For those of you who have read Matthew’s email from today, you will know that his dinner last night consisted of carrots. And carrots. Of course, there is a bit more to that story. And it led to a bit of drama for our family today.
At about 11:30 this morning, as I was putting away groceries, I simultaneously received a concerned text from Daniel and a worried phone call from Nathan. With both of them reaching out at the exact same time, I suspected something was not right. And that was an appropriate assumption. Matthew had sent them a somewhat panicky message about having only carrots as his meal accompanied by a note that he could eat other items off the main line. That, of course, is not a safe way for Matthew to eat and so messages were sent to me. And unfortunately, Facebook Messenger is not the most reliable messaging platform ever, which means that I didn’t get any of them. My lack of response led to Matthew reaching out to his brothers who then immediately notified me. Once I sent a message to Matthew I started getting messages from him, so that helped simplify communications just a bit. And then I got on the phone to try to get someone from the MTC to help work the problem.
It took me several months earlier this year to get a response from the guy who is the head of specialty meals at the MTC. And once I actually talked to him, he told me to email him again 2-3 weeks before Matthew entered the MTC. I did so and never got a response. Which was not all that assuring. As part of his preparations to enter the MTC, Matthew was given contact info for the MTC dietician and emailed her several weeks ago as well. She responded with some additional questions and after receiving answers to those questions let Matthew know they would have specialty meals for me. So, despite the lack of a response to me from one employee, confirmation from another told us that things were covered. But as evidenced by yesterday’s veggie only plate, there was a breakdown in communication somewhere along the line.
I started by trying to call the person I had spoken to back in April and there was no answer and not even an option to leave a message. So, I called the main MTC information desk and explained our predicament and asked for some help finding someone to talk to right away. The sister I spoke to tried to contact all the people who would normally be contacted, even reaching out to them via their cell phone numbers. But today is Pioneer Day, a Utah state holiday, and many people had the day off. When my helper couldn’t get in contact with anyone, she contacted her manager to see what to do next. She was told to reach out to the head of health and wellness for the entire MTC and see what he could do. I was told that he is generally very good about returning calls and that if the folks at the help desk didn’t hear from him within about half an hour, they would call me back.
While I was waiting, I reached out to a ward member who is well known to all my kids. She sent Kevin and I a message yesterday expressing thoughts that Matthew’s MTC arrival had gone smoothly. And as an afterthought, she mentioned that she had just barely found out that a good friend of hers worked in the specialty meals department at the MTC and that Matthew would be in good hands. Armed with that info, I reached out to her and asked for some help while I waited for a return call from the MTC. Within about thirty seconds she had responded with a resounding “Yes!” And only a few minutes later I received a phone call from her friend. I explained the situation and she got to work trying to find out who was working today. She told me to have Matthew head to the specialty meals room and wait for someone to come talk to him and to express clearly his food needs. I conveyed that info and as it was P-day and his schedule allowed him to go right away, Matthew headed to the cafeteria.
Within the hour, I received a phone call from the brother who is the head of health and wellness for the MTC. After learning about the situation, he told me that he would work it out, offering to personally head down to the MTC if needed. He called again after a bit to tell me that he had talked to the MTC dietician, who was at work today, and that she and Matthew had spoken and had arranged a plan. He assured me that Matthew had eaten chicken, rice, and carrots for lunch, and that if I had any other concerns I could reach out to him. He expressed the hope that Matthew and the dietician would be able to continue to communicate well. He was very kind and perfectly willing to help us get Matthew fed and I’m very grateful.
As for Matthew, I’m hoping that this will be a learning experience for him. Yes, there was some miscommunication that happened. And yes, it left him in a very tricky situation foodwise. But he doesn’t like to draw attention to his allergies and will often choose simply not to eat rather than make any fuss about his needs. But now that he is out in the world on his own, he can’t just wait until he gets home and then eat. At least, not for the next two and a half weeks. He had been in the MTC less than 24 hours at the time all of this became known to us, and he had no idea who to talk to or what the procedure would be if there were issues with his meals, so having me available to help work out the issue was good. But in future, he won’t always be able to contact us at the exact time. Now, in his defense, he did try to get some details on procedures and such before he went to the MTC, as did I. But he didn’t get those questions answered. And despite that, he walked into the MTC with a lot of faith yesterday afternoon.
Before Matthew ever left, we all knew that foodwise, the MTC and his first 48 hours in Arkansas would be the trickiest. So hopefully things will go more smoothly from here on out. I do plan to have a package of food waiting for him at the mission office in Arkansas when he arrives there in several weeks to try to help cover that gap between leaving the MTC, being able to get to a grocery store, and finding local brands of foods that are safe for him. Because honestly, finding the right foods can sometimes feel like a full-time job. Even simple and common foods like pasta and tuna are very difficult to find in Matthew friendly versions. But like I said before, I’ve taught him everything he needs to know. I’ve given him some tools to help ease the search for food as living within missionary rules can make taking the time necessary for him to shop somewhat tricky, and he knows that it is going to take a lot of effort to make things run smoothly. But he’s determined to make it work. He has a great desire to be serving as a missionary and I know that as he gives it his very best effort and continues to keep moving forward with faith, he will be blessed.
As for us, all our collective blood pressures have returned to normal as a crisis has been averted. And according to Tawni, it is a good day because the brother didn’t die, and she got a job! Huzzah!
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