Jeannie Mai may not be allowed to use her voice right now, but she's still got a lot to say.
The star was forced to drop out of Dancing With the Stars and take a break from her day job on The Real two weeks ago when her doctor discovered a dangerous abscess in her throat. She had to go into emergency surgery and is now on the road to recovery, but she's taking a moment to check in with her co-hosts on tomorrow's episode of The Real.
E! News has an exclusive first look at her visit, in which she manages to say a whole lot without speaking a single word. Armed with multiple poster boards a la Andrew Lincoln in Love Actually, Jeannie compliments her co-workers, promotes her fiancé Jeezy's new album and offers an update on when she'll return to work as Loni Love struggles to keep up with all of the cards.
"Your long-windedness, I didn't think I'd ever miss that," Loni says, and all Jeannie can do is make a face.
Eventually Jeannie reveals that she'll be back on the show in one week, and until then she's continuing to rest her voice and her body.
"Hold it down for me #RealFam cuz your Asian sensation is 'bout to be back," says her final card.
On Nov. 2, Jeannie revealed that she had to withdraw from DWTS and undergo emergency surgery that same day to treat the abscess in her throat, which was in danger of closing her airway. In an Instagram post later that day, she shared that her surgery had gone well.
"I would never imagine ever having to write this, but I made it safely out of my emergency surgery," she said. "I will be forever grateful to Dr. Nasseri who identified my potentially life-threatening condition. What simply started as a sore throat had unbeknownst to me become a dangerous infection that already closed at least 60% of my airway and resulted in a throat abscess that spread in a matter of 3 days."
She went on to say that she was "devastated" to end her DWTS journey so early and had a message for her partner, Brandon Armstrong.
"Dancing on this show has been the most exhilarating adventure. I've gained both beautiful friendships and loving supporters," she said. "To my partner, @Brandonarmstrong, I'm sorry you don't get to make fun of my moves anymore while I gift you life gems on how to be a grown up. Love u so much lil bro, and will ALWAYS cherish the memories we made!!!"
On Nov. 16, Jeannie posted that she was "getting stronger with each day," even if her visiting mother was only helping by trying on Jeannie's clothes.
Catch Jeannie's full appearance on The Real in Thursday's episode. Ryan Michelle Bathe guest hosts and En Vogue stops by later in the show.