I was recently hospitalized for 6 days. I admit it was because of a suicide attempt. I surprised myself when I asked to be served diabetic meals. Surprised myself because of what I had just attempted.

No problem, I was told, we are having turkey for dinner. There was about two ounces of turkey, cooked. Mashed potatoes, gravy, bread, pasta salad and a sweet dessert. I indicated I could only eat the two ounces of turkey and it wasn't enough for a meal. The staff (half the staff reminded me of Nurse Rachet in one flew over the cuckoo's nest) ridiculed me, telling me since I am fat it would be good for me to only eat the small amount of turkey.

I was promised diabetic meals for the rest of my stay. Breakfast was french toast with a box of frosted flakes and a banana and 2% milk. The staff doctor flat out told me I had made it up when I told him that 2% milk had more carbs than whole milk or cream (which I had dared to ask for). Cream for coffee was powered carb-y stuff.

My first lunch was a scoop of rice, a scoop of corn and a scoop of pinto beans with a pasta salad and a sweet dessert.

They asked me to make a list of what a diabetic could eat (this is a hospoital setting, remember). I listed low glydemic vegies and protein. Dinner was a huge plate of all kinds of beans, green, legumes, etc. No seasoning, accompanied by a pasta salad and a sweet dessert.

Breakfast was two one pound junks of pressed ham that made me ill to look at it and two COLD soft boiled eggs. The staff was furious when I said disgusting, unpalatable low carb food was not acceptable and invited them to join me in eating the gross pressed ham (they declined, as did I). This meal, BTW, was the only low carb meal I ever got.

I begged for a scrambled egg, a sausage, a piece of meal, a green salad.

The nightmares meals kept coming. Stir fried rice with sweet and sour chicken (the stuff with fried batter), ever the pasta salad, bananas at just about every meal, always a sweet dessert. One breakfast entre was six slices of swiss cheese (which I am allergic to but of course they accused me of making that up), a banana and two hard boiled eggs.

The kitchen seemed to think I should be content to eat nothing but plain hard boiled eggs for six days and the staff really gave me abusive grief for refusing. They would not give me mayo for the eggs (told me I made it up that I could eat mayo), forget mustard.

The kitchen was absolutely clueless what a low carb meal is. The staff was increasingly abusive with me for continuing to insist I had a right to eat healthy meals.

They were testing my glucose levels and telling me 169 was not really all that diabetic. They accused me of just secretly wanting atkins to lose weight. They told me I just wanted special meals to get attention for myself.

No one ever took note (except for the attorney I called the very first minute I had a chance to make a phone call) that it was great that I wanted to eat healthy even after I had just tried to kill myself.

I was told I didn't need big meals because I am fat.

Breakfast on the sixth day, the day I was leaving: all the patients got a cheese omelette with sausage and berries for the fruit.

I have filed a complaint with state licensing administrative law proceeding and my lawyer tells me this joint could lose some state funding for failing to provide special diet food. The situation that landed me in that place was a nightmare but the abuse I endured over the food was worse.

How could this happen in a hospital? The meals are contracted out so it is not a hospital kitchen and the hospital staff has no control over what food is provided.