You'd think a hospital would know better...

[MrsKey]

On Thursday my father had quadruple by-pass surgery. Thankfully he came through the surgery well and is doing quite well (all things considered).

I went to visit him yesterday after he was moved from CICU to a regular private room.

While I was there they brought him lunch.

In addition to being a cardiac patient my father is also diabetic.

So here's the menu:

"All American Hamburger" on a white bun.

"Oven Roasted Potatoes" that looked more like fried potatoes - which probably were fried, then frozen then "oven roasted".

Snap peas with margarine on them.

Apricot halves in "light syrup"

Iced Tea

The condiments were "light" mayo, mustard, ketchup, pepper and salt.

Hello?!?!?!?!?!?! Hamburgers? White bread? Fried potatoes? Margarine?

This man is diabetic and had severe enough coronary artery disease to warrant a quadruple by-pass and this is what the hospital is feeding him?

I could just scream!

How stupid is this?

[Erin Pavlina]

Same thing happened to my mom when she had her triple bypass.

She was ordering lunch off a Marriott hotel menu and there were no restrictions for her condition. She ordered a tuna sandwich slathered with mayo, french fries, and for dessert she had an egg cream custard thingie. Un-be-lievable.

For breakfast it was scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast. Lordy.

I complained a lot to the staff and they were sympathetic but didn't do anything differently. I started bringing my mom healthy food to eat every day. She liked my food so much that she said I was her favorite visitor and she looked forward to my visits each day.

It's really amazing isn't it? How hospitals can pass this stuff off as healthy.

[MrsKey]

Right now I'm reading Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease: The Only System Scientifically Proven to Reverse Heart Disease Without Drugs or Surgery.

He talks about a study done where the fed lab rats the standard diet fed to cardiac patients while they were in the hospital and every single rat developed coronary artery disease.

This was more than 25 years ago.

Doesn't appear that much has changed.

Right now I'm focusing my energies on the long run - cleaning out my parents' pantry and frige and stocking them up with whole foods and vegan cookbooks!

[Christa]

I've read Dr. Ornish's work, as well. One comment of his that I found funny was that traditional doctors often comment that his approach is too radical & patients won't want to follow such a 'restrictive' diet. He commented something along the lines of how it is funny that his approach is seen as radical, yet cracking open someone's chest & performing open heart surgery is seen as less radical.

[MrsKey]

Originally posted by Christa
I've read Dr. Ornish's work, as well. One comment of his that I found funny was that traditional doctors often comment that his approach is too radical & patients won't want to follow such a 'restrictive' diet. He commented something along the lines of how it is funny that his approach is seen as radical, yet cracking open someone's chest & performing open heart surgery is seen as less radical.

It is ironic, isn't it?

After my dad's cardiac catheterization but before his by-pass surgery I told my dad about Dr. Ornish's book and he said, "Oh. Well. I don't know if I want to give up my frozen yogurt and my oatmeal bars."

D'oh!

However, after his surgery he seems to be signing a different tune.

[annie7]

It sounds like the hospitals are looking for a little repeat business for some job security.

[PikkuMyy]

The last time I was in the hospital was for appendicitis when I was 13. I was a vegetarian and allergic to milk and eggs. Every meal they brought me had either meat or milk or eggs. Despite my telling them after each meal. I remember one lunch which was a hot dog, tuna sandwich, potato chips, and a grape "drink" - not even juice. I ate the potato chips. A great way to get someone healthy and out of the hospital , right ?

Plus, my parents weren't in the hospital with me all the time. What if I had eaten the foods I was allergic to? THe hospital could have been sued, big time!

The last time I was in the emergency room, I had had an episode of respiratory infection/asthma that wasn't going away despite regular nebulizer treatments. I went into the ER around 3 pm and was there until the next morning. If it wasn't for my caring ex boyfriend, I wouldn't have eaten anything the entire time except for a banana they had extra in the nurse's lounge. Luckily for me, he called my house and my roommate told him that I had gone to the hospital. He got on the subway and came over, bringing me this wonderful vegan dinner from a nearby Japanese restaurant. Even if the hospital had had any food for me, I know it wouldn't have been vegan.

