A SURVIVOR
REVIEW OF THE LIFE OF CHARLES E. RUPPE, RETIRED CIVIL ENGINEER WITH FIFTY YEARS OF ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE INCLUDING THE LAST FORTY YEARS IN PRIVATE PRACTICE.
I WAS BORN AT FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, MARCH 5, 1925, THE SON OF A CAREER ARMY MAN, AND ATTENDED THE FORT BRAGG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, FAYETTEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL AND LAWTON HIGH SCHOOL IN OKLAHOMA. I ATTENDED ONE YEAR IN ENGINEERING SCHOOL AT N. C. STATE COLLEGE IN RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA. I WAS DRAFTED INTO THE U.S. ARMY IN JUNE 1943, AND POSTPONED MY PLANS FOR AN ENGINEERING CAREER.
ON AUGUST 1, 1944, MY BIGGEST LIFE CHANGING EVENT OCCURRED WHEN I WAS NINETEEN YEARS OLD AND IN THE U.S. ARMY DURING WORLD WAR II, WHEN THE UNITED STATS WAS IN A TOTAL WAR, AND I WAS ASSIGNED TO HEADQUARTERS BATTERY, 494TH ARMORED FIELD ARTILLERY BATTALION, 12TH ARMORED DIVISION AT CAMP BARKLEY, TEXAS (NEAR ABILENE). I WAS WOUNDED BY SHRAPNEL FROM AN EXPLODING 75 MM ARTILLERY SHELL FROM A SHERMAN TANK WHILE IN TRAINING AT CAMP BARKLEY.
I HAD BEEN ASSIGNED A POSITION ON THE OBSERVATION POST TO OBSERVE THE LOCATION OF THE SHELL EXPLOSION AND CALL FIRE DIRECTION FOR ADJUSTMENT. THE FIRST ROUND FELL SHORT AND HIT ABOUT 20 YARDS TO MY RIGHT, AND THE FLYING SHRAPNEL WOUNDED ALL FIVE MEN AT THE O.P. ONE MAN DIED FROM HIS WOUNDS, AND THE OTHER FOUR OF US WERE WOUNDED SEVERELY. IMMEDIATELY AFTER IMPACT AND EXPLOSION, I REALIZED THAT THE MOST LIFE THREATENING WOUND I RECEIVED WAS IN THE NECK, SINCE I IMMEDIATELY HAD A LAP FULL OF BLOOD,---MY OWN BLOOD. THE CHEST WOUND WAS A CREASE, AND THE WOUND ON THE BACK OF THE HEAD WAS LESSENED BY THE PROTECTION OF MY STEEL HELMET. I HAD ABSOLUTELY NO VOICE. HAVING SEEN TRAINING FILMS ABOUT FIRST AID FOR WOUNDED MEN, MY THOUGHTS INCLUDED THE POSSIBILITY OF GOING INTO SHOCK FROM LOSS OF BLOOD AND THE PROBABILITY OF NOT BEING ABLE TO REMAIN CONSCIOUS. I THOUGHT THAT THE MAIN THING TO DO IS NOT TO PANIC IN SPITE OF ALL THE LOSS OF BLOOD AND THE SCARY SITUATION. THE SCENE WAS ENOUGH TO SCARE SOMEONE TO DEATH.
I REALIZED THAT EVERY ONE WAS HIT SO BADLY THAT I COULD EXPECT NO HELP FROM THEM, BUT A HALF HOUR WOULD PASS BEFORE THE MEDICS REACHED OUR POSITION TO TEND TO OUR WOUNDS. IN THE MEANTIME, EACH MAN MUST TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF. AFTER CONSIDERABLE EFFORT, I OPENED MY METAL FIRST AID KIT ON MY GUNBELT WHICH CONTAINED A BANDAGE THAT COULD BE TIED AROUND MY NECK TO TRY TO STOP SOME OF THE PROFUSE BLEEDING. ALL ALONE WITH A FEELING THAT THIS WAS IT, I HAD TO LAY ON A HOT ROCK SLAB HOLDING MY NECK, BREATHING WITH SOME DIFFICULTY, AND PRAYING TO GOD TO LET ME LIVE.
