Yesterday I visited my grandmother in the nursing home. It has been sad to watch her decline over the last 8 months. She's gone from being able to carry on an intelligent conversation to talking to herself and not knowing her family. She is completely bedridden and cannot even feed herself.
Her birthday is tomorrow; she will be 84. So my aunt, her son, his wife, their baby daughter, and myself, showed up for a little birthday party.
I am not sure Grandma knew what was going on.
During our festivities, an aid came in with Grandma's lunch. This was late - like 2 p.m. - we thought she'd already eaten, actually, when we all arrived, because it was well past lunch.
The aid settled in to feed Grandma, but prior to that, my cousin's wife witnessed her dumping two packets of salt on Grandma's food, and said something to me about it afterward. Grandma is full of fluid and diabetic, and she didn't need the excess salt. I wish I had been witness to it but I was talking to the baby.
Grandma had complained earlier when I gave her some water that everything tasted salty. No wonder she is tasting salt, if they are dumping salt all over her food.
Common sense would tell you not to salt her food if she's full of fluid and has heart trouble. Or so I would think.
I am on a low sodium diet myself; it is not that difficult to follow. But I have noticed that these nursing homes and hospitals do not value nutrition as part of their health care. It is something they have to do and not part of health management.
They are missing out on the most essential aspect of health care. What you eat can make a big difference in how you feel.
Your grandma and I share a common day, as well as a disdain for salty products.
ReplyDelete