Barry White meets Don Corleone: Recipe for Laryngitis

This past week I attended APAP, a music and arts conference I've been attending now for 10-years. Fortunately the conference started as I got out of the shadow of chemo session #10 and I got to reconnect with my peoples and make some new friends. I love these conferences as I'm back in with my world music tribe. As the conference has concluded I have officially lost my voice and have been officially diagnosed with laryngitis. My voice has been reduced to a whisper. My throat feels like there is a five pound donut pushing the bones and nerves of my throat outwards. I cough and my adams apple explodes (read earlier posts about exploding throat). My throat is raw. I'm praying that this initiation will find me waking up one morning with the singing voice I've always dreamed of!

So, here is a recipe for laryngitis.

Sunday Night (1/3): The heat didn't work well, woke up Monday morning with a cough.

Monday - Wednesday (1/4 - 6) : It's Chemo week, treatment #10. Chemotherapy causes immune system to breakdown, cough develops minor chest cold, regular chemo side-effect of vomiting induces acid burning in throat coupled with the pressure of exploding throat.

Thursday - Monday (1/7 - 11): I'm out of the shadow of chemo. Attend APAP conference, lots and lots of conversations, attended over 25-concerts, participated in fun series of late nights at clubs and restaurants with the world music tribe. Breathing in frigid 20-degree air is like small daggers ripping my throat. What was once the burning throat metamorphosises into brittle dry throat and lungs feeling like a very dry tree. Five nights of half-sleep and exorcist like coughing epidemics permits a mere 4-5 hours of sleep a night. As the days pass I'm forced to speak slowly and deeply. Voice changes into that of Barry White meets Don Corleone from The Godfather.

Tuesday Morning (1/12): Voice reduced to a whisper. Only able to consume hot lemon and honey. Messages sent to my medical team. It's Laryngitis. New codeine-infused medicine enters my system, now I'm able to sleep for the first time in days.

Sounds pretty bad, but I'm feeling remarkably content…