Share Add Us On Google Add as a preferred source on Google HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Arvind Patel is 89 years old and in overall good shape, dealing with normal health issues for someone his age.
But when he lost his voice, it came at a difficult time.
“This thing that came up with my voice was something I could not imagine,” Patel said. “So many things I can live with, and when I lost my voice, it happened right after I lost my soulmate of 68 years.”
Friends and family consoled him, but Patel couldn’t speak, which he said made it more difficult to deal with his grief.
“I was feeling depressed with life, with age. I had accepted it. I just said it happens,” he said.
That changed when he met Dr. Steven Chau, an otolaryngologist at Kaiser Permanente who diagnoses and treats conditions of the ear, nose, throat, head and neck, with expertise in the airway — specifically voice and swallowing.
“I walked into the doctor’s room, he was already there. That’s the biggest thing I noticed,” Patel said. “He checked me. Took some videos. And then explained what was my problem through the videos, so patiently.”
Vocal cord injury and injection treatment
Chau said Patel had an injury to his vocal ...