Thread | Brutkey

Many people know me as #FeedingTubePaul due to my previous social media accounts on other web platforms, advocacy and how-to videos.

Here is a decade old short profile about the reasoning for my #FeedingTube from the makers of the Mic-Key feeding tube. #MedMastodon

It records the beginning journey for me. #Introduction

Edit: They changed their website after merging companies. I'm changing the link to Wayback Machine. https://web.archive.org/web/20200805134551/https://tubefed.com/tales/meet-paul-chambers/

https://tubefed.com/tales/meet-paul-chambers/

MEET PAUL CHAMBERS

Paul Chambers, 41, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s plus syndrome in June 2012, which over time has affected his speech and his ability to swallow. For Paul his troubles with swallowing began in mid-2011 when he started getting aspiration pneumonia, which happens when food and liquid make their way into the lungs rather than down the esophagus and into the stomach. A barium swallow test (a medical imaging procedure used to examine the upper gastrointestinal tract) revealed that Paul had been experiencing some swallowing difficulties. In an attempt to alleviate these symptoms, Paul began to work with a speech therapist to strengthen his throat muscles.

By late February 2012, the tricks and tools Paul had learned in speech therapy no longer worked. Paul’s hiatal bone reflexes and gag reflexes were completely gone and every time Paul swallowed he couldn’t be sure food and liquids, including saliva, would not get into his lungs. A new modified barium test showed that his swallowing was significantly worse. “At this time, the doctors wanted to take measures early on with a nasogastric (NG) tube or even a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube, but I refused because I assumed the feeding tube was merely a bandage to prevent a quicker death,” said Paul.