A whole year of my life without my tongue. 11/26/24- 10 hours on an operating table; a radical neck dissection, near-total glossectomy with free flap reconstruction of my tongue with my thigh muscle and the removal of 75 lymph nodes. Followed by 11 days in the hospital. And 30 sessions of proton therapy radiation to the mouth. This was a year of sadness, anger, grief, disappointment and fear. But it was also an entire year of reclaiming my passion for life, love, and joy. Joy has not been in the