On Saturday Sam and I went out for a few hours in search of a winter hat for Sam and we stopped for lunch. At first Sam didn’t think we should eat out because he thought it would be a waste of money since he doesn’t consume very much at a sitting, but clever me suggested that he could just have soup or an appetizer. My scheme continued when I suggested that we stop at a restaurant that has been a favorite of ours in the past – Jimmy Wan’s Tai Pei Restaurant in Cranberry. It worked!
Sam had some pork wonton soup and some tuna tartar and he really enjoyed it. Do you know how amazing that is? First of all, as Dr. Celin said on Thursday, they poisoned his tongue and burnt it with radiation. So, it’s a wonder he can taste at all. Some foods are too strong and overwhelm his taste buds (salt, sugar, spices like garlic) and the consistency has to be right for him to swallow (he can swallow soft food, but not sushi rice cause it’s too sticky and gets stuck). So, it’s almost like a game trying to think of new things for Sam to eat.
Today I bought some Reese Peanut Butter Cups (one cup is 180 calories) and when I pointed out that one cup is about a half serving of one can of his formula, he said, “Then maybe I can just eat Reese’s all day.” My reply - “Silly boy, you still need good nutrition! You have to add the Reese’s to your diet so you can gain weight.” Seems like the “old Sam” is coming back.
Sam really likes dark chocolate, but the 70% dark chocolate doesn’t taste right to him now. So, today I got him some Lindt milk chocolate and that worked. Juices don’t seem to taste right to him either. The thing to remember here is that he’s making progress and we have to be thankful for that and remember they said recovery can take a year or longer. He still has a way to go.
We did finally get Sam a hat at LL Bean, and he was happy. I was too. It was a good day.
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