Angela Beatty grew up in and around Washington, D.C., watching its neighborhoods and communities change over the years. Her mother was a local police officer, and her father was a stone mason who worked on many of the ornate limestone buildings that dot her drives through downtown D.C. today. Angela spent her life fostering a loving family, a stable career, and a beautiful three-story home on Capitol Hill. She moved to the neighborhood to raise her children, having spent her childhood a few miles up the road in Northwest.
Angela was working in security, managing a team she loved, in Springfield, VA, just south of the Beltway. As a security guard, she was always surrounded by tough people – former military and police – but despite her short stature, she was still given the tough assignments, “Everybody loved me, the little tomboy that I was. They were sending me out on routes that I was not supposed to be on by myself, but they knew that I could handle it.”
Then in 2002, after having some difficulties walking, Angela went to her doctor for testing, including a spinal tap to see what was causing her disability. The results came back immediately, and her doctor diagnosed her with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease that would attack her nervous system and compromise her ability to walk.
Angela was shocked, “As soon as I was in the doctor’s office, after he gave me my result, he told me I had to walk over to admitting – they had a room ready for me.” But Angela had a 1.5-year-old daughter back at home and a busy life full of responsibilities, “[The doctor] was like, ready to rock’n’roll. I said no, I cannot do this right now. I had to take care of my family! I have got to make sure food is in the house. I have got to make sure money is in the house. I had to make sure gas was in the truck.”
But the gravity of her diagnosis made it clear her life was going to change, “I walked into the hospital – I could not walk out.”
While learning to live with multiple sclerosis, Angela found a support network with her neighbors on Capitol Hill, “Southeast was love! I knew everything coming and going. Everybody saw me. They would wave, ‘did you need anything?’” There was always someone who could take care of her lawn, paint the house, or make a trip to Safeway. But the complications from Angela’s multiple sclerosis meant she had to leave the job she loved, and her limited mobility made navigating her multi-story house on the Hill difficult. She moved to a new single-level home in Northwest DC in 2014, but felt isolated in her new community, “I missed all of [Southeast] because I was there for like 25 years. Here on this side of town, there is no support – people are scared to speak to you.”
At the same time, the complications in her daily life grew, “I knew I was going to lose my ability to walk, so I was just making adaptations.” Angela went from using an ankle-foot orthosis device, to a cane, to a quad cane, then a walker, and eventually a wheelchair. After a time, Angela had difficulty sitting up in the stair lift she relied on to go outside and needed to be carried to her van. She had additions made to the front porch on her home so she could enjoy the outdoors without leaving her wheelchair.
Angela has come a long way in finding acceptance of her diagnosis and that initial stay in the hospital. Today, she is largely confined to bed, but she has not lost her self-assured spirit, “Every day is a gift. And I love my gift. You know, I am still able to talk. I cannot do [everything] for myself anymore, but I am okay with it. You just adjust and keep pressing forward.”
Angela’s three daughters were a lifeline as her condition changed, helping her adapt to her new neighborhood and lifestyle. Her third daughter was just 1.5 years old when Angela was diagnosed, and her youngest daughter recently followed her footsteps into the security industry. Angela also welcomed a grandchild into her family last year, “Every day is a bright spot. I have never had any down days, I do not look at any day as a down day. I look at every day as a blessing.”
Last year, more than two decades into her experience with MS, Angela’s doctor referred her to Food & Friends, “I like the selection of food, it is catered to my medical needs. I do not have to worry about anything. My diabetes is coming down, and my A1C came down several points. I don’t have to worry about what I am going to eat for dinner, and I don’t have to worry about what my children eat for dinner.”
Food & Friends provides additional meals and groceries to feed the dependents and caregivers of clients, allowing everyone in the home to focus on healing and wellbeing. Angela’s children have seen first-hand how essential these additional meals are. “I do not have to worry so much as to what I am going to eat for dinner or what the children are going to eat because we all eat differently. So it is easier – especially when no one’s here to cook,” she explained. In 2023, 25% of those served by Food & Friends were the dependents and caregivers of individuals with life-challenging illnesses.
Angela says that the medically tailored meals and groceries have helped her family escape the nutritional insecurity they faced due to her limited mobility and multiple sclerosis, as well as the systemic racial barriers faced by many in the D.C. region. Residents of D.C.’s heavily segregated Ward 8 are four times as likely to have diabetes as those living in the rest of the city, and Black Washingtonians are 2.5 times more likely to live with heart disease than their white counterparts.
Today, Angela is thrilled that anyone in her family can easily prepare a medically tailored meal – her 11-year-old pops them straight into the microwave, but only after he rushes home to his mom’s bedside every day after school for a hug and to talk about his day, “No more Marie Callender’s for anyone in my family!” She hopes more people can access similar services in the future, “Health wise it’s beneficial. It is tasty. You can’t go wrong. And if you want more flavor, just add some seasoning.” Angela suggests a little Mrs. Dash, a healthy favorite recommended by her dietitian at Food & Friends.
