Reading this article on food “made with love” for the sick really brought back some memories. As a young teenager, my mother had to undergo open heart surgery twice within four years. She has a blood disorder that causes her body to produce too many of the clot-forming platelets. Adding to that complications of diabetes and having a natural aversion to many foods, the road to recovery for her from each surgery was a long one.
While my father had to juggle as many as three jobs to support our large family and pay a host of medical bills, my seven siblings and I shared the responsibility of making her food and assisting her with insulin shots at meal times. I remember that we would prepare a beef broth and crackers as a “go-to” meal when she just wasn’t up to eating.
More than what we cooked for her, however, I know it was always having a loved one at her side that brought her the biggest comfort and helped the most during her recovery period.
In this edition, we have a particular emphasis on breast cancer awareness and the battle that women must undergo when diagnosed with this disease. But it’s my hope that no matter what kind of illness your loved one is faced with, you find comfort in knowing that your devotion and support plays an important role in the fight for his or her survival.
