Today was my post-op appointment with my surgeon. I’m thrilled to report that my doctor seems pleased with what he viewed through his scope today. To me, the picture looked awful because both vocal cords looked bloody, but Dr. Rubin assured me that it was normal. The ‘sulcus’ (which is the scar tissue) that he injected with the steroid looks better from what he could see, but he said, “let’s not get too excited about this.” He would like to reserve final judgment until the swelling goes down – hopefully by May 28th, the next time I see him. Now, I may just be wishfully thinking, but in the playback of the scope of my cords, to me they actually looked like they were moving more fluidly than before the surgery. It could be my imagination, but I’m gonna go with it.
This Thursday, I have an appointment with my amazing voice/speech therapist, Juliana Codino. (Did I mention that her mentor is the voice therapist I worked with back in 1996?) Juliana is the member of my voice team who will give me the clearance to talk (and sing) when the time is right. I’m anxious to hear what she has to say and to learn what sorts of vocal exercises she will have me perform. Today, during the scoping procedure, I was so relieved that my vocal cords were able to create sound. I’m really looking forward to making more.
One other piece of good news I received from my doctor today….I CAN START WORKING OUT AGAIN! Hallelujah! He said, “but no grunting and no talking.” Luckily, grunting is not a part of my normal workout routine, and I’ve been practicing not talking for the last 7 days, so I’m golden. I’ll be back at spin class on Wednesday morning!
My hope is that working out again will help whatever is making me so tired move through my system faster. Seriously, I am starting to get frustrated with how fatigued I seem to be all the time. For instance, today, with 8 hours sleep clocked, I still needed a mid-afternoon nap. My activity level wasn’t high at all either: I drove to/from the doctor, answered some emails, worked on a client’s resume for about an hour, and then hit the wall. Even after the nap, I was still dragging…unlike my normal fast forward speed. I’m chalking it up to the anesthesia and pain meds that were administered at the hospital, but honestly, it’s been 8 days. I thought I would have recovered by now. Maybe I’m expecting too much…
Day #8 of Grand Silence has come to an end. I’m tired, but grateful.