What to do ??

[AmyBerlin]

Dear Anja, Saskia,

Ah by the way Amy - how is your singer friend doing - you said you had a friend who is a professional singer and who went to Yesons for this surgery some weeks ago now?

She's not singing for a living, but she's good at it. Well, considering she's 6 weeks postop, she's doing fine. No miracles yet as far as singing is concerned – of course not, it'll be another 2 weeks before she's even allowed to try – but her speaking voice sounds much improved. So all in all, her case parallels the other consistently good results we've heard from Yeson on this forum.

From where I live there are only 2 airlines flying direct, so when I checked yesterday afternoon there was only 2 seats left, I thought I better book them quick.

There are no direct flights from Berlin, so that wasn't a factor, since we'd have one changeover anyway.

On the hotels front, whilst the phil-house looks ok, I think we want a nice standard of hotel but which is close to tourist areas. We don't want to stay in business areas or where there is not much close by. We want to spend max about 100 Euros per night. How much is the Phil-House by the way, out of curiosity.

It's quite a bit cheaper: 60,000 wons per night (approx. 41.50 euros). It's on the north side of the river, and there appears to be a good connection to the city centre by metro line 5 (purple) – 12 stops to Gwanghwamun Gate. Metro tickets reportedly are inexpensive and the service reliable, so I find it quite a good compromise not to be smack dab in the middle of where everything's happening, especially since with Mt. Achasan, there seems to be quite a scenic park within walking distance of Phil House (google for photos). The only downside I can think of is that it takes 2 changeovers at Gunja and Konkuk Univ. metro stations (or a significant detour of 6 extra stops) to get to Yeson. Still, even this trip (13 stops) should be entirely feasible within the half hour.

Have a great day,

Amy

[anjaq]

Anjaq - yes the flights are really expensive, when I looked before Christmas I was getting 800/900 Euros per ticket. Wished I'd booked then.

Oh good to know - I guess if it comes to it, I would have to consider planning far enough ahead.

She's not singing for a living, but she's good at it. Well, considering she's 6 weeks postop, she's doing fine. No miracles yet as far as singing is concerned – of course not, it'll be another 2 weeks before she's even allowed to try – but her speaking voice sounds much improved. So all in all, her case parallels the other consistently good results we've heard from Yeson on this forum.

Ah ok, I misunderstood then - I somehow had in the mind she does it professionally. Of course she will not sinf 6 weeks post op LOL - We know that so far. Some more months to go.... But as long as her voice is as great as the others we heard so far from that stage of the healing - its cool. She is about parallel to Sarah then, plusminus 1-2 weeks? Will she write about it or record anything somewhere in the web? Or is she keeping it more to herself, which totally is understandable given the modd in Germany (I mean even if you have a perfect result as some here have, they will always find something to nitpick and return to the fixed belief that VFS is not helping and that the best voices are those who did only voice training and no surgery - its like a mantra that cannot be broken or disturbed by experiences so the experiences have to be invalidated)

[Saskia]

yikes !!!!!!!!!!!

One week tomorrow I'll be on the plane to Seoul. It's come round so quickly, but I'm so anxious and nervous. Of course I'm looking forward to having a better voice (even though family have told me I don't need to have this done).
I think I'm worried about what the voice will sound like after and what my work colleagues will say. I've prepared my team as much as possible and told them that my voice will ''possibly'' change after my throat operation. I've had to tell some small lies to cover myself but I really hope I don't out myself by having this done (it would be quite ironic if that happened).
I hope I don't slip up and say something in the 3 weeks or so after the op, as not being able to speak for that length of time will be difficult.
I'm also a little worried about the pre-examination and what tests they will do. With FFS I knew exactly what to expect and none of it was a surprise, but with VFS alot of it is still unknown.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to being in Asia again, to trying out the food and to meeting Amy who's going to be there at the same time as me.
I'll keep you all posted.

[AmyBerlin]

Dear Saskia,

you're not the only one excited, you bet! Although we're leaving 3 days later than you, we're already in full preparation mode. We're so looking forward to exploring a new country!

As for the no-speaking thing, I've made arrangements with my clients that they can expect me to play beautifully as ever, but that I won't say a word. They were very understanding, and I will have my first job on May 3 in the evening (we arrive back here May 1). From then on it's going to be a light-to-normal work schedule until May 28, when a friend from the States will come over to play a few concerts together. But I should be able to talk again by then, over 5 weeks post-surgically.

As I've visited a phoniatrist here in Berlin before to make sure nothing's wrong with my voice that could preclude surgery, and also to be informed of the surgical options here in Germany (which I detailed in my VFS thread), I'm pretty sure of what's to come. The laryngoscopy isn't bad at all. Just be sure Dr. Kim uses an approach through the nose! For me, the through-the-mouth approach triggers my gag reflex.

