Jim Gaffigan's wife reveals she's finally able to eat food again three months after having a tumor the size of an apple removed from her brain stem

  • Jeannie Gaffigan's throat was paralyzed after the a nine-hour operation in April
  • That meant she had to be fed through a PEG - a tube leading into her stomach
  • But now she has regained control of her throat and is able to swallow puree
  • She says she now appreciates 'everything,' and 'Every moment is a gift from God'
  • Her love for her husband and five kids has also grown 'a thousandfold,' she said
  • In May the Gaffigans made a video showing how she ate through the PEG tube

Jeannie Gaffigan, comedy writer and wife of stand-up comedian Jim Gaffigan, has finally recovered her ability to eat months after a brain operation.

Gaffigan had a tumor the size of an apple removed from her brain stem on April 18 after nine hours of life-threatening surgery - but that resulted in throat paralysis, which made it impossible for her to eat normally.

Now, as her neurons begin to restore themselves, she has regained the ability to eat - and as she told People, the progress has given her a new appreciation for life.

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Jeannie Gaffigan, wife of comedian Jim Gaffigan (both pictured in November last year), was diagnosed with a tumor on her brain stem in April. The operation left her with throat paralysis

Jeannie Gaffigan, wife of comedian Jim Gaffigan (both pictured in November last year), was diagnosed with a tumor on her brain stem in April. The operation left her with throat paralysis

As a consequence of the paralysis she could not swallow food for fear of it going into her lungs. Instead, she had to be fed through a tube into her stomach; here, Jim is squeezing a syringe full of liquid food into her tube with his face

As a consequence of the paralysis she could not swallow food for fear of it going into her lungs. Instead, she had to be fed through a tube into her stomach; here, Jim is squeezing a syringe full of liquid food into her tube with his face

The mom of five's recovery from the horrifying tumor was complicated when she developed aspiration pneumonia.

That can occur when food, saliva or other substances are inhaled into the lungs - something that remained a risk as long as Gaffigan was incapable of swallowing.

So doctors fitted her with a Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) tube that comes out through her belly and can be used to inject liquid food directly into her stomach.

'I still have the food PEG in my stomach,' she told People. 'But in the past few weeks I have gone from eating nothing by mouth for fear of aspiration (and a reoccurrence of the double lung pneumonia that kept me in the ICU for two weeks), to being able to have small amounts of water, to nectar thick liquid, and now finally purees! 

'By the way, you can puree almost anything – and I have.'

Gaffigan, a mother of five, is now able to eat pureed food - and says she now appreciates every moment of every day as a 'gift from God'

Gaffigan, a mother of five, is now able to eat pureed food - and says she now appreciates every moment of every day as a 'gift from God'

Gaffigan is now also able to breathe normally, meaning that she no longer needs the tracheotomy tube doctors had installed in her throat.

'Now that the tracheotomy is removed, I find my hand moving to my throat several times a day in disbelief that I can now breathe without the aid of an oxygen tank,' she said.

All of this has given her a new lease of life, she says. 

'As my cranial nerves start to come back to life, I have found a new appreciation for everything. Every moment is a gift from God.'

She also said that her love for her husband and kids, which she previously thought 'boundless,' has now increased 'a thousandfold' and that she remains inspired every day by his 'courage and strength' in what she describes as a 'hurricane'.

'Don't wait for the hurricane to hang on to your family and friends, and to find the blessings and the glory in every detail,' she added. 'Do it now.'

Gaffigan (pictured with her husband and five kids in November last year) says the love for them she previously thought was 'boundless' has increased a thousandfold after her illness

Gaffigan (pictured with her husband and five kids in November last year) says the love for them she previously thought was 'boundless' has increased a thousandfold after her illness

In May, the Gaffigans posted up a video showing how she eats using her PEG tube.

Jim Gaffigan captioned the video: 'My [wife] hasn’t swallowed food or water in 38 days but still has a sense of humor. Working on the name of feeding tube restaurant.'

He says in the video: 'This is kind of like our own cooking show, really, Jeannie, when you think about it.

'What I do - and you can do this at home - is I take the container, I open it up, I dump it into a coffee cup, then I stuff it into her tube. That goes right into her... I think the delicate term is "gut".'

He's then shown squeezing a syringe full of liquid food into the tube. 

Jeannie Gaffigan first realized something was wrong when she started having frequent headaches, bouts of dizziness and coughing spells.

She first blamed the symptoms on being a busy, working mother but when she began to lose her hearing, she knew something was wrong.

Doctors said the tumor had been growing for a year.

Jeannie told People in May: 'I was a ticking time bomb, waiting to be paralyzed.'

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