Sheinelle Jones successfully underwent surgery Monday on her vocal cord and posted she was thankful to be “just fine” after the procedure.
The co-host of the 3rd hour of TODAY had a lesion removed from one of her vocal cords that made it difficult to talk and caused her voice to sound hoarse.
In an Instagram post Monday, Sheinelle said she felt she was “wrapped in prayers” and had been moved to tears after waking up as a sort of “release” after the surgery.
“It felt like such a powerful moment,” she wrote. “I remember when I was little I would see older people crying in church; my mom would explain that they were ‘moved’ and ‘rejoicing,’ with happy tears. That’s how I felt today... I literally felt the power of so many well wishes and prayers.”
She said she was thankful to be doing well.
“I promised my kids that ‘mommy would be just fine’... and I was relieved I could keep my promise,” she said. “Now the work begins to heal.”
Doctors expect her to miss work for about six weeks, and she won't be able to talk or use her voice for two weeks following the procedure.
When Sheinelle announced she had to have the surgery last week, she said she was actually looking forward to the quiet time.
"There's a piece of me that feels like it's a little bit of grace," Sheinelle said at the time. "Because it's a gift to sit still and do some soul searching, do some reading, do some writing. Nobody ever tells you you have permission to sit still."
People like singers, actors, lawyers and broadcasters are more susceptible to vocal fold trauma, known as phonotrauma, because they use their voices frequently, and the effects can be anything from blisters to lesions to cysts, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
"Sometimes smaller lesions cause more trouble,'' Dr. Rosemary B. Desloge, a New York-based laryngologist and otolaryngologist, told Sheinelle during a recent chat. "It all has to do with how it impacts the vibration of the vocal folds."
Sheinelle, 41, has been working with a speech pathologist for years to help preserve her voice.