It has been one week and four days since my second CI surgery. I have one week's growth of new hair where I had hair shaved away from my right ear. The stitches itch like crazy. The new hair coming in itches like crazy. I can now look down without getting woozy. I can squat down using just my knees and keeping my back straight without getting woozy.
My rib cage and my stomach muscles have stopped being sore from the coughing in the recovery room. Those muscles initially hurt more than my newly-implanted ear. For several days I had to wiggle my body to the middle of the bed and then lay back on the upraised pillows because it absolutely hurt to even try to roll over. The nose wiping is getting old after just a week and four days. I have to make a conscious effort not to blow my nose.
Because we have had such a warm winter and things are starting to bloom, the pollen has been up a tad. I have sneezed - not constantly, but the thing is, in order to not create ear pressure, I have to sneeze with my mouth open.
The same goes for coughing. It is a bad idea to be around people, especially sneezing or coughing with my mouth open. As long as I stay inside, the asthma doesn't seem to flare up. I do not miss the secondhand smoke exposure when I am exiting the subway, when I am walking the six blocks to work, or entering and exiting my building. I don't miss the air pollution at all.
I desperately want to scratch my head, ear, and new hair growth. I think the biggest issue is my dry skin - especially when it is winter is why I have such a desire to scratch an itch. My right hand where the IV was inserted is still tender and a vein is still swollen. Here's the irony: I have a blood condition where I have too much iron, requiring me to undergo a therapeutic phlebotomy every three months. The phlebotomists always ask if I brought my veins with me when I undergo that procedure as I have a tendency to have the tubing just clot up. Well, when I was in the recovery room post CI surgery, after the nurse removed the IV, I kept bleeding like a stuck pig, so she applied pressure and SQUEEZED. That's why my right hand is black and blue and that one vein is still tender and swollen. Why couldn't I bleed like a stuck pig at the last phlebotomy, then I would have dumped a full pint of blood in order to lower my iron levels?? At least I wasn't anemic when I went into surgery.
My body clock is definitely confused. I haven't had to get up at 4:30 AM in thirteen days. It is going to be even more confused after 2AM when we switch to Daylight Savings Time. I am by nature a night owl. I do not like getting up early. I never have. I still have an intolerance to cold, but it is definitely not a reaction to the anesthesia. I think it is because I have always hated being cold, even as a young child. I also do not like winter. We have had a very mild winter and few really cold days. I have been pretty spoiled this winter.
I have finished antibiotics. I take Advil during the day if I need it and the pain meds at night as I tend to get uncomfortable sleeping on my back. Two more weeks of sleeping on my back and I can resume being a side sleeper again. I have to make an effort to keep sleeping on my back, so I have had periods of waking up and wanting to sleep on my side and remembering that I can't do that just yet.
I still am having Hearing Dreams- just generally dreams about what kind of things I hope to hear when I finally hear surround sound. I look forward to hearing the sounds of Spring with both ears. 15 days until Activation Day.
My world is definitely about to get noisier.
Hearing is such a gift.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
One Week post-second CI surgery, March 7, 2012
My recuperation from the second CI surgery is going pretty well. I do have some bruising on my face and some swelling along my jaw line. I guess it took a while for the bruising to come to the surface. My newly implanted ear is definitely sore. I was cleaning the incision site before bed last night and somehow poked the cartilage on my ear above the incision site and literally saw stars. That did not feel good. A big ouch.
One of my CI veteran friends recently talked online about music, and mentioned listening to music using Spotify. As someone who has never used a smart phone, or an i-pod, I was curious about Spotify. I downloaded the application on my computer, logged in and started listening to some oldies but goodies. One was Seals and Crofts, "I'll Play for you." I had a flashback to a memory of listening to the song, "I'll Play for you," in the family room of my parents house. The song ended, and my father came out of the bedroom and asked me to play that song again. Together we listened to the song again, and surprisingly, my father really liked that song. Growing up in a hearing family, the one constant in my life was music. Most of my friends are hearing, so I grew up with music in one form or another. It was a sweet memory, traveling back in time in my mind's eye to the family room, and listening to Seals and Crofts again.
