Bad experiences while eating something you've always liked.

[larry_stewart]

Another situation I had, wasn't about a specific food, but a restaurant.

I ordered a vegetarian dish from a Chinese restaurant, probably a vegetable stir fry or veggie chow mien. It was take out, so we didn't eat it until we got home. Initially it was great until I felt something hard with my fork. I look down and fish out a chicken bone. Being vegetarian, needless to say, I wasn't thrilled, but S#$t happens. I remove the bone and continue to eat, until I find another bone, then another.... At this point I realized what was going on. This place also serves chicken wings, and Im guessing someone in the back was eating chicken wings on their break, and placing the already chewed off bones in a bowl or something. Not checking carefully, they used the same bowl when loading up my veggies for the stir fry.

So bad enough the chicken wing bones were in there, but now knowing that someone was chewing on them and sucking off the meat made me absolutely disgusted.

I have since eaten Chinese food again ( as it is my favorite), but i never ever ever returned to that restaurant again , which has since gone out of business ( about 6 months after the incident).

 

[letscook]

Mine is raspberry drinks. When I was little my neighbor used to make raspberry syrup for us kids to drink, it common thing to do but he also made raspberry liqueurs. He died while re labeling the bottles since the labels had fallen off. His dear wife was deadly allergic to raspberries , keep this in mind. We kids of the neighborhood picked her , her favorite flowers and berries to cheer her up as kids do age 3- 7 . She in return gave us saft ( raspberry syrup + water) to drink and rolls to eat. We got drunk, because it was liqueur.
No one blamed her, but I do remember laying in the potato patch laughing at potatoes.
Since then my brain says anything tasting raspberry and is drinkable gives you a head ache and I cant drink it.

That must of been hilarious seeing drunk kids in a potato patch

 

[rodentraiser]

Or aspirate the food and get pneumonia.

I'm wondering whether medical procedures are really that different in different parts of the country, or if you were in a particularly bad hospital. I mean, SO many people dropped the ball there and really endangered you - the nurse, the anesthesiologist and at least one other team member.

I've had seven surgeries since 2002, in three different hospitals, and they all follow the same pre-operative routine. It's not the responsibility of a sick patient to make sure hospital staff follow correct procedures.

The person who offered me the food didn't know I was going in for surgery. I knew I was and totally didn't think about it. I'm not even sure the person passing the breakfast dishes around was a nurse. I was just there and free food? Heck, yeah!

The hospital was Harborview and they have a reputation for being one of the top hospitals in the US for aneurysms. My doctor was chief of neurosurgery. I think they took very good care of me. I laugh about how fast I recovered (I was out in a week), but I was seriously in a very dangerous situation. After I was home and recovering, my best friend, who was biting her nails after looking up the kind of aneurysm I had (basilar tip aneurysm), told me that only a very small percentage of people have that type of aneurysm and that a large number of those people ended up having some impairment from it.

I was very lucky. Doubly so when you consider I had the original headache just a couple days prior and had ignored it until it went away, and only acted when it came back. In my defense, I've had headaches all my life and while they say a headache from an aneurysm is the worst headache you'll ever have, I've had far worse so it wasn't exactly something new for me. And I'd seen over 40 doctors for headaches by that time - all of them saying nothing was wrong.

 

[Dawgluver]

Never have been a fan of oysters. Went out to eat with coworkers one night and got a fried seafood platter. Asked for more scallops in place of the oysters that were supposed to be there. When I was eating, one of the bites of seafood seemed too squishy to be a scallop, so I figured it was a random oyster. Wrong. Sick overnight, and still sick when I went to work. So much so, in fact, that the head bossy-boss took pity on me and sent me home. Still eat scallops, still won't eat oysters.







No wonder you prefer white meat, and not the part with the ookies!

I was in Nawleans, for a conference, and shared a plate of "raws" (oysters) with a colleague. They were absolutely delicious. Apparently, I got a bad one, and had to leave the party early. I got lost in the French Quarter trying to find our hotel. Got directions from a cop and a "working girl". Not a fun experience, but thankfully I got back in time.

CG, yes indeedy, I think that experience with ookies has colored my relationship with dark meat chicken ever since I was 6.

