-
>> Thank you very
much, sir, for coming
-
in and sharing your
story with us.
-
If you could, could
you please tell
-
us what your name is
and where you're from?
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>> My name is
Todd Grimsinger.
-
I am from Fort
Worth, Texas.
-
>> Great.
-
>> I had my
surgery back in
-
September of last year.
I'm six months in.
-
>> Six months in. You have
-
an excellent voice for
being six months in.
-
>> Thank you very much.
-
>> Great. What are
-
you doing now
professionally?
-
>> I went back to
work in February.
-
I work for the
Coca-Cola company,
-
been with them
for 31 years
-
and did anything to
do with warehousing.
-
>> And you continue
to work for them?
-
>> I continue to work
for them. Yes, sir.
-
>> Wow. So you've
-
got as I can see here
-
you've got your
voice prosthesis.
-
It's a Provox
voice prosthesis.
-
>> Yes, I do. Vega 2,
I think it's called.
-
>> Yeah. Provox
Vega, yeah.
-
And you have a HME
-
and a StabiliBase
adhesive?
-
>> Yes. The StabiliBase
I really love.
-
The other bases I would
-
blow the seal
within the hour.
-
This I get two to
three days out of.
-
>> Two to three days.
-
Excellent. And it's
comfortable for you?
-
>> Yes.
-
>> Great.
-
>> I mean I could
move my neck.
-
I'm not restricted.
-
I even ride my
motorcycle now.
-
>> Great.
-
So you ride motorcycles,
you ride bikes.
-
What other hobbies
that you have?
-
>> I used to work
in the yard,
-
yardwork, housework,
-
everything around
the house.
-
>> Excellent.
-
>> Woodworking, just
about anything.
-
>> Wow. So having
-
a laryngectomy
doesn't seem
-
to have held you
back at all?
-
>> No, because I was
really determined.
-
Because the first
day they told
-
me I could do
anything but swim.
-
And I don't care to swim.
-
So then with my wife,
-
her job, she travels
all the time.
-
So I had to learn how
to do all this by
-
myself because my kids
are grown and gone.
-
And I take care of my
granddaughter every
-
day after 3:00 when
she gets off school.
-
>> Wow. So you seem
to be pretty active.
-
>> I have to be because
-
after I finished
radiation,
-
it was like the world
came to an end.
-
I had no place to go.
-
Then I was determined
-
once I could start
swallowing again,
-
eating right, I was
determined to be normal,
-
as close to normal
as I could.
-
Like they say here,
the new normal.
-
>> The new normal. And how
-
old were you when you
had the laryngectomy?
-
>> Forty-nine.
-
>> Forty-nine.
-
>> But this is my third
bout with cancer.
-
>> Third bout with cancer.
-
Tell us a little
bit about that.
-
>> In '99 I was diagnosed
-
with testicular
cancer that
-
has been metastasized to
-
right side of the
ball in my body.
-
>> Wow.
-
>> I went through
four surgeries
-
and six months of chemo.
-
At the same time they
-
realized I had
kidney cancer.
-
>> Wow.
-
>> Then I had to do
chemo for four months.
-
Then I had to wait a
month to get stronger.
-
They removed my
right kidney.
-
>> Wow.
-
>> And I had to do one
more round of chemo.
-
Then they
declared me free.
-
>> Wow.
-
>> Then 12 years later
-
I came down with
throat cancer.
-
What makes me so mad,
-
not mad about it is,
-
no, I was a smoker.
-
Everybody told me
to quit smoking.
-
But nobody ever said
-
anything about
throat cancer.
-
It's always lung cancer.
-
>> Right.
-
>> What hurt me the most
-
was putting my family
through this again.
-
And that's really
where I was really
-
upset because my family
and I we're so close.
-
>> Sure. Wow. Had
quite a number
-
of challenges that
you had to deal with.
-
>> Right. Then when
they diagnosed me
-
with throat
cancer, excuse me.
-
When they diagnosed me
with throat cancer,
-
I had basically two weeks
to make a decision.
-
And Dr. Dusek told me
-
that I had no
choice but to do
-
this because the
tumor was so
-
big it was closing
off my airways.
-
>> So in order to
-
breathe they had to
do the laryngectomy.
-
>> Right. Most
tumors are round,
-
mine was flat against
the voice box.
-
They didn't think
they're going to
-
have to take
the voice box,
-
but they did anyway
just to be safe.
-
>> And so were
you aware of that
-
before the actual
procedure?
-
>> Yes. The first
time I saw Dr.
-
Dusek when he I guess,
-
scoped me, he saw that
-
the tumor was
different than normal.
-
>> Wow. So when
they told you
-
we're going to do
a laryngectomy
-
, how did you feel?
-
>> Didn't really
know. They told
-
me it'd give me another
chance at life.
-
>> Great.
-
>> Since I've done cancer
-
before, it's really oh,
-
well, I made it
twice before,
-
a third time I
can do it again.
-
>> Got you. So you
went through that.
-
So after the laryngectomy,
-
what challenges
did you have to
-
overcome to get to
where you're at now?
-
>> The challenge
was dealing
-
with all the new mucus,
-
dealing with changing
the seals every day,
-
learning how to re-talk,
-
learning how to
re-swallow, how to eat.
-
>> Got you. And obviously
-
you've overcome those?
-
>> Yes.
-
>> Great.
-
>> They did also
take out my thyroid.
-
I lost 60 pounds
since my surgery.
-
But the doctor said,
-
that's all I'm
going to be.
-
I drink protein shakes
-
daily, take my medicines.
-
I don't smoke no more.
-
I put my cigarettes down
-
the first day they
-
told me I had
throat cancer.
-
>> Got you. So if
-
you were to give
advice or have
-
the opportunity to speak
-
to someone that's about
-
to undergo a
laryngectomy procedure,
-
what advice is it
-
that you would
give to them?
-
>> Just relax, go with it
-
because it's a whole
new life for you.
-
It's another way to live.
-
>> So it's just
another way to live?
-
That's great. Is it
drastically different?
-
>> With God's honesty, no.
-
Because before I had
allergies real bad.
-
It's always
sinus drainage,
-
always something
like that.
-
But now I don't
have that troubles.
-
>> Great. Is there
-
anything else that
you'd like to add,
-
Todd before we end
the interview here?
-
Anything that you'd
like to say to someone
-
that laryngectomies
to their families,
-
to anyone?
-
>> Just relax.
-
God gave you a second
chance and go with it.
-
>> Great. Thank
you very much.
-
>> Thank you.