Hard to Swallow
There are so many life altering firsts when it comes to caring for our loved ones: the first recognition that something is wrong, the first medical diagnosis, and the first time that roles change in your relationships. One of the most dramatic firsts when my mom was caring for my grandfather was the first time we heard the word dysphagia (simply put, the difficulty or inability to swallow.)
Gramp was living with the latter stages of dementia when his symptoms occurred. I remember the call the doctor made to Mom on a Friday when he gave her until Monday to consider whether or not to place a PEG or feeding tube. We did a heck of a lot of research that weekend and learned a lot about how dysphagia affects our loved ones living with strokes, Huntington’s disease, cognitive disorders and many other causes.
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