Menu

One of the only things that I truly found to be brilliant about the hospital in Philadelphia (by the way...none of The Boy's treatments are taking place there. He had one surgery there which required WAY too many visits, but we don't have to go back anymore) is the food service. For the patients, that is. All that had to be done was you pick up your hospital phone and dial 4-FOOD and about 45 minutes later you get food. If your child has dietary restrictions, the system keeps that in there too...so the child who is supposed to be on clears can't order himself a bologna sandwich. One of the drawbacks is that they have restrictions on the menu for little kids, like The Boy, but they are not written in. I tried to order him an omelette, because he eats them frequently, but they don't make them for little kids; he got scrambled eggs and cheese instead. As I sit here enjoying breakfast-for-dinner with The Boy because I just didn't feel like making anything else, I am also remembering that from this menu, using this system, breakfast could be ordered at any time of the day.

Overall, though, this menu system is useful, because if you have a child who is sick or in recovery and the only thing that they really want to eat is pancakes, your child can have pancakes all day.

At the hospital where The Boy is being treated, meals are served at a certain time and while you can order at additional times, there's no guarantee that it will arrive when you want it. A menu needs to be filled out in advance. On the breakfast tray, you make selections for that night's dinner, the next day's breakfast, and the next day's lunch. I have no idea what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow; how can I be expected to know what The Boy is having? Admittedly, even with his occasional stomach issues, he isn't a picky eater and will usually eat what is in front of him, especially if he is hungry enough.