The hoarse whisperer

“Some folks in the community have inquired about it,” Quinney says. “They say, ‘What’s wrong with your voice?’” And until last week, Quinney was unable to give his constituents an answer. But that changed Monday when physicians the University of Michigan diagnosed him with dysphonia. The condition is one in which the vocal cords are restricted for some reason. Sometimes it can be cancer or stroke-related.

“I got a call yesterday,” Quinney said in a phone interview last week. “The biopsy came back. There is no cancer. I have a swollen lymph node on the right side of the vocal cord pushing on the nerve there.”

Quinney says the issue arose about eight or nine months ago. It was originally diagnosed as an allergy, but it would not clear up. He says he feels no pain, he just can’t get any vocal volume.

The condition is expected to clear up.

He has been prescribed a regimen of steroids and antibiotics to clear the lymph node and relieve the pressure on the nerve. He’s also been told to be quiet.

“As an elected official and an educator, how the hell do you be quiet?” he asked jokingly.

Quinney is the health and safety director fot he state AFL-CIO.

And while he is certainly arranging for down time to give his voice a rest, he says he is still planning to carry on a tradition decades in the making.

On Thursday he will hit the streets hawking Old News Boys spoof newspapers sold at the beginning of the holiday season. The proceeds are used to help buy boots, shoes and other clothing needs for Lansing-area children.

“I’m selling Old News Boys,” he says.

“I am not going to stop that.”