MEDICS FINALLY ARRIVED AND DISCUSSED THE SITUATION SAYING THAT IT WAS CRITICAL TO STOP THE BLEEDING, MAINTAIN MY AIRWAY FOR BREATHING AND GET ME TO THE BASE HOSPITAL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I WAS UNABLE TO UTTER A SOUND TO GIVE THEM ANY INFORMATION ABOUT MY CONDITION. I WAS GIVEN A SHOT OF ONE HALF GRAIN OF MORPHINE TO RELIEVE SOME OF THE PAIN, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO KNOCK ME OUT AND ENDANGER MY ABILITY TO BREATHE. AFTER WE WERE ALL LOADED INTO A HALF-TRACK AMBULANCE, WE TRAVELED FOR ABOUT ONE HOUR TO THE BASE HOSPITAL.
WE WERE MET AT THE AMBULANCE ENTRANCE BY THE SURGICAL TEAMS. I WAS FORTUNATE TO BE ASSIGNED TO AN EXPERIENCED SURGEON WHO HAD BATTLE WOUND EXPERIENCE IN NORTH AFRICA. I WAS TAKEN TO AN OPERATING ROOM AND ROLLED ON MY BACK FOR EVALUATION, AND THE FIRST TALKING DESCRIBED THE NATURE OF MY WOUNDS IN MEDICAL TERMS WHICH INCLUDED SHRAPNEL THROUGH THE NECK AT THE HYOID BONE. SOMEONE SAID IT WAS IN PIECES, PART OF THYROID CARTILAGE WAS TORN OUT, AND IT WAS NECESSARY TO OPEN THE WOUND TO SEE THE EXTENT OF DAMAGE TO THE THROAT AND TO STOP THE BLEEDING AND START TRANSFUSIONS. AN INCISION WAS PERFORMED BEFORE I PASSED OUT, AND BREATHING BECOME EASIER WITH INSERTION OF AN OXYGEN TUBE.
I WOKE UP THREE DAYS LATER IN AN OXYGEN TENT. I HAD THREE NEEDLES IN MY ARMS, A RUBBER TUBE DOWN MY ESOPHAGUE TO THE STOMACH, AND A SILVER TRACHEOTOMY TUBE IN MY NECK. I COULDN’T SPEAK OR OTHERWISE COMMUNICATE WITH THE DOCTOR AND NURSES HOVERING AROUND ME, AND I FELT THAT I HAD NO STRENGTH IN MY BODY TO EVEN WRITE A NOTE TO COMMUNICATE. I WAS UNABLE TO SWALLOW AND THEREFORE COULD NOT EAT. EVEN IN MY TRAUMATIC AND FRIGHTFUL CONDITION, I THANKED GOD THAT I WAS ALIVE. AT THIS POINT I DID NOT KNOW THE EXTENT OF MY DEVESTATION AND HAD NO IDEA OF THE FUTURE.
I WAS ENTERED ON THE HOSPITAL RECORDS AS A CASUALTY, AND A TELEGRAM WAS SENT BY THE ARMY TO MY MOTHER TO NOTIFY HER THAT I WAS SEVERELY WOUNDED IN AN ACCIDENTAL EXPLOSION AND THAT RECOVERY WAS DOUBTFUL. ONE CAN IMAGINE THIS SHOCKING MESSAGE. MY PARENTS CAME FROM FORT SILL, OKLAHOMA, WHERE MY FATHER WAS STATIONED, AND TRAVELED ABOUT 600 MILES TO SEE ME--- NOT KNOWING IF I WAS RECOVERING OR WHAT THEY MIGHT FIND, SINCE THEY HAD BEEN GIVEN NO DESCRIPTIONS OF MY WOUNDS OR CONDITION. THEY WERE THANKFUL THAT I WAS STILL ALIVE AND UNDER CRITICAL CARE. TWO WEEKS AFTER I ENTERED THE EMERGENCY ROOM DOOR, I WAS FINALLY ENTERED IN THE HOSPITAL RECORDS AS A PATIENT. I GUESS THAT AT THAT POINT MY DOCTOR DECIDED THAT I WOULD POSSIBLY SURVIVE. I STAYED IN THE OXYGEN TENT FOR FOUR WEEKS.
I SPENT THE NEXT THREE MONTHS AT CAMP BARKLEY HOSPITAL REGAINING STRENGTH ENOUGH TO TRAVEL TO A GENERAL HOSPITAL. I HAD TWO MORE OPERATIONS WHILE THERE, ONE WHICH PARTIALLY CORRECTED MY INABILITY TO SWALLOW, TO REMOVE THE RUBBER FEEDING TUBE FROM MY THROAT, AND ANOTHER TO TRY TO FURTHER CORRECT MY BREATHING PROBLEMS. ALTHOUGH I STILL COULD NOT SPEAK, I BEGAN TO REALIZE THAT I MAY HAVE SOME HOPE FOR RECOVERY. I DID NOT KNOW IF I SHOULD EXPECT FULL RECOVERY OF MY BASS VOICE, SINCE THE DOCTOR COULD NOT SEE ANY MOVEMENT OF MY DAMAGED VOCAL CHORDS. FOR THREE MONTHS, I USED A LOT OF PEN AND PAPER TO COMMUNICATE.
