I’m so impressed by the food services for 11 Long, the hematology and oncology unit. We can order any time 7am – 8pm from twelve pages of menus, with options including pumpkin pancakes, vegetarian juk, Thai curries, pizzas, sandwiches, salads, fresh fruit, cookies, Häagen Dazs ice cream, and vegan milkshakes. Even so, I miss food from the outside world, which we were told is strictly prohibited for leukemia patients.

Imagine my thrill upon learning that the prohibition doesn’t apply while my neutrophil count is over 0.5. (Neutrophil is the infection-fighting contingent of white blood cells.)  I was under that upon admission, but now I’m magically at 2.4. Joy! So when Alex visited for lunch today, he brought us an amazing meal that was literally given to us by the owner of the Wooly Pig Cafe, our favorite local sandwich shop (thank you, Lieng!). We had the always delicious Wooly Pig sandwiches (braised pork belly with arugula), an amazing little chicken rice soup with ginger and cilantro, cheddar horseradish chips, and honey ginger iced tea. So yummy, and a much needed pick-me-up on a day when I was beginning to sense a little nausea. An hour later, I’m still feeling good!