Hugs,

Amy

[Jennygirl]

The normal speed laryngoscopy is done through the nose, but the high speed (super slow motion) stroboscope laryngoscopy is done down the throat. He didn't touch any of my throat however, so no gag reflex. He's good

Congrats Saskia and Amy! So cool that you guys are going to actually meet each other!!

[Daniella]

Hey soon to be Seoul visitors!

Day after my op here.  I hardly feel any trouble in my throat at all, even before starting the 7 day medication this morning. At the end of the op day, I walked back to my apartment as I felt good enough to...not what I was expecting before that day, I had so much nerves going around in my head.  Weather is really nice right now - fairly clear air, comfortable temperatures and lots of sun.

As everyone says, Dr Kim is a really nice person and spends a good amount of time going over matters to you and when I saw his work on my cords before I left, I was so impressed seeing how neat his work was on me, all I could do was beem a big smile and grab his hand with both mine.  They measured me at 145hz chest voice before and Dr Kim said I should just speak with chest voice in future after healing, as if I use a head voice I might be going too high.   

So I am having a chill out day in my apartment today as my travelling companion is feeling under the weather, then lots of sight seeing and shopping from tomorrow onwards. 

Quick few tips from me, get a wifi egg prebooked to collect at ICN when u arrive. Very handy that was in room after op with a smart phone/iPad..when u have hours of time to while away, plus with walking around using google maps etc.  My throat was bit rough for first few hours after waking up from op, but having the icecream down the throat first was bliss for it.

Good luck Amy and Saskia.   

Dani x

[AmyBerlin]

Hey Daniella,

congratulations on your surgery! I'm really glad you had such a positive experience!

even before starting the 7 day medication this morning.

what is the 7 day medication? *curious*

Quick few tips from me, get a wifi egg prebooked to collect at ICN when u arrive.

How do you do that? And wouldn't a prepaid SIM card (if my cell phone works in S. Korea) or a rental phone (if it doesn't) be a much more sensible choice?

Good luck Amy and Saskia.   

Thanks :-)

Amy

[Saskia]

Thanks Jenny and everyone.
Daniella, really pleased everything went well for you and thanks for the tips. I'm just going to make do with Skype for calls, although I will also have my works cell phone with me for emergencies.

Amy - Skype me when you arrive so we can meet up for dinner and have a safe and pleasant trip.

XX

[Daniella]

Hi Amy

Here's the link for wifi egg reserving.. They also do cell phone rental

http://roaming.kt.com/renewal/eng/reserve/reserve.asp

As I can't do regular phone calls.. obviously.. I thought this best thing to use - IM aps over internet for free and that way the person with me can also share easy wifi on foot too.

The medication: antibiotics, expectorants, digestant, antipyretic analgesic and some horrible yucky syrup (helps reduce cough).  I hate the syrup!!  Basically a bag of pills after each meal, till I go back next week for final check up and Botox.

Long day on foot today across underground, visiting the Seoul tower and then hours across the Myeong-dong shops.  SO many shops!  The cat cafe was my favourite time out there, as I miss my home kitties.

Dani x

[Saskia]

Update from Seoul. We arrived safely after a long flight from Europe and have had a few days now to look around. We are staying at Jongno which is a good central location for zillions of shops and eating places. The Kwangchang market is 5 mins walk away, and has all sorts of local specialities. The locals are very friendly and want to know where we are from. We've even had complete strangers saying hello and welcome to Korea (how nice is that)

Anyway yesterday I had my examination at Yeson. Everyone there is super sweet and helpful especially Dr Kim who explained everything very clearly and of course Jessie.

My vocal chord length is somewhere between female and male and my current pitch is gender neutral with a value of 170. He said that I should achieve 240 after surgery which is completely in the female range (yipee). However not all good news, I have assymetry and a bad vocal chord tremor. This explains my voice getting hoarse after a certain period of time. I will have a botox injection to help out but may need further ones after if I can't control this tremor myself by lowering the pitch. Some of the examination procedures were a little tricky.

Tomorrow at 9am is when I have the surgery. So no eating or drinking after 8pm tonight.

Thats all for now. Today is the last day with my current voice.

I'll do another update after tomorrow.

[Jennygirl]

Update from Seoul. We arrived safely after a long flight from Europe and have had a few days now to look around. We are staying at Jongno which is a good central location for zillions of shops and eating places. The Kwangchang market is 5 mins walk away, and has all sorts of local specialities. The locals are very friendly and want to know where we are from. We've even had complete strangers saying hello and welcome to Korea (how nice is that)

Anyway yesterday I had my examination at Yeson. Everyone there is super sweet and helpful especially Dr Kim who explained everything very clearly and of course Jessie.

