New Progress

We took Garren to Charlotte Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat today for another opinion on his swallowing and speaking problems. We figure we can't get to many opinions, and the more we ask, the more we learn, and the more help we seem to get.

We met with his doctor, who asked a lot of questions. Then he put a scope through Garren's nose and into his throat so we could see what was going on. We saw everything on a video monitor. Here's what we saw: Garren's right vocal chord is moving the way it is supposed to. Last time we looked at it, the right one had very weak movement. The left chord, however, is still not moving.

This is great news! It's progress! The doctor was very informative, and very helpful. He is going to do a small outpatient procedure on Garren next Wednesday. He's going to inject a "paste" into the left vocal chord to push it out, toward the center. This will temporarily help with swallowing and speaking, as it will help the chords to come together and seal the airway.

The doctor reassured us. He said he's seen cases like this, where one or both of the chords were not moving, or were weak. He's seen them recover fully, though it could take a year or more. Garren's young, and has that going for him as well.

We are thankful to God for more progress, even though is seems to be coming more slowly.