A little more than five years ago, we discovered, among other things, that Daniel had paralysis of his left vocal cord. When the pediatric ENT explained to us his findings after a bronchoscopy procedure on our then 3 month old son, he explained to us a number of things to help us better understand exactly what this finding meant:
the paralysis was likely a result a rare complication of the PDA ligation that he had when he was only a couple weeks old and weighing barely a pound. It was likely that the the nerve running along the left throat down the left chest wall and looping back up again, was damaged during the open heart surgical procedure to repair the hole in his heart
paralysis of this vocal cord would continue to make his GERD worse and swallowing a difficult process because his airway and lungs would be unprotected
his voice would be affected as one needs the vocal cords to produce sound
he likely would never be able to be an opera singer
The paralysis of his vocal cord did indeed prove to be a challenge for Daniel. His cries as a baby were virtually silent. Being unable to protect his lungs while swallowing, he was dependent upon tube feeding for the first four years of his life. But with occupational, speech and feeding therapy, he has learned to use his diaphragm and intercostal muscles to help him project his voice and be heard. He learned how to chew and swallow without inhaling food and liquid into his lungs. As the ENT predicted, he has a breathy, raspy voice that will continue to strengthen and improve as he continues to grow and develop. Living here under the Big Top with a houseful of circus clowns he has hadno problem being heard even, at times, being told he needs to be quieter. All in all we all agree here that he has the most delightful voice and while he will likely never be compared to Pavarotti, he has the most amazing, beautiful voice. Having said that, I want to share and, perhaps, encourage some preemie blogging friends of ours who are just beginning to learn what it means to live with vocal cord paralysis, laryngealmalacia and trachealmalacia. Enjoy!…and pay no attention to that lady singing along with him. Hallie, Kaitlyn, Arianna and other micropreemie friends, this is for you
A little more than five years ago, we discovered, among other things, that Daniel had paralysis of his left vocal cord. When the pediatric ENT explained to us his findings after a bronchoscopy procedure on our then 3 month old son, he explained to us a number of things to help us better understand exactly what this finding meant:
the paralysis was likely a result a rare complication of the PDA ligation that he had when he was only a couple weeks old and weighing barely a pound. It was likely that the the nerve running along the left throat down the left chest wall and looping back up again, was damaged during the open heart surgical procedure to repair the hole in his heart
paralysis of this vocal cord would continue to make his GERD worse and swallowing a difficult process because his airway and lungs would be unprotected
his voice would be affected as one needs the vocal cords to produce sound
he likely would never be able to be an opera singer
The paralysis of his vocal cord did indeed prove to be a challenge for Daniel. His cries as a baby were virtually silent. Being unable to protect his lungs while swallowing, he was dependent upon tube feeding for the first four years of his life. But with occupational, speech and feeding therapy, he has learned to use his diaphragm and intercostal muscles to help him project his voice and be heard. He learned how to chew and swallow without inhaling food and liquid into his lungs. As the ENT predicted, he has a breathy, raspy voice that will continue to strengthen and improve as he continues to grow and develop. Living here under the Big Top with a houseful of circus clowns he has hadno problem being heard even, at times, being told he needs to be quieter. All in all we all agree here that he has the most delightful voice and while he will likely never be compared to Pavarotti, he has the most amazing, beautiful voice. Having said that, I want to share and, perhaps, encourage some preemie blogging friends of ours who are just beginning to learn what it means to live with vocal cord paralysis, laryngealmalacia and trachealmalacia. Enjoy!…and pay no attention to that lady singing along with him. Hallie, Kaitlyn, Arianna and other micropreemie friends, this is for you
A little more than five years ago, we discovered, among other things, that Daniel had paralysis of his left vocal cord. When the pediatric ENT explained to us his findings after a bronchoscopy procedure on our then 3 month old son, he explained to us a number of things to help us better understand exactly what this finding meant:
The paralysis of his vocal cord did indeed prove to be a challenge for Daniel. His cries as a baby were virtually silent. Being unable to protect his lungs while swallowing, he was dependent upon tube feeding for the first four years of his life. But with occupational, speech and feeding therapy, he has learned to use his diaphragm and intercostal muscles to help him project his voice and be heard. He learned how to chew and swallow without inhaling food and liquid into his lungs. As the ENT predicted, he has a breathy, raspy voice that will continue to strengthen and improve as he continues to grow and develop. Living here under the Big Top with a houseful of circus clowns he has hadno problem being heard even, at times, being told he needs to be quieter. All in all we all agree here that he has the most delightful voice and while he will likely never be compared to Pavarotti, he has the most amazing, beautiful voice.
Having said that, I want to share and, perhaps, encourage some preemie blogging friends of ours who are just beginning to learn what it means to live with vocal cord paralysis, laryngealmalacia and trachealmalacia.
Enjoy!…and pay no attention to that lady singing along with him.
Hallie, Kaitlyn, Arianna and other micropreemie friends, this is for you
A little more than five years ago, we discovered, among other things, that Daniel had paralysis of his left vocal cord. When the pediatric ENT explained to us his findings after a bronchoscopy procedure on our then 3 month old son, he explained to us a number of things to help us better understand exactly what this finding meant:
The paralysis of his vocal cord did indeed prove to be a challenge for Daniel. His cries as a baby were virtually silent. Being unable to protect his lungs while swallowing, he was dependent upon tube feeding for the first four years of his life. But with occupational, speech and feeding therapy, he has learned to use his diaphragm and intercostal muscles to help him project his voice and be heard. He learned how to chew and swallow without inhaling food and liquid into his lungs. As the ENT predicted, he has a breathy, raspy voice that will continue to strengthen and improve as he continues to grow and develop. Living here under the Big Top with a houseful of circus clowns he has hadno problem being heard even, at times, being told he needs to be quieter. All in all we all agree here that he has the most delightful voice and while he will likely never be compared to Pavarotti, he has the most amazing, beautiful voice.
Having said that, I want to share and, perhaps, encourage some preemie blogging friends of ours who are just beginning to learn what it means to live with vocal cord paralysis, laryngealmalacia and trachealmalacia.
Enjoy!…and pay no attention to that lady singing along with him.
Hallie, Kaitlyn, Arianna and other micropreemie friends, this is for you