Hi again Miss Vicki,
I saw your other post after I wrote the above note. It seems like the frustrating part for you today is not being able to swallow or eat. Water is a problem, how about more solid/think stuff like yogurt, quiche?

I've got 1/2 a tongue so some of this tips may not work for you. I can see how water coming back up your nose is a problem because I think normally the tongue helps to "seal" off that connection.

Sometimes to swallow I do what I call my crane neck (think of a long-necked bird swallowing fish). I lift my chin up, staring towards the ceiling and gulp the food down.

Without full use of a tongue I can't chew food very well and move it to the back of my mouth to swallow. I need a "pusher" - usually a spoon or fork to place the food in the right spot so I can swallow.

I need lots of liquid with a meal - usually 2 or 3 16-oz glasses, otherwise I can't swallow the food.
I can't eat finger food: 1. because of my split jaw it is hard to bite into foods, so instead I cut things up into very small pieces, and 2. I need that pusher (spoon or fork).

I think thicker/denser drinks like milk, soy milk, boost or ensure, or milkshakes may be easier to swallow, in some ways, because they are heavier and slide down inside of flowing fast,if that makes any sense(maybe I'm just imaging it).

good luck, and I'll try to think of more techniques. (If this doesn't help you Miss Vicki, perhaps it can help someone else out there.)
michelle

ps I can relate to the feelings of frustration. At first you fight the cancer, then you're glad to be alive, but then comes the reality that your life has changed. Things aren't the same as before. Things we took for granted - like speech, mobility, EATING!

ps my trach scar (from the original hospital stay) continues to get fainter. I was surprised considering some of my other, bigger scars that it seemed to heal slow (it seemed to "pop" open and ooze more since there were no stitches holding it in place.

when in 2004 was your surgery?
good luck,
michelle