Media Release

Vintage car enthusiast sings RMH research praises

18 February 2008 

In 2001, Frank Grimaldi had a laryngectomy, an operation to save his life from throat cancer by removing his voice box. Mr Grimaldi, like a small number of laryngectomy patients, was unable to achieve voice restoration after the surgery. For three years, Italian-born Mr Grimaldi was unable to speak until he became involved in a Royal Melbourne Hospital-led research project that uses botox injections to restore speech. Mr Grimaldi, aged in his eighties, says he became depressed when he was unable to speak. He couldn’t go out of the house on his own, he couldn’t speak to his children on the phone, and even Anna, his wife couldn’t understand him. Mr Grimaldi said, “It was very hard when I couldn’t talk. I missed everything. It affected my life so much. “One of my daughters lives in Queensland, it was very hard not being able to talk to her on the phone.”

Before the Second World War, Mr Grimaldi had the pleasure of seeing La Boheme and La Traviata at San Carlo Theatre in Naples. Now, Anna and Frank Grimaldi are looking forward to a night out at Opera in the Market, in support of medical research at The Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Mrs Anna Grimaldi said, “It was unbearable. I felt very bad that I couldn’t understand my husband.  “Sometimes we would go out and people would laugh at Frank’s attempts to speak, or his attempts to convey what he wanted. It was very upsetting.” The one thing that gave Mr Grimaldi solace when he couldn’t speak was his passion for restoring vintage cars. “For three years, when I couldn’t talk, I buried myself in my cars – and just talked to my cars. There was nothing else I could do, because I couldn’t speak and nobody could understand me.

“I didn’t want to go out anywhere. My home is the garage. The workshop is my life.”

In 2001, Nadine Manison, RMH senior speech pathologist, cared for Mr Grimaldi in ward 7 west, before and after his surgery. Three years later, as the principal researcher in the botox trial, Ms Manison recruited Mr Grimaldi into the project.

In time, the treatment was successful and now Mr Grimaldi speaks with confidence.

He said, “When I could talk again I felt like a king. I was very happy.

“Now I can talk on the phone, talk to my family, talk in the shops, talk everywhere… I have no problems now.”

“I remember when I met Nadine in the ward, she said to me, ‘I promise you we’ll get you talking again.’ And she did. I’ll never forget what she has done for me,” Mr Grimaldi said.

Before Ms Manison set up the trial in late 2003, Botox treatment for laryngectomy patients in Victoria was not an option. The trial, now in its final stages, has been a great success. For future patients, with symptoms like Frank Grimaldi, the botox treatment will be offered as standard procedure.

Media contact: Katrina Coulson - 0419 878 925.