 

[GotGarlic]

The person who offered me the food didn't know I was going in for surgery. I knew I was and totally didn't think about it. I'm not even sure the person passing the breakfast dishes around was a nurse. I was just there and free food? Heck, yeah!

That's exactly why there should be a sign on the door identifying you as someone who should not have anything by mouth - to prevent these kinds of mistakes from happening. Patients are not supposed to have to remember to tell the staff what they can and can't have.

In the hospitals where I've had surgery, the nurses, nurses' aides *and* hospitality staff are trained not to give someone food unless it's been specifically ordered by the doctor and is noted in the chart. I've asked for food or water from different people before and they won't give it to me without checking with the nurse first, so she can check the chart and see what the doctor ordered. It's nuts to me that someone would just blindly give a patient food.

In addition to the issue with eating before surgery, hospital patients are often on special diets, so staff should not be giving just anything to a patient without knowing their history. It can be dangerous.

Did the anesthesiologist or any other surgical team member ask you whether you had eaten anything that day? Because I'm not kidding when I say three separate people asked me the same questions before each surgery - the nurse anesthetist, the anesthesiologist and a surgical nurse.

 

[Caslon]

P.S. A rep from Frito Lay (Pepsi.co) contacted me via email asking for the date code, where I bought them, etc. The thing is...The only regular potato chips sold in supermarkets around here are Lay's. Who knows if they'll do anything about bags of Lay's potato chips that look normal, but are hard and crunch like a bad batch of kettle chips. Almost like biting into thin, brittle plastic. Hey! It ruined more than a few sandwich meals for me over the past couple of months. Multiple bags.

 

[blissful]

P.S. A rep from Frito Lay (Pepsi.co) contacted me via email asking for the date code, where I bought them, etc. The thing is...The only regular potato chips sold in supermarkets around here are Lay's. Who knows if they'll do anything about bags of Lay's potato chips that look normal, but are hard and crunch like a bad batch of kettle chips. Almost like biting into thin, brittle plastic. Hey! It ruined more than a few sandwich meals for me over the past couple of months. Multiple bags.

I love those Lay's classic chips. I only get them once or twice a year. I would be annoyed to have bad chips in them. Maybe someone mismanaged the frying oil one day. You might get some coupons for some free chips! Good luck.

 

[roadfix]

You might get some coupons for some free chips!

I think that's pretty much expected. That's how they roll...

 

[rodentraiser]

Did the anesthesiologist or any other surgical team member ask you whether you had eaten anything that day? Because I'm not kidding when I say three separate people asked me the same questions before each surgery - the nurse anesthetist, the anesthesiologist and a surgical nurse.

They might have, but I really don't remember. Thing is, this was an emergency surgery, not a scheduled one. Even if I had just eaten a huge Christmas dinner, they would have had to put me under and do the surgery right then and there. As it was, they did give me the choice of being put under before or after I went into the operating room. I chickened out and chose before, so I'm not really sure I even saw the anesthesiologist.

I still think they did a great job. I mean, I'm here and no one can argue with that. Well, maybe my brother can - he doesn't like me.

 

[dragnlaw]

I purchase Hellman's Olive Oil Mayonnaise Type Dressing. I quite like it.

About a year and a half ago, or even 2 years ago, while opening a new jar, the cap is attached to a second ring which breaks little plastic pips upon opening. I presume for security/freshness reasons. These 'pips' remain and ripped the skin on my thumb, no blood, not serious. But thinking of how aging people's skin is much more... papery, so to speak, I was thinking that perhaps they could come up with a better system.

Then later the same week, I used my rubber spatula to scoop out an amount of the dressing. The inside edge of the top of the jar also scooped out a 1/4 inch gouge from the side of my spatula, at the same time it also gave me a paper cut approx 3/4" long across the back of my thumb. This is not right.

I emailed them (with pictures) saying that "perhaps" they might want to consider redesigning their packaging so as not to injure the young nor the aged.

I did hear from them rather quickly. Most important question they had for me, ""was I OK, did I need to see a Dr."" duh.... no, I was not going to sue them, I just wanted them to know that the packaging was a potential danger to some! Then it went on to... we will send you a check for the spatula and a jar of dressing. I told them I didn't want a check... I wanted them to fix their packaging!

