Thank you, everyone. Ironically, 3 days with not even water by mouth and the lungs have more secretions than ever. I'm back on the suction machine. The pulmonologist says it is due to fibrotic tissue damage to the left lung, some during treatment, some from the neuromuscular breathing issues, some from the lungs being swollen all the time and some from the constant cycle of aspiration from COPD and breathing problems from aspiration.
Baylor Hospital Dallas is beginning a new swallowing boot camp with MD Anderson so I'm going to try. The throat muscles just stopped, the epiglottis on the left is now paralyzed and the left false vocal cord is paralyzed. I'm back home, alien in hand with constant feeding and hydration over 19 1/2 hours a day. I can honestly say, this is much easier to handle without the chemo and radiation.
A gentle reminder to everyone...live life large today. Tomorrow has way too many question marks! Thanks, again, and remember, because this happend to me, doesn't mean it will happen to everyone.