I'm having Hearing Dreams again - all of which involve music. I am really glad to have discovered Spotify. I am starting to recognize lyrics, and while the voices singing still sound scratchy, the lyrics are coming through and my brain is tuning in. I am going to enjoy hearing music in surround sound out of both ears. I can't wait for my i-pod Nano. I plan to go shopping for one after Activation Day.
I am hopeful that I will be able to talk on an i-phone or the telephone without the aid of captioning one of these days. I'm not quite there yet, but I will be. I am pretty confident of that. It may not happen tomorrow, or next week, but the light is definitely there at the end of the tunnel.
I am just so hungry to hear more. The fact that the Hearing Dreams have started again, tell me this. My parents, had they lived today, would be so giddy with excitement for me.
I am so glad I went ahead and got a second CI, this time in my right ear. I just really am so relieved that it is done. Not because of fear or dread of the surgery itself, but because I don't like what is happening with health care. I am unhappy with insurance companies finding ways to turn down people for cochlear implants and second cochlear implants. I just felt that I didn't have the luxury of waiting.
Activation Day is in 20 days. Let the countdown begin! Hearing is such a gift.
Friday, March 2, 2012
My second CI surgery, February 29, 2012
The CI surgery went very well.My surgeon was very pleased. I am back home from the hospital. My younger sister drove me home yesterday and then drove herself home. This was a very emotional time for me. I did not realize how emotionally invested I was in this second CI surgery. I think because I knew what ONE cochlear implant had done for me in a year and four months.
The big difference between the initial CI surgery (left ear) and the second CI surgery (right ear) was my emotional state of mind. When I initially went through CI surgery the first time, I was so calm, serene, focused and centered. My mental state was like that of Yoda of Star Wars fame. I was just so CENTERED.
Before the second CI surgery, I was extremely distracted, not always thinking clearly, and there was just too much emotional clutter going on in my brain. Tuesday, February 28th, I was concerned for my younger sister because she did not leave her home until 3 PM (this was a four hour drive for her to my home). There was a tractor-trailer accident on the interstate and I was worried about my sister getting stuck in traffic. I wasn't worried about the hotel reservation near the hospital (another two hour drive) because the reservation was guaranteed. My sister was actually driving up north from where the tractor trailer accident happened, so by the time she reached my home at around 6:30 PM (Tuesday night before the CI surgery), the accident scene had cleared and traffic again flowing.
At my sister's request, I had packed a mini-cooler of sandwiches, bottled water and some cookies for dinner on the road. Neither of us were hungry, so I stuck the mini-cooler in the back seat of her SUV along with my overnight luggage, and we set off for the drive to the hotel. We arrived at the hotel around 8:30 PM and got settled in. We finally had our sandwiches and cookies at 9 PM. By that time, my younger sister and I were hungry. I continued drinking water until 11:30 PM and both of us went to bed around midnight.
In my distracted state before leaving my townhouse, I interpreted the answering machine message to mean that the hospital wanted me at the surgical center at 8:00 AM instead of the original time, 10:00 AM. When I re-read the instructions, it clearly said report to the surgical center at 10:00 AM, which was two hours before surgery.
Neither my younger sister nor I slept all that soundly the night before surgery. I had some mild sinus congestion and snored all night, and I felt like I was in a dream state of sleep all night long. I also had some balance issues on my right side because of the congestion, so I wasn't all that steady to begin with.
I felt bad that I snored and kept my poor sister from a sound sleep. I got up before my sister, showered, washed and blow dried my hair, made sure I had no earrings or watch on or other jewelry on. I opened the curtains, and my sister groggily said I guess that's my wake up call, and she got up, got dressed and ate some yogurt while I took my medicines (pre-cleared with my surgeon) and brushed my teeth.
I noted that it was raining outside the hotel, so I brought along a mini-golf sized umbrella to keep both of us dry. My sister and I went downstairs to the underground hotel parking garage and set off for the ten minute drive to the hospital.
We arrived at the surgical center at 9:45 AM and were greeted by a hospital employee who told us to take a seat and I would be taken care of shortly. At 10:05 AM, a nurse came and got me, telling my younger sister that she was going to prep me for surgery and then she would come back out and get my sister.
