You’d think gaining weight would be easy, wouldn’t you? It’s not easy for Nick. He feels exhausted after eating small portions. This week his weight stayed the same.  I’m not thrilled about  that, but I’m glad that there was no weight loss.

When I was young, there were four tastes: saltiness, sourness, sweetness, and bitterness. They’ve added a new one called “umami” which is “pleasant savoriness.” Nick thinks he can taste all of these, but they are not in the right proportions. A few weeks ago everything he ate tasted  very salty, but that is leveling out, with acidity now being the dominant taste.

Nick’s problem now is not with the taste of foods, but with the fact that his saliva has not regulated itself. He needs to eat foods that have large amounts of sauce or gravy in order to swallow them.

Nick wanted very much to go to our favorite local Chinese restaurant, Village Gourmet, this week. We went on Wednesday night. Nick gave his order a lot of thought.  Realizing that he couldn’t possibly handle his favorite soup, hot and sour, he chose egg drop. He got through that even though he said the chicken bits stuck to his teeth.  For the main course, we shared shrimp with black bean sauce. Nick ate the soft veggies while I ate the firmer ones. He enjoyed the shrimp until he reached the point at which he cold no longer chew. Still, it was fun to be there, and next time we go, he’ll do better.

On Friday Nick saw his internist, Dr. H. Great news: his diabetes numbers that were a cause for concern a month ago, are now  fine. That means he is still free of diabetes and will not require medications.  Dr. H. said Nick looked great considering what he has been through. You probably heard my sigh of relief!  We had a lovely evening with Mari and Tony on Friday night. Getting out is definitely helping Nick to be  happier and healthier!