ON NOVEMBER 1, 1944, AFTER BEING IN THE CAMP BARKLEY HOSPITAL FOR THREE MONTHS, I FELT FORTUNATE TO BE SENT TO WALTER REED ARMY MEDICAL CENTER IN WASHINGTON, D.C., WHERE THE BEST SURGEONS WERE STATIONED. I WENT WITH NO VOICE AND A TRACH TUBE. I HAD THREE MAJOR OPERATIONS AND SEVERAL MINOR ONES WHILE THERE FOR A PERIOD OF OVER FIVE MONTHS. MY TOTAL TIME IN HOSPITALS WAS EIGHT MONTHS AND NINE DAYS.
MY CONCERN AT WALTER REED WAS THAT THERE WERE ONLY SIX THROAT WOUND SURGERY CASES, AND NONE SEEMED TO SHOW ANY IMPROVEMENT. I WAS THE FIRST TO GET RID OF THE TUME AND BE DISCHARGED WITHOUT A PERMANENT STOMA. I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED AFTER I LEFT, BUT I VISITED MY OLD WARD A YEAR LATER AND SAW ONE TRACHEOSTOMY PATIENT I KNEW WHO WAS STILL THERE.
IN MARCH 1945, I HAD RECOVERED ENOUGH TO BE RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL AND RECEIVED A DISABILITY DISCHARGE FROM THE ARMY. MY PERMANENT DISABILITY INCLUDED A BAD CASE OF LARYNGITIS AND SHORTNESS OF BREATH. MY VOICE WAS BARELY A WHISPER WHICH IMPROVED WITH TIME AND EXPERIENCE.
I WENT HOME TO MY PARENTS IN FAYETTEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, AND WAS RECLUSIVE FOR SEVERAL MONTHS. IN JANUARY 1946, I RETURNED TO N. C. STATE AS A SOPHOMORE AND GRADUATED IN CIVIL ENGINEERING IN JUNE 1948. I HAD WANTED TO BECOME AN ENGINEER SINCE I WAS 15 YEARS OLD, AND I STILL HAD THAT AMBITION.
I MET JUDY IN THE SPRING OF 1947, AND WE MARRIED IN JUNE 1948 SHORTLY AFTER I COMPLETED COLLEGE. SHE HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY BIGGEST SUPPORTER IN LIFE AND MY CAREER, AND SHE BROUGHT HAPPINESS AND SELF ESTEEM DURING OVER FIFTY YEARS OF MARRIAGE. WE HAVE A SON AND DAUGHTER AND FIVE GRAND CHILDREN.
MY FIRST JOB AS AN ENGINEER WAS WITH THE GOVERNMENT AGENCY CALLED NACA LOCATED IN LANGLEY FIELD, VIRGINIA. THIS AGENCY WAS CHANGED IN THE LATE 1950’S TO NASA. I WAS ENGAGED IN THE DESIGN OF RESEARCH FACILITIES SUCH AS WIND TUNNELS, LANDING GEAR TESTING LABORATORIES AND MANY UNUSUAL STRUCTURES CONNECTED WITH BASIC AERONAUTICAL RESEARCH. TO FURTHER MY CAREER, I TOOK GRADUATE COURSES IN THE CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA.
IN 1952, I TOOK THE TWO DAY STATE EXAMINATION FOR REGISTRATION AND LICENSE AS PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER IN VIRGINIA. THIS WAS THE FIRST OF MANY STATE CERTIFICATES I WOULD ACQUIRE DURING MY CAREER.
