Bread and water, again?

Thinking ahead to my up-coming stint at St Joe's, do you think they let patients register at the hospital gift shop?

Yesterday I was admiring some of the goodies in the Oakwood Hospital gift shop window (we were visiting Tony's grandma -- she'll be okay, just had some nasty side effects to being taken off her blood pressure medication cold-turkey). As we passed the gift shop window, several things caught my eye - the oversized teddy bear dressed for the holidays, the snack basket (complete with a can of Pringles and a box of Whopper's), along with all the usual hospital gift shop staples (flowers, cards, stuffed animals, etc).

I'm not sure if registering is the way to go, but I expect I'll be extremely appreciative of any edible contraband smuggled in via family and friends as they visit me (once I'm allowed "solids" of course). I'm sure I'll be limited to standard hospital fare while at St Joe's (although I hear hospital cuisine has been making major advancements in the past few years). Double whammy to me, I'll be recuperating in a cardiac care unit so I'm sure I'll be facing more than my fair share of sugar-free, sodium-free, caffeine-free whatever.

Not like I'll feel up for any gourmet multi-course meals those first few post-surgical days, however. But the occasional curly fry, or bite of a roast beef sandwich (complete with Arby's AND Horsey sauces, of course) might just lift my spirits more than low-sodium chicken broth with a sugar-free clear jello chaser.