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MYRNA BROWN, HOST: The power of a voice…never underestimate that! A mom in England has given her children an unexpected gift…her real voice!
Sarah Ezekiel contracted a motor neuron disease more than 25 years ago. She lost mobility and speech. Ever since, she’s relied on a robotic-sounding computer to communicate.
SARAH EZEKIEL: I felt very isolated and was struggling to communicate… It was a very difficult time….
Well, all that changed when an old VHS tape surfaced that had a few seconds of her original cockney accent. Technicians rebuilt her voice using AI!
EZEKIEL: Hello, this is my voice! It’s a kind of miracle, really.
This gets even better. For the first time, her children could hear their mom as she once sounded. Here’s daughter Aviva:
AVIVA: It’s made me really happy and quite emotional. And I didn’t know she’s Cockney. It’ll take me awhile to process it.
Sarah is an artist and advocate, and calls this breakthrough a milestone:
EZEKIEL: My greatest gift is to have been able to let my children hear my voice again.
It’s The World and Everything in It.
WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.
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