amp it up

Meet my new friend, "Ampie." Ampie is a such a loyal, helpful friend. We just met yesterday and we've already really hit it off! Ampie helps me talk louder while I am teaching class and waiting for my voice to come back.

I lost my normal voice as a result of a tonsillectomy. I have paralysis of the right side of my palate. It was a total freak accident and is VERY rare especially as a result of a tonsillectomy. According to dictionary.com, the palate is "the roof of the mouth, consisting of an anterior bony portion (hard palate) and a posterior muscular portion (soft palate) that separate the oral cavity from the nasal cavity" =I.E. the reason I sound so nasal.

I will begin speech therapy on Wednesday and if that doesn't repair my throat, I will have palate surgery. I will also be seeing a neurologist to make sure that there isn't any possible brain damage. Please, God, let there not be any brain damage, I need every single brain cell in tact that I was given! Hah. Luckily, brain damage is HIGHLY unlikely. The doctor just wants to check everything possible.

I am also hoping to not have surgery again as that would mean another 3 weeks out of work. Hopefully, the speech therapy will do the trick. I am just glad that this shouldn't permanent. My voice has gotten so much better, all of the sudden, in just the past 2 days so I really believe that speech therapy will do the trick!

Although it has taken its' toll (considering that I talk for a living as a kindergarten teacher), I believe that I will learn so much from this experience. I will learn how to better relate to others that have medical problems and injuries due to surgery, how to appreciate the essence of time, how to be more patient, more thankful, how to relate to students with speech problems. The list goes on and on.

Please keep my voice in your prayers!