“By what sorcery and magic did you get him back on solid foods so quickly?”
It was a legitimate question. To people led to believe that licensed assisted living facilities provide the best care, what we do here appears magical.
However, the only magic is that we care.
As people age, esophageal muscles lengthen and weaken. Salivary glands also weaken. Either one of those conditions leads to difficulty swallowing.
So what do you do?
For many in a licensed facility, the story goes something like this.
- The resident coughs while eating or drinking.
- Following a one-size-fits-all institutional medicine approach, the facility orders a swallow test.
- The ageing resident fails the swallow test.
- Having failed the medical procedure, the facility now charges the resident a medically necessary additional fee for a special diet.
Disheartened by the dreary medical diagnosis, the resident feels like they’re no longer in control of their own life. This is reinforced at the next meal when they’re fed a bowl of mush. Having spent 80+ years eating great food, they’re suddenly being fed unseasoned food, thinned with water, blended into a puree, and thickened with bland food thickener. Is it nutritious? Probably. Is it delicious? Nowhere close.
Having had part of the joy of life stripped away by modern mass medicine, the resident doesn’t eat as much. Weight drops. Muscles suffer from lack of nutrition. Sedentary fatigue sets in as the normal routine of life.
The downward spiral began all because nobody could be bothered to truly care and provide assistance with a routine activity of daily living – eating.
In our home, Melissa starts where our residents are at. In his case, he came to us on a puree diet. So that’s where Melissa started – with delicious refried beans and mashed potatoes. And he ate.
Treating him like the adult that he is, she explained to him what was going on with his muscles and glands. We encouraged him to lower his head as he chewed and swallowed, as that position often helps.
After a couple of days, we began moving toward a soft mechanical diet. As we introduced chunkier food, he liked it even more. After about a week, Melissa asked if he would like a quesadilla. At first, he was confused. He didn’t understand he still had a choice in life. She encouraged him to take a bite, chew it well, lower his head, and have his drink handy. It took a couple of bites for him to become reacquainted with real food. However, since then, he’s never looked back.
Has he effortlessly and uneventfully swallowed every bite since then? No. And by the way, neither have I.
In his first month in our home, he gained over five pounds. That’s important, because when he came to us, his cheek bones protruded from his face, and his wrists were emaciated. He looked like he was just rescued from starvation in a third-world country.
Third. World. Country. That’s the level of care he received in a highly acclaimed, licensed assisted living facility.
A few days ago at the breakfast table, his son-in-law asked me that question. “Hey Trace,” he said. “By what sorcery and magic did you get him back on solid foods so quickly?”
I smiled, receiving the recognition that we create amazing awesomeness here. And I wept, knowing that his experience is not unique.
Tracy Hunt