Kimberly Williams-Paisley was unable to speak above a whisper for two years due to a “horrendous” health problem.
“I felt trapped in my own body,” says the “Father of the Bride” star, 53, told the people In a new interview published Wednesday.
Williams-Paisley said she first lost her voice in November 2022 while hosting an annual Alzheimer's fundraiser. Dance party to end ALZin honor of my late mother.
“I put the microphone to my mouth and nothing came out,” she said. “It was scary.”
The “According to Jim” alum initially ignored the incident because he needed “a hot cup of tea and a rest for his voice,” but as the weeks passed and his symptoms worsened, he was forced to seek further answers.
She went to a vocal coach, an acupuncturist, and a masseuse, but nothing worked.
In January 2023, Williams-Paisley's voice was too quiet to be interviewed at the premiere of the Netflix film Dog Gone.
“I looked weak, but my feelings weren't,” she said. “I went into the bathroom and cried, and a few of my friends held my hand.”
Ms Williams-Paisley, who was undiagnosed at the time, felt “sad” and suffered from “circular anxious thoughts” in the middle of the night and an overall apathy towards life.
But when she went to Vanderbilt Speech Center in Nashville, doctors finally diagnosed her with myotonic dysphonia. [her] My neck was tense as I tried to help. [her] The vocal cords collide. ”
Williams-Paisley first had to relax her muscles because her vocal cords were barely visible.
She tried antidepressants, Invisalign braces, a vegan diet, hypnosis, psychics, astrologers, and more.
Williams-Paisley returned to Vanderbilt in January, and doctors were finally able to properly examine her vocal cords and determined that her left vocal cord was “out of sync with the right vocal cord,” likely due to the virus. People magazine reported that.
Getty Images for Michael J. Fox Foundation
“Once I got the diagnosis, my body was able to relax in a whole new way,” the “Christmas Train” star said. “The shame and blame went away. It was mainly a technical issue, not something I did wrong.”
In August, Williams-Paisley underwent medialization laryngoplasty. According to the Cleveland Clinicin which a doctor “inserts a mesh device into the vocal box to bring the paralyzed vocal cords closer to the normal vocal cords.”
Although the procedure worked most of the time, the actress said she was still unable to “scream on the road” and “sounded a little ratty” after a long day of talking.
To amplify her voice and make it easier to hear, Williams-Paisley sometimes holds a plastic swan close to her ear, as if listening to a “giant seashell.”
“I had to fight to be heard,” the wife of country star Brad Paisley said of her experience. “Now, no matter what my physical voice is, my voice underneath is stronger. I feel more confident. I feel good about myself. I know.”
Ms Williams-Paisley added: I don't want to leave anything unsaid. I never want to take my voice for granted and I want to be brave enough to use it. ”
