My mother has a congenital heart defect that causes holes to
develop in the heart muscle. Recently she had heart surgery. Again.
This is the second heart surgery she has had in her life,
but the procedure was totally different. The first time she had surgery, they
cracked her breast bone and opened her up. Then they put in a plastic piece to
fix a hole in her heart.
That was 40 years ago.
Now, however, they didn’t even put her completely under
anesthesia; she was in “twilight mode.” They used a catheter that went up from
her groin arteries to reach her heart. Once there, the doctor used a tool that
entered the holes (there were four of them!) in her heart, injected a glue-like
substance, and removed the tool. The substance expanded and stuck to the heart
muscle around it, closing off the hole.
We joked that my mother had her heart spackled. Ever having
an awesome sense of humor, she thought that was funny.
I love my mother.
While visiting her in the hospital, though, I noticed
something that bothered me. They had her on a “heart healthy” diet…makes sense
when you consider she just had heart surgery! But the first thing they fed her
was spaghetti with meat sauce, salad with Italian dressing, and a breadstick.
Really?! That’s heart healthy?
When the attendant came and took her order for breakfast the
next morning, her options were 1 of the following:
- Cream of Wheat
- Oatmeal
- Rice cereal
She also had the option of applesauce or bananas, turkey
sausage, and wheat toast or an English muffin.
I sat appalled at what they were feeding my mother, and it
took everything in my self-control to not throw a fit in the hospital! Pasta
and bread stick? Cream of wheat AND wheat toast? Really?
Feed her meat, I wanted to yell! Feed her an avocado slice
and some sauteed onions or tomato slices with her turkey sausage. Add some strawberries (she
loves them!). And for goodness sake, add an egg to the plate!
I realized I would be in serious trouble if I went into the
hospital for any cardiovascular issues. Between my allergies and intolerances,
the “heart healthy” diet that the FDA encourages heart patients to follow would
either starve me or kill me!
Apparently they brought her fish that evening…she’s allergic
to the mercury in fish. Thankfully they listened to her and brought her
something else to eat. I think she said it was a chef salad…and it was
wonderful!
Have you encountered any dietary issues while staying in the
hospital? How did you address those issues with the staff? Did they listen?
Please share, so we can all get some ideas on how to handle this situation.
