fries with that?

Over the past year, the following eating habits have become second nature to me:
regurgitating what I just swallowed, because it didn't go down all the way, or chasing my food with a drink because I need to finish clearing it out of my throat.

The need for the first, thank goodness, has been less of late. I also don't insist on having two full glasses of liquid with me at every meal, so this makes the second situation more manageable right now too. There was a time, when these things happened multiple times per day. Oddly enough, breakfast always comes off without a glitch.

Despite being told that I should avoid breakfast cereal with milk, I can't give it up. In fact, I attribute the milk to the ease of swallowing the cereal, when if fact, I am supposed to avoid liquid and food at the same time. Apparently, liquid trickles down my throat while I'm chewing the accompanying food.

So why am I bringing this up now? Haven't you read about this already?

Well, tonight, I had an incident. And although this could happen to anyone, I immediately attribute it to the swallowing problems that I know I have, because of the MS. Let's just agree on this much, having MS didn't help the situation.

Jason, head down, sitting across from me at the restaurant, didn't know what was going on. All he knew is that he received a shower...of my ice tea, and bits of french fries.

Yes, we were in a public place.

This is what I remember: I reached for my drink, took a sip from the straw (another no-no for me) and realized that the liquid had no where to go. I believe that I grabbed my drink in an effort to wash down the french fries that seemed to be hanging on in my throat. I recall the panic: what can I do with this liquid in my mouth? I need to get rid of the liquid. There isn't anywhere to spit it out...I felt rushed, and panicked.

Then, the liquid and the french fries took on a life of their own, and came shooting out of my mouth. Fierce projection. Shooting particles. Wet. A wide shower of ice tea...all over Jason, and the table. Droplets on my eyeglasses.

I'm still finding bits of french fries and ice tea in the back of my mouth.

Emily