Imagine your life without a voice
Thirty-five years ago Jan Christian headed out for a fun filled night on the town. After several New Years Eve parties she and her friends crashed into a telephone pole. There didn't seen to be any apparent injuries so the girls walked across the street to call their parents. At that moment when Jan attempted to speak she knew something was drastically wrong. Her sweet voice turned into a demonic voice which would dominate her for years. Her parents took her to the hospital, after a long wait her step dad decided he could take x-rays at his chiropractic office. Two weeks later she visited a ENT doctor, he immediately sent her back to the hospital where they discovered a crushed larynx, demolished vocal cords, and a few cracked vertebra's. Her doctor preformed emergency surgery to stabilize her airway and placed stints in with hopes the cords would reform. Jan said "looking down my throat, it looked and felt like I swallowed a tennis ball" Jan married her husband, Randy and raised three boys none of whom have never heard more than a very low raspy whisper. | Prior to Jan's accident she was a flamboyant young girl. Over the last thirty five-years of being silenced she drew inwards and isolated herself as much as possible except in her church activities which became a place of security for her. By a random act of God Jan was given a yellow post-a-note with a otolaryngologist name written on it. After holding on to that note for a year she decided to make an appointment. At her second visit the doctor scoped her throat with a tiny camera and he said "I can get your voice louder and more clear."
Starting in February 2010 Dr. Khosla began surgeries to reconstruct Jan's larynx and re-create vocal cords using muscle form the inside of her cheek. As of December 2010 Jan has an audible voice which now can be heard. Jan is still working with her speech pathologist Eva van Leer and Dr. Khosla to build her voice as strong as possible. She has found a new strength called HOPE and she wants to pass it on. |