“You’re gonna make feeding tubes look so hot”: Elli Kilpatrick on body image.

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FEATURE

The Latest

Featured
Limitless

Garrett Taira defied all the odds and came back dancing.

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Making Change

Shaping legislation and advising big brands are all in a day’s work for Celia Chartres-Aris.

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Featured
Let’s Talk Lingo

A lesson in tube-feeding language with two stomal nurses.

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Dream Team

We meet a fantasy league of paediatric feeding specialists.

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ARFID explained

Dr Tessa Taylor spells out and explores this common condition.

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THE BLEND COVER STORY

Everyday Miracles. In the Willardson household, tube-feeding goes viral.

Not long after two-year-old Charlotte Willardson started feeding with a gastrostomy tube, her mother, Shannon, received an SOS text from their babysitter. 

“She said that Charlie’s tube had come out. And I’m like, okay, which tube? Because if it’s just the extension set, no big deal, right? But she sends me a picture and it’s the entire button.” 


CONTINUE READING >

Features

Blog Posts
Curated Care
Curated Care

A tale of two self-advocates who won’t settle for stock-standard support.

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Winning Formula
Winning Formula

It could be blended whole food, a nourishing supplement or a bit of both.

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The Business of Blends
The Business of Blends

Behind the scenes of three game-changing startups.

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Push It
Push It

There’s more than one way to wield a syringe.

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Body Talk
Body Talk

In a culture obsessed with appearances, how are tube-feeders faring?

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Tube-feeding and travel
Tube-feeding and travel

Come fly with a worldly bunch of travelling tubies.

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Tubie Beauty
Tubie Beauty

Three talents in the fashion, makeup and modelling industries take stock of this changing scene.

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The Age of the Tubie
The Age of the Tubie

Think you’re in a niche? News flash: You’re not.

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A History of Tube Feeding
A History of Tube Feeding

A crash course in the origins of enteral nutrition.

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Personal Accounts

PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
Limitless
Limitless

Garrett Taira defied all the odds and came back dancing.

Read More →
Making Change
Making Change

Shaping legislation and advising big brands are all in a day’s work for Celia Chartres-Aris.

Read More →
Flying High
Flying High

Introducing tube-feeding’s biggest cheerleader, Sutton Short.

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Tubie of Influence
Tubie of Influence

Viral sensation Stephanie Kelly is as candid as can be when it comes to tube-feeding. And she’s educating the masses.

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Fit for Purpose
Fit for Purpose

Fitness juggernaut, disability advocate and adoptive mother Hannah Setzer was blending before it got cool.

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Making Magic
Making Magic

Maddy Reid on the struggles of chronic illness, the magic of social media and getting by on “glimmers”.

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The Nil by Mouth Foodie
The Nil by Mouth Foodie

Loretta Harmes can’t eat another bite. Literally. Nevertheless, her culinary talent and incredible story has made her a star.

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Acquired Taste
Acquired Taste

Alexander Vane on what’s it like to eat your first chip sandwich in your late teens.

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Chronically Creative
Chronically Creative

A bout of maternal sepsis shook her world. But amid the medical chaos, Megan Fisher has found beauty.

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Strong Stomach
Strong Stomach

With a body that screams power and a G-tube in place, Pedro Relvas is annihilating assumptions.

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Tubie to Be
Tubie to Be

Journalist Kate Thomas will one day need a feeding tube. Here’s what she asked two tube-feeding pros.

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Artist Series: Kathy Lean
Artist Series: Kathy Lean

Student, TikToker and tube-fed artist Kathy Lean tells her story – her way – through art.

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Model Behaviour
Model Behaviour

Disability advocate and artist, Jessica Cochran, says there’s no shame in having an alternative method of getting your nutrition.

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Life Unplugged
Life Unplugged

This head and neck cancer survivor taught herself how to eat again. Now she’s helping others to live tube-free.

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The Bucket List
The Bucket List

Jon Oogjen has a terminal diagnosis and, for the second time in his life, a feeding tube. Does this stop him from adventuring to the extreme? Heck no.

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Confessions of a Tubie Tween
Confessions of a Tubie Tween

Bella Gray reflects on the ups and downs of her childhood years with a G-tube.

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TUBIE TALKS PODCAST

A series celebrating people and families who tube-feed. Spend a day in the life of a vibrant mix of guests.


