Susie - So glad you found this site. I was a caregiver to my son who did not have your type of surgery, but he did have a section of his tongue removed. The only thing I might add to the excellent comments above would be to suggest that for communication, you take a laptop computer with you to write messages or make comments. My son typed in BIG letters on the laptop and that seemed to work out just fine when he was just out of surgery. Later, he used it again when the radiation made his throat sore. Do let us know how you are doing.