Adele

KESWICK, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- Seventeen-year-old Alex Perrault, of Keswick, is appreciating her voice now more than ever.

Alex was born at 24 weeks and her lungs were not fully developed. In an effort to save her life, doctors inserted a breathing tube, which paralyzed her vocal cord.

"They had to stick a tube in and when they did, they struck her left vocal cord and paralyzed it," said her father, Rick Perrault. "At that point, it wasn't a big deal. Her health was the number one thing."

Alex's paralyzed vocal cord caused her speech to be breathy, quiet and low-pitched.

"When I would meet new people after I was really aware of it, I would notice how some of the kids I met would whisper to each other or their parents, 'what’s wrong with her voice,'" Alex said.

Eventually, she said she grew to embrace her unique trait.

"I was really sensitive about my voice for a long time where people would ask me what was wrong and I would get really defensive," Alex said. "But as I got into late middle school and early high school, I started accepting it."

This all changed in 2012 when her father was watching a television program profiling Adele's vocal cord surgeon, Dr. Steven Zeitels.

"When I saw it, I said, you know what? He's going to operate on Alex," Rick said.

He took a chance and reached out to Zeitels, who has worked on other famous singers like Julie Andrews and Sam Smith.

Four weeks later, the family had an appointment in Boston.

Zeitels told the family Alex was too young at the time, but to come back when she was a teenager.

"We checked back in when she was 16 years old, flew back up, he re-scoped her and he said, 'I can fix her,'" Rick said.

Alex began a series of four procedures to help close the gap caused by her paralyzed vocal cord and improve her voice.

She had the third of these four surgeries in October.

"Being able to be louder, I feel like it's given me more confidence that people can hear me cause before, people wouldn't really listen to me," Alex said.

Alex's final surgery is in early April, and although she is satisfied with the current results, she hopes her voice will improve even more.

"It’s the little things that you notice. That people will hear you when you order in a restaurant, people will hear you in a crowded room and not have to ask you, 'oh what did you say,'" said Alex.

Rick said he sees the confidence these procedures have given Alex and hopes her story can help others who may experience the same thing.

"That she can be a trailblazer to affect so many young people, who may or may not have been born, and that [Dr. Zeitels] can take this surgery and teach fellows around the world and impact young children, that's my hope," he said.