May 20th, 2015
I did it! My journey has officially begun.
I completed my vocal cord surgery yesterday at 12:30PM at the Osborne Head and Neck Institute in Los Angeles, CA with Dr. Reena Gupta (the BEST ENT in the UNIVERSE - totally not biased).
The Surgery:
I will do my best to explain my procedure and apologize in advance for any mistakes. I am sadly not a doctor. Bummer, huh? Dr. St. Marseille has a nice ring to it...
Say "hello" to my vocal cords!
I know what you're thinking:
"Rachel, are you sure that's not an alien?"
This is the last still photo that I have of my cords from a video Dr. Gupta took of me singing in March 2015. In the picture, the right side is actually my left vocal fold and the left side is my right vocal fold. Before this photo was taken, I previously had two polyps on either side. I worked very hard to minimize swelling, and in doing so, got rid of one of those pesky buggers. This made surgery a lot easier because Gupta only had to operate on the left side.
As you can see here, the psuedocyst (Right side in photo, actually left fold) was the only thing that touched when I sang. It caused a gap in between my folds on the top and the bottom, causing difficulty with my upper vocal range, fatigue, and pain from muscle compensation.
In this surgery, Dr. Gupta removed that polyp. I decided to hold off on injecting a filler to the fold to ensure a better closure; My hopes are that with the polyp removed, my cords will be able to fix themselves. If not, a filler injection is always an option for the future.
My doctor and the anesthesiologist both called me in the evening to confirm my surgery time and what I needed to do before I arrived. Because I was put under with general anesthesia, I was asked to fast for at least 8 hours, and stop drinking liquids by 8:00AM the day of. I had to bring any medications I was taking and wear comfortable clothes (nothing that went over my head.)
I woke up feeling a little nervous, but mostly filled with excitement and peace. Twenty minutes before I had to leave for the procedure, a song started playing in my head over and over, so I decided to make a video of me singing one last time before I was on vocal rest/limitations for a month or two. Watching the video again this morning, I can't help but smile. I decided to put it up on my youtube page today so I could post it here on my blog:
I've Got The Music In Me (Cover) - Rachel St. Marseille
This was an outpatient procedure, so my mom drove me there and back home hours later. Once I walked into the surgery room, it all started to feel real. I put on the gown, the comfy hospital socks, and laid down on the surgery table.
Anesthesia is a funny thing. My doctor said that my anesthesia was named Margarita and once it was in my IV, I was out like a light. I wish I could say I had an incredible dream where Celine Dion and I were riding horses into the sunset and singing "My Heart Will Go On," but Margarita did a number on me and I woke up what felt like five minutes later, surgery complete. One of the nurses stayed by my side as I wrote an essay on a piece of paper, asking her how it went and if she enjoyed her job. I guess even vocal surgery can't stop me from "talking" up a storm!
The entire procedure from start to finish (waking up from the anesthesia, etc.) lasted about an hour and a half. Dr. Gupta came in and told me the surgery was a big success and went smoothly. I ended up making a CD for Dr. Gupta, just so she can have a little piece of my voice before all of this happened.
5/19/15 - photo taken after I was out of surgery
The pain from surgery feels like a bad case of strep throat. Both my tongue and throat are still tender and sore this morning, but at least that lets me have ice cream for breakfast.
I am on strict vocal rest for the next seven days, and am not allowed to make any sound at all. My paperwork even says to try and avoid coughing, clearing my throat, and sneezing, if possible. Just reading that makes my throat tickle.
Come on, don't you feel like you have to sneeze or clear your throat now?
......How about now? :)
Friends keep asking me if it's hard to stay quiet. At this point, it is almost serene. I have a whiteboard to write on as well as an application on my iPhone, called iSpeech: Text to Talk. I have the best mom in the world, playing nurse and taking care of me. I have the support of my family, my incredible boyfriend, friends, teachers, and church family.
I have hope.
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