If it weren’t for Dr. Berke, I wouldn’t be having a birthday today
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I had a very bad accident with among other injuries, a serious brain injury. Because of Dr. Berke, I was able to be transferred and seen by the best specialists at UCLA. The amount of care I received at UCLA was unprecedented and phenomenal from everyone. There are so many doctors and nurses and staff that I am grateful for, and almost too numerous to mention. They put me and my head back together, literally. From the care in the Nuero ICU (Dr. Manuel Blanco and Dr. Paul Vespa) and hospital, and the doctors and nurses that presided over me, to the therapists and nurses in the rehabilitation unit, and the surgeons and doctors who attended to my fractures, eyesight (Dr. Stacy Pineles), and reconstructive work, (Dr. Vishad Nabili and Dr. Reza Jarrahy), I am eternally grateful. I know there are more doctors that I am probably forgetting, but please know that I thank you profusely. UCLA is not only my alma mater, but my life saver.
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I was unable to talk. I had voice and speech lesson, I wen to every doctor I could find in Orange County, CA to vocal cord scraping.
A good friend told me to check in with UCLA see if they could find out what was the problem.
I went to Dr. Berke and by then end of the afternoon I had a diagnosis. SD
Dr. Berke told me I could come back and start treatment with Botox in the vocal cord to stop the spasm. I begged to start treatment immediately.
Dr Berke was very kind and said, “are you sure you don’t want to think about it?” I whispered, no I haven’t been able to speak for a year…please start now. He complied and as I was driving home I got my cell phone out and made my first phone call to my amazement my sister could understand me.
After a year of Botox every 3-4 months I started to develop some scar tissue on my vocal cords.
Dr. Berke and I had a long talk on what the next step would be.
A few months later I was scheduled for a life changing surgery.
At UCLA Hospital I had the surgery to correct my SD.
This was in 2003. 14 years later I can say it was very successful.
I haven’t had any problem with my vocal cords again. The doctors have followed up with me to see how I was doing.
The entire team at UCLA were amazing. Thank you Dr. Berke
Kindest Regards, Linda E