Sunday, June 12, 2016

T+2 Months (w/ Voice Sample)

Today marks exactly two months since my surgery at UCLA. It's hard to believe two months have already gone by! 

I was very surprised at the amount of progress my voice has made in just one week. A day after publishing my 7 week update, my voice began to sound squeaky. From there it progressively gained volume day after day. Listening to my recording, I feel my voice slightly higher pitched than what it was prior to surgery. However I am completely satisfied with the results so far as I have no spasms. I am back to my normal chatty self during dinner conversations at home. It feels great to finally be able to express what's on my mind. However, if the tone of a conversation with a group of friends escalates to laugher or louder speaking -- it's almost impossible to make myself heard. But I know in time it will come back. 

I am noticing techniques I previously used to control my spasms have been retained as bad habits. Well at the time of having SD it was essential but at this current point in time and moving forward I consider them bad habits. Techniques such as varying my pitch when speaking, adding a breath in front of difficult words and elongating words when speaking are no longer needed. 

I also notice if I speak in a "monotone" pitch/voice it tends to reduce the chance of sounding squeaky. I suppose sounding boring is better than sounding squeaky and even better than having no voice at all. 

My scar doesn't seem to be improving. It's still a little dark despite applying mederma. Hopefully over time it will lighten. 

My next update will be at the 3 month mark. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Thanks for following my blog!