How Medically Tailored Meals Make a Difference for Najmah and Her Family

For Najmah, a big part of her struggle with breast cancer is the lessening of her physical presence in all the weight she has lost. For her it is an erosion of the self and a constant battle against wasting away and a fight to maintain her strength. On a daily basis it is a struggle for Najmah to not fade away.

Najmah has lived in her same Spanish Harlem neighborhood her whole life. Najmah went to Touro College and studied liberal arts. She’s had many different jobs in the 20 years since then providing her with a wide array of experiences. She has crafted soap and all-natural bath products. And most meaningful to her she has raised a daughter and a son as a single mom.

But breast cancer and its treatments have taken a huge toll on Najmah and her ability to care for her family. She has lost weight and fights to maintain her strength. The symptoms and side effects of her illness and treatment are severe. The chemo has affected her sense of taste, and she struggles to stand. She has near-constant fatigue and shortness of breath when walking.

All that has put severe limits on the things she can do, the things she has always done for her children and herself.  Najmah had found herself isolated and depressed.

Luckily, Najmah has God’s Love in her life and the meals she receives are designed for her specific medical needs. Her son gets healthy meals as well. The sense of security and the feeling of relief of having her meals delivered, all for free, by God’s Love We Deliver is something she is profoundly grateful for. She has only been receiving meals from God’s Love for a couple of months, but she feels each meal has made her a little bit stronger. By being nutritious and delicious, they are helping her gain and maintain the weight and strength she needs. Najmah says,

“It’s real food and it’s good. It helps. It makes you feel a little independence again.”

In working with the nutritionists at God’s Love, Najmah feels that the meals designed to meet her specific medical needs are helping her to get back the strength to continue on. According to Najmah, God’s Love “helped me to figure out a lot of things – what to eat to try to keep the weight on.”

Each delivery day Najmah looks forward to the volunteers who deliver the meals.  “They come right to the door,” she says. “They are really nice, always with smiles on their faces. They’re really friendly.”

For Najmah the saying that food is medicine has a particular resonance. She appreciates just having food be available in the refrigerator. The sense of security and the feeling of relief of having her nutritious meals delivered, all for free, is something she is profoundly grateful for.