I ate with the chopsticks tonight!!!!

[jerseygirl]

Hello everybody,

Just want to share my progress. Tonight we went to eat sushi and for the first time since the second surgery ( I am 10 and a half months post-op) I ate with chopsticks! It is really not a big deal but it represents a return to normality to me which is exciting! Last time I tried chopsticks was 3 months ago and I still could not manage but could already eat with a fork. After surgery, I could not even eat with the fork. Recovery does happen!!! I am almost at my pre-surgical self now but of course I realize that this "almost" can stretch for many more months.


                    Eve

[4cm in Pacific Northwest]

Way to go eve!

Daisy Head Mazy

[leapyrtwins]

Wonderful progress, Eve!

I've never been able to eat with chopsticks - even before my AN surgery   

Reaching milestones post op is such a great feeling.

Keep up the good work,

Jan

[lori67]

I'm with Jan.  If I was able to eat with chopsticks now, I'd think some miracle happened during my surgery.  All I've ever been able to do is fling rice around the table and onto my lap.   

Congratulations Eve!  One more bit of progress!!!

Lori

[cmp]

Glad to hear it, Eve! Eating with chopsticks is a challenge even for folks with no post-op issues to deal with, so pulling it off really is a strong testament to your rebounding nerve/muscle function.

(Now maybe you can offer some pointers on eating sushi with grace--twenty years post op, I still can't handle any that's bigger than morsel-sized--either I'm stuck with a giant glob in one cheek, chipmunk-style, or I take an ever-so-careful bite and the whole thing still unravels all over the place...  )

[Debbi]

Eve -

You're my new role model!  I am dying to eat sushi but am feeling daunted by both the size and the chopsticks.  You've given me courage to take the leap (although I think I'll have Willie bring some home to try in privacy first - I fear the "chipmunk glob" on my cheek...)

Hooray, Eve!!

Debbi ... looking with longing at the chopsticks...

[Kaybo]

Eve~
I could never eat with chopsticks...of course, I never even had the opportunity to TRY oriental food until I was an adult.  My parents never ate it (my daddy thought that it looked like unmentionable things) so I never had the chance to try it.  Love it now!  My girlies can do the chopsticks -- especially with the "cheaters"!!   

K

[jerseygirl]

Thank you for all your kind words!!! It honestly feels like I have turned a corner and now am getting back to my pre-surgical activities and speed. I have no facial paralysis but manual dexterity and right-sided mouth numbness were a big problem. Therefore, even two months ago I could not even manage chopsticks! Sushi fell apart. One piece of it was in the soy sauce I was dipping into, another on the table, third on the plate. I could not bite into big rolls. Since I did not feel much at the end of my mouth, there was lots of stuff there and I had to wipe my mouth clean after every bite. Somehow food also ended on the floor and on the clothing I wore. What a mess! I hated eating in public for months! The good news is that all of this is going away completely. It's not too soon!


                                     Eve

[Kaybo]

GREAT!
Another chapter in your life closed!  One good thing about having to wipe your mouth after every bite: my SIL swears that my girlies do better than most about getting stuff on them when eating b/c they watched their momma wipe her mouth after every bite!!     Live by example...

K

[Jim Scott]

Eve:

Congratulations on this small-to-others-but-significant-to-you milestone.  Time really does heal.)

I'm almost 2 full years post-op and probably about 95% back to normalcy.  Frankly, the biggest gains usually seem to come during the first year, post-op.  Like most folks, chopsticks were always an Oriental mystery to me and will remain so.  That's why they invented forks. 

Seriously, thank you for sharing your progress with us.  We can all use good AN-related news and you've provided it from a first-hand perspective.  It's much appreciated.  I wish you many sushi dinners and chopstick finesse in the years to come. 

Jim