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Post-Hospital Comfort Food #HAWMC

Comfort Food! #HAWMC Day 10
Comfort Food! #HAWMC Day 10

It’s Day 10 of WEGO’s Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge (#HAWMC on Twitter).  Today’s question is:

Comfort Food:  We’re not all 5 star chefs, but we all need to eat! Tell your readers how to make your favorite dish. Does the recipe hold a good memory for you? Is it the act of cooking itself that brings you joy, or the people that come together to eat it? #HAWMC

Answering this question is sad for me because I used to love to cook.  I used to cook six-course dinners over the holidays or friends for fun.  Those were happy memories.  But, as I blogged about in Who Am I? The Chronically ill Person’s Identity Crisis, cooking is one of those hobbies I was forced to give up after getting my neuromuscular autoimmune disease, Myasthenia Gravis (MG).  First, I can’t stand up for a long period of time.  Also, my reflexes are not as great and I don’t want to burn myself.  I rarely have free time so with the time I do have, I choose painting.  The worst thing that can happen with my reflexes is that I drop my brush and ruin the painting.  Whoops!  The blue sky now has blotches of red.  Not great, but not life-threatening either.

What My Favorite Dishes Were 

Before I got sick, my favorite dishes to cook were Fusilli Gorgonzola and Bowtie Pasta with a Russian Vodka sauce.   I actually don’t remember the recipes I used for those dishes; however, I know that I used both gorgonzola and blue cheese for the first dish.

Even though I don’t cook, I still love food and have a few go-to comfort dishes.  I love Italian food and pizza.

Post-Hospital Visit Comfort Food

I try to eat something I love after my neurology appointments.  I hate going to the hospital.  Does anyone enjoy it?  If I do well on my MG physical exam, the doctor lowers my dose of Prednisone by 1 mg.  Prendisone’s worst side effects, for me, have been the constant pain in my fingers and toes for the past seven years.  On the flip side, if I do poorly on the test, the doctor often doubles my dose of Prednisone.  At this rate, I have never reached 0 mg.  So whenever I go, there’s that element of uncertainty.  On my past two appointments, I did very well.  But even, on my worst, appointments, I’ve found some comfort in food.  After my last test, we went to my favorite Italian supermarket.  I had some pizza napoletana, ravioli, and gelato (see pic collage above).  I included a montage of the food.  I ate with my mom, dad, uncle, and aunt–my Tita Baby.  As I blogged about previously, she got diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer the year I got MG.  After surviving the colon cancer, she also got breast cancer.  And beat that too!  Celebrating good test results with her is extra special.

 –Your Stylist, Jessica Gimeno

 

JessicaGimeno

Hi there! I am a patient advocate, writer, and public speaker most well known for my TEDx Talk, “How to Get Stuff Done When You Are Depressed.” As someone who is juggling 5 illnesses: bipolar 2, myasthenia gravis, endometriosis, psoriasis, and asthma, I’m passionate about helping people who navigate life with both chronic physical & emotional pain. If you’re interested in hiring me to speak at your event, check out the CONTACT tab.

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