-Emily

[annie7]

Originally posted by annie7
It sounds like the hospitals are looking for a little repeat business for some job security.

Just think it bears repeating.

[vegma]

MrsKey, I'm glad your dad is recovering and re-considering a healthier diet!

Have you read the Lyon Heart Study (1996)? I've only read "about" it (in Becoming Vegan, p. 57). In this study, 302 post-heart attack patients followed a modified Mediterranean-style diet and 303 patients followed the American Heart Association Step 1-type diet. By the end of two years, the Med-style diet folks had a 76% lower risk of dying of heart attack or stroke. I don't see this in the book, but when I heard Brenda Davis speak (Feb 2004), she said the study was stopped after two years in fairness to the people on the American Heart Association diet!!

BTW, I believe the Ornish diet was super low-fat while the modified Mediterranean diet included a fair amount of "healthy fat". Both beat the socks off the AHA!!! If I had a choice between following a "radical" diet (um, that's what most people call my current diet!) or suffering from/dying of heart disease, I'd pick the dietary changes!!!

[xmysticprincessx]

you know, it could be worse. the hospital could have been ordering in from mcdonalds: supersized big mac super value meal...
mrs. key, how old are your parents? my maternal grandparents are 80 and 85, and both have had bypass surgery. (gotta love the polish diet of frying everything ) after my grandma got out of the hospital, my mom started coming over almost every day to bring over dinner for the 2 of them. (my grandma takes care of my grandpa like he's a little kid. not because he's in bad shape and falling apart; he is just absent minded.) my mom would also make stuff to freeze so that all grandma has to do is heat it up in the mircrowave. how about doing something like that for your parents? then you know they will be eating healthy and they won't be going back to their old eating habits. my grandma also likes salt on EVERYTHING, so my uncle bought her a bunch of different "molly mcbutter" seasonings to use instead. something like that might help make that "radical" vegan food seem more appealing.

[sarahrose]

I got lucky when I was in the hospital having my daughter. They at least had a garden burger on the menu. I was at Stanford though, and they had alot of vegan foods in the cafeteria, so if something wasn't on my menu, I just sent a family member down there for me. They actually had a chef working there that also works at some fancy restaurant.

[alexis]

Hmmm, I don't quite get hospital food either. When my goddaughter had a surgery a couple of years back, all she got was this icky porridge thing with some really messy looking veggies and meat mixture and a banana. And she starved for about two days until we realized that she was throwing up and refusing to eat because the food was terrible, not because she was 'recovering from the operation' as the nurse tried to convince us. I just wonder what happened to the people who couldn't eat what they served in the hospital. Did they just starve? There wasn't even a vegetarian option on the menu, forget a vegan one. I'll have to agree on the 'securing business' bit. My god.

[veggiemomma]

I'm glad your dad is doing well

It sounds like the hospitals are looking for a little repeat business for some job security

thats the first thing that popped into my head

When I was in the hospital for a wk birth I gave birth, I couldn't believe the meal they first sent to me. Milk, coffee, and some meat dish, blah and oh yeah soda and a cookie for desert. Well I had to tell them I was a vegetarian so they did have a seperate menu for that, not much for a choice but not bad. The nurse had to call it in a few times and said no milk and what did they bring me- milk . I did want some cereal and wanted soy and they didn't have it so one of the cooks went out and bought me enough soy milk for my stay. I thought that was very sweet of her. Of course she gave me soy milk at each meal even though I only drink it w/cereal.

[Erin Pavlina]

Read my hospital birth article on how I tried to get something vegan to eat here:

Read Article

[annie7]

Geez, Erin...what a horrible experience!!