#tracheotomy

tracheotomy IF.

overview: “This is a 2-3 minute audio letter to the late David Muir, a disabled man who invented the Passy Muir® Valve, an attachment that enables people with tracheostomies to speak. As a newly nonspeaking person, this letter allows me to share my thoughts on the desire to speak and reflections on silence.”

I paused to consider the phrase “dignity through speech.” There is dignity in silence too. Silence does not mean a person is voiceless, as there are millions of nonspeaking people who use gestures, sign language, writing, technology, and other means to communicate with the world.

I live in a world of silence that is not lesser or devoid of richness. My reality is just different. Silence forces me to be more thoughtful and intentional in considering what I want to say and how I say it when I type into my speech-to-text app, which listeners to this letter are hearing now.

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the suffix "-otomy" is a medical term that means to 'cut into' or 'make an incision' in part of the body. it derives from the greek word 'tómos', which means "cutting, sharp, separate".

examples below depict victorian dialogues of a tracheotomy, a surgical procedure creating an opening in the neck and trachea, which then allows for a tube to be interted in order for ventilation or the prevention of blockages in the windpipe.