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Hi.
My name is Lucy and my husband had
surgery for cancer in the back of his tongue
(basically in his throat).
When he lost more than 10 pounds in 2 weeks while using canned liquid food
through the tube, we got busy to find a solution.
Our theory was that homemade, "real"
food would be best for his health and his state of mind.
So, I
looked for feeding tube recipes on the Web and in books and I
found….....very little useful info! Today there is a lot
more information available (see
Resources and Links).
I developed some recipes (after a few
kitchen messes) and learned some
information that I thought would be helpful to others in similar
situations. So, Lucy's Real Food website sprung into
existence and we've had hundreds of e-mails and thousands upon
thousands of visitors. I hope this information helps you meet some of
the challenges you face.
When you
first begin, making liquid food for a feeding tube
takes patience (see Basic
Instructions). But, for us,
the substantial benefits of
homemade food far outweighed any downside. Almost immediately after switching to real
food, my husband began regaining weight (while on the feeding
tube!) and his
digestion and elimination, and state of mind became much closer to normal.
Real food in the tube helped gain weight after surgery and
even maintaining weight during chemo and radiation. Our
doctors have been first surprised and then impressed.
Plus, using real food in the tube creates a sense of normalcy during mealtimes, can
include favorite foods ,
and, importantly, allows us to correct for nutritional
deficiencies such as anemia and other depletions.
Please let me know if
this information and the recipes are helpful and/or if you think
I should add information. By the way because of my
husband's sensitivities most of my recipes are lactose and milk
protein free (but you can always substitute milk products back
in - they are a great way to help with weight gain).
Please send us your questions, feedback and suggestions. I'd
love to hear from you.
--
Lucy
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