she's fat and eats too much. He calls her horrible names, like fat bi#$@ and ugly and verbally abuses her. He has moved out of their bedroom and into the basement. He makes her keep all her belongings in her room. She has to pay for all her own food and needs out of her disability check, even her "share" of the utility. She is very religious and will not ask for a divorce. He won't either because he knows a judge would not look too favorably on a man leaving his terminally ill wife, and it would break him financially. She is also afraid that he would be awarded custody because she can't drive and is basically homebound due to her illness. He's a terrible father--berates the child for everything and doesn't believe in playing with him. As a result, the boy is really messed up. After all this, though, she continues to say she loves him and hopes he will find God. I wish there was something I could do to help her. I'm afraid for her safety, although she doesn't seem to be. She is a very positive person, and only once or twice have I seen her break down under the stress all of this causes her. I'm at my wits end. I want to grab her husband and slap him for the way he treats her. But that won't solve anything. I don't understand why he can't see her for the beautiful person she is. I don't know what I'm asking for here, if anything. It just feels good to vent.