3 days ago
Potempa: Blessed with a 96-year-old father on the mend from heart surgery
In an April 11, 2007 newspaper column that is included in my 'Further From the Farm' cookbook published in 2010, I detailed my dad's experience with open-heart surgery and thanked readers for their e-mails, cards, and voicemails I received wishing him well.
My father came through bypass surgery after spending six hours in the operating room at the University of Chicago Hospital. He was attended by heart-care specialists, including his surgeon Dr. Valluvan Jeevanandam, who were able to repair his leaking heart valve rather than having to replace it. My mom and siblings visited him in the intensive care unit every day, and he had the constant care of a private nurse at his side, which led us to be hopeful and confident he would continue to improve.
That column ended with a reader recipe for Greek roast lamb, since that was the menu choice Dad wanted for Easter family dinner, which happened to be the day before his surgery.
Last week, my 96-year-old dad Chester found himself back at the University of Chicago Hospital 18 years later at the advice of his cardiologist in Valparaiso, Dr. Maya Kommineni, and his general physician, Dr. Hector Marchand Jr.
In recent months, tests showed my dad's heart was in need of a valve replacement. This time it was the associates of Dr. Jeevanandam, such as Dr. Atman Shah and Dr. Takeyoshi Ota who responsible for the much less invasive procedure of nearly three hours accessing the heart and arteries through the groin rather than breaking the rib cage.
Dad spent three days in the intensive care unit before being moved to regular floor unit room and then sprung this weekend for some helpful rehab. The Aug. 17 Sunday date of this weekend is my mom Peggy's 94th birthday, and her best gift this year is that Dad's surgery went well and he's on the road to recovery.
Last Sunday's dinner on Aug. 10 was my dad's last full family meal before we transported him to Chicago. His menu wish this time was far simpler than the roast lamb with rosemary and mint jelly. He asked for a hearty farm summer menu of Sloppy Joes on sesame seed buns, with smoked provolone cheese slices, sweet bread and butter pickle chips, mustard potato salad and fresh peaches and cream variety boiled sweet corn with a cold dessert finale of ice cream cones.
Faithful friend and reader Diane Traher of Dyer makes the most delicious Sloppy Joes, a near tie with the scrumptious recipe from our late neighbor farm wife Joann Scamerhorn, which I printed in this column in 2016. Diane's recipe dates back to 1952 and comes from a small treasured hardcover cookbook titled 'The Anniversary Slovak-American Cook Book,' described as 'a commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the first Catholic Slavic Ladies Association,' which was launched in 1892 in Cleveland, Ohio. 1 pound ground beef
1 large chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon mustard
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup ketchup
Directions:
1. Brown meat in a tablespoon of hot fat until it is crumbly but not hard.
2. Combine and add remaining ingredients.
3. Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
4. Serve on toasted buns.