After changing out of street clothes into a surgical gown, footies, cap and IV hooked up, I went through the pre-operation evaluation with the nurse, and then my surgeon appeared. He took my hands in his, smiled warmly, and said you have a big day ahead of you, and which ear are we implanting today? I said my right ear, and he said very good, now I am just going to tattoo your right ear with my marking pen. He did that, stood back so I could lipread him and said you will be going into surgery in about 20 minutes and I thanked him again.
The nurse went and got my sister, who sat down. The doctor who works with my surgeon greeted me and my sister. In my rather distracted state of mind, I did not realize that the doctor needed me to put on the sound processor behind my left ear so that he could map where my surgeon needed to place the second implant for my right ear. To add to the craziness, I very absent-mindedly kept trying to put the processor on WITHOUT the battery. If you don't put the battery ON the processor BEFORE you place it behind your ear, the headpiece magnet won't stick to the implant.
When I figured out what I was doing wrong, I apologized profusely, put the battery on the processor, put the processor on, and the headpiece magnet promptly stuck to the magnet. I felt like a complete fool. The doctor then looked at the processor, head piece, where it was situated, then came over to my right ear and marked where the implant would be placed.
The doctor went over the pre-operation evaluation with me a second time, then told me the risks of the surgery, asked me to sign forms and then showed me the box containing the implant. I signed the form acknowledging that I would be getting this particular implant. As I was signing the form, this huge wave of relief washed over me, knowing that I would soon be bilateral or binaural.
The anesthesiologist appeared, went over the pre-operation evaluation with me a third time, asked me if I had ever had any adverse reactions to anesthesia or experienced nausea and vomiting (never). He then explained what anesthesia would do to me.
The anesthesiologist then left and the surgical nursing team (all women) came in said to my sister and me that they were ready for me and told me to leave my processor on, and that they would be masked going into the operating room. My sister said can you tell Mindy what is going to happen before you go into the operating room, because she is still lipreading a lot and still getting used to the cochlear implant, and they said sure. One nurse said here's what is going to happen and outlined the steps. I said okay, can I stop in the bathroom again before we go, she said sure. I turned to my sister, hugged her, said see you later, I love you.
The first CI surgery, all the surgical team were unmasked until I was under anesthesia. This second CI surgery, the procedure was different. I stopped in the bathroom, barely had to pee (I think it was excitement and worrying about whether I would pee on the pad in the operating room!!) I then took that walk toward the operating room suite. On the way there, I could hear a child crying hysterically in another operating room (poor baby) and walked into my own operating suite. They did not have me put on compression stockings prior to surgery this time.
I was glad the surgical team were all women except for the doctor, because I had two surgical gowns on, the first gown was first put on with the back open. Then I had a second gown on, with the opening toward the front, My body was completely covered, but not tied. Well, when I walked into the operating room, about to climb onto the table, the team removed the back gown, leaving me bare backed, bare bottomed and bare legs. I realized I was mooning everybody, including the doctor, and the southerner in me made me apologize. My Momma would have been proud of my manners!
I then climbed up on the stool to get on the operating table with help from the doctor and surgical team because I still had balance issues and needed steadying hands. They motioned where I was to place my head, and then they put my legs in these compression warmers and placed an egg-shell foam square under my legs for elevation and then I was cocooned in warm blankets taken out of a drawer.
Before the anesthesia started and the mask place over my face, I told the surgical team of a quip a friend had made when I remarked I would miss my coffee the day of surgery, my friend quipped that the coffee would be in the anesthesia. That was my absolute last conscious moment before I was anesthetized.
When I came to, I was wondering the surgical team was waking me up and mistakenly believed the surgery hadn't happened yet. It took me a few moments to realize I was in recovery, and a nurse asked if I wanted water and something to eat. I said just water.
I was thirsty.
I had a lot of chest congestion, some right jaw pain, and being asthmatic, I had to suck on a peak flow meter to get my oxygen saturation levels up past 65. I hated to suck on that contraption because when I did that, my jaw hurt, and my stomach and rib cage muscles hurt when I started coughing, and I still had to use that peak flow meter to get my sats up. I managed to get up to 85. My pulmonologist would have been overjoyed.
Then the fun started. I started to cough up phlegm and break wind, and tootled little farts while coughing (no purple clouds or Febreze in sight, either). I am sure I was noisy and I realized that I was really gassy from the anesthesia. That was why my stomach and rib cage muscles felt sore. I felt bloated like Jabba the Hutt of Star Wars fame.
