ExpressAgainThe Phrase Library has a category for the head, neck and throat: Head, Neck & Throat. It holds short, first-person phrases for a person whose mind is sharp but whose voice is gone for a while. It covers breathing and the airway (I can't breathe, please suction my trach, my stoma needs cleaning, my trach tube feels loose, I need humidity), swallowing and eating (I can't swallow, it hurts to swallow, I'm choking, please thicken my drink, can I eat by mouth yet?, the feeding tube), the mouth and throat (a dry mouth, sores, saliva, please give me a mouth rinse), pain from 0 to 10 and where it hurts (throat, neck, jaw, ear, mouth, the incision), treatment (when is my next radiation?, my skin burns from radiation, I'm tired from treatment), talking again (I'm trying to talk, please give me time; please read my lips; I want to practice my voice; my speech therapist), appearance and feelings, yes, no and quick answers, and everyday essentials.
When surgery is planned, the voice can be recorded first: the cloned voice is set up in Settings, and the phrase I want to record my voice before surgery is in the talking-again group.
Choose Head, Neck and Throat in the guided setup and this category opens first in the Phrase Library. The Communicate page then shows a Head, neck & throat phrases section just under What you want to say, with four columns: breathing and the airway, swallowing, pain, and yes and no (three at a time in calm mode). Every other mode can still open the category from the library.
The phrases are the patient's own words and questions, never medical advice. The app does not call the nurse or change any care: it speaks the words out loud for the people in the room. The most urgent phrases carry an Urgent tag.