By Jeannie Gaffigan, Writer and Producer of The Jim Gaffigan Show
In late 2016, I was experiencing crushing headaches, frequent falls, severe fatigue, and a rattling cough. As a wife, mother of five, and the writer and executive producer for The Jim Gaffigan Show, I thought I was just run down or had the flu. It wasn’t until April 2017 that I found out I had a rare and benign tumor the size of a tennis ball growing within my brain stem.
Two fast-paced weeks later, I underwent a nine-hour surgery to have the life-threatening tumor removed. And thanks to my amazing medical team, it was successful.
But recovery, didn’t go as smoothly. The tumor had compressed my brain stem and weakened my ability to swallow. My doctor had to perform a tracheotomy to open up my airway and insert a feeding tube into my navel cavity, so I could get nutrition. I relied upon both for months.
As a mother, I always knew how important healthy nutrition is to a child’s growth and development. As a patient, I now know how vital good nutrition is for speedy healing and recovery.
Food is medicine. If it were not for tube feeding, my health outcome might have been different. Tube feeding with real food blends and nutritional variety gave me the nutrition to heal and the strength to take on speech and swallowing therapy, and other rehabilitative work that helped me get back to normal.
Photo used with permission from Jeannie Gaffigan.
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