It's April and I've been able to use my voice for one full day. The first few efforts were exactly as Dr. Kim predicted - difficult to speak clearly, initial pitch no better or even slightly worse, and difficult to control. A few hours later speaking was definitely easier and volume is gradually returning. He had reminded me to not force it, take it easy for the second month. Voice exercises start in the third month.
By the end of day one, still difficult but I noticed although my voice alternates between okay and rough, something about it feels better. I don't think my pitch has significantly changed yet (and isn't expected to for awhile), but speaking at my existing pitch feels better than before. And there's an odd sensation I'd describe as an upside down falsetto... I can hit low pitches just fine but doing so feels unnatural, like it's on the edge of breaking into a range to avoid.
I don't want to strain what is still healing, so I am not experimenting yet with how high I can speak. Speaking is still difficult and will be for the next several weeks, but at least I don't have to carry around a slip of paper explaining why I can't talk.
Not being able to speak was an interesting experience. Just as GCS recovery caused me to realize how challenging it must be for people who are permanently bedridden, I have huge respect for anyone who permanently loses their voice. People I interacted with that first month were generally polite but in many cases misunderstood my condition. On three occasions store clerks responded by writing things down, assuming I can't hear or understand spoken words. In other cases people spoke more slowly, perhaps assuming I don't have the ability to process language at full speed.
And there was an upside to being silent. I was never misgendered in situations where I would have been occasionally misgendered - and I believe my voice has been the cause of that. But now that I can speak again, the pressure is on to practice and get this voice where I need it to go. So far so good.
