Talking Food

Let's talk about Mary's diet.
When we were in the hospital the first time we met frequently with the dietitian. She gave me a number of things to read on diet and specifically on what Mary would need to maintain weight as well as eat healthy. The steroid she was on at the time, in addition to everything else, also could cause high blood sugar so she gave us more things to read about that. I was all ready to do this about face on how we all were eating. Not that we ate really bad but there were some things that could definitely change.
And then we came home.
And here is what I could get her to eat:
Sandwiches (meat only, peanut butter would not due. For days she would have a pork sandwich for just about every meal)
Poached eggs (gave myself lots of high fives for this one, although it only lasted a few days)
French Fries and chicken nuggets

And when I say that's all she would eat, I mean that was all she would eat. We would get to the cancer center and she would start asking for french fries. The nurses came to expect it, which was becoming comical in and of itself.

From there she started to expand. She went through a pizza phase. A corn dog phase, then back to sandwiches and now she's holding steady with chips. Just chips. Morning noon and night she asks for chips. Just about any kind will do but she, like her mother, seems to favor the salt and vinegar variety the best. I will say it is easier to pull a bag of chips out of my purse than a corn dog. That much I've learned.

Fortunately as time has gone one we have been able to expand her diet a huge amount. Initially we would just fix her whatever it was she wanted, because we knew she would eat it. Eventually, anyway. Eating for her has always had to be her idea. We've been doing that less and less. And often when we come to the table at dinner time she sits and throws a fit. Usually her dad and her go and have a "talk" or like we like to say a "word of prayer." Then she comes back much more willing to have a go at whatever we are eating. Some days are more of a battle than others. Someday the leukemia will be gone, for good, and the treatments will be done and we are trying not to end up with a beast in the process.

When I think back to our hospital stay and meeting with the dietitian, honestly, I laugh. Like everything else we do our best and take things as they come. In a perfect world she would eat well balanced meals that didn't included three bags of chips. We aren't there. Balance is key.

Her dad brought her this big bag of chips when she requested some the other day. We were thrilled.