2 posts tagged with "food"

I had this amazing opportunity with my company to stay in France for 4 months end of 2018. The year in general has been rough, But this opportunity at the year end gave me a great chance to travel around Italy as I was staying in south of France bordering Italy and it was in an hours reach. You hop in to TER sleep for a hour and before you realize you are in Italy travelling along the beautiful Cote’d’Azur. I had the opportunity to visit Milan, Florence, Piacenza, Rome and Pisa. It wouldn’t make justice me describing the landscape in words since I am no author, I will leave it for you to Google it.

Florence had an amazing food scene. To me the most important was to try out a good pizza and gelato and yes i did find the right spot. If you are the person who doesn’t like random stuff thrown in your pizza and you prefer it simple and classic Gusta’s Pizza is your place. Located across River Arno just opposite Piazza Pitti where you can wander around the beautiful street paintings is a small shop selling just few varieties (If my memory serves right, Around 7) types of pizza. I had the Gusta’s pizza and justice was right served at my table.

Once you finish relishing the pizza your ordered, Take a small stroll around River Arno to let your pizza settle. Give room for the cheese to melt it and absorb and become part of you while you enjoy the beautiful view of the roof Palazzo Vecchio from other side of the river. Just a block ahead is the spot you need to go in to get your amazing Gelato experience. Walk in to Gelateria La Carria and not anything else around the block (They are all really expensive) except La Carria. Wait for the hostess to greet you and play around the flavours to create your desired Gelato.

To me food in Italy is the best I have had around in my experience so far travelling. I wont take India in to consideration as those are completely different types of food. A general rule of thumb, never wander in to any place that is touristy just walk the extra mile to find the hidden gem and you wouldn’t be disappointed. This was how i discovered an amazing pub by the name Angies Pub (BTW Angie is a guy). The ambience was cozy and the people were extremely friendly and the mood was lit. Have a sip of Italian beer and smile your way down the streets

What happens when you were told that you have a terminal disease in your liver and you are counting your days. This happened just a few days back to my dad who was living a healthy life. Part of the reason why we din’t see this coming or even couldn’t imagine him being pushed in to this state is because you don’t see major symptoms. They just bham you right in your life and cause panic and utter confusion around all the loved ones.

Things unfolded very quickly when my dad had some pain in the stomach and was taken to a nearby doctor who loaded him with medicines and suggested if you get pain in the future visit me. It wasn’t a satisfactory answer for my mom who wanted a cure for her husbands pain rather than a temporary relief. She furthered it with another consultation with one of the specialist in town and that day marked the turn down of events in my dads health. He was diagnosed with HCC and the doctor suggested to go ahead with TACE procedure. But later the next day after another round of scans he and a team of doctors suggested TACE is not possible and only TARE could be done at this moment and it should be noted that all these are palliative treatment options. He was prescribed to be on Sorafenib as that’s the only other medication if the former was not performed. I was midway to my hometown to realize and understand what my family has been drawn in to and support them.

What i witnessed at first sight was how health and medicine has turned in to a multi billion dollar industry in India. This was my first thought that ran in my mind when i visited the hospital to discharge my dad. Fortunately i had my family insured as the government does not provide any support to a common man. But my insurance was a minimal cover and it could hardly cover my dads expense. My sister was the strongest in the house in terms of getting things done. She fought our way to get my dad discharged before we could commit in to any treatments. Based on the reports there was no biopsy done to assert that it is cancer, what he had for sure was advanced cirrhosis. Either way both are terminal.

The following days we visited multiple doctors and talked with Radiologists, friends and relatives. Everyone turned sympathy towards us and suggested their own doctors on this line which made us to believe there is at least something that could be done to his condition. But reality had a different answer, opinions from multiple doctors were the same. Do radiation or either leave it at its state with the current medication. As a son i was confused as to what to decide Should I experiment him with medicines and treatments that can prolong his life with pain? We decided with a belief in God lets continue the current medication and change his eating habits and stop him from his work, which was more physical.

Ever since then, every day is a milestone for us. Making my dad stay home was difficult as he has never done it in his life. We are doing our best to provided him with proper nutrition. The following are something to note and rush to a medic to prevent a terminal liver disease. Out of all he is a diabetic and as we know it is a slow killer.

Weight Loss (Gradually over the months) Watch your sugar level in your body (If you are diabetic) Gradual loss of apetite Felling of contentedness with less food. Ways to over come it and safeguard your liver. Watch your food intake

Reduced salt usage No fat food (Oil less food) Split your meals across the day. Keep your mind healthy and positive and leave negative thoughts at bay. My dad always believed that a sound mind in a sound body and i too strongly believe the same in keeping his mind strong thereby enriching his body to fight the terminal evil that is with in him.