Well, surgery didn't go as planned. The tumor was larger and further spread than they had thought. They removed some of the jaw in the space behind my teeth and 2 teeth I think. They then sewed my tongue and some breast material they brought up and through my neck inside and hooked some of my tongue to that. THEN they wired the mouth shut. :o( They also took some of the nodes out of the right side as well. So I have stitches/staples all around my neck again and can't eat/drink. I am so thirsty!

They are talking the 3 solution chemo to help slow/stop the tumor while the surrounding area heals from surgery and radiation. After I can get to a 3 month PET scan they will know what is good and bad tissue and try to use the radiation knife I guess.After a 1 1/2 hour awake trake they may never get me close to an operating room again.

Mouth should be wired for 2-3 weeks so will have to relearn to chew, etc. after it is open and healed. Coughing from trakes and wired mouths do NOT go together! I will keep updated as I find out more. Running a slight temp, having a little trouble with the tube feeding so kind of slow out of the gate.

Thanks everyone for the thoughts, prayers and concerns.

Michele in IL