Hey all,
We just got back from our second trip to the U of Michigan. Last time, ear doctor, this time throat doctor…
Here’s what he said:
- my left vocal cord is paralyzed and there’s no telling if or when it might come back.
- using my voice (aka substitute teaching - my poorly paid but enjoyable hobby) might hurt but it won’t damage anything - sort of like working in the yard - you use muscles, they hurt, they calm down and all is back to where it was.
- we’re going to do a swallow test because he wants to see if there is anything messed up below the vocal cords. Knowing me, there probably is.
- Then he would recommend voice therapy (as opposed to speech therapy - which tried and failed).
- If that doesn’t improve things, there are surgical options as well - and there is no rush for surgical options - they could be done 2 to 5 years down the road.
While there wasn’t any major good news, I feel like I can see a bit more of a plan falling in place. It’s a long plan, it’s a slow plan, it might not work, but I can still do something that I loved doing and it’s the only way we’re going to find out whether we can improve things or not.
So does anyone know of any app or such where you can customize it to help you remember a gazillion things - like vestibular exercises, meds, physical exercises, mental errors, headache spikes and any other thinks that might help beat this thing?
I told my brother, I feel like I’m at base camp at Mt. Everest. The fog lifted quite a ways and suddenly it’s like “holy 21#@#%” (is it bad that I said that to a minister - if he’s my brother) that’s a long ways to go. But at the same time, I’m saying, “Hey, now I can see the trail out of camp- it goes that way…”
Or how does the saying go? “How do you eat an elephant?” One bite at a time…
Here’s to one bite…
Tom