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The one-year anniversary of my total glossectomy
One year ago today, I went into surgery expecting that I’d lose half my tongue to a squamous cell carcinoma recurrence. The evening before, Bess and I got legally married;[1] it was a short, but ch…
It must have taken an epic feat of coordination to make the surgery happen, because it required not only a full day from Dr. Hinni and Tony and many others, but another ENT named Dr. Nagle, who would form a “flap” of muscle out of tissue from my leg, to replace the lost half of my tongue. There are still moments when I forget what life is for me: the other day I looked at some of the first Rainer cherries of the summer, and wanted to buy them, then remembered I’d have to blend them, which defeats a lot of the point, and I almost cried in the grocery store. I know I’m supposed to feel joy and gratitude at still being corporeal, and sometimes I do, but often I don’t (though I am grateful to everyone who has helped me, and that includes thousands of people, ranging from strangers who donated $5 on Go Fund Me to oncologists who oversee clinical trials).
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