How ALS Took Her Voice—And Tech Helped Bring It Back (Full Transcript)

[00:00:11] Speaker 1: Hi there, my name is Peggy, I'm 63. The last time I heard my natural voice was in 2021. It slowly began to change, and then became what it is now. I also noticed a constant sensation of coldness in my feet, even in hot water. Then I received a diagnosis of ALS. Gardening is something that keeps me grounded to the earth and provides food and beauty for my family. There are flowers, zinnias, and lots of different daylilies and peonies, tons of hosta, which the deer appreciate. I have tomatoes, peppers, onions, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spinach, swiss chard, carrots, and beets. Lots of stuff. I make a mean salsa.

[00:01:44] Speaker 2: May I be well. May I be safe and free from suffering. May I be happy. May I live with ease. Allow yourself to further settle in to your blankets, the floor, the earth beneath you. Then simply feel your body breathe.

[00:02:19] Speaker 1: I started teaching yoga in 2017 after getting my 200-hour certification. I opened my own studio in 2018 called Pepper Jam Yoga. It's important to be able to guide people, not just into poses physically, but also to help them develop spiritually and emotionally. I had to close my studio because it was becoming too difficult to offer classes since my speech was so messed up. But now I can create new classes to offer as live classes in person or online, and as on-demand videos as well. It's pretty exciting for me. I have been married to Jim for 30 years, and we have three wonderful sons with amazing women in their lives, and two grandkids. Our firecracker Wesley is 11 months. Becoming a grandma has been one of the most enriching experiences in my life, and quite the contrast to the difficulties of navigating this depressing new reality of such limited communication. So it is not as I'd imagined it would be, since I can't talk to them or sing to them. Even reading to them seemed out of the question. That is such an important thing to do with young ones. I was mourning the loss of these capabilities. But this beautiful gift from Eleven Labs has given me hope that I can build these memories with my sweet little snuggle bugs. This one has a little star.

[00:04:20] Speaker 2: This one has a little car. Say what a lot of fish there are. Some are sad, and some are glad, and some are very, very bad. I don't know. Go ask your dad. His dad chewed the corners off of every book we ever handed him.

[00:04:50] Speaker 1: It's such a tragedy to lose one's ability to communicate. It's like losing a huge part of your identity and replacing your voice with someone else's. Even if it's Gwyneth Paltrow, whose voice is beautiful. It's not me. With a clone from Eleven Labs, my people get me back. I feel much more like myself. Don't get me wrong, I'd much rather have my own voice restored. But if that's not a possibility, what you've done for me is beyond words.