I tease my ten year old daughter about her food of preference – anywhere we go – of chicken nuggets, chicken strips etc. I point to the menu of other items. “Try this!,” I say. Nope. She won’t have it. Even at home, she prefers this fried process chicken cuisine.
Now I am a hypocrite. With my Bells Palsy, half of my face paralyzed – not numb, just can’t move it, it’s hard to bite into anything. It’s not really the chomping, but the ability to put my lips around whatever I’m biting into to keep it from decorating my shirt. So, I’m thinking of food I can eat that comes pre-bitten, if you will. Um….chicken nuggets. Fortunately, other food comes to mind as well, such as pasta that’s already bite size. Chicken and Broccoli from the local Chinese takeout. Rice is edible if I take small bites. Please, don’t let anyone watch me eat!
I’ve almost gotten the hang of sipping from a straw without using my fingers to force my lips around it. My ear still hurts. I suspect there’s a fight going on around the seventh cranial nerve. That’s the nerve that must repair itself before I can move my face again.