Hi, my partner, Stuart, had an oesophagectomy on 14 November 2024. He was lucky that he didn’t need chemo either before or after the operation. However, he’s still on a nasal gastric tube, which he hates with a vengeance, and his voice is still hoarse, which the surgeon says is unusual that his voice has not recovered. He has an appointment with ENT on 1 April. Input from speech and language therapy has been scant to say the least so we’ve booked an appointment with a private therapist. This will cost an arm and a leg. The dietitian confirmed there is staff shortage across the board. He was given exercises for his vocal cords and swallowing when he left hospital though he wasn’t diligent about following them. He had a swallowing test at end of January but failed. He was given a new set of exercises, posted out to him with a video link to watch. He has a phone appointment with his speech therapist on 2 April, again surprised it’s not face to face. All of this has been so frustrating and I’m worried that he’s getting depressed. I’m now considering looking for a carer group for myself.
