Hearty Greek Stock
Mom's reverie is short-lived as moments later, the speech therapist enters the room to perform a bedside swallowing evaluation and a quick orientation check.
“I’m Suzie. I’m here to check how well you can swallow now so we can see if we can start to give you some food yet. Would you like that?”
Mom nods. “I’m really thirsty. I’m not hungry but I would love to brush my teeth. I hadn’t really been prepared to come to the hospital.”
“Okay, we can get the nurse to give you some oral hygiene. Can you tell me where you are?”
St. Bernadette's Hospital. Mom gives the correct response.
“That’s right. And the day?”
She takes a few seconds to consider. “I think it’s Thursday.”
“That’s right. Good! Let’s try you with some water now.”
Suzie dips a small plastic spoon into the Styrofoam cup of water, spilling a bit on my mother’s left arm.
“Oops! Sorry. Now open up.”
Mom takes the water in and closes her eyes, swallowing.
“Now say ‘aaahhhh’”.
“Aahh”. She can’t hold the tone, but what does come out is clear, with no gurgling. A good sign. Gurgling would have indicated that the water had been “aspirated” (gone down the wrong way) or not been cleared completely, placing her at risk for pneumonia.
A few more spoons, followed by a few more “ahs” then sipping with a straw. So far so good.
“Let’s try some apple sauce. Maybe even a cracker.”
This time she doesn’t do as well. The good news is that she can feel the apple sauce at the back of her throat and is able to clear it with water. But this time she is gurgley.
“Gus and I are going to be right at the same spot.” She smiles at Suzie, with a shimmer of pride in her eyes. “He’s my grandson. They are just starting him on solid food.”
Still considering the apple sauce she continues, “I made apple kuchen yesterday. My sister gave my some apples so I made apple kuchen. It’s a type of apple cake. It’s really good. Yesterday I had it for breakfast and again for lunch. That’s all I ate, along with a pot of coffee.”
That’s just fucking terrific, Ma. Thank God that diabetes went away.
Alex must have read my mind. “Great diet, Ma! Just add a pack of Red Man Tobacco and you’ve got a perfectly balanced meal.”
She laughs, “Hey, knock it off. What can I say, I’m just country.”
Whaaaaa?! You were raised in Chicago!
Turning again to Suzie, the inevitable announcement is made. “Good strong country Greek stock. That’s why I’m still here. That strong Greek blood.”
Oh, dear God, here we go. Mother will you get a clue here?!?! Having a debilitating stroke at 63 is NOT a testament to genetic superiority! This is your life we are talking about and it looks pretty fucked up right now from where I’m standing. You are not auditioning for the lead in My Big Fat Greek Stroke.
She doesn’t get to progress to the cracker.
“I’m going to have them do a full evaluation with you so that they can see what’s happening to the food when you try to swallow. Sometimes you can have the food go down wrong and not even realize it, so we want to make sure everything is okay. We don’t want you getting pneumonia!”
Mom agrees and looks grateful that they are concerned and making sure everything is all right. She’s expresses genuine appreciation readily with all the staff. This is definitely one point on her side and she is going to need every point she can get. This natural skill may be more valuable to her in the future than she realizes.
Articles from this blog may not be reprinted without express permission from the author.
“I’m Suzie. I’m here to check how well you can swallow now so we can see if we can start to give you some food yet. Would you like that?”
Mom nods. “I’m really thirsty. I’m not hungry but I would love to brush my teeth. I hadn’t really been prepared to come to the hospital.”
“Okay, we can get the nurse to give you some oral hygiene. Can you tell me where you are?”
St. Bernadette's Hospital. Mom gives the correct response.
“That’s right. And the day?”
She takes a few seconds to consider. “I think it’s Thursday.”
“That’s right. Good! Let’s try you with some water now.”
Suzie dips a small plastic spoon into the Styrofoam cup of water, spilling a bit on my mother’s left arm.
“Oops! Sorry. Now open up.”
Mom takes the water in and closes her eyes, swallowing.
“Now say ‘aaahhhh’”.
“Aahh”. She can’t hold the tone, but what does come out is clear, with no gurgling. A good sign. Gurgling would have indicated that the water had been “aspirated” (gone down the wrong way) or not been cleared completely, placing her at risk for pneumonia.
A few more spoons, followed by a few more “ahs” then sipping with a straw. So far so good.
“Let’s try some apple sauce. Maybe even a cracker.”
This time she doesn’t do as well. The good news is that she can feel the apple sauce at the back of her throat and is able to clear it with water. But this time she is gurgley.
“Gus and I are going to be right at the same spot.” She smiles at Suzie, with a shimmer of pride in her eyes. “He’s my grandson. They are just starting him on solid food.”
Still considering the apple sauce she continues, “I made apple kuchen yesterday. My sister gave my some apples so I made apple kuchen. It’s a type of apple cake. It’s really good. Yesterday I had it for breakfast and again for lunch. That’s all I ate, along with a pot of coffee.”
That’s just fucking terrific, Ma. Thank God that diabetes went away.
Alex must have read my mind. “Great diet, Ma! Just add a pack of Red Man Tobacco and you’ve got a perfectly balanced meal.”
She laughs, “Hey, knock it off. What can I say, I’m just country.”
Whaaaaa?! You were raised in Chicago!
Turning again to Suzie, the inevitable announcement is made. “Good strong country Greek stock. That’s why I’m still here. That strong Greek blood.”
Oh, dear God, here we go. Mother will you get a clue here?!?! Having a debilitating stroke at 63 is NOT a testament to genetic superiority! This is your life we are talking about and it looks pretty fucked up right now from where I’m standing. You are not auditioning for the lead in My Big Fat Greek Stroke.
She doesn’t get to progress to the cracker.
“I’m going to have them do a full evaluation with you so that they can see what’s happening to the food when you try to swallow. Sometimes you can have the food go down wrong and not even realize it, so we want to make sure everything is okay. We don’t want you getting pneumonia!”
Mom agrees and looks grateful that they are concerned and making sure everything is all right. She’s expresses genuine appreciation readily with all the staff. This is definitely one point on her side and she is going to need every point she can get. This natural skill may be more valuable to her in the future than she realizes.
Articles from this blog may not be reprinted without express permission from the author.
posted by Laura Young at 6:41 PM
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