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(Rockville, MD–August 31, 2009) Although Megan Davis, MS CCC-SLP, never forgets a patient, one man really sticks out in her mind.
He was recovering from neck cancer and unable to speak because his larynx had been removed. During his weeks-long recovery period, he was only able to write his thoughts down on paper and gesture when he wanted to communicate. Davis, along with her colleagues, inserted a device called a voice prosthesis that restored the man's ability to speak.
Finally, as the man's recovery came to an end, Davis and other staff watched him take a breath, fill his lungs with air, block his airway, and allow the air from his lungs to be redirected through the voice prosthesis and travel into his oral cavity. He uttered "I love you" to his wife for the first time in many weeks.
"There wasn't a dry eye in the building," Davis says.
She adds: "Communication affects us all. We gave [communication] back to him. That was an awesome feeling. I know a lot of people probably don't think about [the power to communicate] unless you don't have it."
A licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP), Davis tells her story in a featured video on the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA) home page. Davis's video is part of ASHA's Share Your Stories project.
Davis graduated from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2008 with a master's degree in speech-language pathology. Currently, she works for Allied Therapies and Consulting in Ward, AR, and lives in the central Arkansas area with her husband and 3-year-old daughter.
"Giving back is a common theme among our 135,000 members," according to ASHA President Sue Hale. "Often, I hear from SLPs such as Megan, as well as
The Share Your Stories initiative highlights the difference audiologists and speech-language pathologists make in people's lives, making the professionals more familiar and accessible to the public. Segments from it are regularly featured on ASHA's home page.
"We think our Share Your Stories initiative is a great way to introduce the public to our members—to the kind of people they are, as well as the great value they contribute to society through their work," Hale says.
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About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 135,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders.
View all ASHA press releases at www.asha.org/about/news.
Hear all ASHA podcasts at www.asha.org/podcast/.
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