Otolaryngolops
fine tun
the voi

HEALTH

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FITNESS

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Meet one of the faces of success

Glendon Gardner, M.D., a board-
certified physician in otolaryngol-
ogy at the Henry Ford Medical
Center – West Bloomfield and
Henry Ford's Medical Center for
the Performing Artist, talks about
his love of music, medicine, and
care of the professional voice.

My interest in voice developed from
my musical background and my
fascination with the technology that
allows physicians to examine the
vocal folds. First, I was influenced
by my late uncle, Dick Kommel,
who was an otolaryngologist in Mt.
Clemens. In medical school at
Wayne State, I found the anatomy
of the head and neck, which is the
most complex in the body,
especially interesting with all of its
special senses and functions.
During my otolaryngology residency
in Albany, I saw a presentation on
videostroboscopy, then a relatively
new technique that allows a doctor
to see how the vocal folds are
vibrating. It completely fascinated
me and drew me into the subspe-
cialty of laryngology, the study of
the larynx, or voicebox.

Fellowship training in laryngology
had just begun when I was com-
pleting my residency. I jumped at
the chance to do such a fellowship
at the Vanderbilt University Voice
Center in Nashville. I became only
the second fellowship-trained
laryngologist in the country. Many
well-known country singers were
treated at the Vanderbilt Voice
Center, including the late Johnny
Cash, who gave Vanderbilt some
of his original gold records in
gratitude for his treatment by
Dr. Robert Ossoff, my mentor. I
also treated "The Man in Black" at
Vanderbilt, as well as many other
singers of all styles.

I grew up at the old Temple Beth
El in Detroit, where I celebrated
my Bar Mitzvah. When my family
returned to Detroit, from
Nashville, we were introduced to
the spectacular voice of Cantor
Stephen Dubov who was then at
Temple Beth El. Although not
much of a singer myself, I'm an

For more information or to make an
appointment call i- 800- HENRYFORD or
visit our Web site www.henryfo•d.com

16 • 1) 1,, C 1,, NI 11 F. It 2005 • JNPLATINUM

amateur musi-
cian, playing
mostly blues
and jazz har-
monica as well
as piano and
bass guitar. I
am learning to
play klezmer
music, and have
performed with
Cantor Dubov
and the New
Orleans Klezmer All Stars at jazz
Shabbat services. The All Stars are
incredible musicians and that was a
big thrill for me. More recently,
I've played harmonica and bass
guitar with Cantor Rachel
Gottlieb's Ruach Band at Beth El.
Currently, I take care of several
cantors in the area, including
Cantor Dubov, who is now at
Congregation Chaye Olam in
Bloomfield Township.

My practice includes being part of
the Henry Ford Medical Center for
the Performing Artist, which is a
group of otolaryngologists, speech
language pathologists, and other
specialty physicians, who care for
local singers, actors, instrumentalists
and dancers and traveling
performers at the Detroit Opera
House, Masonic Temple, Orchestra
Hall, and Music Hall, among others.
Part of my job is to be at opening
night of the opera, at the request of
Michigan Opera Theatre. This is
one of the more pleasurable aspects
of laryngology.

Professional singers from out of
town who need care are sent to me
or to Dr. Michael Benninger, the
center's director. We usually see
and treat singers who are
experiencing voice problems or
other illnesses days or weeks before
their performance dates. We get
them "tuned up" before the show
so they are able to perform. That
was critical for the Three Tenors
concert in 2000 with Luciano
Pavarotti. Dr. Benninger and I
joined Pavarotti's personal
otolaryngologist in treating the
singer.

HEALTH SYSTEM

12,000 registered yoga teachers in the
United States. Though she travels the
world — she just returned from China
where she was the lone American invit-
ed to teach yoga — her favorite journey
is always back to West Bloomfield,
where she and Ivan — whom she met
in Israel when she was 19 — and their
children and grandchildren gather
around the dining-room table for
Shabbat dinner.
Zador home-schooled her daughters
for their Jewish education and taught
them about the beauty and significance
of Shabbat. It was a special time to
pause together after the work week, and
Friday nights always included a formal
dinner with her best china and silver.
Zador and her husband did not grow
up celebrating Shabbat but they knew
they wanted to include it in their lives
together. "We're both children of

Holocaust survivors, and we realized it's
important to celebrate our heritage with
joy openly and take advantage of our
freedom."
Judaism and yoga hold a special
place in Zador's heart and she believes
the two share a deep bond: "A firm,
grounding connection to the environ-
ment where we're thankful for the gifts
of the earth — and an overlap in the
recognition of spirit, wholeness and
community."
Physically, yoga taught Zador to
stand tall and leave behind a limp from
a past knee injury. Through time, it also
helped her become more tolerant and a
better listener. But the true practice of
yoga is when you carry it with you out-
side the studio, says Zador. "It's when
you breathe, meditate and take time out
— it's not just about what your body
can do on a mat." ❑