Our Club places a strong emphasis on our Visitor Program which has been more formalized and qualified in the past year.

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We recognize that those patients that have either been advised that a surgical laryngectomy is their best path forward, or those patients that have had the surgery recently, are those most in need of meeting and speaking with a certified visitor to best understand what life is like after the surgery.

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To prepare our members that act as laryngectomy visitors we consulted with the International Association of Laryngectomees (IAL) and followed their guidelines as outlined on the tab found on their homepage.

While this method of preparing our visitors to be as effective as possible seemed a bit cumbersome at first glance, it was absolutely on the mark in providing our visitors with the knowledge required as well as the restraint in dispensing medical advice. We are not health professionals and while our shared experiences certainly have value, we should look to be the living, breathing, speaking proof that life as a laryngectomee can be manageable and fulfilling. 

Indeed we were asked by the IAL to write an article outlining our Club's experience which was published in their February 2017 quarterly newsletter. The certification workshop was held over a 6 hour program in July 2016 and included 5 members, 4 SLP's and one caregiver.

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This visitor function may be our Club's greatest value, as we have members ready and able to give counsel to those people that have the genuinely highest need for contact.