Updated: Apr 7
Sometimes life deals you a crappy hand. You can play the victim, moan, whine, complain or you can get tough and overcome. Never assume anyone has it better than anyone else. There's much you can't see and may never know.
So I packed my own food, even for... The hospital!
I'm allergic to gluten, nuts, soy, corn and eggs. It's impossible for me to eat out or eat anything I did not make myself for the most part. I don't trust restaurants, especially with cross contamination. I don't even like friends or family trying to cook for me. They've made mistakes and or accidentally cross contaminated.
See my post Happy New Year! I'm Back! My story doesn't end there though. My hell started on December 7, 2022 in the Cardiac Catherization Unit of a hospital about 30 minutes away and continued for several months between two hospitals. Not fun.
After the blood clot incident mentioned in my post Happy New Year! I'm Back, I wound up back in the hospital the end of December. Then there was another hospital stay in January for more SVT's ("An episode of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) occurs when abnormal electrical impulses suddenly start in the upper chambers of the heart, and override the heart's natural rhythm. SVT is sometimes called paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT). Paroxysm means a sudden temporary disturbance of heart rhythm") and I had cellulitis in my left leg again. The day before they were to send me home, I came down with COVID again two months after having had it in November, 2022. Yes, I caught it in the hospital. Gotta love it. My hospital stay was then extended.
In February there was yet another hospital stay and I was then transferred from one hospital to another on Friday, February 13, 2023, via ambulance for emergency heart surgery which started about 8:30 p.m. that night. They called the surgeon in from home. The second hospital was about 30 minutes away.
I was in ICU five times between two hospitals and spent New Year's Eve, which is also my husband's birthday, in ICU at a local hospital.
One of my heart doctors, the Electrophysiologist, decided to do another heart ablation. It was scheduled but had to be cancelled due to snow. It was rescheduled for March 17, 2023, St. Patrick's Day, but again had to be cancelled because I started to run a fever two days before and they sent me to the ER.
The procedure was finally done on March 31, 2023. I came home the next day. So far, so good. Let's hope it stays that way.
I was in the hospital more than I was home from December 7, 2022 through February, 2023. With all those hospital stays and all my allergy issues, I learned a few things.
This time, I packed food in advance to bring with me. I didn't take pictures of my dinner the night before, as I was still groggy from anesthesia. I had packed air fried potatoes and a salad of just iceberg lettuce with an unopened bottle of gluten free, allergy friendly, French dressing. Breakfast was gluten free pancakes, with butter I brought from home and cinnamon "sugar " which was really Truvia.
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I also packed my own medication. You can see it in the case with the red cover. I always bring my own medication or have it brought to me. They send it to pharmacy to be labelled then give me my medication because I know I can take it. Their meds may have ingredients such as soy, gluten, corn or any combination of the three in it. In fact I had a bad reaction to a medication they gave me in the hospital. I didn't want to take it. They insisted it was safe. It wasn't.
See Bringing My Own Food Outside My Home for how I bring my own food everywhere I go.
I packed everything in a soft cooler and then, per my sister's idea, put it into a small suitcase with wheels, making it easier to transport. I also had my medications in the suitcase and a change of underwear.
Often when I'm in the hospital for an extended stay, family members will bring me food as it's very difficult to eat hospital food. The only thing I can order is plain baked potato or sweet potato and Romaine lettuce with chickpeas and no dressing. I use my own gluten free, allergy friendly, dressing. I can also eat cottage cheese with Dole peaches and steamed vegetables with nothing on them.
So many times, I got the wrong order. They would send my broccoli with something on it or mashed potatoes instead of a baked potato. It was easier to have someone bring me food.
It's been one hell of a ride these past few months, but I'm on the upside hopefully. I have a lot to live for. An amazing, beautiful family and I'm enjoying my new granddaughter, my son's daughter, and awaiting the birth of my grandson in July, my daughter's son.
See my post At Last for more on my life's philosophy and how I never made myself a victim.
I would like to thank all the hospital staff in both hospitals who went above and beyond for me and my unique issues. Surgeons, heart specialists, hospital doctors, physician's assistants, nurses, ER doctors, ER physician's assistants and nurses, cafeteria cooks, food delivery and cafeteria supervisors, pharmacy staff, social workers, physical therapists and the janitors who made sure they didn't use bleach in my room ever due my severe allergy to bleach which causes an allergy/asthma attack. Last but not least, the administrators who always made sure I had a private room.
To understand my unique issues, visit my blog posts.
A Correct Diagnosis, Treatment And Food Plan Equals Success,
Living with Hashimotos, Autoimmune Disease, Lymphedema and Allergies And Much More,
Holiday Traditions And The Second Day My Life Changed,
Ignorance is Bliss. But, It Could Mean Life Or Death,
