From NFO to NYE

Anyone know what "NFO" means? I'll fill you in: No Food Order. That's hospital lingo for "don't give the patient anything, even water." And those were the instructions given initially during my last stay at Piedmont (Christmas Eve and most of Christmas Day - fun!). 

Y'all. Shut the front door!

So I won't repeat (again) about past eating issues, and will say that I have been trying to both eat, and eat well, in recent weeks and months, especially since I left the restaurant world (schedule was too unpredictable to make "regular" eating feasible very consistently, and it also lent itself to getting so hungry I'd grab what I could and then not be pleased with my choices) and even more so since my first hospital stay in early December (which had been one of the reasons I quit restaurant work). I don't always get three meals in a day, or sometimes two and a snack or. . . but it's better and more consistent. So when I went to visit a dear friend on Christmas Eve, who'd just had her new baby the previous day, little did I expect to end up hospitalized - with an NFO!

I had been in a hurry to get out of the house and so hadn't eaten breakfast. My plan was to visit with A just a little - didn't want to swarm the new mommy too much as she warned me it was a bit of a circus in her room - then go get an early lunch and do some final Christmas shopping. Thank heavens I was walking into the lobby at Piedmont when I lost all motor control and nearly crashed. Fast forward through the ER, a lot of tests, and getting into my own room (I'll spare you details of what happened and all that), I finally, hours after I'd arrived, sat in my hospital bed and saw that acronym on the white board in front of me: basically, this woman who hasn't eaten since Mon night and is going on 24 hours without food or even water is not to be given anything. At all.

Finally, I talked them into some version of a liquid diet - even a cup of chicken broth and some water were welcome around 11pm that night - and once, finally, a few things were cleared up, I got on no restrictions orders. 

I was grateful to be able to order from the "Christmas Menu" (who wanted broth again for breakfast? I was still waiting on real food around noon on Christmas Day) and I picked this:

Lunch a la Piedmont Hospital: not the best food ever but very welcome! Merry Christmas!

Was the steak the best I've ever had? No way. The green beans were actually pretty yummy and the bites of red velvet cake I had weren't bad either. Regardless, while not what I usually eat, it was very welcome.

When I got home from the hospital, I slowly returned to eating and as healthfully as possible. I did pretty well.

By the week leading up to New Year's, I was nearly back on my feet with minimal internal debate over food. By NYE and my second date with a new boy, I was up to the good stuff again, such as:

Salmon and latkes, with arugula and the usual sour cream and apple sauce accompaniments, at The General Muir (go, go if you have not been!). His suggestion of a spot (impressive for a boy who lives in Montgomery!) - delicious and an adventurous choice for me!

That meal made me feel even more on the road to recovery than getting good sleep and lots of water!

Food is such a big part of our lives - in 2014, I plan to never be or need to be set on any sort of NFO, and celebrate lots of good meals, good health, and time with good people.

Here's to love and food in the new year!

Yours,
Love Bites,
Carrie Neal