Ed: We’d like to commend you on your very positive
attitude to getting things done Mary. And we wish you
and your members every success with the group. We’ll
see if we can help out with some promotional material
too.
Spring’s Star Letter winner writes
Thank you for your letter and the gift voucher, it
came as a great surprise. I have treated myself to
a mini greenhouse for the garden.
I sincerely hope that that my letter will give
encouragement to fellow sufferers, and I feel that
more ENT consultants could give more advice.
I was lucky enough to get wonderful help and
support from my consultant and speech therapist.
I would like to stress that it was not all that
difficult teaching myself to speak.
Thank you again.
Colin Hickson
Ed: You’re welcome Colin. Hope you’ll let us know how
you get on with your mini greenhouse.
Laryngectomy
By Wilf Rose
It started with a husky voice
A biopsy showed it was cancer
Which left me with little choice
An operation was the answer
The larynx was then taken out
I will never again be able to shout
I practised to talk taking the dog for a walk
After a while my voice was quite good
I could then hold a conversation
It was nice to know I could be understood
Conversing again without hesitation
I am now enjoying life with a reasonable voice
How glad I am I made that choice
Coping with fistulas
I am a first time reader of your magazine and
would like some advice on fistulas. I had a
larygectomy last February and was recovering
well when a fistula occurred. It has made eating
and drinking just about impossible. By that I mean
eating and drinking normally – now I can only feed
myself through my feed pump.
My ENT specialist tells me it’s closing slowly, but
it’s not quick enough for me! I would like to hear
from anyone via your magazine who has had this
problem. It seems to be taking forever to heal, but
how long did it take you?
I’m 43 and, I think, one of only a few my age that
has had their voice box removed. So I’d really like
to see any letters from younger people with this
problem in your magazine. That would really help
answer some questions that may pop up in future.
Hugh McKluskey
Ed: Hopefully someone can give you some advice on
the subject of fistulas, Hugh. And, like you, we’d be very
happy if some younger larys would like to tell us about
their experiences.
Thank you
Sadly I have to inform you that my husband has
died from his cancer. I would like to assure you
that he got much help from reading the items in
your magazines and would re-read the articles on
a number of occasions. May I thank everyone who
has made it possible to put The Voice into print.
P.S. Ironically my husband never smoked in his life
and rarely drank.
Mrs C Weston
Ed: You have our sincere condolences Mrs Weston. Thank
you for telling us how much your husband enjoyed the
magazine – it means a lot.
Summer 2010 | THE VOICE
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