Stuck

I had a throat thing appear a few years ago.   “Thing” is the only name I have for it other than “Stuff Gets Stuck”.   Things go down, but not all the way.   It’s at a point that’s too far down to cough up, but not far enough down that I don’t know it’s stuck and don’t taste what it is that’s stuck if it stays there long enough.

Was it cancer?  A tumor?  A small child’s toy permanently lodged in my throat?  No, it was none of those, it was just an esophagus that wasn’t straight.   One swallow study and a scope later and it was determined there was nothing to be concerned about, it was only an annoyance.    And then after the scope, things got better.   Strangely enough, the doctor who performed the scope said that happened sometimes—that the act of doing the scope would sometimes encourage the esophagus to straighten out somewhat.

I didn’t argue with the results because it was about the simplest way to correct the problem without actually doing anything to correct the problem.   Only it came back.   It appeared slowly and it returned slowly.   I can turn my head as far as I can in one direction and swallow and sometimes that will cause the item lodged to move along, but not always.   Apples are my nemesis when it comes to things being lodged in my throat, which is a shame because I’m fond of apples.

Lately it’s gotten to be more and more of a problem.   I don’t mind so much when it’s something that’s good for “re-tasting” like crystalized ginger, but other things, like the crab cake I had at dinner being there the next morning, not so much.   And vitamins—don’t get me started on vitamins, because they taste awful after three minutes and definitely not for over an hour as they slowly dissolve.

It’s also changed in how much I can tell something’s lodged.   Initially it was very obvious.   Now it’s not something I always notice until I start re-tasting the item.   I’m not sure what can be done about it.   Maybe I’ll work on headstands after eating to see if that helps.   Okay, I’m kidding.    I’ll have to either figure something out or deal with it or only eat things I like to taste more than once.

The Big Boy Update:  My son has an energy scale he worked on with his occupational therapist.   It rates his energy level from one to ten.   The feelings he has at the different levels and colors he decided on himself.    Tonight after dinner he asked me, “mom, what color do you think I am right now?”   It was clear he was in the green (which is good).   He agreed and said, “do you think I’m regulated right now?”  I told him I thought he definitely was.   I’m not sure if this was precipitated by the fact that his sister was decidedly dis-regulated at that time.  

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  The other morning my daughter was coordinating things.   She had a plan and that plan involved moving things from the dining room to the living room so the game could continue there.   She picked up one of the parts and then said, “Dad, you carry this…and Mom, you can drink coffee”.   I’m not sure if the though me as being unable to help or that my coffee was more important for me at the time.