Did I ever tell you that you are Awesomeness Personified, @Beth Gallagher ? I LOVE your quick sense of humor. (And your other astute answers, too, of course)
Thanks everyone for the good thoughts.. I am coming along in the healing but definitely not there yet.. I still have to eat soft or liquid for another 3 to 4 weeks.. Then I can start eating a bit more solid foods but nothing dry or sticky as it won't go down.. Obviously, nothing spicy either.. No carbonated drinks,... no citrus juices or fruit, …. no peppermint,... nothing with seeds like berries,... and no nuts.... No raw vegetables for quite a while which means no salads.. listen, after what I just went through, I feel like I won the lottery...…… The lottery of life … If it means being on a strict diet for some time, so be it....
I am so glad to hear that you are improving, @Steve North . I have been following the Game Chat thread for any new information, and glad when I see that you have been posting there. Can you have the low carb protein shakes, and maybe the protein bars that are soft and do not have peanuts and such in them ? I sometimes add fruits and veggies or even spinach to my protein shakes, and if you had the foods well enough blended , you might be able to drink them and have a better variety. I even tried making a Gazpacho, which is a kind of cold soup; but since I didn’t actually know what it was supposed to be like, mine came out more like a V-8, and it was delicious !
Yvonne.. I was told by my doctor NOT to take any of those drinks like boost, ensure or whatever as they contain certain chemicals that will harm my lining of the stomach... Stomach operations are something else.. Not at all like any other replacement that I went through..
Just a quick update on my condition... I am NO longer on a feed through a tube in my stomach.. I now must eat enough food daily to maintain my weight..The problem I am having is after 4 months of not eating, it is hard to adapt to chewing and swallowing.. This unfortunate incident made me lose about 40 pounds which I didn't want to lose.. I will NOT try to replace the 40 pounds but about 20 or so will be perfect.. I will slowly try to put back some pounds... I mean very slowly as I don't want to go back to being in an overweight situation.. Meanwhile my stomach is accepting any food I put into it.. I eat slowly, small bites, chew well and swallow.. My weight at present is in the low 170"s.. I would like to weigh around the 190 mark or so.. My wife tells me that I look like a skeleton with skin on it..
I am glad to hear the encouraging improvement news, and that you can eat real food again, @Steve North ! Are you able to get around better again as well ?
Yes, I only use a walker when I go out for a long walk, otherwise nothing.. I also use a walker when I do food shopping as there is a lot of walking in those supermarkets.. I still use the chair lift to go upstairs and down.. Other than that, I am fully independent in my movements.. Just NO lifting heavy items and NO straining..
It happened again......... Tonight I decided to make a BBQ.. The first one since early June.. I put some frozen burgers on the hot grill and it didn't take long, while i was grilling, a bear appeared just by the top of the stairs of the patio.. I saw the head which didn't look like a small bear.. I yelled as loud as I could while slowly approaching the bear and it ran away.. I yelled in the house BEAR and my wife came out with the bear whistle and blew it.. No sight of the bear any more.. It ran away.. Talk about an experience for the first BBQ since I can eat again.. The burgers were delicious..
No Joe... He was with me and looking at the food I had on the BBQ.. Quite the thing to be within 6 feet of a hungry bear with food in front of you...