I felt like a cat hacking up hairballs. I knew I had to clear my lungs and get the phlegm and succeeded. I asked for tissue and the nurse gave me a suctioning tube to suction myself free of the phlegm. More productive coughing and suctioning. I had to do that for a while until my lungs cleared.
I then realized that I had a very full bladder and really needed to pee this time. I asked the nurse if there was a bathroom. She unplugged me from all the monitors, helped me down from the gurney, covering my bare backside with a blanket. The moment I planted my feet on the floor, I experienced what I call tilt a whirl vertigo in very slow motion. At some point during the walk to the bathroom, my surgeon appeared on my left side and I said I have the woozies, and he said I know, and patted my left shoulder like a concerned mother hen. The nurse then escorted me into the bathroom. I very carefully positioned myself on the toilet seat paper pad, seat, hiking my gown up, as I did so. Then it was a very carefully orchestrated series of movements to get off the toilet, get to the sink, and wash and dry my hands.
I didn't return to the gurney, but instead sat down in this recliner with a disposable pad on the seat. My surgeon reappeared to check on me. He said the surgery went very well and I said I was so glad it was done because I wanted to hear surround sound and thanked him again. I said by the way, I bring greetings from your former patients and fan club and rattled off names. He smiled, and he asked if I had family here and I said yeah, my sister is around here somewhere. He said let me see what I can do, and that was the last I saw of him.
One of the nurses came by and removed my IV and said I could get dressed, I will be right outside the curtain if you need help. It took some creativity to put my bra back on because I was still pretty unsteady. So here's what I did. I placed the bra around me, hooked the back of the bra in front of me, then turned the hooked part to the back, and put my arms inside the bra straps that way. I was able to get my underpants on, my sweatpants on, and my flannel shirt on, which buttoned up the front. Just then the nurse patted the curtain, I said I'm ready, and she said look who I found, and it was my sister. She grinned at me and said how are you, and I said I have the really slow motion tilt-a-whirl vertigo going which didn't happen the last time, but other than that I am fine, and could you please put my socks and sneakers on me. She said sure, and put the socks and mule sneakers on me.
My sister then left to go get her SUV, and I was wheeled out to the car. The aide helped me get into the SUV because I was still pretty unsteady, and helped my sister fasten me in.
My sister and I returned to the hotel. Because I was still really unsteady, she drove the SUV up to the lobby entrance, parked the car, came around and helped me out as I sort of slithered out straight out of the passenger seat. I took her arm and together we walked inside the lobby and I sat down. My sister said I am going to park the car. A hotel employee came over and asked if she could get me a glass of water, and I said I think I'm fine at the moment, my sister went to park the SUV. Shortly thereafter, my sister reappeared and together we walked to the elevator and went to our room.
My sister called our sister in California to let her know I was fine, and called other extended family members, friends, and my supervisor at work. I took my first pain pill while my sister ordered room service as it was 5:30 PM and I had not eaten since 9 PM the previous night.
It was a delicious dinner - crab chowder in a sourdough bowl, rolls, seafood pasta and Italian cannoli. We polished off that dinner and my stomach thanked me. I had to eat slowly and methodically as I still had jaw pain. I felt more human that I had all day. My stomach and body still felt like Jabba the Hutt of Star Wars fame because was still gassy from the surgery.
The rest of the evening, I worked at drinking a 1.5 liter bottle of water, and I realized I was really gassy. I belched, burped and tootled farts the rest of the evening, but no stinky clouds. The more air I expelled, the better I felt. I have very sore stomach muscles and a sore rib cage and I am sore all over, but I feel pretty good overall. I have been resting and taking naps.
Activation day will be March 27th. I will finally hear out of both ears!
The big difference between the initial CI surgery (left ear) and the second CI surgery (right ear) was my emotional state of mind. When I initially went through CI surgery the first time, I was so calm, serene, focused and centered. My mental state was like that of Yoda of Star Wars fame. I was just so CENTERED.
