You can beat an egg ...

Two days ago I had a follow up appointment with an ENT surgeon. Nothing unusual about that, what was different was a stranger in the waiting room said "Are you Yvonne McClaren?" Now I know I am special, but for someone to recognise me was a little unusual. We got talking and I discovered that she had in fact lost her jaw to cancer, a fair bit of her tongue, some teeth & they had rebuilt her "mouth" using her thigh.

I was in awe of her.

We talked with our own special lilts and I discovered she was pretty much living on puree, soup and smoothies. I know the boredom, I know the anxiety and I am all too familiar with the lack of texture. As we settled in to swapping stories, I started to get that familiar feeling in the pit of my stomach when I know I am with my tribe, a feeling of peace a feeling of confidence and assurance. Here was someone I could help. Here was my "target market" in the nicest possible way. As the conversation progressed I recognised myself in her struggle and her journey.

I made some suggestions about 'transitional food' - I discovered these food through trial and error.

Personally, it was a very long time before I could contemplate visiting the food market and particularly my personal favourite - the Asian market. My idea of nirvana is the image on the left, which is a local supermarket I often frequent. I can spend a long time just rummaging through products. Deciphering languages and likely uses.

I suggested to her that she try prawn crackers. I had recently purchased them and went to the bother of heating oil and cooking them to have on hand. They possess a texture that for us "neckers" can only be described as the Balinese holiday you take in the dead of winter. Timely, different, exotic and after months and months of the same food day in day out a welcome change. Her eyes lit up and I could see the faintest glimmer of joy in a potential new food. It warmed me to my core, it made my struggle and journey worth it. I knew I was on the right path.

Imagine a life with no textural change in food, no acid, no heat, no crunch. For a foodie like me it was, and is unbearable and when you cook for one it is oh so easy to slip into making the same thing day in and day out. I used pappadums as my transitional and then it occurred to me that prawn crackers could do the same. Like a child I touched them to my tongue whilst anticipating the familiar octopus grip!

Two things happened at the ENT appointment. One was I recognised I was on the right life path with my business, my passion & my drive was in alignment.

The other, I am officially out of the red zone. The specialist indicated that I was nearly two years post treatment, with no evidence of recurring cancer. Just as well, I have a lot of prawn crackers to catch up on.