Teresa:
Ramble all you like. Time and talk heals! I forgot that "Burn" until reading your post. I agree with Andy, the inside was more of a concern than the outside. My RO recommended Aquaphor sauve. It seemed thicker and more moist than vaseline and many other products we tried. Janet also used Aloe which provided a "Cooling" sensation. Most here also have an intimate relationship with lack of speech. Keep him swallowing but as far as speech I used computer and a wipe off board. My brother found us a website that actually spoke what you typed (Text to speech website). At that time it was a female AVATAR and voice but it was free and helped a lot so it didn't matter to me. It's very easy to close that mouth and shut down right now. Keep him swallowing, drinking, and talking as much as possible.
Best Wishes,
Steve