[Pillows]

I went to the support group meeting close to my neighborhood with a friend last night, and even though I was a little late I was glad I went. Someone there stood up and gave a testimonial as to the wonderful usefulness of taking a baby spoon with him everywhere. I was really impressed by his willingness to share that, and think it is a great idea. I think I will have to start using my daughter's old baby spoon starting now to get used to it. One of the doctors that leads the group also recommended using chopsticks to eat with to slow you down, and asked if there was anyone there that could eat with chopsticks as fast as a fork or spoon. There were about four of us that raised our hands so he told everyone else to go and get some chopsticks. I thought that was great. It was also brought up that some people may have difficulty eating rice due to blockage post-op, so I thought that was a good thing to know too. I really like the support group I went to last night. For one thing, the doctors are there and they tend to turn over most of the time to the patients to bring up what they want to talk about, rather than lecturing for a long time. My friend that had her surgery with them actually writes a really good newsletter called the Skinny for the group. Maybe I will have to write a couple of articles for her newsletter someday since I like to blab a lot. I did mention the website to a lot of the people there, and I really hope that they come and check it out soon. If you were there and met me, please give a shout out to let me know. I feel very fortunate to have such a good support network at a time like this and want to help other people get support that they need too. I love ya all and wish I could hug each and every one of ya. (and that's not just the cold medicine talking)
Janae

[fr1endly2]

I love my support meetings too im part of several!
I find if im slipping in eating, a meeting puts me back
on track. SO i go to them often.
GLAD to hear your taking advantage of them as well.
THATS interesting to eat with chopsticks, i will admit
i dont and cant eat slow.....so for me the small bowl is
what i eat and walk away......so that i can get full without
over doing it.
MAYBE i should try the chopsticks ...thanks for sharing some
ideas. I never had problems with rice but dont eat alot at all
maybe a mouthfull with chinese takeout.
ALL the best
lisa

[DocSanae]

I am the chopsticks Master!
Seriously, here, we have patients pick beans one by one with chopsticks as part of rehabilitation for stroke patients. It helps train the agilities of fingers.
And, come to think of it, it is less easy to shovel food into your mouth with chopsticks compared to forks and spoons, and not as much at once, even if you do. Hmmm. I didn't think chopsticks would be useful in that sense, thank you for posting this.

[Pillows]

Not a problem Doc, my dad taught me how to use chopsticks when I was probably 8 years old, and I love using them when I feel like being a little different. One of the girl ask guys dates I went on with my friends, we made our dates a spagetti dinner with jello and salad, but only allowed them to eat with chopsticks. It was a little messy, but tons of fun. It was a great way to increase conversation and make things interesting. I grew up in the country, so we had to be creative sometimes to be entertained and stay out of trouble.
Janae