Hospital Food
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Barbara
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Todd
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Todd: So, Barbara, we're talking about your time in the hospital. You were in the hospital for sometime. First of all, how long were you actually in the hospital?
Barbara: Well, I was in two hospitals actually. At first, I was in a big hospital for three and a half weeks and I was on a drip for all of that time, and they didn't let me eat anything, and the first couple of days, they also didn't let me drink anything.
Todd: Whoa!
Barbara: Yeah.
Todd: So you were on a drip… I'm sorry, how long?
Barbara: Three and a half weeks.
Todd: Whoa! No solid food for three and a half weeks.
Barbara: No food for three and a half weeks.
Todd: Man!
Barbara: Yeah, I was dreaming about my mother's cooking, and I was dreaming about roast chicken and roast lamb and man, the smells and the tastes came back to me, but there was no food.
Todd: But after like, say two weeks or something, does your body just get used to not having food?
Barbara: Yeah. Yes, it does. Definitely. And I lost a lot of weight, but actually I felt fine. Friends who came to visit me in the hospital were surprised and they were like, “Wow! Where's the rest of you?”
Todd: You did lose a lot of weight. Actually, how much weight did you lose?
Barbara: I lost, well, I started losing weight because I was changing my diet just before I got ill. In the last eighteen months, I've lost twenty kilos.
Todd: Whoa! That's a lot.
Barbara: That is, indeed, yeah.
Todd: Twenty kilos… Wow! Well, you look great. You must feel great.
Barbara: I feel much better. Actually I think sick with that was probably a good thing. It made me take stock and reevaluate things and get healthy.
on a drip
I was on a drip for all of that time, and they didn't let me eat anything.
When you are put 'on a drip it,' means that you are given fluids and medicines intravenously, meaning directly into your body, through your veins, using a tube and needle.
Notice the following:
- She looks dehydrated, and I think she might need to be put on a drip.
- I hope they do not put me on a drip.
solid food
No solid food for three and a half weeks.
'Solid food' is food that is in its normal state; it has not been liquidized.
Notice the following:
- I think you can't give babies solid food until they are about 6 months old.
- I can't have any solid food for about three days.
came back to me
The smells and the tastes came back to me, but there was no food.
When something 'comes back to you,' it means that you are reminded of something in the past.
Notice the following:
- I love the smell of freshly cut grass; my schools days always come back to me when I smell it.
- The memories came back to me when I thought about it really hard.
get used to
Does your body just get used to not having food?
When you 'get used to' something, it means that something that was once new for you starts to become normal because you do it so much.
Notice the following:
- I hope I get used to living on my own.
- You get used to the noise of the city, and pretty soon you don't hear it any more.
take stock
It made me take stock and re-evaluate things and get healthy.
If you 'take stock' of something, it means that you try and look at it objectively or critically.
Notice the following:
- I need to take stock of the situation.
- The manager will come in and take stock of the situation, and then he will then decide if we need to make any changes.
Vocabulary Quiz
solid • drip
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Barbara shares how her stay at hospital changed her thoughts about food.
