Along with autism comes a lot of food issues. This part of autism was not nearly as well understood when Alex was a toddler as it is today. Many (most?) individuals with autism have a restricted palette of foods that they eat. The issues may revolved around texture, color, smell or other concerns. It has always been difficult for Alex to try new foods. But spaghetti has always been a favorite.
Now spaghetti night has changed a bit. It's part of our new "chemo routine." We pick Alex up from his house on Wednesday, the night before chemo. We have spaghetti for dinner. I know that I can get him to eat well. It's sort of like carb-loading the night before a marathon. I also know that he isn't going to eat much for the two or three days after chemo, so I want to get him off to a good start.
So, we have spaghetti. Last night, spaghetti night was the night of LaVerne's funeral. I guess I was overtired and a bit distracted. I was wondering why the water wouldn't boil when I discovered that I never turned the burner on under the pasta pot. Well, I guess that's a problem. Then I burned two batches of garlic bread under the broiler. John managed to salvage part of the second batch and I gave up at that point. The spaghetti turned out well, though. Alex ate well, and we all crashed in front of reruns of Big Bang Theory.
The morning of chemo is French toast. It's a way to get an egg in Alex for the protein. He eats well in the morning the day of chemo. By lunch time, he may or may not be able to eat. Last time, he didn't eat all day. The time before, he ate lunch while getting his infusion and snacked throughout the day. We'll see what today brings.
John took over breakfast years ago. He doesn't have much of an interest in cooking, but he has become the breakfast king. So dad's French toast is the order of the day. The meals also provide comfort and routine and a bit of normalcy in what is our current life.
It's a nice way to start the day. And every chemo treatment is one step closer to "cured."
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