Toast is an unlikely agent of death. But there you are in your kitchen on a Saturday morning, inexplicably choking on a mouthful, trying not to panic.<\/p>\n
The day begins like any other for Samantha Anderson, a goldsmith and mother of three from Brisbane, Australia. She has made her usual breakfast of tea and toast with peanut butter and lets her mind wander as she takes her first bite.<\/p>\n
And then, nothing. Wait, why didn\u2019t I swallow?<\/p>\n
She tries again, pressing her lips together and pushing the food back further in her mouth where her throat can take over. But it doesn\u2019t, and now she\u2019s choking.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t panic, she tells herself. She manages to slowly suck a bit of air past the blockage until she can muster up a forceful cough. And again. And again, finally dislodging the toast on the third try.<\/p>\n
She is temporarily jolted by the episode, her heart racing. That was odd, she thinks, though it doesn\u2019t stop her from having another bite. She has absolute faith that it won\u2019t happen again. But it does, over and over.<\/p>\n
Seemingly overnight, at the age of 39, Anderson has lost her ability to swallow.<\/p>\n