Here is a concise summary of the article:
**Title:** Miraculous Larynx Transplant Restores Man's Voice After 20 Years
**Summary:**
Tim Heidler, a former firefighter from Hollidaysburg, PA, lost his voice in a brutal 1978 accident that crushed his larynx. For 20 years, he relied on an electronic voice box to communicate. In 1998, Tim underwent a groundbreaking larynx transplant surgery, led by Dr. Marshall Strome at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The complex 12.5-hour procedure, which also included transplanting the thyroid gland and tracheal rings, was a success. After years of recovery, Tim's new voice is almost completely normal, allowing him to speak and even sing again, profoundly improving his outlook on life. Interestingly, his new voice doesn't mimic the donor's, but rather resembles his own family members, highlighting the role of individual anatomy in shaping one's voice.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text, each with a number and in short sentences:
1. **Location**: Tim Heidler is from Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania.
2. **Population**: Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania has a population of just over 5,000.
3. **Incident Year**: Tim Heidler lost his larynx in an accident in 1978.
4. **Cause of Larynx Loss**: A cable maliciously strung across a road caused the accident.
5.. **Initial Recovery**: Tim barely survived and eventually recovered from his injuries, but his larynx was irreparably crushed.
6. **Years with Electronic Voice Box**: Tim used an electronic voice box (electrolarynx) to speak for 20 years.
7. **Discovery of New Option**: A 1998 news story led Tim to Dr. Marshall Strom, a larynx specialist at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
8. **Specialist's Work**: Dr. Strom had been working to perfect a human larynx transplant, unprecedented at the time.
9. **Donor Search Duration**: The search for the ideal donor took approximately six months.
10. **Donor Details**: The donor, Matt Douglas, was a 40-year-old who died unexpectedly from an aneurysm on January 3rd, 1998.
11. **Surgery Complexity**: The larynx transplant surgery, performed on January 4th, 1998, was extremely delicate and groundbreaking.
12. **Surgery Duration**: The procedure initially expected to take a certain duration, ultimately required 12 and a half hours.
13. **Additional Transplanted Tissues**: Besides the larynx, the transplant included five rings of the windpipe, the thyroid gland, and parathyroid glands.
14. **Post-Surgery Silence**: To aid recovery, Tim was instructed to remain absolutely silent for a period.
15. **First Speech After Transplant**: Tim successfully spoke for the first time in 20 years, two and a half days post-surgery.
16. **Voice Quality**: Initially, Tim's voice was very coarse, unlike his current voice, and not produced by his vocal folds.
17. **Meeting the Press**: Three weeks later, Tim met the press, still requiring a trachea opening to speak.
18. **Long-Term Recovery**: After years, Tim's voice sounds almost completely normal.
19. **Voice Source**: Despite the transplant, Tim's voice sounds more like his father's, due to the shape of his mouth and head space for resonance.
20. **Current Well-being**: Tim reports a greatly improved outlook on life, feeling much better, and is even able to sing.