In the end, I got a check for less than $20. for what ever I finally told them my spatula and dressing were worth.... (in hind sight, I should have torn it up and sent it back - but I thought I had done them a service!)

and now a couple of years later the jars have still NOT changed.
sorry - been in the packaging world - been in customer service - this is not how you treat your customers.

 

[GotGarlic]

They might have, but I really don't remember. Thing is, this was an emergency surgery, not a scheduled one. Even if I had just eaten a huge Christmas dinner, they would have had to put me under and do the surgery right then and there.

A couple years ago I again ended up in the ER, this time with an aneurysm. Before surgery the next morning, one of the nurses offered to let me eat the last breakfast they had left - black bean chili.

I'm confused. So did you spend the night in the hospital before the surgery, or was it an emergency surgery done as soon as you were diagnosed?

 

[CakePoet]

I remember I dont eat blue and green mold cheese because I stopped breathing ones, they say I am not allergic to it, it was the antibiotics I also had. But they havent to prove that either. So I dont.

 

[dragnlaw]

I'm confused. So did you spend the night in the hospital before the surgery, or was it an emergency surgery done as soon as you were diagnosed?

I believe Rodent is talking about two different visits.

 

[GotGarlic]

I believe Rodent is talking about two different visits.

I don't think so. I've only been asking about the aneurysm surgery.

 

[dragnlaw]

Hmmm, re-read all of the posts, thinking you are right, but two different aneurysms?

COM'ON RODENT!!! Clear the air and set us straight!

 

[rodentraiser]

No, it was one aneurysm, two hospitals. I went in to the ER here where I live about oh, 1 or 2 in the morning. I waited a couple hours in the ER and when they finally saw me, they did a CAT scan or something and maybe an MRI too. All that took an hour or two. Then they gave me a spinal tap and saw blood. At that point I was transferred over to Harborview via ambulance and that's about an hour long trip, plus traffic. I was there for about an hour (I had the procedure explained to me, papers to sign, etc) and then (after I ate) I was brought in for surgery.

I don't remember exactly when I went in, but I think it was around 6 or 7am. I have no idea when I came out. It was late evening when I was allowed to sit up and that's when I finally got my time sense back.

So I went into the ER in the wee early morning hours and it was about 6 hours later before I was actually in surgery. I imagine if I hadn't been put in the waiting room and if the original hospital had the facilities to do the surgery, I would have gotten into surgery much sooner.

Yeah, a lot of time wasted, but had I not been able to walk or talk, an ambulance would have brought me to the first hospital and maybe Life Flight would have brought me to Harborview. I say maybe because we had some pretty bad weather and I have no idea how bad the weather has to be before it affects the choppers. The helipad was right outside my ICU room and I watched those guys land in some pretty nasty weather. As a pilot's daughter, I have to say I would never consider taking off and flying in the kind of weather we had. Those guys got guts.

It was still considered emergency surgery, though. They would no way have sent me home and scheduled me to come back. And I often wondered if the person at the original ER desk got in trouble for making me wait that long in the waiting room. Because technically, since the aneurysm had ruptured, I was having a stroke, which is what I told her when I went in. I guess I should have been more hysterical about it.

All that was a couple years ago. The appendectomy was back in 1989.

Alrighty then! Now, does anyone want to hear how I drove those poor nurses crazy?

 

[rodentraiser]

Back to the food.

 

[dragnlaw]

Back to the food.

 

[CakePoet]

Dragnlaw: Two people I know went to Spain, ended up on one of these tourist filled town and went and ordered a local dish with rabbit at packed restaurant. Well, friend nr 2 is a veterinarian and when they got these roasted "rabbit", he could clearly see it was cat, just cut to look more rabbit like. That ended that dinner.

 

[Dawgluver]

Dragnlaw: Two people I know went to Spain, ended up on one of these tourist filled town and went and ordered a local dish with rabbit at packed restaurant. Well, friend nr 2 is a veterinarian and when they got these roasted "rabbit", he could clearly see it was cat, just cut to look more rabbit like. That ended that dinner.

Oh good lord. That's disgusting! I'd have a hard time with rabbit, no way cat!