Too Much Time on Our Hands

Oh! My! Goodness! Real food for g-tubes in a ready-to-eat package? My mind started reeling as soon as my daughter Celia, a nurse who works full-time at a traumatic brain injury rehabilitation facility, and part-time at a pediatric health care agency, told me the news.

Since I’m more than a little skeptical about health information that sounds too good to be true, it took me a few weeks to research these “Real Food Blends” people. Just what were they up to? What was their angle? What is in it for them? What, exactly, is in these g-tube meal pouches? I don’t trust my Kyra’s health to just anyone. Finally, after determining that these packaged g-tube meals were indeed (almost) as nutritious as the meals I‘ve been cooking and blending and straining for Kyra for over 15 years, I decided to try them.

Real Food Blends currently has 5 meal varieties available, so we ordered a box of each, and gave it a try. When the meals arrived, I zipped off the top of a pouch, mixed in a couple ounces of warm water, and Kyra's lunch was ready. To my astonishment, Kyra tolerated the meal extremely well. She has now eaten a packaged meal a couple of times a day for a few days, and so far they seem to agree with her digestive system, and have not sparked any seizures. This is the girl that can’t tolerate ANY canned g-tube formula AT ALL.

While it’s hard for me to relinquish any sort of control over Kyra’s health and well-being, these folks just might be on to something. I get giddy just thinking about the possibilities ahead:  We could take a vacation, packing Real Food Blends pouches, and leaving the cooler filled with frozen “Kyra Meals” far behind. We could go on a spontaneous shopping spree, grabbing a meal pouch for Kyra, and not worry about getting back home in time to blend and strain her lunch. We could relax when the electricity goes out at our acreage, knowing that Kyra’s meals won’t spoil, and I don’t need the stove or blender to keep her well-fed. We could survive hospital visits more easily, bringing in “certified” g-tube meals for Kyra’s nutrition, instead of explaining again (and again, and again) that she doesn’t tolerate g-tube formula, and we need access to a blender ASAP, and that her nutritional needs are, indeed, being met.

Most of all, I’ve been dreaming about what we will do with all of our extra time. What will we do with the time I’ve been spending cooking and weighing and blending and straining and measuring Kyra’s meals for the past 15 years or so? While I don’t regret any minute I’ve spent keeping Kyra healthy, or the knowledge I’ve gained about food and nutrition, I can’t help looking forward to a having dozen or so extra hours in my week.  Imagine what Kyra and I can accomplish with that extra time on our hands. Oh! The possibilities!

The Real Food Blends people have some great resources to help you transition to real g-tube food, and figure out whether your insurance will pay for enteral nutrition. (Unfortunately, our insurance company told us it's not covered; but I'm not taking their word for it.) Visit their website at www.realfoodblends.com or their facebook page, www.facebook.com/realfoodblends to see for yourself, and dream up some possibilities of your own.

Peace,

Sara