Among the most ‘impacting’ and lasting of the effects of being hit is that one of my vocal cords is paralyzed. This means my voice is pretty pants, and gets tired easily. I’m hoarse and super-quiet, and if I try and be louder I just get less intelligible.

Tomorrow (Jan 31) I’m going to go for a temporary fix — a few months — where they inject a bulking compound into the cord. Eventually, the body will absorb this (so if the nerve does return, there’s nothing to undo) but in the meantime the objective is to get the cords to meet and give me a better voice. In the meantime, I am drinking a tonne of water and humming at the advice of a retired VA speed therapist; just trying to get the cord to move over more.

More updates later this week, maybe.

Vocal cords