IN JUNE 1956, AFTER EIGHT YEARS OF TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE IN DESIGN AND PREPARING CONSTRUCTION PLANS AT NACA, I TOOK A POSITION WITH LOCKHEED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION IN MARIETTA, AND WE MOVED TO ATLANTA. TO BECOME MORE PROFICIENT IN THE AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY, AND ACCELERATE MY KNOWLEDGE FOR THE JOB, I TOOK COURSES AT GEORGIA TECH EXTENSION AND STUDED THE ANALYSIS OF AIRCRAFT STRUCTURES. THE FORMULAS WERE THE SAME, BUT THE MATERIALS WERE DIFFERENT. WITH A TASTE OF THE AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY TO SHOW ME THAT I WOULD NOT MAKE A CAREER IN STRESS ANALYSIS, I RESIGNED AND WENT BACK INTO THE DESIGN FOR CONSTRUCTION WITH A CONSULTING ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURAL FIRM IN ATLANTA. IN THE MEANTIME I OBTAINED MY PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS REGISTRATION AND LICENSE FOR THE STATE OF GEORGIA. I WENT BACK TO THE DESIGN OF PROJECTS FOR CONSTRUCTION. THIS WORK INCLUDED HIGHWAY BRIDGES, AIRPORT BUILDINGS, AND SHOPPING CENTERS.
IN THE SPRING OF 1958, I OPENED RUPPE ENGINEERING CO. IN ATLANTA FOR THE PRIVATE PRACTICE OF CIVIL ENGINEERING. I OBTAINED MY STATE LICENSE AS LAND SURVEYOR AND ONE AS LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT TO ADD THESE CREDENTIALS TO MY QUALIFICATIONS. IT WAS NECESSARY TO GET ACQUAINTED WITH AS MANY PEOPLE WITH WHOM I COULD OBTAIN CLIENTS,---INCLUDING LAWYERS, BANKERS, CONTRACTORS, HOME BUILDERS, AND LAND DEVELOPERS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. AT THIS IN MY LIFE, I FOUND THAT MY LARYNGITIS BECAME A SALES TOOL, BECAUSE ONCE A PERSON MET ME, THEY REMEMBERED OUR MEETING BECAUSE OF MY DISTINCT VOICE. NOW 14 YEARS AFTER BEING INJURED IN THE ARMY, I LEARNED THAT THE VOICE IS A PART OF ONES IDENTITT AS MUCH AS OTHER PHYSICAL FEATURES. I FINALLY TOTALLY ACCEPTED MY WAR WOUNDS AND WAS CONSIDERABLY LESS SELF CONSCIOUS ABOUT SPEAKING, AND I BECAME MORE CONFIDENT.
OUR CLIENTS INCLUDED TEXACO, TENNECO, CROWN CENTRAL PETROLEUM AND GLOBE OIL, AND WE DID ALL THEIR SITE SURVEYS AND INVESTIGATIONS IN NORTH GEORGIA. WE PREPARED THEIR SITE PLANS AND OBTAINED THEIR BUILDING PERMITS. WE ALSO PERFORMED THE DESIGN OF LAND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS SUCH AS SUBDIVISIONS, OFFICE PARKS, INDUSTRIAL PARKS, AUTO DEALERSHIPS, AND SCHOOL SITES. OUR FIELD CREWS STAKED THE LOCATIONS OF IMPROVEMENTS ON THE GROUND. WE MADE LAND SURVEYS FOR MANY LAND COMPANIES, AND PLATS FOR THE LARGEST LAW FIRM IN ATLANTA.
I CONTINUED TO STUDY TO INCREASE MY SKILLS AS AN ENGINEER AND KEEP UP WITH CHANGING TECHNOLOGY. I WAS ENGINEER ON HUNDREDS OF CONSTRUCTIONS AND LAND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN THE SOUTHEAST. RUPPE ENGINEERING COMPANY WAS KNOWN TO BE WELL QUALIFIED IN TAKING RAW LAND TO COMPLETION OF MARKETABLE PROJECTS. I DID CONSULTING FOR OTHER ENGINEERING COMPANIES AND WROTE THEIR DRAINAGE AND HYDROLOGIC ANALYSIS REPORTS. MY REPORTS SET A STANDARD FOR PRESENTING SOLUTIONS TO THESE PROBLEMS AND WERE LATER TO BECOME A PATTERN FOR COMPUTERIZED REPORTS.
MY CLIENTS ALSO INCLUDED SOME OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS IN THE GREATER ATLANTA, AND MANY NATIONAL CORPORATIONS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. I KEPT MY COMPANY SMALL SO THAT I COULD PERSONALLY KNOW EVERY DETAIL OF EVERY PROJECT, NO MATTER HOW SMALL. THERE WERE TIMES WHEN WE HAD AS MANY AS TWENTY PERSONNEL, AND WE HAD TEN FIELD CREWS WHO WOULD BE MAKING LAND SURVEYS IN THE FIELD, AND LAID OUT WORK FOR CONSTRUCTION. SEVERAL OFFICE DESIGNERS AND DRAFTSMEN PREPARED FINISHED DRAWINGS, PLATS AND PLANS IN THE OFFICE. MY COMPANY PRODUCED HUNDREDS OF SUBDIVISIONS INCLUDING ALL ROADS, SEWER AND WATER DESIGNS. WE PLATTED THOUSAND OF LOTS AND PARCELS OF LAND FOR OUR CLIENTS.
