Touched Lives – Zee, A Caregiver Extraordinaire

By Kathryn Wamstad, M.S., CCC-SLP Did you know that speech therapists treat more than just your speech? They do indeed! In fact, one of the primary focuses of a Speech Language Pathologist in the geriatric setting is swallow therapy. Speech therapists treat swallowing difficulty because the same muscles and nerves used for talking are used for chewing and swallowing. Swallowing difficulty is called dysphagia. It can occur because of a stroke, brain injury, cancer, neurological disease like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, surgery involving the neck, and other aging related complications. Dysphagia can lead to reduced quality of life with eating/drinking, malnutrition, dehydration, and pneumonia as a result of aspiration. Aspiration is when food or drink is accidently inhaled down into the airway/ lungs. What Are Symptoms of Dysphagia? Facial droop, drooling, losing food and liquid out of the mouth and lips Difficulty chewing and controlling the food and liquids from the front to the back of the mouth, and food left in the mouth after you swallow Throat clearing, coughing or choking right after a bite or drink Feeling food or drink “go down the wrong tube” or get stuck in your throat Wet/gurgly voice quality, watery eyes, and runny nose while eating Feeling like food is stuck in your chest, sensation that food takes a while to go down, heart burn, or food coming back up (regurgitation) Weight loss, malnutrition or dehydration because of difficulty eating, extra time and effort required to eat, and frequent occurrences of aspiration pneumonia Assessment of Dysphagia Speech therapists assess swallowing difficulty by asking questions and observing you eat and drink to see if the above symptoms are noted. If symptoms of swallowing difficulty are reported or observed, it is recommended that you participate in a Video Fluoroscopic Swallow Study. This is an x-ray video of the swallow that allows us to see how the internal structures of your throat are working to determine the cause of your swallowing difficulty, for creation of a treatment plan.

At Saint Therese of Woodbury , stories of courage and compassion often live quietly among us — tucked behind gentle smiles, modest gestures and humble words. This Veterans Day, we honor one such story: that of John Thuente , a Navy veteran whose service in Vietnam revealed not only bravery in the skies but deep humanity that continues to inspire. A Minnesotan’s Call to Serve John grew up in St. Paul, fascinated by airplanes and determined to fly. Following his father’s example of service, he entered the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis and graduated in 1964. After flight school in California, he was stationed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (image below) as a navigator and weapons officer, flying F-4 Phantom jets over North Vietnam.