Grandma Carmel came over for dinner on Saturday night. It was very casual. Things were in disarray from the work in the kitchen and the half decorated Christmas tree. We just pushed the mess aside for awhile and sat down to eat.
I promised Maggie that I would put a can at every place and she was beside herself with laughter when I followed through.
Sometimes I have to stop and be amazed at the life Maggie leads and how I take it for granted. She doesn’t get to taste anything , doesn’t get the joy and camaraderie of dining out or dining at all. Her food has to be prescribed by a doctor and is delivered by a medical supply company every month. We had to go through many different manufactured foods before we found one that worked. Maggie’s intense allergy to milk products coupled with her delicate constitution severely limited her choices, even in the world of medically prescribed food. After various trials and errors, the GI nurse practitioner prescribed Vivonex. Turns out that maximum tolerance thing works!
If I knew it would make me as happy as Maggie, I would happily switch to her food. However, I'm not sure I have the same positive outlook that she does. Vivonex is manufactured by the Nestle corporation. I’m glad they make this stuff, but I think I’ll stick to Nestle’s crunch bars, if it’s all the same to you.
On Friday morning I told Maggie that Grandma was coming to dinner and asked if she wanted to help me cook. Of course, there was a resounding yes! to that question and her excited arm movement that foes along with it. I explained that the first thing we had to do was decide what to cook and made several suggestions. All suggestions met with rejection from Maggie.
Chicken? No!
Roast beef? no!
fish?no!
pasta? no!
Hmmmm. I started on other things pigs feet? No! [good – never had ‘em], chicken lips? No! (with a huge laugh.)
In mock exasperation I said,”Maggie, we have to eat something, what to do you suggest? That we all have Vivonex?” This brought uncontrollable laughter and yes! yes! yes! Vivonex is Maggie's’ food. It comes in 250ml cans and she is fed every two hours. According to the can Vivonex is ,“medical food for tube feeding or oral use” (she is strictly a tube feeding girl) and it is “formulated for maximum tolerance.”
YUMMY! This is exactly what I want to serve at a dinner for my mom.
I promised Maggie that I would put a can at every place and she was beside herself with laughter when I followed through.
Sometimes I have to stop and be amazed at the life Maggie leads and how I take it for granted. She doesn’t get to taste anything , doesn’t get the joy and camaraderie of dining out or dining at all. Her food has to be prescribed by a doctor and is delivered by a medical supply company every month. We had to go through many different manufactured foods before we found one that worked. Maggie’s intense allergy to milk products coupled with her delicate constitution severely limited her choices, even in the world of medically prescribed food. After various trials and errors, the GI nurse practitioner prescribed Vivonex. Turns out that maximum tolerance thing works!
I'm delighted too find a food that works, but that's not the amazing thing. More amazing is that Maggie doesn’t care about any of that. She is happy to be part of the action even if her seat is two feet away from the table.
If I knew it would make me as happy as Maggie, I would happily switch to her food. However, I'm not sure I have the same positive outlook that she does. Vivonex is manufactured by the Nestle corporation. I’m glad they make this stuff, but I think I’ll stick to Nestle’s crunch bars, if it’s all the same to you.
Thanks for a good morning chuckle..ha ha ha!!
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