Here's my own progress report. Tonight I heated up another bowl of that onion/garlic soup and, instead of saying to myself that I wasn't sure I could do it, I said to myself that I WILL get through this bowl, even if I have to cough and spit and gag every now and then. My husband was sitting right in the other room so if I really choked badly I figured he would come (and he did at one point when it seemed I'd inhaled a bunch of mushy onion bits).

I did a lot of coughing and spitting out the little bits of stuff I couldn't get down into kleenex--I'm defintiely not ready to eat in public--but I made it through the bowl and swallowing did seem to get a little easier as I went on. I have a little container of applesauce I plan on having for dessert and then I need a major flossing and toothbrushing and mouthwash seesion to get the last of the onion and garlic out of my mouth but I am feeling very pleased with this. Mainly because, although I'm clearly still having some issues with swallowing right, I'm NOT having any bad pain and I can taste this soup OK.

Yay!! There's hope. Maybe I'll make progress wihtout having to get a lot fo special rehab if I just keep at it.

Nelie