Jerry

We really appreciate everything FreeArm has done to help me out.

I am 53 years old, I am a multi location distributor for Little Debbie Snack Cakes. I love my job and particularly love interacting with the wide variety of people on my territories.  

In my time off I am a drummer in my church worship band, I try to go fishing every chance I get and I have a true passion for cooking, particularly smoking all types of meat. This can be anywhere from 5 to 10 hours. It has to be a true passion if you want to do it right, it is a labor of love. My wife and I try to go to Hawaii once a year. This is where we discovered the joys of snorkeling. This is our happy place and we look forward to it all year. Unfortunately we’ve had to cancel the last two years due to covid and this year I was just finishing my treatments and could not eat by mouth or talk.

 I was diagnosed with tonsil cancer that spread to one lymph node. This was quite shocking since I have never smoked. I had 7 weeks of radiation, 5 days a week and chemotherapy 1 day a week. Midway through my second week of treatments my mouth got so sore I couldn’t open my mouth all the way and I began only eating every flavor of Popsicle and fruit bar we could find. After a week and a half I had lost 26 pounds and I quickly made the decision to have a feeding tube. When I was admitted to the hospital I was diagnosed with malnutrition and dehydration.

 The feeding tube turned things around for me within a week. While using the feeding tube I would normally hold the end of the tube where it connected to the syringe and pour in water and shakes. The water goes down pretty quick but the shakes, particularly if they’re cold, take much longer. I was on so much pain medication it was all I could do to stay awake while eating. I can not tell you the number of times I fell asleep and spilled shake in my lap. It always made me sleepy when I was eating and it was ten times worse during chemotherapy. I ate every four hours and the hospital was an hour away so I always had to eat in the middle of it.

My brother in-law and his wife were visiting and saw the trouble I was having. They found the FreeArm Muscle and along with my sister in-law’s family they all changed my life with this gift.

My wife found a small metal cart with drawers and set it up with all my supplies. At first I attached the FreeArm to an end table in my living room and moved it every time I finished with it. I eventually attached it to the end of my cart and left it there. That way I can roll it over to the couch when I need it and move it all out of the way when I finish. I found it much more comfortable sitting on the couch in the living room when eating. Just put a towel over your lap to catch any drips while connecting.

I definitely did not stop falling asleep while eating, but I did stop spilling food all over my lap. Many  times I would wake up to an empty syringe and only be half way through eating. That is so much better seeing it hanging in front of you rather than waking to the shock of a wet lap. 

If you are new to tube feeding I can only tell you what I have found to be true in my experience. The FreeArm made tube feeding worry-free. As I mentioned before, the hospital is an hour from my home. My treatments were at 8am daily so I had to eat around 5am. I fell asleep while eating nearly every morning and FreeArm saved me….and several pair of pants. Their customer service is fabulous. I spent eight and a half weeks tube feeding four times a day. In my situation FreeArm was a necessity. I hope I never have to tube feed again but if I do, I have my FreeArm ready to go. If I don’t, it may be just what I need to hold the spool while putting line on my fishing reels.

Seriously, the FreeArm was a blessing to me and I am so thankful they spent the time developing this product.