Ella, The Patient Has the Disease... Not You

Today in genetics class a family came to present their son... who had PKU. PKU patients are unable to break down phenylalanine... and must observe a VERY restricted diet for their entire lives. They essentially cannot ingest any excess protein. Ever. No dairy, no meat, no beans, no cheese, NADA. Food must be purchased from special "low-protein" manufacturers. Severe mental retardation can occur if they don't follow this diet. Imagine trying to raise a child with such severe dietary restrictions. No cupcakes. No eggs. No hot-dogs. No roast beef sandwiches.

Then, in the middle of the presentation, I got hungry. Like REALLY hungry. Stomach growling, shaky, hypoglycemic hungry. Must have been all that talk about food restriction. I wanted to pull out my crackers... but I figured that might be bad form... since this little kiddo was running around the auditorium. What if he saw my peanut butter Ritz and decided he wanted one? What if I induced some crazy craving in him? What if he went nuts screaming about peanut butter crackers? What if his parents called me out in front of the whole auditorium and loudly said "Excuse me, could you please put those away?" I could only think about how I feel every time I try to go low carb for a while... and how much I crave crackers. Especially with almond butter. How I feel when I am on a diet and somebody tempts me with an Epoisses cheese plate and fresh baked french bread. Finally I couldn't take it anymore... I snuck one at a time when the kid was at the other side of the auditorium.