White

It’s not uncommon to associate the color white with hospitals.  White hallways, white nurses’ uniforms, white linens, white food…

Huh?

What’s the deal with Italians and eating in bianco (‘in white’) when they are under the weather? 

I know some artificial food colorings can be carcinogenic, and some foods can be hard on a person’s delicate digestion (broccoli, for example) but surely there are foods found in nature which are both colorful and good for you.  Carrots, for crying out loud.  Bright orange and absolutely harmless. 

Is it any wonder Lia looks so glum?  We were at the hospital 3 days and two nights, and every single meal (for both of us, as I was provided with an equally appetizing trayful of splendor) was as monochromatic as the one pictured above. 

And the cincher?  Neither one of us was ill!  She was there for tests, and I was merely there to keep her company.

Tonight for dinner I’m going to make something Mexican, or possibly Chinese.  Doesn’t matter as long as it’s really flavorful, and most importantly…COLORFUL.

Ommmm….

This is one good kid, let me tell you. 

The EEG technician told Lia to sit still with her eyes closed, and that’s precisely what she did.  She looks like she’s sleeping, but it’s actually just a Zen state of meditation. 

I was very proud of her, of course, but then she outdid herslf by staying completely immobile during the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) as well.  That was the one that had me worried, not so much for the potential outcome, but because they had planned to sedate her.  In the end, they decided to try it without sedation, and Lia performed like a little champ. 

The results of both exams show that she does not have epilepsy (not that we feared she did) and no brain damage despite the complications surrounding her premature birth.  I’m honestly not sure what comes next, or what these results will mean to the doctors trying to determine why a bright, deaf seven year old who has had speech therapy since she was 6 months old, still speaks so little. 

“Are you happy with the results?” I asked the neurologist.

“Yes, I am,” he said, “but I don’t know whether or not Lia’s other doctors will be.  I’m happy because there’s nothing there that needs the sort of help I can offer, but that just means the other doctors still have a lot of work to do to figure out what’s wrong.”

Hear that, doctors?  Get to it!