DURING THE SLUMP IN BUSINESS IN 1975, I CONTINUED MY EDUCATION BY ATTENDING CLASSES IN COMPUTER PROGRAMMING AT HEWLETT-PACKARD. I COULD FORESEE THAT THE COMPUTERS WOULD TAKE OVER THE BULK OF ENGINEERING METHODICAL CALCULATIONS. THIS WAS TRUE IN THE FIELD OF HYDRAULICS AND HYDROLOGY, WHICH REQUIRE COMPLICATED ITERATIVE CALCULATIONS. LAND SURVEYS WOULD BE COMPUTED AND DRAWN ON THE NEW COMPUTERS AND PLOTTERS.
IN JANUARY 1983, I FOUNDED A SOFTWARE COMPANY, PLUS THREE SOFTWARE, INC., WHICH WOULD ENLARGE OUR EXISTING PROGRAMS AND CREATE PROGRAMS FOR SPECIFIC SOLUTIONS FOR CIVIL ENGINEERS. WE WOULD CALCULATE COORDINATE GEOMETRY OF SURVEYING AND SITE PLANNING. OUR PROGRAMS WOULD ALLOW THE ENGINEER TO DO HIS PROJECTS ON A COMPUTER. REPORTS FOR HYDROLOGY AND HYDRAULICS WOULD BE GENERATED AND PRINTED. THIS COMPANY GREW TO FORTY PEOPLE, AND ABOUT FIFTY STOCK HOLDERS. I CONTINUED IN PRIVATE PRACTICE OF CIVIL ENGINEERING IN RUPPE ENGINEERING COMPANY, AND I CONTINUED TO SERVE ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE SOFTWARE COMPANY UNTIL IT WAS SOLD IN 1997 TO AN INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION WHICH MANUFACTURES EQUIPMENT AND PROVIDES SOFTWARE FOR CIVIL ENGINEERS AND LAND SURVEYORS.
WHEN I WAS SEVENTY YEARS OLD, MY WORLD WAR II NECK WOUND BEGAN TO CHANGE WITH AGE, CAUSING ME TO HAVE AN INCREASED SHORTNESS OF BREATH. I WAS DEVELOPING TRACHEAL AND LARYNGEAL STENOSIS—NARROWING OF THE AIRWAY, AND MY VOICE WAS GETTING WEAKER. THE DIAGNOSIS WAS CONFIRMED BY TESTS AND I WENT INTO SAINT JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL IN ATLANTA FOR OPERATIONS WHICH LEFT ME WITH A PERMANENT TRACHEOTOMY TUBE IN THE NECK TO PROVIDE SUPPLEMENTAL AIR INTAKE. WHEN I AWOKE IN THE HOSPITAL BED IN INTENSIVE CARE, I WAS AGAIN HOOKED UP LIKE WORLD WAR II WITH NEEDLES IN ARMS, BREATHING TUBE AND A LOT OF BANDAGES AND NURSES HOVERING OVER ME. I RE-EXPERIENCED THE SAME TRAUMATIC STRESSES THAT VISITED ME IN 1944 IN CAMP BARKLEY, TEXAS. IT DID SEEM POSSIBLE TO RECOVER FROM THIS CONDITION, AND IT APPEARED TO BE AN UPHILL BATTLE THAT WOULD LAST A LONG TIME. I ASKED GOD TO GIVE ME THE STRENGTH TO GO THROUGH IT AGAIN.
AT THE AGE OF SEVENTY-TWO, AFTER FIFTY YEARS AS AN ENGINEER AND NEARLY FORTY YEARS IN PRIVATE PRACTICE, IT WAS NECESSARY THAT I RETIRE FROM ENGINEERING--- CLOSE RUPPE ENGINEERING COMPANY, AND GIVE UP THE PROFESSION THAT HAD GIVEN ME ENJOYMENT AND PRIDE FOR SO LONG.
