Glenda Davis drove to the Washington Hospital Center this morning from La Plata with her husband, Larry, and his brother, Terry. They set out early, at around 5:30 a.m., for a scheduled procedure to see if Larry had any arterial blockage—-he had been complaining of shortness of breath, and a stress test came back abnormal.

For a patient’s loved ones, something as involved as a catheterization procedure translates into lots of down time at the hospital, which in turn translates into multiple trips to the cafeteria. Glenda and Terry this morning went with the breakfast buffet, choosing bacon, eggs, and toast.

At lunch, the choices were an Italian sub (Glenda) and a cold-cut sub (Terry). Both found the food satisfying, if not quite critical. “I’m not going to get anything else to eat. I didn’t want that. I was bored, wanted something to do,” says Glenda of the Italian sub.

There wasn’t a lot of stress at the cafeteria table: They’d gotten the news that Larry didn’t have any blockages. He’s 5-foot-11, 220 pounds and has a job working with computers. “He don’t do nothing—-believe me,” says Glenda. Though the fam may come soon for another test, Glenda has some advice of her own. “I think if he just loses ten pounds, he’ll feel better. It’s not like he’s really big, but he’s bigger than he was.”