July 11 - Had the presence of mind to hop on the scale this morning. I'm down 15 pounds! It won't last though. RayB, H, and Jer stopped by to say 'hi' yesterday. As soon as H heard about my all liquid diet, he was out the door and then back again with an Abbot's milkshake in hand. Mmmmmm, was so good in yesterday's heat! Jer sent me a list this morning of the DVDs he owns to see what I want to borrow. He's planning on dropping DVDs off with a MickeyD's fruit smoothie in hand. That 15 pounds will be back in no time! LOL!

This Friday I have an appointment with the plastic surgeon to change the bandage on my skin graft. No idea how long this splint has to stay on for. Guess I should be asking that while I'm there. Next Wednesday is an appointment with the ENT surgeon. Not sure what's involved with that appointment. Just to check that my new tongue still looks good? Or to talk about the start of radiation therapy? Guess I'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully my new tongue is still in my mouth for that appt. I've been sneezing the past couple of days which has been a truly unpleasant experience. I never realized how much force is behind a sneeze and all I can think about is this flap of forearm skin attached in my mouth with a few dissolve-able stitches!

Ha! I just re-read that last part. How many other people out there worry about sneezing their tongue out?!? Yet another plus for this experience..... unique, new things to worry about!

Still couldn't sleep well last night although I did better than I did in the hospital. I only woke up every hour instead of every 10 minutes. Blonde that I am, I dug out some sleeping pills from the medicine cabinet. It wasn't until one of the gel caps was resting in the palm of my hand that I realized I can't swallow anything solid yet. Duh! I think as soon as the trach hole heals and a little more swelling disappears from my tongue, I'll be okay. Meanwhile, seeing as how I'm kicking around with absolutely nothing to do anyway, it's okay that I'm dragging a little.

Well, not absolutely nothing. I think it must be shedding season for the furballs. I'm awash in a drift of fur/dust bunnies. Guess I should be just a little productive on my "vacation". On that note, I'm off to start my day....