At 21 years old, Núria Jorda He has seen how his life has taken a 180 degree turn. A few months ago, she had to undergo surgery to remove a tumor in the carotids, which are the blood vessels located on both sides of the neck and responsible for supplying blood to the brain and head.
Due to a complication during the operation, and after an emergency bypass, he suffers dysphagiaOr what is the same,
What is dysphagia?
Dysphagia is difficulty swallowing food. A disorder that usually occurs in older people with neurodegenerative diseases or as a consequence of certain diseases, as is the case with Nuria.
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“I had a tumor, I have dysphagia, and I will always have a bypass,” he says in his TikTok biography.
Now, through social networks (only on TikTok she has more than 400,000 followers) she shares how she has been forced to change habits as daily as drinking water.
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“Since brushing my teeth, now I have to do it with my head down so I don’t swallow the toothpaste, or sleep on my stomach so I don’t choke on my own saliva at night.”
Response to @Debbie In the end we opted to buy a portable blender that gets us out of a lot of trouble and allows me to eat out of the house!🫶🏼💗
And, above all, give visibility to an unknown disorder despite the fact that more than two million Spaniards (many undiagnosed) suffer from this problem.
In your account profile TikTok (where more videos are shared about his day to day) he carries out authentic educational and outreach work.
Dysphagia treatment
Different professionals are involved in the treatment of dysphagia, such as:
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Doctors (Endocrinology and Nutrition, Neurology, Digestive, ENT, Oncology, Geriatrics or Primary Care),
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speech therapists,
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Dietitians-nutritionists,
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nurses.
In some cases he has a cure, although in his specific case his speech therapist, Marta, with whom he also shares videos on social networks, cannot be sure.
This is how he explains it to:
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“It depends on the conditions of each person. We are doing everything possible to try to get eating and swallowing back to normal.”
Eating and social life with dysphagia
And it is that, the biggest change that it has suffered since March 2022 (when it had to be intervened) has been food.
Núria has difficulties swallowing both liquid and solid, so she is forced to thicken the water or mash the food so that it is in “American mashed potato” format.
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“The biggest problem is the textures, since being able to eat only the same texture, you come to hate the food.”
The diagnosis was a very hard blow. Leaving the hospital with a bypass at only 21 years old… The world fell on me
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“In my case, I am in pudding texture, which is the last phase of the disorder, so the thicker the better,” he details this portal.
And although her social life has been affected due to her disorder, she has found the solution so that going out to eat does not put her health at risk: a portable blender.
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“I am on a turmix diet, that is, everything is crushed. Whether at home or in a restaurant. What happens is that you have to be very careful so that nothing is left without crushing because it can be very dangerous.”
What is dysphagia and what does it feel like?
According to (SEEN), dysphagia “can be the cause of malnutrition and serious complications such as respiratory infections.” Difficulty swallowing may occur “to swallow solid foods, liquids, or medications.”
To understand it in an easier way. Núria Jordà defines it as “choking or feeling that the food has constantly gone the other way. It is as if your throat or your tongue were not coordinated to swallow”.
Or as defined by the SEEN, the “subjective sensation of obstacle to the passage of the food bolus from the mouth to the stomach during swallowing”.
During the speech therapy sessions, which she attends every morning, and which has prevented her from continuing with her face-to-face studies at the university, she works on different aspects to overcome dysphagia.
On the one hand, the voice and the tongue “that my hypoglossal nerve is affected” and, on the other, swallowing itself.
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“It’s also taught me what to do if I’m drowning and alone at the moment.”
How has dysphagia affected you psychologically?
The diagnosis of dysphagia is very hard and has an impact on mental health. “It was a very hard blow,” she highlights.
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“Leaving the hospital with a bypass at only 21 years old… The world fell on me. But dysphagia does not have to take away your life, but you can adapt to it. Although at first, of course, it affected my life social: I didn’t want to leave the house or for anyone to see me eat baby food”.
Response to @Sarah 🐣 Marta!! I have done well? hahaha. I have to go and I can’t answer with videos but with comments yes!! If you have questions you can ask and I’ll answer you 🫶🏼💗
Since he uploaded the first video to TikTok, which went viral in a few hours, he shares the progress of his treatment without fail every day. And this has also helped him psychologically.
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“Seeing people ask me how you’re doing makes me feel more like getting back on my feet.”
And in fact, he stresses, “I have eaten plantains, fresh cheese and I am changing textures”, which means that he is gradually recovering. “The community that I have created on social networks has made me feel protected and wanting to get ahead.”