I don’t want to give this topic a lot of energy but I need to vent.

About 3 years ago, I was diagnosed with Renke’s Edema which is a swelling of the vocal cords.  My Ear Nose and Throat specialist also noticed scar tissue on my right vocal cord.  After many visits with 4 different specialists in the field of speech therapy, I learned to perform daily warm-ups, exercises and voice conditioning that they recommended.  At last check, the swelling was pretty much gone; yay me!; but the scar tissue remains; sad me.

I have made so many changes since this diagnosis and I’m still not where I want to be.  I drink about 2 litres of water plus green tea a day, I warm up all and every day, I’ve cut back on caffeine, I’ve completely changed and improved my diet, lost 20 pounds in the last 2 years, I’ve seen 4 voice specialists, 4 natural healers and my throat and neck are still sore and tight after only a little bit of singing or talking.  I feel I’m writing the best songs of my life and I hardly have the voice to sing them!  Fuck.

Sorry, like I said, I just needed to vent.  I’m so sad about it these days, it’s crushing me.  I’ve worked so hard and only come so far.

So, I’ve made another appointment with my Speech Pathologist and I’m trying out another acupuncturist.  Please help me focus on these good things, I find it really difficult to be positive when I feel like I’ve lost a part of something so personal and important to me.

Thanks.
*Positive imagery!*

I am a singer / songwriter / guitar player / vocal coach.  I have run this website since 2001 and have recently turned it into the blog you are now reading… thank you for that!

I have been on a pretty cool journey over the past few years.  My husband, Glenn and I have made some changes in our lives that we never would have envisioned when we met 10 years ago.  When we moved to Aurora, Ontario, my home town, in 2003, we became active in the Green Party of Canada.  In May of 2005, we started the Newmarket-Aurora Federal Green Party Association, and Glenn was nominated as the candidate.  He ran in two federal elections, 2006 and 2008, both being a test of our wills and our relationship, but we have come out stronger than ever.

Getting involved changed our lives for the better.  Now, everything we do is with a consciousness of progressively lessening our footprint on the earth.

What have we done?  Here’s the short list of the big changes:

-  We moved from a medium sized detached home to a smaller town home
-  We sold a car and became a one car family
-  I found work locally instead of driving a daily commute totalling over an hour and a half
-  Glenn changed jobs and started commuting to work on the GO Train
-  We started vegetable gardening in our tiny backyard
-  In the summer, we try to buy food exclusively from local farmers

It seems like a lot and, well, I guess it is!  Of course, none of this happened over night, but the benefits have been so worth it!  Our health is better, we have both lost weight in a healthy way, we have more financial freedom, we still have a beautiful home we are proud of, and one of the best benefits is our peace of mind.  We can’t do everything, but we can do what we can.

I started this blog to share with you some of my stories and discoveries.  Thanks for tuning in.