TUNE IN NOW >

Family Stories

FAMILY STORIES
The Sibling Bond
The Sibling Bond

It’s time these supporting acts got their own headline.

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Everyday Miracles
Everyday Miracles

Worldwide awareness, anyone? In the Willardson household, tube-feeding goes viral.

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Soul Sisters
Soul Sisters

Tameka Simmons is bringing all of her daughters to the table.

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Pumped for Change
Pumped for Change

When the health system wasn’t finding answers for Samantha Humphreys’ daughter, social media did.

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Squad Goals
Squad Goals

It can be taught. A family shares how they built a circle of tube-feeding-savvy supports around their child.

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Thriving Success
Thriving Success

Avoiding a feeding tube isn’t ‘winning’ and placing one isn’t ‘losing’. So says Melissa Schlemmer in her personal essay.

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Following their Lead
Following their Lead

Grecian Martin on going with her gut, getting the right care and shedding light on tube-feeding family life.

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Heart Warrior
Heart Warrior

From a single selfie to international stardom, father-son duo Robert and Chace Selby advocate for tube- feeders through fun.

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A Love Like No Other
A Love Like No Other

Brana Gadsby and Ross Worth shouting their daughter’s worth and changing the way the world looks at tube-feeding families.

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Post-traumatic Pride
Post-traumatic Pride

Madeline Cheney shares a personal essay on the emotional agony – and epic bravery – of tube-feeding a newborn.

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Smashing It
Smashing It

Why let a tube hold you back? Eliana Joseph makes sure her family doesn’t miss out on a moment of fun.

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Tubie Truths
Tubie Truths

Nina Alhambra has learnt that, when it comes to what’s right for her daughter, Mama really does know best.

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Travelling Tubie
Travelling Tubie

Think you can’t adventure with a feeding tube? Get wanderlusting over Chloe Turner’s story of caravanning around the country with her family.

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From One PEG Mother to Another
From One PEG Mother to Another

When it comes to trying blended feeds, Eron Barnett’s message is simple: Don’t be scared.

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Be Not Afraid of My Body
Be Not Afraid of My Body

A photo series by Kate Disher-Quill in collaboration with SUCCEED Child Feeding Alliance.

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On the Go
On the Go

This mum has found freedom (and fun) for her family by tube-feeding her son with a Kangaroo enteral feeding pump.

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Two’s a Charm
Two’s a Charm

Psychologist Jessica Gowans shares what she’s learned from tube- feeding both her son and daughter.

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Little Miracles
Little Miracles

Amy Purling is using her experience and medical smarts to support other families of premature bubs.

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TRENDING • RECIPES

What’s for dinner? Dive into our collection of dietitian-devised blends.

LET’S GET BLENDING

Professional Perspectives

PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVES
Let’s Talk Lingo
Let’s Talk Lingo

A lesson in tube-feeding language with two stomal nurses.

Read More →
Dream Team
Dream Team

We meet a fantasy league of paediatric feeding specialists.

Read More →
ARFID explained
ARFID explained

Dr Tessa Taylor spells out and explores this common condition.

Read More →
The G Word
The G Word

Got a granulation tissue issue? Clinical educator Robyn Wortel has you covered.

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How to travel with a feeding tube
How to travel with a feeding tube

Stomal nurse Natalie Gentile shares her tips.

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Doctor’s Orders
Doctor’s Orders

We sit down with a paediatrician working with families to manage complex issues around feeding.

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When your Medical Team just isn’t that into Blends…
When your Medical Team just isn’t that into Blends…

So, you want to try a blenderised diet but you’re not feeling the love from your dietitian or doctor? Here’s what to do.

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Block Buster
Block Buster

Keep calm, act fast and steer clear of Coca-Cola. A tube-feeding expert shares her tips for combatting clogs.

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Child’s Play
Child’s Play

Meet the maker behind The Butterfly Pig, an inclusive toy boutique that 3D prints pint-sized tube-feeding devices.

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Keen to Wean?
Keen to Wean?

Dietitian Ashleigh Mitchell and Dr Tessa Taylor give their two cents on transitioning off a feeding tube.

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The Seasoned Expert
The Seasoned Expert

This dietitian is on a mission to help families master tube-feeding at home.

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The Ultimate Connector
The Ultimate Connector

Sarah Gray, the founder of ausEE Inc., reflects on the importance of community.

