Thank you everyone - I understand this much better now. All of this time I have thought that I was really doing well with my swallowing and I can now conclude that I am, but that I still have to be very careful and pay attention to the aspiration (spelled correctly this time thanks guys - I am a spell check addict).

What upsets me is that because we did not move on to the thicker liquids I probably did not get an answer to whether my esophogas needs opened up or not.

The good news is that I had my first PT yesterday that included the light massage and stretching for the neck. I could feel a difference already and slept the entire night for the first time in many months. I go back 3X a week and am doing the exercises at home so I hope that I will see even more improvement. Karen I hope that you are right about it helping my swallowing too.

Pete - other than the fact that they removed part of your flap after this operation, we now have the same things to work with. I have just a little nub of my mobile tongue on the right and the base of the tongue. I am surprised at how many different tastes that I do have. Please be careful doing your self tests, even though I'm sure that you know what you are doing, I would hate for anything to happen to you.

Patty