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Dear MaryAnn, Thanks to you (and all who have graciously been responding with thoughts about my mother's situation) for your post. (Note to all: I've posted an update in today's Digest and can really use whatever helpful ideas you can all give.) You said you doubt that my Mom's lung was punctured when the nurse, in trying to suction the lungs, poked the tube in. All I can tell you is that (a) when the nurse was doing this my Mom was shouting in pain, but the nurse just kept on doing it, (b) this promptly lead to a heart attack and a swarm of medical personnel immediately descending on my mother, (3) soon the ICU head doctor told me that a lung had been punctured (and that my Mom might die any minute), but that they'd promptly inserted (surgically) a tube between the ribs and re-inflated the lung. As to my Mom's difficulty in coughing or swallowing, this was not a problem prior to the intubation at LIJ in late April, except that on some occasions, prior to that time, she would occasionally (& infrequently) choke a bit on some forkfuls of food while eating (successfully) meals. After 2 months at LIJ, she entered the rehab facility, where (after successful swallow-tests) she again ate regular food & liquids, for that nearly 2-week period, without problem -- except PERHAPS (nobody knows) it is speculated that she MAY have aspirated something shortly before (and which they think caused) her June 7 heart attack/pneumonia which sent her to the upstate hospital where she is now. She was extubated this past Wednesday, and we hope that her throat & swallow-ability & gag-reflex -- all of which are very weak and which the doctor is concerned about -- will recover sufficiently so that she will be able to eat regular food & drink liquids again as soon as possible, and that she will NOT be prone to aspirate liquids or foods. But, though her throat is SLOWLY recovering -- slower, the doctor says, than he'd hoped -- her cough-reflex is still weak (though maybe gaining a touch of strength) and so it's still a serious concern. (Note: The good news is that the doctor says that the E.N.T specialist has found that the throat & vocal chords are sore but NOT damaged.) So, suggestions? In any case, thanks again for your concern. -- SJS 8/3/96