Communicating with a Sick Man

The Husband is sick. Coughing, sneezing, body aches. I want to help, but he is not comfortable with being vulnerable nor with accepting help. 

It has been a struggle trying to figure out what he needs and how to get him to let me do things for him. The key, I've learned, is how I phrase the question.

👎"Do you want me to get you some cough medicine?" He says no because he does not want to inconvenience me.

👍"Would a cough suppressant or expectorant help?" He says yes, cough drops would be soothing.

After 33 years of marriage, I am still learning how to communicate with this man.