“I had 30 band gigs booked,” he said. “After the surgery, it would be about 45 days before I could get back to performing. So Dr. Bastian put me through vocal therapy with a vocal therapist. I learned how to breathe, warm up, and sing properly. I made it through six months of performing, but there were some challenging times.”
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April 2010Surgery was on a Wednesday, and Whiting was ordered to remain silent until Monday morning. After that he could speak for 5 minutes out of every 30—increased to 10 minutes the second week. Today Whiting is back to performing as much as before, only now he warms up and does about 10 or 15 minutes of vocal exercises a day.
And the differences? “There was a slight rattle in my voice before, which I believe was caused by the polyp, and the rattle is gone,” Whiting said. “I noticed a difference in my singing voice, however. I’m back to having a clear, confident falsetto. During the time with the polyp I was unconfident in the higher registers. I’d go for a high note hoping it would be there rather than knowing it would be there. I have more range now. The doctor said I’m back to having my original equipment.”
—Tom Valeo