For Jean Baker, conversation is more than small talk — it is how she stays connected to the people she loves. Between exercise classes, church, coffee with friends and time spent with children and grandchildren, her voice is central to daily life. When a paralyzed vocal cord threatened those connections, Jamestown Regional Medical Center’s (JRMC) Speech and Language Pathologist Isabelle Green helped her find it again.
Around Christmas 2025, Jean was hospitalized after becoming seriously ill. During her evaluation, physicians discovered a significant blockage in one of her carotid arteries that required surgery. While the procedure successfully restored blood flow, Jean awoke to an unexpected complication — she had lost her voice.
“My voice wasn’t right at all,” she recalls. “It was almost like there was air trapped somewhere. I couldn’t project my voice and strange sounds would come out when I tried to talk.”
When her voice failed to improve, an ENT specialist diagnosed her with a paralyzed vocal cord — a recognized but uncommon risk of neck surgery — and referred her to speech and language pathology with Isabelle Green at JRMC.
Jean began working with Isabelle and learned that recovery with treatment could take anywhere from six to twelve months. She was extremely eager to get her voice back as she almost immediately noticed how her injury was standing in the way of connecting with others.
“I kept going to my exercise group, but with the number of people there I couldn’t really participate in conversations because nobody could hear me,” Jean says. “I also stopped making as many phone calls because it took so much effort just to talk.”
Isabelle guided Jean through resonant voice therapy, using a series of humming, bubble-blowing and vocal exercises to help her vocal cords vibrate together again. Therapy also helped improve swallowing and reduce the persistent coughing that had become part of Jean’s daily life.
Every morning during her recovery, Jean started the day by saying, “Good morning, Jesus,” hoping her voice had returned. There were times throughout her therapy that Jean doubted if her voice would return, but Isabelle’s encouragement and confidence in her recovery motivated her to keep pushing through.
“Sometimes I would come in thinking that I hadn’t made any progress at all, but she would encourage me and point out the improvements she could see,” Jean remembers. “That encouragement meant a lot because there were times that I wasn’t nearly as positive as she was.”
One day while doing her therapy exercises at home, Jean noticed her voice sounded stronger.
“When I went to therapy that day, I showed Isabelle what I had discovered,” Jean says. “It gave me hope because I realized my voice was still there, it just needed time to come back completely!”
When Jean completed her treatments at JRMC in April, she still had some strength to regain in her voice but had already made dramatic progress in just those few months. Two weeks after her final appointment, Isabelle called to check on her progress, with a surprise from the other side.
“Isabelle, is that you?” Jean answered. “I woke up one day and I was all better!”
Isabelle knows the impact that this recovery has had on Jean.
“It was such a special moment to hear her speaking normally again,” Isabelle says. “Our voices are one of our greatest sources of connection and when people stop talking… they often begin isolating themselves. Helping someone regain their voice isn’t just about making sounds again — it’s about helping them reconnect with the people and activities they love.”
As for Jean, she is so thankful for the healing and recovery she has experienced, and for the role that Isabelle played in helping her get her voice back.
“You don’t realize how much you rely on your voice until something like this happens,” she says. “The Lord is my healer, but He also gives us people like Isabelle to help us along the way and keep us encouraged.”
Today, Jean is back to exercising, visiting with friends over coffee, singing at church and enjoying conversations with her family — the simple moments that she no longer takes for granted.
Recovery is possible right here, JRMC is ready to help.