You are not eating for the next 15 months ok?

Here is the 12 month update - Launched a few days ago ...I am pretty chuffed with the outcome.

www.yvonnemcclaren.com

The Food Manifesto now plays a "resource" role for eating with Dysphagia and No Feeding Tubes houses the program I have written to help others transition off their PEG feeding tube back to oral eating. I'd love you to register through the website above.

I had relocated to Vietnam - I was busy setting myself up to start work when I had to fly home to Australia. My throat was on fire - I needed my GP and I needed her fast. I am a foodie, I loved a drink (sparkling, my drink of choice) garlic, chilli, ginger, lemongrass - Bahn Mi was a favourite food group, hence the relocation to Vietnam.

Turns out I had head and neck cancer, turns out I was to lose 1/3rd of my tongue, both my tonsils, a pretty reasonable sized tumour, 30 lymph nodes, chemotherapy and enough radiotherapy to change all the direction of my lower teeth and kill my left mandible in the process. Why am I telling you this? I fed through a stomach PEG for 15 months which means, nothing passed my lips in that time, I only opened my mouth to talk and clean my teeth. I lost the ability to swallow (Dysphagia) not even my own saliva (and that disappears too).

So I started the long and very lonely path of learning to eat again. Today is my 55th birthday and I am grateful to be here ...I made a pact with myself to tell people what I had been working on today - warts and all ....to help others and feed my passion and love of food and cooking I am officially launching The Food Manifesto. As it turns out people without dysphagia are joining just to learn the basics, and I am a great believer in keeping it simple.

So join me if you like, subscribe if you wish (there's a free top 10 kitchen tips for anyone who subscribes in my birthday week.) Happy Birthday to me - and one big Soup Hug to you.

www.thefoodmanifesto.com