Tag: food

June 26, 2018

~ Campjustin ~ Leave a comment

Today I watched the World Cup game Nigeria vs. Argentina. Argentina won. If I have to guess, I bet Argentina will win the 2018 World Cup.

Update: Lol, nevermind. France won.

I followed my strict regimen I developed:

  • Exercise at least 10 minutes walking on the treadmill
  • Ride at least 1 hour on the gym bike
  • Walk 10,000 steps (tracked by my Fitbit)
  • Eat a salad or another vegetable dish
  • Drink a protein shake

Following my regimen is important. It guarantees that once I get out of the Ronald McDonald house I’ll be able to have the capacity for normal activities (such as walking around school), it builds a basis for any sports I’ll want to play, and I can focus on eating enough food everyday.

A Make-A-Wish representative visited me today. Make-A-Wish is a non profit that provides “wishes” to children with critical illnesses. She asked me what I wanted for my wish. I don’t know.

I thought about putting solar panels on the roof of my house, but my Mom said that would be a waste of a wish. Then, on the spot, I got it! I would meet up with a chef to create multiple simple, healthy recipes I can eat. Throughout my life, I’ve had no appetite. I don’t eat enough everyday, so through my gastral tube I insert half of my calories. After transplant, I have an appetite so now I eat enough calories everyday. If I made recipes with a chef, it would help me eat normally.

The representative and my mom thought that’d be a great idea. They even said that I could format those recipes into a cookbook, and share it with other patients that have chronic illnesses. I’m really excited about this.

July 4, 2018

~ Campjustin ~ 1 Comment

Today is the Fourth of July. Since I’m staying at the Ronald McDonald House, and not at my house in Pleasanton, we don’t really know what to do. I searched the internet, and I found that there’s a fireworks show at Seaport Boulevard in Redwood City.

Redwood City is nearby Palo Alto, the home of Stanford University. Seaport Boulevard is a boulevard that’s near the water, and there’s a private yacht dock along the boulevard.

My Mom drove me to Seaport Boulevard, but then she saw how wheelchair accessible the boulevard was, so she drove back to the Ronald McDonald House to get our grandma. Our grandma also needs special care, so she stays with us at the Ronald McDonald House.

We got takeout food in Downtown Palo Alto from Jing-Jing Szechwan & Hunan Gourmet. I first tasted Jing-Jing in the hospital after transplant. I didn’t have much of an appetite, but I wanted some noodles, so a nurse suggested Jing-Jing since they had great noodles. The hospital food was great, but after awhile it gets boring.

After we got takeout, we went to Seaport Boulevard with grandma. By the time we got there, the fireworks already started and all the cars were jammed. We decided to park outside, and watch the fireworks from the sidewalk. It was a great day.

July 7, 2018

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My dad and Julia came to visit me today. Every Saturday my dad visits me at the Ronald McDonald House, and today he brought Julia, my sister. We went to Redwood City to watch Ant Man & the Wasp. Before the movie I bought a salad. I hate salad, but it’s one of my daily requirements:

  • Exercise at least 10 minutes walking on the treadmill
  • Ride at least 1 hour on the gym bike
  • Walk 10,000 steps (tracked by my Fitbit)
  • Eat a salad or another vegetable dish
  • Drink a protein shake

After we watched Ant Man & the Wasp we decided to drive along Seaport Blvd. We went to Seaport Blvd in Redwood City for Fourth of July (see July 4, 2018). My mom and I didn’t get to explore the boulevard that day, but it seemed pretty cool.

Seaport Blvd is a boulevard along the bay. It loops around, and in the loop are tons of office buildings. They have tons of areas to sit and watch the sea, which is pretty cool. We drove to a nearby private yacht dock to admire the scenery.

When we got back to the Ronald McDonald House we went across the street for dinner at the Stanford Mall. We ate at True Food Kitchen, a restaurant claiming to have “honest” food. The wait was terribly long, and the service was awfully slow.

July 10, 2018

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Today I had my physical therapy appointment.

After transplant, I had to do physical therapy everyday in the hospital. My physical therapy included stretches and walking around the hospital unit three times a day. Exercise was a LOT harder immediately after transplant than before transplant, but I knew that the more exercise I did, the faster I would be out of the hospital. So I walked around the hospital unit three times a day, and then four times a day. Then I walked around the entire hospital and played in their garden. My theory was right because I got out of the hospital about two and a half weeks.

If you remember my daily requirements:

  • Exercise at least 10 minutes walking on the treadmill
  • Ride at least 1 hour on the gym bike
  • Walk 10,000 steps (tracked by my Fitbit)
  • Eat a salad or another vegetable dish
  • Drink a protein shake

Exercising on the treadmill and walking 10,000 steps is part of my physical therapy, but everyday I also stretch with some stretches the physical therapists give me. Sometimes I swim, but I’ll do more of that once I get out of the Ronald McDonald House.

July 16, 2018

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I cooked today. Since I have chicken breast in my room’s refrigerator, and onion in my room pantry, I decided to cook some chicken breast.

