Breakfast: Here we go again. My dad is still in the ICU. It looks pretty clear that he will not be coming home. It’s a difficult time. After a needed night’s sleep, I got up, had my breakfast and went back to the hospital. I went with the cold version of yesterday’s breakfast: Rolled Oats, Apples, Raisins, Bananas, Cacao Nibs, Chia Seeds, Blueberries and Soy Milk.
Lunch and Dinner: Gary sent me off with leftover Black Bean Pasta in Marinara Sauce with Tempeh and Cheezehound’s Macadamia Mozzarella, Red Pepper Hummus and Mary’s Crackers. Time stands still sitting in my dad’s hospital space in the ICU. Occasionally I would pick at the food. From time to time I would make a cup of Cinnamon Apple Tea or Pomegranate Green Tea provided by the hospital. Sometime in the late afternoon the family discussed options with the doctor and decided to go with palliative care. It was probably the most difficult thing I have ever had to do. Now we would keep Dad comfortable and wait. I decided to stay with him throughout the night while my sister, brother-in-law and mother went home to rest. From this point on, I was covering the night shift. We didn’t want him to ever be alone.
Evening: A cart of food and beverages arrived with a card from the hospital’s Food and Nutrition Department. It was addressed to the family and was called the Family Comfort Cart. It was a thoughtful gesture on the part of the hospital to offer families that are sitting with patients in palliative care. I do not want to complain about this compassionate concept, but… how does the Food and Nutrition Department offer unhealthy snacks that are filled with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial ingredients and refined flour. There were individual serving packets of Lorna Dunes, Sugar-Free Cookies and Pound Cake. Then there were the dairy yogurts, Apple Juice, Apple Sauce and Cranberry Juice all loaded with sugar and other junk ingredients. What are they thinking? Do they want to keep the patient’s family unhealthy to create future customers? Aside from the Apple, which wasn’t organic and was the pithy Delicious variety that I wouldn’t eat, I don’t consider any of the items on this cart food, and none are nutritious. Thank you Food and Nutrition Department. I did enjoy the Green Tea with Pomegranate and the Cinnamon Apple Herbal Tea.
