Thank you for your responses. I guess weight loss isn't as big a problem with PD as I thought. Sheryl - I agree that "Saggy skin" is just as unsightly as the cellulite or obesity. I am still chuckling at your idea to use it as a blanket. I believe in donating to science, so do you think I could donate mine - like to use for skin grafts in burn victims or something? Or for those third world countries where cannibalism is practiced, how about using it to make fried pork rinds? (barf! )

Seriously, and lurkingforacure, you were, I need to work on taking smaller bites and chewing thoroughly. I developed bad habits when I worked as an elementary teacher. Although we were by law to be provided with a 30-minute duty-free lunchbreak, I guffawed every time I heard that mentioned. We had to make sure the little ones got what they ordered in the lunch line, and the single lunchroom monitor couldn't open those 90-100 packs of ketchup or millk cartons alone, then we had to remember that Susie and Johnny cannot sit near each other for disciplinary reasons; so the 30- minute "break" was more like 10-15 minutes (because you had to have youor class cleared out for the incoming one to find a seat!) Therefore, the habit of nearly swallowing your food whole was not an exaggeraton.

And yes, "chin tucks" do make the food go down the right pipe much better. Maybe taking a drink first might be of benefit, also. But the best thing for EVERYONE to know is how to spot a choking victim, and how to do the Heimlich maneuver. Hre's a simple explanation and graphic depiction:
http://www.ehow.com/how_14949_heimlich-maneuver.html

And I read somewhere that if you are choking and alone that you can throw your upper body over the back of a chair and do abdominal thrusts on yourself.

It's quite coincidental that my son just last week had a harrowing experience with a choking episode. He was eating sushi (that perfectly-shaped sticky rice filled with various chopped foods that usually matches the esophyogeal opening to a tea). He got tickled and sucked the sushi down his windpipe. Because everyone else was laughing, it took a while for others to realize he was really choking! His safety net was that he passed out and fell, requiring 32 stitches to close an eye injury. I guess that's a pretty fair exchange over death, but I wonder if he could hve dislodged the food by doing abdominal thrusts over the back of a chair? Guess we'll never know.

You caregivers out there should take note!
Peg