Had a follow-up with my ENT who scolded me for not calling him earlier to let him know I was having problems swallowing (he also asked why I hadn't said anything in late August which was the last followup but I didn't KNOW then. I was sipping iced tea and eveything else seemed to still hurt too much to want to try eating so I thought I was OK--obviously I should have pushed myself to swallow earlier just to see if everything was working--even if it hurt).

OK, it's a good lesson for me to be more assertive when I think there's a problem. I did take too long to let someone know when I was having problems because I kept hoping they'd go away. Just exactly why I let the lesion on my tongue go for so long. Obviously I am not good at hounding doctors the second I think there might be a problem and I need to get better at it!