ON THE ADVICE OF MY SPEECH PATHOLOGIST AND ON RECOMMENDATION OF MY SURGEON, I ATTENDED MY FIRST MEETING OF THE ATLANTA VOICE MASTERS IN FEBRUARY 1996. MOST OF OUS MEMBERS INCLUDE PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD LARYNGECTOMEES FROM CANCER. EACH HAS EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF THE NORMAL VOICE. MY SHRAPNEL WOUND MADE ME A PARTIAL LARYNGECTOMY WITH A CHANGED VOICE. SOME OF OUR MEMBERS ARE NOT LARYNGECTOMEES, BUT HAVE ALSO EXPERIENCED LOSS OF THEIR NATURAL VOICES. I HAVE ENJOYED THE MEETINGS AND SOCIAL OCCASIONS SO MUCH THAT I CONTINUE TO MAKE AN EFFORT TO ATTEND EVERY MEETING AND BE A PART OF OTHER ACTIVITIES OF THE GROUP. I HAVE MET PEOPLE WHO HAVE OVERCOME THEIR VOICE LOSS AND HAVE IMPROVED THEIR VOICES THROUGH THERAPY AND PRACTICE. THE CLUB IS DEDICATED TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL LIVES OF PERMANENT THROAT PATIENTS, AND I THINK THAT THE BEST THING WE DO IS VISIT THE NEW LARYNGECTOMEES AND ENCOURAGE THEM BY EXAMPLE TO “GET ONE WITH THEIR LIVES”, AND HAVE THEM REALIZE THAT THERE IS LIFE AFTER RECOVERY FROM OPERATIONS. AFTER VISITING THE GROUP’S MONTHLY MEETING A FEW TIME, OUR NEW MEMBERS BEGIN TO ENJOY TALKING WITH PEOPLE AGAIN. EACH MEMBER IS ACCOMPANIED BY HIS OR HER SPOUSE OR OTHER SUPPORTER.
REHABILITATION OF THE LARYNGECTOMEE MEANS VOICE/SPEECH RECOVERY. THERE ARE THREE MAIN SPEAKING METHODS; ELECTROLARYNX VOICE USING A HAND-HELD ARTIFICIAL LARYNX OR DEVICE IN CONTACT WITH THE THROAT TO GENERATE A SUBSTITUTE VOICE; TRACHEOSPOHAGEAL VOICE, IN WHICH AIR FROM THE LUNGS IS DIRECTED THROUGH THE VOICE PROSTHESIS USED TO VIBRATE A SEGMENT OF THE UPPER ESOPHAGUS PRODUCING VOICE—THIS METHOD REQUIRES A MINOR SURGICAL PROCEDURE EITHER AT THE TIME OF LARYNGECTOMY OR LATER; AND THE ESOPHAGEAL VOICE, PRODUCED BY LEARNING TO PUMP AIR INTO THE ESOPHAGUS AND VIBRATING THE UPPER SEGMENT. SUCCESS IN SPEAKING REQUIRES A LOT OF DETERMINATION AND POSITIVE THINKING TO LEARN TO SPEAK AGAIN. EXPERIENCED LARYNGECTOMEES IN THE GROUP CAN SOMETIMES HELP TEACH THE NEW PATIENT.
THE WRITER HAS BEEN FORTUNATE TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SPEAK WITH HIS DAMAGED LARYNX, AND THEREFORE, HE IS NOT USING A SUBSTITUTE METHOD FOR SPEECH. IN ORDER TO TALK, HE HAS A REMOVABLE PLUG OR VALVE TO CLOSE HIS TRACHEOSTOMY TUBE AND DIRECT ALL THE AIR FROM THE LUNGS THROUGH THE VOCAL CHORDS. THIS PRODUCES A HOARSE VOICE, WHICH MAKES STRANGERS THINK THAT HE MERELY HAS A COLD. WHEN OPEN, THE TRACHEOSTOMY PROVIDES ADEQUATE AIR. SINCE HE HAS ENDURED CHRONIC LARYNGITIS SINCE 1944, HE HAS ALREADY HEARD ALL THE POSSIBLE REMARKS ABOUT HIS VOICE, AND IT DOESN’T CAUSE ANY DISCOMFORT AROUND PEOPLE.
IN JANUARY 1999, HE STARTED HIS FIRST TWO-YEAR TERM AS PRESIDENT OF THE GREATER ATLANTE VOICE MASTERS. THIS JOB ALLOWED HIM TO KNOW AND WORK WITH ALL THE MEMBERS. THE MEMBERSHIP LIST INCLUDES MEMBERS, THEIR SUPPORTERS, INTERESTED FRIENDS OF THE SLUB, SPEECH PATHOLOGISTS, AUDIOLOGISTS, AND PHYSICIANS.