Take it from a guy on a feeding tube told he’s not allowed to eat, taking it out on a girl who cannot eat because she’s “allergic to the world”

I ran into this article from CNN about a girl with apermanent feeding tube. What I got out of this is a sob story about how they are upset that people who think of themselves as fat and ugly starve themselves to the point they need a feeding tube. Now being on a feeding tube, I do understand that there can be a sense of resentment towards people who have feeding tubes for just ten days. This does not make it a fad, some of these people have anorexia or bulimia and it is not their fault at all that they need nourishment through a tube when they hit their lows. While I do agree with Art Caplan from the University of Pennsylvania about how feeding tubes for weight loss are stupid and outrageous, what about feeding tubes for bringing them back to a healthy weight?

Now for the “feeding tubes are for survival, not for cosmetics” part, I would like to see one person who has a feeding tube for cosmetic purposes because I’d gladly rip it out of them. I highly doubt anyone with a feeding tube has it for cosmetic reasons, that’s just plain stupid.

Now for the part where it goes on about “You’re carrying around a bag all the time, if it get knocked out, what if you fall down” and “What if you have a nightmare and it just flops out of your nose?” Seriously guys? I mean, you don’t carry around a bag with you because you don’t go on the feed all day, that’s just being over fed. I do my feed overnight so that I can be free and do whatever I want during the day. Also, mine has been pulled out slightly before and let me tell you, its not very fun. For those who are worried about it being pulled out just tape it to your self. I find those quote poking fun at people with feeding tubes more than they are defending them, because they are obviously uneducated on the matter.

The story now goes on to explain the girl, Samantha’s story with a feeding tube. She is allergic to eggs, wheat, soy, milk, seafood, and nuts. She can tolerate small bits of potato and turkey and other food causes her to have nausea, vomiting, throat constriction, stomach aches, lethargy and upset bowels. These symptoms last anywhere from an hour to a week. How about you just eat the things that don’t make you do these things, because obviously you can still eat different things? It also goes on to say that she has a nickel allergy and goes on to talk about that and her other allergies that common and have nothing to do with eating.

At the beginning of last year she gave up all foods and became dependent on a feeding tube. At the beginning of last year… Last year… Meaning she has been eating for thirteen years of her life perfectly fine and just now decided “hey I think its time for a feeding tube.” It also goes on about things she misses eating like Italian food, mac and cheese, salad, and her mom’s chicken soup. Not any chicken soup, but her mom’s especially. I must add that there is a picture of her making a pizza with a sad look onn her face with the caption “finds her outlet through cooking foods she cannot eat.” I have an idea lets torture our kid by making her prepare dinner for us, seriously come on.

Samantha now goes on to explain how it’s a pain to take around and load up as she takes is out to the mall, the movies, and her friend’s house. This right here makes me resentful and makes me shake my head. Its not like she has to be on the damn feed all day, you can hook it up when you’re at home and not doing anything. This just sounds like a damn sob story. It also says its with her at all times and all I have to say is well obviously. Now this is where it gets interesting, it says she has it when she falls asleep. If this means over night then she can obviously have her feed over night, meaning she doesn’t need to take it with her when she leaves home.

In conclusion, I’ll give you my scenario. Eighteen year old with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, bad case of pneumonia. So bad that it takes me a month to get stable, obviously I’d need a feeding tube to survive that. Told I’m to never eat or drink because I’d end up with pneumonia, now believe me there were tears. There was tears for three months when I was home until I said, “You know what, fuck it” and started sneaking juice boxes. Oh no, don’t do that you may say, you’re doomed to get pneumonia. Well here I am sneaking juice boxes for months. I moved on to food and snuck that. I’m obviously not dead from pneumonia or this blog wouldn’t exist. It took me three years of being on a feeding tube build up the courage to tell my doctors. They scheduled me a swallow study and they were surprised that I did so well. So now I am allowed to eat whenever I want. This doesn’t mean I’ll be off a tube because I’ve never been over eighty pounds in my life. But it was a great relief to me.

My closing words, this story does not get any words of sympathy to me. If you are able to eat some foods, then keep on at it as well as getting the rest of your nourishment from the feeding tube. All this story was to me was a bloody sob story and I’d not have any of it.