Why didn't Gerald Ford himself read his own concession speech to Jimmy Carter?

Factual Questions
1

I just saw a recap of Gerald Ford’s career on the local news. They mentioned something that I never knew, namely that Ford’s wife Betty read his concession speech to Jimmy Carter while Gerald looked on, just a few feet away.

How very odd! What’s the backstory here? Had any major losing candidate ever done it that way before? Was Gerald just too devistated to do it himself? What did the press and public make of this unusual gesture? Was it considered, in some way, bad form?

2

The Daily Fishwrap story here says he had been campaigning so hard in the final weeks that he was simply too hoarse to speak anymore.

3

In the days before the election it was perfectly clear that Ford was getting more and more hoarse. IIRC correctly, Betty Ford stated at the beginning of the concession that her husband had lost his voice.