It’s alive! It’s alive!

A space-age solution for eating soup

by Amy Bekier, San Diego, California

Hello, my fellow slurpy, sloppy FSHD superhero eaters!

For many of us with FSHD, as our hands, wrists, and arms grow weaker, it becomes quite difficult to raise an eating utensil to our mouths. Even when we succeed by using both hands, the utensil tends to turn, causing that tasty morsel to drop back onto the plate or splash into the bowl.

Our stained, battle-worn clothing gets more nutrients than we do.

You will often see us face planting our heads into the plate to bring the food to our mouths. Add the viscosity of a liquid or slippery meal and you might as well be trying to eat soup with a fork. Six hours later we’re still slurping away, yet sadly little of it has landed in the intended pie hole.

Are you tired of launching peas across a crowded room? Don’t want to look like a toddler while trying to impress a date?

There’s got to be a better way

There are many of us who have reached a point where we need feeding assistance from a caregiver, but I felt that if there was a way to continue eating on my own, especially since I live alone, it was worth investigating. I am determined to eat independently for as long as I possibly can.

Many have tried to invent a better way. There are fat utensils, squishy utensils, utensils with handles, sippy cups, and plates with dividers. But none of these are completely effective in bringing food to one’s mouth.

Then there are bulky, motorized arms for feeding, but they are over-the-top expensive and not easily transportable. Without useful assistive devices for eating, FSHD folks tend to avoid certain foods or stick with finger foods.

I have become a master at searching the web and letting my fingers do the walking. While shopping online, I came across liftware.com. They have a video showing the utensil adapting and adjusting its angle no matter how the wrist is twisted.

Although skeptical and wary of the high price ($195), I bought one, figuring it is a one-time investment that is much less expensive than paying a caregiver to assist with feeding. I’m happy to report that my Liftware utensil has paid for itself through the years, multiple times over.

It’s alive!

Liftware Level is a fat-handled, cool-looking, lightweight utensil with advanced sensor and motor-based self-leveling technology. No matter how you lift it using its self-charging handle, it will twist snakelike so that it always stays level facing upward to prevent food from falling off. It’s as if it’s alive. The added accessory can be a fork or spoon, but I find I only need to use the spoon.

The handle is springy, so I don’t find it effective for anchoring a piece of steak while cutting it, but once the food is in bite-size pieces, the spoon works great.

At first, even though it kept the food level, I still had issues getting it up to my mouth. By experimenting I found that if I hold it from the very bottom of the handle, I can easily twist one hand, holding one hand with the other, to extend the length of the handle and the spoon closer to my mouth.

The device works not only for soup but for pasta, peas, cereal, or any small-particled tasties. There is even a different device for someone with tremors, such as Parkinson’s, called Liftware Steady.

I am more confident when I go out to eat, and always receive questions and awe when using the device. Often people will approach my table to request a referral for a friend or family member.

Wouldn’t you like to wow your friends with sleek, sexy, futuristic, space-age technology that is sure to impress and create conversation?

May the fork be with you!

Note: Search YouTube for Liftware to see the device in action. This article is for educational purposes. The FSHD Society does not endorse specific products.