I was recommended to TPI by another person who already had a Speak EZ. I sent TPI an e.mail saying I didn’t have a clue where to start or what to do and was referred to Michelle.
She answered all my questions and helped me through every step of the process.
I was having to wear a dressing with tape over the trachie stoma which I had to change sometimes up to 10 times a day due to secretions and could not speak unless my thumb was over the dressing over the stoma.
It was miserable.
I received the SpeakEZ and went in for an operation to open up my stoma as it was closing and I couldn’t breathe properly.
The surgeon put in the SpeakEZ (although it’s quite easy to put in yourself with a bit of practice)
When I woke up it needed a slight adjustment and all of a sudden I could breathe and speak. It was like a miracle.
It is hardly noticeable.
I honestly can’t thank the people at TPI and especially Michelle enough for changing my life for the better.
Janice
7/26/2019
Dear Norbert,
How are you today? I am doing great! It may not look like a beautiful spring day, but spring it is. I have made it thru winter without one bad infection requiring antibiotics!!
I usually catch anything that is going around and 10 times worse than everyone else. I did have my flu shot and 2 of the Pneumonia ones per my request of my MD. And I am around a Kindergartner who you know shares everything and anything. I do confess to being a slight germ-phoebe, I carry hand sanitizer with me everywhere. I am also a nurse, so double jeopardy there.
But I am so thrilled to have made it this far without a cold or cause of bronchitis since August, when I began wearing your cannula! So I wanted to Thank you again, I truly believe your ingenious has kept me healthy. I know longer have to wear my shiley, which went down a lot further, more annoying, harder to cover. Difficult to clean compared to the cannula. I do feel better all around with this cannula.
Just wanted you to know since you are not on facebook, someone suggested you would love to know this.
Have a great day, hopefully the sun will shine.
Sincerely,
Susan Thumma
Dear Norbert,
My name is Susan Thumma. I am all but 48 years old, a wife, a mother, a veteran. Almost 8 years ago I had a thyroidectomy which left me with bilateral vocal chord paralysis. I had no idea what this was or what I was in store for. i went home and they told me to wait-maybe it will get better. Then my body went into full blown respiratory failure. I woke up about a week later-with a trach. 13 days in the hosp. 9 in the ICU. my life was turned upside down.
I have 2 beautiful girls. I have tried to raise them to be strong & independent no matter what obstacle comes their way.
I ended up with a Shiley trach-which my kids grew accustomed to. And my husband. All very supportive.
I was very self conscious of my trach-especially out in public. I have quite the scarf collection!
When I saw your design -I got so excited- i couldn’t believe my eyes. I am constantly looking for new and better- now I found it. it was very liberating for me. I wore a chain with my Shiley to save money on ties. Honestly I felt like a dog-and at times sounded like a goose-the wonderful honking sound my old speaking valve made.
I am a nurse. My residents often comment on my scarves-or how loudly I coughed-they thought I was sick. I just smiled said it’s just a tickle.
I have since worn my SpeakEZ at work-I did notice less coughing. It’s more of a habit I believe.
I still feel the need to pinch myself-how can this work?
I am truly amazed. I feel beautiful again-Ican look in the mirror and see me. Not my Shiley staring back at me as a constant reminder. I know I will have my trach the rest of my life-thanks to you it will be more comfortable – more enjoyable and more beautiful.
My family has always been more than accepting, and I try not to dwell on the negative. This is definitely a turning point for me.
Someday I will get to meet you- I hope to share my gratitude. I wish to thank you in person-for now a much too long letter.
But I wish to finish by saying THANK YOU for sharing your talent, for improving my life and countless others I imagine. Words cannot do justice for feelings. My favorite quote is: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” You truly have taken-and given me new breath!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Truly you are a gift from God: an Angel!
I have been wearing a tracheal tube of one type or another since October of 95. I started with a hard plastic unit and went to metal tubes when I started having lots of problems with granulation tissue as my stoma site. I am a very active person and as I was able to do more and more physical activities the curved tubes were causing erosion problems in my trachea. I swapped to a Montgomery tube and even though the relief was immediate in that the erosion problems and pain went away, a new painful problem arose. When I had to pull and replace the Montgomery tube the trauma and pain at the stoma site was a painful and unpleasant experience.
In mid 2006 Linda Oberrender, BNS, MHA, RN, CORLN, from Texas Center for Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Dr. Eugene Alford, MD, FACS, emailed me some literature on the TPI tracheal cannula and my world changed for the better. It took us a few tries to get the correct size but I have been very happy with how the unit fits and performs.
The ease of and the painless removal/replacement of the tube is quite a blessing. I am a cyclist, thus my head has to be on a swivel as I cruise the roads in my area and there are no problems with something jabbing me or friction issues which can cause irritation. The unit is so easy to remove and replace that I have on occasion stopped on the road and cleaned/flushed and replaced it. When my first unit arrived the material was so thin and soft that my first thought was no way this thing is going to stay in place. I was wrong. I can’t end this testimonial without praising the efforts of TPI in making sure that I had the correct size and was 100% satisfied. I also have Linda Oberrender to thank for finding this great product for me.
