My best friend and I worked out some basic flashcards - pain, itch, tired, bathroom, wash, kleenex, cold, hot.

I found not being able to speak the most frustrating part of the surgery. writing was difficult with one hand in a huge cast from the flap site, and I figured that certain motions (like miming plucking a kleenex) were obvious and it irritated me when people didn't get, especially since kleenex was constant as I was drooling like a drunk.

For me the post surgery went like this:

day 1 - surgery
day 2 - ICU
day 3 transfer to ward - this was hugely painful for me (transport by wheelchair);

day 4 - off morphine pump, to injections of morphine, a lot of injections and medication which made me disoriented and sometimes confused. 1st drain came out

day 5 - 2nd drain out. Catheter out. Some med's reduced, less confused. Physio comes by to get me up and walking and assess the range of motion in shoulders. I was devasted at how little I had.

day 6 - ng tube out (due to allergy), 3rd drain out. I am doing laps around the ward, but very swollen and retaining alot of fluid

day 7 - just walking as much as I could, praying the swelling would reduce. end of day, regular trach out for fenestrated trach, and I immediately start plugging and trying to talk.

Day 8 - last drain out, trach plugged in the am to see if I can go 24 hours without using it. They give me lasic to get rid of the swelling twice, so I basically spent most of the day and night in the bathroom.

Day 9, trach out, doppler out, all iv's out.

Day 10 am discharged.

I was supposed to be in for 2 weeks, but got sprung early.

Hope that elps Bette. I'm send good thoughts to you and Reg.