I knew when we ushered in the year 2011 it would be an interesting one.  Mostly because five days in to the new year I was scheduled for surgery to remove thyroid cancer.  As far as we know, it was very successful and I am grateful to “Top Doc” and staff at Johns Hopkins Hospital  for all they did to make this Cancer Warrior Goddess a survivor.  There were a few complications, but none as irksome as my voice having some serious problems.

Now I won’t bore you with all the medical stuff as this is not a blog about my voice (or the new show, “THE VOICE”) but about how Rosetta Stone helped give me my voice back.  After a few months of living with a very, very deep and husky voice (which was painful), I went back to Hopkins and met with their amazing staff at the speech, language and voice disorders department. I was given a whole host of exercises in order to help relearn how to speak in a normal range post-surgery.  At the same time, I received my French Totale program from Rosetta Stone.  After a week or so, I noticed that my voice was really improving and that my accuracy with pronunciation on the Totale voice activated module was getting more accurate. I also liked that I could listen to my own voice imitating the native speaker by using the playback feature.  This was VERY helpful and a great motivator for me to continue to practice.

 I know that Rosetta Stone did not go in to the business of making language acquisition programs in order to help with speech and vocal therapy.  But, I must tell you that I owe them a debt of gratitude.  Thank you Rosetta Stone for giving me a fun and educational way for getting back my voice back! And, also a heartfelt thank you to Heather Starmer from Johns Hopkins Hospital who really was open to the idea of my using Rosetta Stone as way to conduct vocal exercises.

To learn more about Thyroid Cancer and why everyone should “check the neck” go here:  http://www.thyca.org

To learn more about Rosetta Stone and their Totale Program click here:  ROSETTA STONE

And now that I have my radio voice back, please join me when I air my new radio show- PARENTING THE TALENT- a half hour program about raising a child who is involved with acting, modeling, music or athletics.  We also will talk to industry professionals including my first guest, Susan Farris from Bohemia Talent Agency