🌺 May Update 🌺

I had my post op appointment yesterday and I have one piece of sucky news but mostly good news!

First, the sucky bit! I've been under the weather the past few days because, of course, my brother got me sick. It’s practically a rite of passage for me to catch something right after surgery like clockwork, both times now! 😤😤😤 Thankfully, no coughing this round (which is a miracle considering my voice situation), but I’ve been feeling a little off, mainly weak, tired, and my voice has been minimally dry.

But now for the good news and there's a lot of it!!!

Yesterday I got scoped by my voice doctor, and the results were really reassuring. Despite the mild inflammation and mucus (which are both normal when you're sick), everything looked great. I'm healing perfectly this time around, unlike last time where I had way more inflammation and slow healing. My vocal folds are moving exactly how they should be with no issues or red flags.

My voice doctor did let me know that the layers they removed during surgery were filled with fluid, meaning that even with all the speech therapy in the world, it wouldn’t have fixed the root problem, so removing those layers completely was 100% the right call.

I don’t need to see him again except for a long-term recovery follow-up in six months to make sure everything’s still on track and I haven’t regressed! That will be the final visit!

I’m also seeing my speech therapist again on the 20th, and this time it’s no longer about healing nodules because there aren’t any left. Now we’re shifting into full-on voice rehab mode, which means it’s all about rebuilding my vocal strength and stamina instead.

My second speech therapist (who sometimes tags in and was there today during my scope) said I’ll probably only need 2–3 more sessions with my first speech therapist before I graduate completely! I’m gonna miss her so much though I've been working with her for almost a year 😭 Also my second speech therapist said I’m recovering beautifully and just need to keep doing my vocal exercises. she estimates I’ll be ready to work again in 1–2 months! This matches exactly what I was already expecting in my head, but I didn’t want to jinx it or say anything publicly to you guys until I got proper confirmation from yesterday's appointment. 🩷

So what does this mean?

It means I can slowly start easing back into recording around June or July, and then if everything continues going well, I'll be fully back by August or September! I was also told that it’s completely normal to have occasional moments of vocal fatigue for 6 to 12 months post-surgery, but they said since I’m already super voice-aware and understand my limits, I just need to listen to my body, rest when needed, and take things day by day. Aside from that? Nothing else to worry about!

This whole journey has been so long and overwhelming and I’m honestly just so grateful 🥺 To my doctors, my speech therapists, and especially to everyone here! I'm so excited to finally be coming back soon!