While we were camped out at the hospital in Philadelphia, our biggest expense was meals. I have to say that the CHOP cafeteria was reasonably priced. And I also have to say that they had honest-to-goodness good food. You can get made-to-order omelettes. Fresh Chinese. There's a section that does ethnic food - Lebanese one day, Indian another. There's a deli, a salad bar, a burger section and even a sushi bar. But it adds up quickly. I can't WAIT to see my bank statement, full of purchases from $3 - $20.
This could have been much worse. You see, my sister-in-law has been sharing Babygirl's story with her friends, family and colleagues. And the story apparently touched a lot of hearts. So.....
The day we got out of the PICU, she turned up with an entire Super Bowl Party (transported from the parking lot entrance to our room via wheelchair! LOL). The centerpiece of this was an absolutely enormous pan of homemade lasagna given to her by a friend. This was a bigger blessing than simple food. It allowed hubby and I to stay with Babygirl during a rough evening without having to decide who would go eat when. It saved us at least $20 in meal costs. It allowed us to celebrate the Super Bowl with family, as we would have at home. And I'm pretty sure the huge pan of leftovers improved our bonding with the hospital staff!
After we were discharged, we opted to stay at my SIL's house, since it is about 160 miles closer to the hospital than ours. One of her friends (okay, technically not a stranger since we already actually know her!) handed her $100 to offset grocery and gas costs. That same friend brought us a delightful homemade vegan dinner (I LOVE lentil soup, and this was different than my usual recipe).
We had dinner provided for us for six days, and we had to turn down some. Each meal was thoughtfully and lovingly prepared, and most were from people I will likely never meet. It allowed us to focus on Babygirl's healing and not meal preparation. It makes me truly teary-eyed to think about it.
This doesn't include a neighbor who decided that she would bring dinner once a week while Babygirl was on dialysis. EVERY week. Y'know, I really LIKE turkey meatloaf!
Aside from the cast of thousands that is my own household, feeding people has never been my ministry. In the rare times in my life when I've needed a hand it's been close friends and church members who have brought a meal, and I've done the same once in a blue moon. I need to rethink this, perhaps. I never really understood how much all of this means.
When things calm down a bit and Babygirl is back in school, I'm going to see how I can pay all this forward.
DeeDee
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