Hospital food is definitely a problem...
I don't remember anything about the food at Mass General. I do know that my mom kept me supplied with shakes from the ice cream shop in the hospital - so apparently I didn't find the food acceptable. Not too much of a surprise, right?
The problem continued at Spaulding Rehab Hospital, and if anything the problem was even more severe. At Mass General there was a place to buy decent food. At Spaulding, the only public cafeteria was run by the same folks who ran the in-house food service. First I guess I'd better tell you that my normal diet tends to vegetarian and fish - so yes, I guess you could say I'm a bit fussy. I was supposed to be on a normal diet with no special foods. It was obvious from the first meal at Spaulding - a dinner - that the food was absolutely inedible. Mom went to try to get me something from the cafeteria to help tide me over until the next morning, and then she made some emergency phone calls to friends of mine who went shopping for food I could keep in the room and in the refrigerator in the kitchen on the floor. My friends brought food early the next day, including cereal, peanut butter, bread, veggies, cheese, and prepared foods from a whole foods market. Many thanks to Barb and Steve and Pam for bringing food to help me to survive that week without losing a ton of weight (not something that is advisable for me!). And Steve also told us about a takeout service in Boston with a central number and access to many restaurants, which helped with allowing us to select different (and interesting) dinners. The food problem was solved, and my mom & I could now eat together so she didn't need to get food once she got back to the hotel at night.
If you're in Boston and looking for food, the takeout service that we used was DiningIn.com. The service delivers food from lots of good restaurants for a very reasonable delivery fee. It certainly was a good solution to the food problem I had while at Spaulding Rehab - but it would also be a good service for those of you who are visiting Boston and don't feel like cooking!
