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"Nurses are wonderful people.  I know; I'm a nurse.  But here's a warning
for your next hospital visit: They run the whole show, and nothing your
doctor says means squat if the nurse is given an option
he/she decides not to exercise."
    I am a nurse and the daughter of a person with celiac sprue. While I
agree that nurses do wield power as suggested above, in the case of the
dietary requirements of celiacs, alot of the decisions spoken about can be
made from a lack of knowledge. When my mother was diagnosed, I looked
in one of my nursing textbooks. Celiac had two paragraphs, while diabetes
had nineteen pages.
    My mother has had two ER visits then admits since diagnosis, and we have
witnessed the staff guessing about what celiac was. One nurse approached
with the 'answer' and was like a little kid in the excitement of getting it
'right'. Another time after endoscopy, a nurse tried to give her saltines.
After an explanation of 'no wheat', she tried graham crackers! Last week,
she had an outpatient carpal tunnel release. It was the first time that they
didn't try to feed her (I had the cooler with
me), and the nurse really listened to the explanations.
    Yes, I realize the percentage of the population with celiac. However,
there are many nurses who have had little to no contact with a celiac.
Before people were diagnosed, I'm sure that there was never any thought of
'does tomato soup have wheat?'. With a relative small exposure, nurses tend
to be uninformed about the aspects. From our experiences (in Rhode Island),
the dietitian tends to know about CS, however the offerings can go from the
sublime to the ridiculous.....rice, never potatoes, at lunch and dinner, to
an offering of a steak, but with the 'special' diet/ late delivery, I had to
cut it on the windowsill, as it was the only thing in the room that wouldn't
move!
    From my personal and professional experience, I would say, if at all
possible, at least have 'back-up' food available.... such as stuff to be
stored in the refrigerator on the unit floor, to having family members bring
in food, if the choices are either inappropriate or else wrong.
    Susan, RN, in RI

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