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The Gut Healer
The Gut Healer

Paediatric gastroenterologist Usha Krishnan shares how blenderised tube-feeds are taking off and taming troubled tummies.

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G-tube Feeding 101
G-tube Feeding 101

New to the great, life-changing device that is a gastrostomy tube? Take note of these top tips.

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Au Naturel
Au Naturel

Canadian clinical dietitian Claire Kariya, shares her top tips for a perfectly balanced blended diet.

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The Real Deal
The Real Deal

Paediatric dietitian Kate Dehlsen shares her thoughts on a blenderised diet – and tips for how to get it right.

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Fed is Best
Fed is Best

Paediatrician Dr Chris Elliot wants to make life happy, fulfilled and safe for children who are tube-fed.

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A Blendable Feast
A Blendable Feast

Tube Dietitian Lina Breik busts some common blend myths.

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Gut Feel
Gut Feel

How can we come to terms with a different way of eating? We ask a mental health expert.

Read More →
A Whole(some) New World
A Whole(some) New World

Say hello to Sarah Thomas the tubie mum whose blended food pouches are a pantry-stable wonder.

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Bright as a Button
Bright as a Button

A business inspired by Stacey Phillips’ tube-fed kid makes tubie life easier (and cuter) for countless families.

Read More →
The Whole Story
The Whole Story

The clever combination of Ali Howell and Lively Eaters’ frontwoman, Emily Lively, are behind this new, nutritionally formulated meal replacement blend.

Read More →

Directory

  • Grub's Up

    A smorgasboard of enteral feeding options.

  • Fashion and Accesories

    Go-to kit to get you tube-feeding in style.

  • Read All About It

    Books to get you blending like a pro.

VIEW FULL DIRECTORY

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Before her son, Luke, came into the world, Eliana Joseph's beautiful online store @thehandmadebabyboutique sold stock-standard milestone cards. ⁠ ⁠ Recently, she posted this: ⁠ ⁠ "If you’ve been following along for a while, you’ll kn
Congratulations are in order for our Issue nº 4 cover stars, the Willardsons @shannonwillardson, who welcomed twin girls to their family this week. ⁠ ⁠ When asked how she felt about adding two more babies to her brood – which includes Char
They put the food where...!? 🍑⁠ ⁠ Tube-feeding is only getting slicker and more sophisticated. And one thing’s for sure, having been unquestionably superseded by modern medicine, rectal feeding is thankfully a thing of the past.⁠ ⁠ Take a cras
Born without eyes and with several other challenges, Evely Diaz was always going to have an extraordinary story. Her mother, South Carolina singer and not-for-profit founder Tameka Simmons – alongside Evely’s sisters, Luna and Skye &ndash
All hail the power of the bathroom pep talk 🙌 Nurse-in-training Elli Kilpatrick @ellikiller shares how one chat with her bestie changed her mindset around tube-feeding. Find the full story in Blend Issue nº 4, via the link in our bio.
“No parent wants to hear that their child is severely malnourished and dehydrated,” says Grecian Martin @growing_our_tribe whose premmie twin girls – Hanna and Riley – were both tube-fed from birth. Nowadays, Riley continues t
Our community is a formidable, global force led by innovators like the ones you’ll find on page 104 of The Blend Issue nº 4, in our feature on ‘The Business of Blends’. Here, three parents of tube-fed kids, all leading blended
Syringes are a tube-feeder’s best friend. But have you mastered their full potential? 🍷 Read more from tube-feeding queen Kym Adams in The Blend Issue nº 4, via the link in our bio. Photography by @debibrettphotography for @blendedbysar
👆What she said. Opal Shipley has relied on feeding tubes throughout her teenage years, at a stage of life that’s typically about fun and freedom. How does she feel about this? “The first thing for me was acceptance,” she says.
Sweet scenes with our gorgeous cover stars the Willardsons @shannonwillardson, beautifully captured by Samantha Steed Adcock @___saphotography. Find their tube-feeding story in our latest issue, via the link in our bio.
From TPN and tube-feeding to a bowel transplant, Garrett Taira @garretttaira has tried it all. In The Blend Issue nº 4 we chat with the actor, dancer and chronic-illness advocate about self-esteem, support systems, and the dangers of door knobs.
Cute, much? Can’t stop flipping through our featured photo series from @tubiefunau, @avanosmedical and @debibrettphotography 🌻 Find all these beauties and more in The Blend Issue nº 4, via the link in our bio.