Before the second CI surgery, I was extremely distracted, not always thinking clearly, and there was just too much emotional clutter going on in my brain. Tuesday, February 28th, I was concerned for my younger sister because she did not leave her home until 3 PM (this was a four hour drive for her to my home). There was a tractor-trailer accident on the interstate and I was worried about my sister getting stuck in traffic. I wasn't worried about the hotel reservation near the hospital (another two hour drive) because the reservation was guaranteed. My sister was actually driving up north from where the tractor trailer accident happened, so by the time she reached my home at around 6:30 PM (Tuesday night before the CI surgery), the accident scene had cleared and traffic again flowing.
At my sister's request, I had packed a mini-cooler of sandwiches, bottled water and some cookies for dinner on the road. Neither of us were hungry, so I stuck the mini-cooler in the back seat of her SUV along with my overnight luggage, and we set off for the drive to the hotel. We arrived at the hotel around 8:30 PM and got settled in. We finally had our sandwiches and cookies at 9 PM. By that time, my younger sister and I were hungry. I continued drinking water until 11:30 PM and both of us went to bed around midnight.
In my distracted state before leaving my townhouse, I interpreted the answering machine message to mean that the hospital wanted me at the surgical center at 8:00 AM instead of the original time, 10:00 AM. When I re-read the instructions, it clearly said report to the surgical center at 10:00 AM, which was two hours before surgery.
Neither my younger sister nor I slept all that soundly the night before surgery. I had some mild sinus congestion and snored all night, and I felt like I was in a dream state of sleep all night long. I also had some balance issues on my right side because of the congestion, so I wasn't all that steady to begin with.
I felt bad that I snored and kept my poor sister from a sound sleep. I got up before my sister, showered, washed and blow dried my hair, made sure I had no earrings or watch on or other jewelry on. I opened the curtains, and my sister groggily said I guess that's my wake up call, and she got up, got dressed and ate some yogurt while I took my medicines (pre-cleared with my surgeon) and brushed my teeth.
I noted that it was raining outside the hotel, so I brought along a mini-golf sized umbrella to keep both of us dry. My sister and I went downstairs to the underground hotel parking garage and set off for the ten minute drive to the hospital.
We arrived at the surgical center at 9:45 AM and were greeted by a hospital employee who told us to take a seat and I would be taken care of shortly. At 10:05 AM, a nurse came and got me, telling my younger sister that she was going to prep me for surgery and then she would come back out and get my sister.
After changing out of street clothes into a surgical gown, footies, cap and IV hooked up, I went through the pre-operation evaluation with the nurse, and then my surgeon appeared. He took my hands in his, smiled warmly, and said you have a big day ahead of you, and which ear are we implanting today? I said my right ear, and he said very good, now I am just going to tattoo your right ear with my marking pen. He did that, stood back so I could lipread him and said you will be going into surgery in about 20 minutes and I thanked him again.
The nurse went and got my sister, who sat down. The doctor who works with my surgeon greeted me and my sister. In my rather distracted state of mind, I did not realize that the doctor needed me to put on the sound processor behind my left ear so that he could map where my surgeon needed to place the second implant for my right ear. To add to the craziness, I very absent-mindedly kept trying to put the processor on WITHOUT the battery. If you don't put the battery ON the processor BEFORE you place it behind your ear, the headpiece magnet won't stick to the implant.
When I figured out what I was doing wrong, I apologized profusely, put the battery on the processor, put the processor on, and the headpiece magnet promptly stuck to the magnet. I felt like a complete fool. The doctor then looked at the processor, head piece, where it was situated, then came over to my right ear and marked where the implant would be placed.
The doctor went over the pre-operation evaluation with me a second time, then told me the risks of the surgery, asked me to sign forms and then showed me the box containing the implant. I signed the form acknowledging that I would be getting this particular implant. As I was signing the form, this huge wave of relief washed over me, knowing that I would soon be bilateral or binaural.
The anesthesiologist appeared, went over the pre-operation evaluation with me a third time, asked me if I had ever had any adverse reactions to anesthesia or experienced nausea and vomiting (never). He then explained what anesthesia would do to me.
The anesthesiologist then left and the surgical nursing team (all women) came in said to my sister and me that they were ready for me and told me to leave my processor on, and that they would be masked going into the operating room. My sister said can you tell Mindy what is going to happen before you go into the operating room, because she is still lipreading a lot and still getting used to the cochlear implant, and they said sure. One nurse said here's what is going to happen and outlined the steps. I said okay, can I stop in the bathroom again before we go, she said sure. I turned to my sister, hugged her, said see you later, I love you.
