Voiceless Child

“I spoke soothing words and touched her pale fingers. The silent weeping stopped.”



No one wanted her. She’d never been outside. Airway damage rendered spoken words impossible. I began searching for miracles, for the Voice Giver.



Voiceless Child pays tribute to the resilient human spirit, any child born too soon or without a home, and to ear, nose, and throat surgeons. Sometime faith, space, technology, snd medicine can make dreams come true;  sometimes they can’t.



The baby’s chest heaved as she struggled to breathe. Heather wasn’t my child, but her distress tattered my heart. Fourteen months old, the little bundle lay swaddled in a blanket, forgotten and lost amongst unchanging hospital routines.

 

Meeting Heather tumbled my husband and me into a troubling maze never envisioned. Might we adopt her? Were the damning prophecies of profound disability true? How could we navigate through villains who stymied any progress?


There is a newer subspecialty, pediatric otolaryngology. These ear, nose, and throat surgeons are dedicated to preserving a child’s voice, airways, and hearing. No one dared dream the voiceless child might survive, grow up, and have children of her own.