"The Thickening Gel You Can't Taste!"

Jerry seems better to me today than he did yesterday. He has opened his eyes more, and has spoken just a couple of words. Earlier today when Nolie said, "Jerry" he replied, "what?" And, when I asked him today if he wanted some more water, he replied, "yeah." When I first got here this morning, Nolie went downstairs to get something to eat, and that's when I noticed Jerry kind of sticking out his tongue. I dipped one of the Sponge On the End Of a Stick tools into some water, and he sucked it dry. After doing this more than a few times, I busted out the bendy straws and let him suck down a total of about two cups. Apparently, I broke a rule. Jerry is NPO, and therefore not allowed to have anything orally, because there is a concern he will choke; however, his epiglottis seemed to be working just fine to me. Later in the day he had about another two cups of water, but this time, only via the 1cm x 1cm x 2cm Sponge On the End Of a Stick tool. The doctor now has said that he can have clear liquids, but only by the spoonful, and preferably with a "thickening agent" added. The thickening agent is called Simply Thick, and has the tagline on the package "The Thickening Gel You Can't Taste." It almost sounds as appetizing as "Potted Meat Food Product."