I haven't been posting the results of the last three and a half months' of followup exams with Dr. Zeitels because there hasn't been much to report. This past Wednesday morning Tom had a CT scan at Mass Eye & Ear and then a consult with Dr. Z who had said at Tom's last exam that he'd probably start planning the restoration after looking at the CT results.

As it turned out what we DID find out this time is what is postponing things moving forward. There's a spot in Tom's throat -- that had been on the edge of the cancer -- that Dr. Zeitels wants to keep an eye on. If it turns into something, it can be cleaned up pretty easily, but it bears watching. So Tom's got another appointment on Bastille Day a month away. It was a bit of a disappointment as Tom's pretty frustrated about not being able to talk and would desperately like to have voice restoration at least started, but at least now we know why Dr. Z. is still watching and waiting. Being cancer-free is still the top priority.

I also mentioned to Dr. Zeitels about Tom having a bad case of writer's block -- because he can't speak, he finds he can't write. You've probably noticed Tom has not been posting here as much as he used to and his voicelessness extends to emails as well. Sounds as if it's not that uncommon. Dr. Z started telling stories about people a lot more famous than Tom having problems writing for exactly the same reason. He also told us about Richard Rodgers, the composer, who, even after having a total laryngectomy and not even being able to hum, went back to writing songs.

Tom is so starved for conversation – that's even harder for him than not having a singing voice. And, ultimately, he's a TEACHER, so not being able to "instruct" or discuss songs or history at our weekly and monthly sessions is very frustrating.

Tom and I often collaborate on writing, so I'm going to see what I can do to unblock his writing, maybe by switching part of our technique. I'm confident he'll again have both a speaking and a singing voice, but I'd like to see this interim period a little less frustrating for him.

Linn