A baby girl born with her vocal cords fused together says ‘dada’ for the first time in this precious clip. Mike and Becca Caputo, both 35, shared footage of daughter Maddie Caputo, one, after she underwent eight hours of surgery to give her a voice. The tot was born with a narrow airway not much bigger than a straw and a glottic web, meaning her vocal cords were 75 per cent fused together. The fused cords meant it would take Maddie all her energy to muster up a squeak and when she laughed or cried all that came out was a raspy, breathy whisper. And her tiny airway meant when she suffered near-fatal septic shock from an infection in April, medics had to use a mini breathing tube meant for preemies to save her.