My vocal chord length is somewhere between female and male and my current pitch is gender neutral with a value of 170. He said that I should achieve 240 after surgery which is completely in the female range (yipee). However not all good news, I have assymetry and a bad vocal chord tremor. This explains my voice getting hoarse after a certain period of time. I will have a botox injection to help out but may need further ones after if I can't control this tremor myself by lowering the pitch. Some of the examination procedures were a little tricky.

Tomorrow at 9am is when I have the surgery. So no eating or drinking after 8pm tonight.

Thats all for now. Today is the last day with my current voice.

I'll do another update after tomorrow.

Oof. So exciting! Please do keep us updated!

Glad to hear your trip has been wonderful so far

[Saskia]

Post Op Update.

Could hardly sleep last night and gave up trying at 2:30am. We arrived at Yeson 40 mins early and waited for everthing to happen. Amy was already there and we wished her well before she had her op.
I got my Yeson pyjamas on, saw the anaesthatist and was fastened up to the drip. A short while later Dr Kim came around for the consent and explained everything and possible things that might happen.
At 10:45 they came for me and I walked to the operating theatre and laid on the table. I was connected up to the monitors and whilst doing so Dr Kim gently held my finger. The Oxygen mask was put on my face and after a few gulps the anaesthetic gas did it's job. The next thing I knew I was back in the recovery room being woken up - it was 12:15. I had a sore throat but that was all. I got thirsty and had a bit of phlegm build up (all as expected). After an hour or so they gave me water and some juices and after another hour a light lunch of  Vanilla Ice cream (lovely and soothing) some porridge oats some very sickly sweet cakes and a yoghurt.
We had to hang around till after 6pm before we could get discharged. I had another inspection by Dr Kim and he showed me the pictures post op. I had 2 lots of sutures, one to cure the assymetry and the other for the shortening. He said everything looked good and normal.
Not talking or making any sounds is quite difficult. I didn't realize just how difficult until today.
Amy's op went well too, but she can tell you about her experience herself. It's been a pleasure to have met her and her partner.

We are here another week and travel home next Thursday.

If anyone is worried about travelling to South Korea and to Yeson, there is no need to be. The staff and Dr Kim are all lovely, and the country itself is safe and the people are friendly and helpful.

I'm so very curious how my voice is going to sound 6 months down the line.......................

Best wishes to all
Saskia

[Jennygirl]

Post Op Update.

Could hardly sleep last night and gave up trying at 2:30am. We arrived at Yeson 40 mins early and waited for everthing to happen. Amy was already there and we wished her well before she had her op.
I got my Yeson pyjamas on, saw the anaesthatist and was fastened up to the drip. A short while later Dr Kim came around for the consent and explained everything and possible things that might happen.
At 10:45 they came for me and I walked to the operating theatre and laid on the table. I was connected up to the monitors and whilst doing so Dr Kim gently held my finger. The Oxygen mask was put on my face and after a few gulps the anaesthetic gas did it's job. The next thing I knew I was back in the recovery room being woken up - it was 12:15. I had a sore throat but that was all. I got thirsty and had a bit of phlegm build up (all as expected). After an hour or so they gave me water and some juices and after another hour a light lunch of  Vanilla Ice cream (lovely and soothing) some porridge oats some very sickly sweet cakes and a yoghurt.
We had to hang around till after 6pm before we could get discharged. I had another inspection by Dr Kim and he showed me the pictures post op. I had 2 lots of sutures, one to cure the assymetry and the other for the shortening. He said everything looked good and normal.
Not talking or making any sounds is quite difficult. I didn't realize just how difficult until today.
Amy's op went well too, but she can tell you about her experience herself. It's been a pleasure to have met her and her partner.

We are here another week and travel home next Thursday.

If anyone is worried about travelling to South Korea and to Yeson, there is no need to be. The staff and Dr Kim are all lovely, and the country itself is safe and the people are friendly and helpful.

I'm so very curious how my voice is going to sound 6 months down the line.......................

Best wishes to all
Saskia

Yaay! Sounds like such a glowing review! So glad that both yours and Amy's op went so well. I am SO VERY excited for both of you!!

Your experience sounds like it parallels mine; traveling to S. Korea for this surgery is kind of a dream- Seoul is an amazing city and their staff is heartwarming, caring, and kind. I am no doubt going back to visit Seoul with some friends in the next year and a half

Anyway, try to get some rest (trust me I remember how hard this was) and drink flipping TONS of water. It will help if you get the urge to cough. Best of luck and keep us updated!

Can't wait to hear from Amy too!