Elizabeth,

I did use a PEG for well over a year but had it removed about 9 months ago. My diet right now consists of mostly Ensure Plus (chocolate!) as eating is still rather difficult.

I have limited tongue mobility and can only chew on one side...and that side I have problems "pushing" the food to. Once the food is chewed the hard part of swallowing begins. I find I can get most things down if well chewed however it takes a lot of liquids and the process takes painfully long. Due to the facial paralysis my face get's tired after long bouts of talking or chewing. The whole process is rather tiring so there are times when I just rely on a shake because I don't have the energy to try.

I can't "bite" so sandwiches are out and breads unless really "soaked"...if I can get it in with a fork or by hand in pieces then I can "flush" it down with enough water. I tend to stick with softer foods and easy to chew. Meats like chicken are hard for me, white meat especially, but red meat (yay!) and dark meat I find I can get down. The tomales were shredded pork, very moist and accompanied by Aly's homemade guacamole (heaven).

One of the biggest issues I have is food getting stuck in the paralyzed side of my mouth so I have to brush and rinse. I also get the "dribbles" as my lower lip "droops" on the right side and doesn't completely close, so eating and drinking can be a messy process. I have found that since my nerve graft to repair the facial nerve that I do not dribbble as much...but I still wear darker shirts and shy away from eating in front of most people.

I've had to really pick up on eating more solids however, since getting off the pain meds and exercising more my appetite has soared and I'm starting to put back on some weight. The picture currently on my Facebook page is a little misleading as it was taken almost a year ago when I only weighed 140lbs. I have it up for dramatic effects so my friends can see what OC does to a person and motivates them to vote for the Pepsi grant. I'm currently at 185 and look much different.

Anyway when I first started trying to eat, it was much harder and as I've kept at it I've found ways to overcome various issues...but there are still things I just can't eat (burgers, pizza, sandwiches). What keeps me from getting discouraged is the people like Jim, Christine and Charm who can't eat anything, so I find it to be my duty to eat things for them. That sounds funny, but I had a thread last year when I started to eat solids again, however I hated trying to eat in public as I would get stared at quite often. Jim put things in perspective for me by saying if he could eat anything he wouldn't mind the stares...in fact after looking at him they would probably feel so bad they'd buy his meal.

Keep at it Elizabeth, you'll get there. When you're ready I'll ship you some tamales!

Eric