Hi Bobby! I'm sorry you have to go through this. I had my surgery 2/26/04, was swallowing sips of water within a few weeks even though it made me cough like crazy. It's now August & I still cough a little bit especially when I drink anything as fluid as water, but am able to eat anything as long as I have enough liquid of some sort to wash it down. I'm even eating spicy foods in moderation, still burns the tip of my tongue some. I think of my flap as a living prosthetic device. It really doesn't have any function of its own other than to sort of take up the space where my right half of my tongue use to be. It just get moved around by whats left of my tongue. I can't imagine what it would be like without it. That's my long winded answer to your question about recovery time. Just when I thought I was eating ok, radiation & chemo started & then my throat had to recover from that. It seems like that took longer to recover from. I just keep trying. I suprise myself daily at the things I am able to eat with enough liquid. Keep yer chin up bub!!