Frustrating! I have spent the last 4 days hanging around in a large West Midlands Hospital, killing time people watching in two cafes, waiting areas and corridors by vending machines. The only food suitable for me to eat at any cafe was a gammon ham salad and only one of them, when that had gone that was it, but it did not look appetising.
For something to do I have sat and analysed the eating habits of visitors, nurses, doctors and admin staff, is this something us LCHF diet Type 2s do? I watched Cakes, white bread toasties, pasties, pies, disappear in alarming quantities, whilst the prepared salads do not get purchased and other than the gammon salad all the others involved pasta, cuscus, rice or potatoes.
Then hopefully without being judgmental, remember I was over 100 Kilo a few months back and would have eat such things, I started looking at the weight of people. Over 80% of female nursing staff would be obese and more than 50% of these grossly obese, male staff figured better. Male visitors were about 50% obese and whilst there were more obese female visitors they were less obese than nursing staff.
You can see I have been extremely bored and yes this was not a very scientific study, purely observation, but it is certainly food for thought, pardon the pun, could there be a relationship between the food available in the hospital cafes and the shape of hospital staff?
I shall send an email pointing out the lack of suitable food available for Type 2s on a LCHF diet at this hospital, it will be polite but to the point.
On the MIL front it's a nightmare, she was 93 Tuesday. A scan shows MIL has a bleed on the brain probably from a fall she had two weeks back when Paramedics came and treated her at home. Sadly she's been unresponsive since Saturday and palliative care was offered as from yesterday, with MILs sever Alzheimer's and the unknown effects of the brain bleed this seems the kindest course of action. Today she is back on a glucose and saline drip, still unresponsive but much stronger. Consultant says she will not be put on palliative care until they assess her on Thursday. This is where it gets difficult and worrying, we want the best outcome for MIL and understand the consultants Duty of Care but in our minds rightly or wrongly questions are formed.
A. Would it be kinder for an old lady already living a confused and often unhappy life, who if she recovers will have an unknown mental health and physical state be allowed to go and meet he maker with dignity and peacefulness.
Or
B. Should all the medical help available be given to bring her back to responsiveness which will undoubtably leave her in a much worse mental state and the need for moving into a nursing home out of the comfort of her own bungalow where she lived before hospitalisation?
As a society we are still not very good with this end of life stuff and many families go through this turmoil day after day, no easy answers.