Dozi can't speak for 10 days
2008-07-07 11:26
Marzanne van den Berg
Johannesburg - Dozi can't wait for an operation to his vocal cords to be over. He has to have a membrane removed from his vocal cords in two weeks' time.
"It's very frustrating when you know you can do something, but it just won't work," said Dozi or rather Henk Opperman, on Sunday.
It was during repetition for a production in which he sings hits by Creedence Clearwater Revival, that he realised he had trouble reaching the high notes.
When he started singing in 1987, he sang the same hits by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Gary Moore and Bob Seger and had no problem with the high notes.
At first he thought he wasn't breathing properly, but singer and good friend Jennifer Jones, assured him that wasn't the case and said she thought something was wrong with his voice.
A vocal chord specialist at Sunninghill Hospital in Johannesburg, Dr Gary Allan, discovered the cause of the problem under anaesthesia - a membrane had grown over Dozi's vocal chords.
It was responsible for making his voice huskier, said Dozi. "Otherwise my voice is healthy. They cut off small bits of the membrane to see if it was malignant, but I'm very happy that it isn't."
The membrane will be removed by laser on July 17.
After the operation, he will not be allowed to speak for ten days and will be booked off for six weeks.
"I will stay on the farm for those ten days. I can't see fans and speak to them. They won't be able to understand why I can't speak to them."
- Beeld