Continuing the upward trend

I’m thrilled to share that I’m continuing to improve. Eating and talking get easier every day. Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts — it’s working!

Those who have seen me in person reflect that there’s a totally different energy coming from me now, compared to a few weeks ago. This is good!

Things really turned a corner the week of May 30, when my brother was in town. Must have been the nourishing home-grown eggs he brought.

I’m still eating mostly mild, blenderized foods (plus scrambled eggs, which are weirdly easy to eat). I have added back yogurts (dairy and non). I suspect it won’t be long before I can tolerate a wider range of foods and temperatures. The increased variety will be welcome. This progression of foods soft-to-regular is by now familiar, after 3 prior tongue surgeries, and I’m so over it.

My daily routine includes a lot of time preparing and eating food (as a slow eater of several small meals), regular rehab/stretches/exercise, and too much follow-up with medical providers. Radiation on the oral cavity has a life-long impact on the health of my mouth and jaw, so I want to do everything I can now, while it’s early, to break up any scar tissue, and learn my rehab & PT options. I hope to avoid being surprised by new problems 5 or 10 years down the line.

I’m looking forward to eventually being off all the pain meds, and eating more things. (Salad! Sandwiches! Chips?) Also, looking forward to socializing — I’m starting to itch for more interaction, though my stamina is still low.

Unless something changes, my postings will probably be less frequent from here on out, with only occasional updates for the rest of summer.

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Enjoy these photos of my common spare time activities: gardening, puzzling + podcasts, re-reading light fiction. And napping (demonstrated by Tasha the cat).