Welcome to OCF! Im very sorry to read about what your sister is going thru.

Ive not been thru the type of surgery as what your sister will have done. Ive seen several members here go thru things similar. I would suggest trying to have someone with her as much as possible while she is in the hospital. She should have someone there to help her and watch out for her well being. Hospital staff will come into her room and expect her to speak to them. A dry erase board will help her to communicate easier.

Is your sister able to talk at all? If so and if she is getting a trach, ask her surgeon (prior to the day of surgery) for a possey muir valve so she will be able to talk with the trach. Get your sister to allow others access to her health info. Make sure she gives permission for all the medical staff to speak to everyone. The HIPPA laws are strict and some staff follow it to the letter which could mean no info at all for anyone.

Expect her to be in the hospital at least 4 days, maybe even a week. She will be probably be pretty uncomfortable the first few days. Make sure her doc prescribes at least 2 different pain meds. She will probably hurt more the second day after surgery than the day of her surgery. If she has 2 different kinds of pain meds prescribed, she can alternate between the meds so she will never have to wait for a dose. Ive found too often when I would ask for pain meds it wasnt time yet so I would have to lay there in agony waiting until I was allowed pain relief meds. Thats why having 2 on file in her chart works much better. Being in pain is not helpful at all for any patient.

They probably will take tissue from her wrist or leg to rebuild her tongue. It will be swollen for a couple weeks. It might even feel too big. Additional surgeries can be done down the road to debulk the new tongue.

She may need physical therapy and speech therapy. These are important to start as soon as possible.

Best wishes to your sister with the surgery.