Current:Home > InvestThis opera singer lost his voice after spinal surgery. Then he met someone who changed his life. -StockSource
This opera singer lost his voice after spinal surgery. Then he met someone who changed his life.
View
Date:2025-04-14 16:59:09
Since joining choir in high school, Albert Garcia knew his passion was singing. He sang in church, started studying opera and performed at gigs. But in 2021, Garcia temporarily lost his gift when he was diagnosed with spinal damage that accrued over a decade and required surgery.
"Because of where the damage was and how close it was to the vocal cords – and just how fragile the vocal cords are themselves – with that surgery, the nerve connecting to my vocal cords got stretched and so that caused vocal paralysis on the right side," Garcia, now 34, told CBS News.
He said the diagnosis of vocal cord paralysis hit him "like a brick wall."
"I had felt that music was the only thing I was particularly good at, the one thing I had constant in my life. So I went into a deep state of depression," he said.
Vocal cord paralysis occurs when the nerve impulses to the larynx — the area of the throat with the vocal cords — are disrupted, according to the Mayo Clinic. It results in a lack of control over the muscles that control your voice and can make speaking and breathing difficult. The condition can be treated with surgery or voice therapy.
After his spinal surgery, Albert worked with a physical therapist to regain his physical strength. Then, he regained his voice with Dr. Marina-Elvira Papangelou, a speech-language pathologist at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston.
It took nearly a year of therapy, but thanks to Papangelou, Garcia regained his ability to sing. "He has made a tremendous change. He has learned to breathe properly again, to bring his pitch down and focus his voice," she told CBS News via email.
Garcia thanked Papangelou in the best way he knew how, with a performance. The song he chose was a meaningful one: "For Good" from the Broadway musical "Wicked."
"This is where they sing to each other about how important they are to each other," Garcia said. "And if they never meet again, that at least they know they've been a good influence and a good change in each other's lives."
"It really spoke to me because it goes, 'It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime. So let me say before we part, so much of me is made of what I learned from you. You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart.' That, I feel like, is the exact relationship I had with my speech therapist because I just learned so much from her."
Garcia also presented Papangelou with a plaque inscribed with the lyrics. "You've not only changed my life, but you've also given back what I thought I was never going to get. So, thank you so much," he said to her through tears as he presented the gift.
Papanagelou is modest about the impact she made. "I think that I made a difference in his life, but I don't think it was me. I think it was him because he did all of the work," she said.
Unlike the characters in Wicked, Garcia and Papangelou have crossed paths again. She's no longer his therapist – but instead a friend in the audience at his recent opera performance.
Caitlin O'KaneCaitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.
veryGood! (83235)
Related
- Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
- Luigi Mangione merchandise raises controversy, claims of glorifying violence
- Luigi Mangione merchandise raises controversy, claims of glorifying violence
- Google forges ahead with its next generation of AI technology while fending off a breakup threat
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Stop & Shop is using grocery store kiosks to make digital
- Taylor Swift makes history as most decorated artist at Billboard Music Awards
- Mega Millions winning numbers for Tuesday, Dec. 10 drawing: $619 million lottery jackpot
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
- The brewing recovery in Western North Carolina
Ranking
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Drew Barrymore has been warned to 'back off' her guests after 'touchy' interviews
- ParkMobile $32.8 million settlement: How to join class
- 'Maria' review: Angelina Jolie sings but Maria Callas biopic doesn't soar
- 2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
- KISS OF LIFE reflects on sold
- Alex Jones keeps Infowars for now after judge rejects The Onion’s winning auction bid
- A Malibu wildfire prompts evacuation orders and warnings for 20,000, including Dick Van Dyke, Cher
Recommendation
Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
This house from 'Home Alone' is for sale. No, not that one.
Taxpayers could get $500 'inflation refund' checks under New York proposal: What to know
Beyoncé takes home first award in country music category at 2024 Billboard Music Awards
The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
Google forges ahead with its next generation of AI technology while fending off a breakup threat
SCDF aids police in gaining entry to cluttered Bedok flat, discovers 73
Turning dusty attic treasures into cash can yield millions for some and disappointment for others