Supporting Disabled Individuals in Aging Crisis.

Sixty-seven-year-old Xiao-Hu-Ge (pseudonym) has spent nearly 30 years living in the institution. Affected by cerebral palsy, he has long been unable to care for himself, relying entirely on liquid meals and caregiver feeding for his daily nutrition. However, with aging and functional decline, the seemingly ordinary act of "eating" became a major threat to Xiao-Hu-Ge's life, marked by frequent choking, food spillage, and nutritional loss, which even risked fatal aspiration pneumonia.

To safeguard Xiao-Hu-Ge's dignity and health, the institutional team launched an "oral resuscitation program." Training began with the most fundamental posture positioning, accompanied by 15 minutes of daily oral massage and the seemingly childlike yet highly challenging "blow-dragon" toy exercise. Initially, Xiao-Hu-Ge could only produce weak, short breaths, but with the unyielding companionship of instructional supervisors and care teachers, he practiced again and again. Following 240 days of persistence—a full eight months—a miracle finally occurred. Today, Xiao-Hu-Ge can fully extend the blow-dragon toy in one breath and maintain it stably for over 5 seconds. This simple 5-second milestone represents 240 days of hard work. This achievement is reflected in the details of daily life: his mouth closure has grown stronger, food leakage during meals has decreased, and the frequency of choking has dropped significantly. Most gratifyingly, even when he occasionally chokes, Xiao-Hu-Ge now has the strength to cough it out independently.

For Xiao-Hu-Ge, the dining table is no longer a battlefield full of danger, but a place where he can retain his dignity.