The first CI surgery, all the surgical team were unmasked until I was under anesthesia. This second CI surgery, the procedure was different. I stopped in the bathroom, barely had to pee (I think it was excitement and worrying about whether I would pee on the pad in the operating room!!) I then took that walk toward the operating room suite. On the way there, I could hear a child crying hysterically in another operating room (poor baby) and walked into my own operating suite. They did not have me put on compression stockings prior to surgery this time.
I was glad the surgical team were all women except for the doctor, because I had two surgical gowns on, the first gown was first put on with the back open. Then I had a second gown on, with the opening toward the front, My body was completely covered, but not tied. Well, when I walked into the operating room, about to climb onto the table, the team removed the back gown, leaving me bare backed, bare bottomed and bare legs. I realized I was mooning everybody, including the doctor, and the southerner in me made me apologize. My Momma would have been proud of my manners!
I then climbed up on the stool to get on the operating table with help from the doctor and surgical team because I still had balance issues and needed steadying hands. They motioned where I was to place my head, and then they put my legs in these compression warmers and placed an egg-shell foam square under my legs for elevation and then I was cocooned in warm blankets taken out of a drawer.
Before the anesthesia started and the mask place over my face, I told the surgical team of a quip a friend had made when I remarked I would miss my coffee the day of surgery, my friend quipped that the coffee would be in the anesthesia. That was my absolute last conscious moment before I was anesthetized.
When I came to, I was wondering the surgical team was waking me up and mistakenly believed the surgery hadn't happened yet. It took me a few moments to realize I was in recovery, and a nurse asked if I wanted water and something to eat. I said just water.
I was thirsty.
I had a lot of chest congestion, some right jaw pain, and being asthmatic, I had to suck on a peak flow meter to get my oxygen saturation levels up past 65. I hated to suck on that contraption because when I did that, my jaw hurt, and my stomach and rib cage muscles hurt when I started coughing, and I still had to use that peak flow meter to get my sats up. I managed to get up to 85. My pulmonologist would have been overjoyed.
Then the fun started. I started to cough up phlegm and break wind, and tootled little farts while coughing (no purple clouds or Febreze in sight, either). I am sure I was noisy and I realized that I was really gassy from the anesthesia. That was why my stomach and rib cage muscles felt sore. I felt bloated like Jabba the Hutt of Star Wars fame.
I felt like a cat hacking up hairballs. I knew I had to clear my lungs and get the phlegm and succeeded. I asked for tissue and the nurse gave me a suctioning tube to suction myself free of the phlegm. More productive coughing and suctioning. I had to do that for a while until my lungs cleared.
I then realized that I had a very full bladder and really needed to pee this time. I asked the nurse if there was a bathroom. She unplugged me from all the monitors, helped me down from the gurney, covering my bare backside with a blanket. The moment I planted my feet on the floor, I experienced what I call tilt a whirl vertigo in very slow motion. At some point during the walk to the bathroom, my surgeon appeared on my left side and I said I have the woozies, and he said I know, and patted my left shoulder like a concerned mother hen. The nurse then escorted me into the bathroom. I very carefully positioned myself on the toilet seat paper pad, seat, hiking my gown up, as I did so. Then it was a very carefully orchestrated series of movements to get off the toilet, get to the sink, and wash and dry my hands.
I didn't return to the gurney, but instead sat down in this recliner with a disposable pad on the seat. My surgeon reappeared to check on me. He said the surgery went very well and I said I was so glad it was done because I wanted to hear surround sound and thanked him again. I said by the way, I bring greetings from your former patients and fan club and rattled off names. He smiled, and he asked if I had family here and I said yeah, my sister is around here somewhere. He said let me see what I can do, and that was the last I saw of him.
One of the nurses came by and removed my IV and said I could get dressed, I will be right outside the curtain if you need help. It took some creativity to put my bra back on because I was still pretty unsteady. So here's what I did. I placed the bra around me, hooked the back of the bra in front of me, then turned the hooked part to the back, and put my arms inside the bra straps that way. I was able to get my underpants on, my sweatpants on, and my flannel shirt on, which buttoned up the front. Just then the nurse patted the curtain, I said I'm ready, and she said look who I found, and it was my sister. She grinned at me and said how are you, and I said I have the really slow motion tilt-a-whirl vertigo going which didn't happen the last time, but other than that I am fine, and could you please put my socks and sneakers on me. She said sure, and put the socks and mule sneakers on me.
