Hi Cowie,

I had a total glossectomy and my "free flap" (as I think they call it) was taken from my stomach muscle. I don't know much about these flaps except that mine is sewn to the floor of my mouth so there's no "tongue" so to speak. I also seem to collect saliva in the area right behind my front teeth and I either spit it out or use a kleenex. Not very lady-like, but hey, it works! I've been experimenting will lots of different foods to see what works best and the best technique to try to get each bite down. I've been able to eat everything I've tried from scambled eggs, chicken, meatloaf, beans, pasta, etc., and find that the more sauce / gravy, the better (slides easier!). Of course some foods I can taste better than others and some textures of foods are easier to swallow than others. I also drink A LOT of water with each meal to wash down every bite. Holding the food on a fork while chewing it between my teeth helps to keep the food in one place in my mouth and breaks it up into even smaller pieces. The key for me is to eat very small bites so I don't choke when swallowing. As far as speech goes, I've come up with some of my own techniques for saying certain sounds although if I had to put those tips into words I'd be hard pressed. What I do find is that if there's a word I want to use which I know I can't pronounce clearly, I'll just substitute a different word - like instead of "gifts" (which is hard for me to pronounce), I'll use the word "presents." Anyway it gets the point across and my listener understands what I'm conveying.

Enough rambling - keep working hard on your speech and swallowing. It'll all come with time, patience, practice and determination.

Hugs, Nancy