CHAPTER 12
Joe awoke from a tortured dream, only to find his reality just
as severe. He couldn't open his eyes or move his lips. His throat
burned, his mouth was dry, and every part of his face ached. Just
then he felt the sting of a needle entering his arm, relief, and
... blackness.
Joe sipped his milkshake. That's all the nourishment he'd had
for some time now. He wore big braces on his teeth which prevented
the intake of more solid food. The pads had been removed from his
eyes and lips. He still couldn't speak.
Dr. van Damme, Monica, and several other people filed into his
room. One of the men went to work removing Joe's braces. "I've
straightened, capped, and evened his teeth up." Looking in Joe's
mouth, he said "They're flawless."
Dr. van Damme and another doctor looked at Joe's face
critically, the surgeon grabbing his head and turning it this way
and that.
"Exquisite Doctor. Once again you've outdone yourself," said
Dr. van Damme.
The surgeon acknowledged her compliment with a nod.
"So what do you have to say Joe?" asked Dr. van Damme.
Joe tried to tell her that he was fine but no matter what he
did, no sound came from his mouth.
"What's the matter Joe? Cat got your tongue?"
The crowd laughed.
By trying to hum Joe was finally able to produce a noise. It
was a high-pitched squeak.
"O.K., enough fooling around. What's wrong Joe, is that you've
been given a new larynx. Many people loose theirs to throat cancer
very year and an manmade one that won't be noticed will allow
thousands to speak again and rejoin society. The only difficulty is
that the muscles that operate your new voice, function differently
from your old ones. Mrs. Johnson here will be your speech therapist
and teach you how to speak again."
The crowd departed and Joe was left alone for his first
session with Mrs. Johnson. As he tried to speak he noticed that, in
addition to his throat, his lips felt odd.
The following days reminded Joe of the movie "My Fair Lady".
He felt like Eliza Doolittle learning to speak. Not only that, but
after several weeks he spoke like her too! Not with a British
accent, but in a sweet soprano voice.
Two things about this latest development bothered Joe in
particular. First, he had to learn to operate new muscles to
pronounce each word. This was a long process and so far he had only
the vocabulary of a first grader, but Mrs. Johnson had told him
that her sessions with him were almost over. Secondly, he didn't
like the enunciation patterns that Mrs. Johnson had imparted to
him; he now spoke in the slow breathy drawl of a seductive young
woman.