My sister then left to go get her SUV, and I was wheeled out to the car. The aide helped me get into the SUV because I was still pretty unsteady, and helped my sister fasten me in.
My sister and I returned to the hotel. Because I was still really unsteady, she drove the SUV up to the lobby entrance, parked the car, came around and helped me out as I sort of slithered out straight out of the passenger seat. I took her arm and together we walked inside the lobby and I sat down. My sister said I am going to park the car. A hotel employee came over and asked if she could get me a glass of water, and I said I think I'm fine at the moment, my sister went to park the SUV. Shortly thereafter, my sister reappeared and together we walked to the elevator and went to our room.
My sister called our sister in California to let her know I was fine, and called other extended family members, friends, and my supervisor at work. I took my first pain pill while my sister ordered room service as it was 5:30 PM and I had not eaten since 9 PM the previous night.
It was a delicious dinner - crab chowder in a sourdough bowl, rolls, seafood pasta and Italian cannoli. We polished off that dinner and my stomach thanked me. I had to eat slowly and methodically as I still had jaw pain. I felt more human that I had all day. My stomach and body still felt like Jabba the Hutt of Star Wars fame because was still gassy from the surgery.
The rest of the evening, I worked at drinking a 1.5 liter bottle of water, and I realized I was really gassy. I belched, burped and tootled farts the rest of the evening, but no stinky clouds. The more air I expelled, the better I felt. I have very sore stomach muscles and a sore rib cage and I am sore all over, but I feel pretty good overall. I have been resting and taking naps.
Activation day will be March 27th. I will finally hear out of both ears!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
The Effectiveness of Cochlear Implants
Someone posed a question about how many studies had been done on the effectiveness of cochlear implants. I thought back to a time when I was diagnosed as being deaf - hard of hearing, actually, by today's standards, and thought about being deaf TODAY.
Back then the options were few. One either wore hearing aids or didn't. My first hearing aid was a body hearing aid - worn with a harness, a battery, a cord with a button and an ear mold made of glass. The cord attached to the hearing aid, and the ear mold was fitted to the ear.
Picture today's cochlear implant sound processor - the cabling and the headpiece. The headpiece with the magnet is about the size of the button attached to the body hearing aid cord of long ago.
You either were taught to speak, lipread, fitted with a hearing aid, accompanied with auditory training. The other option was to learn sign language. You went to a state school for the Deaf or a private school for the Deaf, that is, if you had the money to pay for it.
I first wore a body aid with a harness, later clipped the body aid inside the center of my bra. Later, behind the ear hearing aids were finally powerful enough to allow me to wear them. My deafness also progressed to the point that I was profoundly deaf and hearing aids were no longer effective, especially when it came to speech discrimination.
One year and four months after my first CI surgery and activation, I am hearing sounds which were not even possible for me with hearing aids.
Hearing is no longer the exhausting experience it once was. I can sit in a meeting and hear every participant speak as if that person were sitting right next to me.
My world is noisy. It is about to become noisier. I am scheduled for surgery on Leap Year Day. I will be listening to the sounds of Spring with two cochlear implants, in both ears.
There are sounds which I don't like to hear. One in particular is listening to someone chewing and snapping gum as that person chews. I can hear the gum snapping as the person bites down on the piece of gum on the OTHER side of the wall. Another is listening to someone type on a computer keyboard in the same room while I am trying to concentrate on my own work.
When I was a hearing aid user, there was no way I could hear someone chewing gum on the other side of the wall, let alone hear the keys on a computer keyboard clicking as someone types. That's how effective cochlear implants are to me, studies or no studies!
I know over time, my brain will learn to tune out the annoying sounds. I just never thought as a cochlear implant user that I would welcome SILENCE.
What irony!
The difference between hearing aids and cochlear implants is just HUGE. "Life Changing" is SUCH an understatement.
I am still amazed at how deaf I am when I remove the cochlear implant sound processor at night before I go to bed.