At the Ronald McDonald House you have your own section in a refrigerator, and your own pantry. Although they’re your own, they’re very small. You don’t have your own section in a freezer, so you have to throw all your frozen items in a bag, put a label on the bag, and stuff it into the freezer.

The Ronald McDonald House also has a community pantry, refrigerator, and freezer. You can take any of the items from them and use it. For example, I can take baloney from the community refrigerator, bread from the community pantry, and ice from the community freezer. I can make a sandwich and ice water from those ingredients. If I didn’t eat my sandwich, then I can take some saran wrap from the community pantry, wrap the sandwich up, and put it in the community refrigerator for anyone to eat.

I also took some garlic powder and from the community pantry and canola oil on the counter for my chicken breast. I diced the onion, sauteed it with the canola oil, and seared the chicken with garlic powder. The chicken took longer to cook than I expected.

While cooking I talked to Angela. Angela is my friend that I met at the Ronald McDonald House. She’s here for liver treatment, and because of her liver disease she can only eat 20 grams of protein per day. I talk to her everyday because she’s a good friend.

My sister came after I made the chicken. She wanted to go eat, but since I already cooked I didn’t go with her to eat. My sister stayed overnight.

July 17, 2018

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Ramen Nagi, a restaurant chain in Japan, just opened their first U.S. location in downtown Palo Alto. Since downtown Palo Alto is walking distance from the Ronald McDonald House, we decided to go.

Ramen Nagi has a very long line, so if you decide to go but can’t stand up for a long duration of time make sure you can sit on something. Bring a chair if you have to.

I got the squid ink ramen and my mom got the Tonkotsu ramen. The Tonkotsu ramen was good, and so was the Tonkotsu ramen, but they weren’t excellent. I think the restaurant is over hyped, and it’s not worth waiting for.

  • Squid Ink Ramen
  • Tonkotsu Ramen

July 20, 2018

~ Campjustin ~ 1 Comment

Today my Mom and I walked to the Stanford Theater. The Stanford Theater is only 1 mile away from the Ronald McDonald house, so it’s very convenient if you’re able to walk. The Stanford Theater is an old school theater that shows movies made during the Golden Age of Hollywood, such as Casablanca or Gone with the Wind. Some of the movies are black and white, so it’s a cool vintage experience.

We watched Roman Holiday, and a part of Queen Christina. Roman Holiday is a movie that launched Audrey Hepburn into the public eye. Audrey Hepburn plays the princess of Rome who runs away with a random guy to have fun. Queen Christina is about the well educated Queen of Scotland that decided she didn’t want to marry.

If you’re at the Ronald McDonald House, or waiting to go to the Ronald McDonald House, you have tons of things to do at downtown. Being in the hospital sucks, but if you can travel to Downtown Palo Alto, there’s so much you can do. There’s restaurants, music, and the Stanford Theater.

After we watched the movie we went to a nearby bakery, Paris Baguette, to get some pastries. I don’t eat sweets, so I got the savory baked goods.

July 21, 2018

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Every Saturday my Dad visits me at the Ronald McDonald House. This Saturday we decided to drive along the mountain.

We drove away from Palo Alto to the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve. We saw a great retirement center which I think would be perfect for my Mom. The mountain was nice, but no wifi, so that sucks.

My Mom and I also decided to walk to downtown for dinner tonight. The Ronald McDonald House is about one mile away from Downtown Palo Alto, so it’s bearable. I try to walk at least 10,000 steps (tracked by my Fitbit) everyday for my physical therapy.

We ate at Wahlburgers. Wahlburgers is a restaurant chain owned by Paul Wahlberg and partnered with his two brothers, one of which is the famous actor Mark Wahlberg. Wahlburgers even had a TV show made out of it.

We decided to walk back to the Ronald McDonald house by cutting through the Stanford Mall. If you’re at the Stanford Mall at night, it’s beautiful. The lights are still on and the music still plays, but no one’s there so you can enjoy the moment.

July 22, 2018

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My mom’s friend visited me at the Ronald McDonald house today. She’s a principal at a preschool. We walked across the street to a cafe at the Stanford mall. I got to eat my salad filling my daily requirement.

Here’s my daily checklist:

  • Exercise at least 10 minutes walking on the treadmill
  • Ride at least 1 hour on the gym bike
  • Walk 10,000 steps (tracked by my Fitbit)
  • Eat a salad or another vegetable dish
  • Drink a protein shake

Today is my grandma’s birthday. I’m also leaving the Ronald McDonald house in a couple of days so we’re celebrating today as a going away/birthday party.

Kayano, Koda, his mom, and his grandma came to celebrate. Kayano is my next door neighbor being treated on dialysis, eventually leading up to his kidney transplant. Emma’s (pseudonym) family also came. Emma is my 16 year old friend at the Ronald McDonald House. We brought out a cake and served it to everyone except Kayano, who doesn’t eat.

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