The Gelato that may save my wife's life

Click on the logo above to find out about the greatest little gelato shop on the face of the planet earth. Here's how they accidentally saved my wife's life.

Trish had a tough time this week. She woke up every morning with headaches and nausea. Whenever she ate her stomach would hurt and she would feel full regardless of how little she would eat. No one knew what to do for her. Her biggest health problem has been her elevated billirubin -- a result of her GvHd we all thought.

Last night I was tired, but Trish had some energy and really had a craving for some gelato. Last week we went to lunch with her Uncle and Aunts and stopped by Pitango's for gelato and sorbet (in Fells Point, Balimore). Trish had their sorbet. It tasted a lot like the homemade sorbet that Trish makes when we are home. Cold, with simple fresh goodness and no crap. She said it was the first time she had relief from her chemo induced dry mouth in weeks.

Back to last night. Trish was feeling pretty good and wanted to get out. I was tired and wanted to fall asleep watching TV. This was the first time in a very long time that she wanted to do something and it was a simple request -- a cup of gelato. How could I deny her that?

I headed into the hospital to pick up the car. Waited at security to get an ID badge, pasted the five stickers I needed to the parking ticket to get our car out of the garage ($20) and made my way back to the Hackerman house to pick Trish up.

We parked at Fells Point right across from the shop and walked over. My decision was easy -- Chocolate Hazelnut. Trish couldn't decide what flavor she wanted and I think they gave her two flavors mixed and she asked them to be less than generous with the portion, because she knew she wouldn't eat it all. They even gave us a friendly discount on hers since it wasn't a full serving.

We went back to the car and ate. We than headed to Safeway to buy some groceries. In the last few weeks when Trish accompanied me shopping, she usually sits at the in-store Starbucks while I shop. This night she walked the whole store with me. She really felt good.

We headed home. All of a sudden Trish was in pain. She was doubling over and lying in a fetal position with severe stomach pain. We called into the hospital and they told us to come right over.

After getting a CT scan this morning, they concluded that Trish had an infection of the gall bladder -- no gall stones, just an infected gall bladder. They began treatment with antibiotics. If it wasn't for Trish's craving and the fat in the gelato aggravating her gall bladder this might never have been discovered until it got very badly infected.

Here's another funny thing. Last week Trish got an ulta-sound of her liver and she was told to fast after midnight the night before the ultra-sound, which she did. During the imaging session, the tech asked us again if we were sure she didn't eat, we said yep - absolutely nothing. She peaked our interest and we asked why she asked repeatedly. She explained that the gall bladder looked contracted, the way it would have looked if Trish had recently eaten. That ended the discussion and I am sure she just t hought that we had lied about fasting. So I guess we did have evidence of an issue early, it just wasn't enough to do anything about and an ultra-sound is not as conclusive as a CT scan.

So, thank God for small cravings. Thank God for the gall bladder aggravation caused by the best gelato we have ever eaten. Thank God for a tired husband, who wouldn't stand in the way of his wife's cravings. Thank God for a positive CT scan, that may have revealed another cause for an elevated billirubin level.

Say a prayer of thanks and eat some gelato today.