Tastes Like Heaven

Tonight my 4 year old son Daniel came up to me and asked me for some chips. I said, "Daniel we don't have any chips." He then said, "how about some cookies?" I said, "Daniel we don't have any cookies." Daniel then said, "I want something sweet." Knowing that we were long overdue for a trip to the grocery store I said "Daniel I don't think we have anything sweet." My precious, but insistent son kept on and kept on until I finally said "come with me and I will show you that we don't have anything."

Well this went on for about 10 minutes. We checked the pantry and there wasn't anything there. We checked the cabinets and there wasn't anything there. We even checked his older sister's "secret" candy stash and there wasn't anything there either. Daniel then said, "well, I think I saw something in the freezer." So, to appease him we went and checked in the freezer. After I had moved everything in there around at least two times, he said "look, there it is. I told you." He had found a sad, lonely little grape popsicle that was still in there from last summer.

I gave him the popsicle and told him that it would be yucky because it was old. He didn't seem to mind. In fact, after he had devoured the popsicle the came up to me and said "thank you dada, that was the best popsicle ever."

This simple, sweet appreciation for something that I for sure thought would be gross and inedible made me think back to a patient that I worked with during my very first job as a speech-language pathologist.

He was kind gentleman around 80 years old, and had been in reasonably good health, still living at home and taking care of his wife of over 50 years. That was until he had a massive stroke that made it to where he was no longer able to sit up, see, or eat. This once independent man was now dependent on his wife, and the caregivers of the facility. He was also dependent on a feeding tube for all of his nourishment and hydration. This was because the stroke affected a part of his brain that made it to where he was no longer safe to eat meals, or to sustain himself on an oral diet.

He was determined though. He like my son, had a hankering for something sweet. This was a man that prior to his stroke loved to enjoy a Snickers bar each afternoon. His wife said that it was his "one guilty pleasure." I had the unfortunate role of reminding him that he was not cleared to eat the candy bar because he would be unable to chew it up, or to swallow the hard texture safely.

Again, like my son, this man said "there has to be a way....I need a Snickers." He continued working very diligently on all of the exercises and strategies that I gave him. Finally, as he was getting ready to discharge from the facility I made a deal with him. I told him that I would puree a snickers bar up with some chocolate pudding and let him have "just a taste" since he had been such a good patient.

So the night before he was planned to discharge I upheld my part of the bargain and spent over an hour in my kitchen making some strange concoction consisting of 1 part snickers, 2 part chocolate pudding, and 1/2 part chocolate milk. I stuck it in the fridge and then took it to work with me on the following day. When I arrived to see him the one last time, he asked about the snickers bar. I told him that I made him a special treat and explained the ingredients and texture and how it was my attempt to keep him safe from choking.

I told him we will just have a little taste since he had largely been unable to initiate a swallow for the previous two and a half weeks. The real surprise came after that. The first bite was a little slow, but mainly because you could tell that he was savoring the taste of something that he loved and thought he would never try again. I reminded him to swallow, so he wouldn't get choked and he did just that. In fact, he went on to swallow, and swallow, and swallow. He ate 4 oz of that mixture without coughing, choking, or even needing to clear his throat.

I told him that he was like a miracle patient that day. He smiled and said well, this stuff tastes like Heaven. Sadly, the man went back home with his wife and never recovered. After suffering a subsequent stroke he ended up on hospice and died shortly thereafter. The wife called the facility to thank us for all that we done and said that he kept talking about how good that Snickers bar was all the way to the end.

The lesson that both my son and the memory of this patient have taught me is that we need to enjoy the simple things. The small pleasures that become such a routine part of our day. The things that we quickly consume and then forget about. It doesn't have to be a candy bar or a popsicle. It can be a cup of coffee, the smile of a baby, or a daily scripture. God intends for us to find joy in this life and to celebrate all of the wonderful things that he has provided for us.

Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?