Teaching is going great!

It’s been 4-1/2 weeks since my SLAD/R surgery.  Each day gets better and better.  Last Tuesday, I taught two classes back-to-back and it went great!  I used my trusty voice amplifier and I felt good for both classes.

Last Thursday, I had three classes to teach, the last one was a night class, so it was a long day and I was worried about my voice going for that long.  YIPPEE, it was great!!  I have to admit though I was tired when the Thursday night class was over.  My voice was weak on Friday but back to normal on Saturday.   

I had some students in my classes who came up to me afterwards; they were ones I’ve had in classes before.  They told me I sounded great and sounded so different. 

My husband and I went to see my Mother-In-Law this weekend, so I was busy and away from home, my voice was pretty good and it feels good to be able to communicate again.  For years, I have avoided talking to people because it is so hard to be understood.   

My life has changed!  I find myself forgetting that I have a voice though.  I still have a bit of hesitation when I talk to people or I grab the phone to answer it. 

It has been ages since I’ve been able to sing at church, I mouth the words but a sound does not come out of my mouth.  This past Sunday we sang several patriotic songs, I decided to try it and sang the first verse of each song.  Wow, I could actually sing!  I still had a fear that if I sang (or talked) too much that I would not have much of a voice for the rest of the day.  This was not the case with singing this time, I was not able to get a range of notes, but I am sure I sounded as good as any other average person there. 

I still drink everything with a straw and now keep stainless steel straws in my purse, it is just better to be prepared, I am afraid to drink out of a glass and tilt my head back at this point.  It is easy to choke/cough if I’m not careful or I just take a big sip out of the straw.

 

 



I took a little "selfie" to try to get a picture of the scar.  I don't do anything to hide it and it seems to be fading, but it can still be seen a little bit.