Someone who is a cochlear implant user like myself, recently posted about what a great time it was to be deaf. I completely understood what she meant. There are so many options now for deaf people.
In spite of my now noisy world, gum chewing and all, Hearing is such a gift.
Back then the options were few. One either wore hearing aids or didn't. My first hearing aid was a body hearing aid - worn with a harness, a battery, a cord with a button and an ear mold made of glass. The cord attached to the hearing aid, and the ear mold was fitted to the ear.
Picture today's cochlear implant sound processor - the cabling and the headpiece. The headpiece with the magnet is about the size of the button attached to the body hearing aid cord of long ago.
You either were taught to speak, lipread, fitted with a hearing aid, accompanied with auditory training. The other option was to learn sign language. You went to a state school for the Deaf or a private school for the Deaf, that is, if you had the money to pay for it.
I first wore a body aid with a harness, later clipped the body aid inside the center of my bra. Later, behind the ear hearing aids were finally powerful enough to allow me to wear them. My deafness also progressed to the point that I was profoundly deaf and hearing aids were no longer effective, especially when it came to speech discrimination.
One year and four months after my first CI surgery and activation, I am hearing sounds which were not even possible for me with hearing aids.
Hearing is no longer the exhausting experience it once was. I can sit in a meeting and hear every participant speak as if that person were sitting right next to me.
My world is noisy. It is about to become noisier. I am scheduled for surgery on Leap Year Day. I will be listening to the sounds of Spring with two cochlear implants, in both ears.
There are sounds which I don't like to hear. One in particular is listening to someone chewing and snapping gum as that person chews. I can hear the gum snapping as the person bites down on the piece of gum on the OTHER side of the wall. Another is listening to someone type on a computer keyboard in the same room while I am trying to concentrate on my own work.
When I was a hearing aid user, there was no way I could hear someone chewing gum on the other side of the wall, let alone hear the keys on a computer keyboard clicking as someone types. That's how effective cochlear implants are to me, studies or no studies!
I know over time, my brain will learn to tune out the annoying sounds. I just never thought as a cochlear implant user that I would welcome SILENCE.
What irony!
The difference between hearing aids and cochlear implants is just HUGE. "Life Changing" is SUCH an understatement.
I am still amazed at how deaf I am when I remove the cochlear implant sound processor at night before I go to bed.
Someone who is a cochlear implant user like myself, recently posted about what a great time it was to be deaf. I completely understood what she meant. There are so many options now for deaf people.
In spite of my now noisy world, gum chewing and all, Hearing is such a gift.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Lyrics sound like singing
Earlier this morning I had to go to the lab to have blood work done. For the first time in I don't know how long, the phlebotomist was able to draw blood from my left arm using a butterfly needle and tubing. I was elated. Usually when I have blood drawn, I have to have blood taken out of my hand or wrist.
As I returned to my car, I decided I would listen to a CD to brush up on listening to music with a cochlear implant. I didn't pay attention to the CD which I inserted into the CD player of my car. Imagine my surprise and delight when I recognized Tracy Chapman singing, "Talking about a Revolution!" For the first time since I received a CI, lyrics actually sounded like SINGING.
For me, that's HUGE. You are talking about someone who tested within the limits of the audiogram in April, 2010, fast-forward to February 2012, and I am hearing SINGING. Not scratchy voices with garbled lyrics, but SINGING.
Later tonight I listed to more of Tracy Chapman on my computer - one favorite song of mine is "Fast Car." I heard and saw "Fast Car," on music video television when Tracy Chapman first sang that song. I had never heard of her, but grew to like her music.
It has been a year and nearly four months since I received my first cochlear implant. It just goes to show you that I am still experiencing "soundflavorings anew." I continue to experience more "WOW!" moments as I progress on my journey hearing with a cochlear implant.
When the weather gets warmer, and it is late Spring, I will be hearing the sounds of Spring with two cochlear implants this time. I'm not in a patient, waiting frame of mind. More of an anticipation of what two cochlear implants will bring to my world.
Hearing is such a gift.
As I returned to my car, I decided I would listen to a CD to brush up on listening to music with a cochlear implant. I didn't pay attention to the CD which I inserted into the CD player of my car. Imagine my surprise and delight when I recognized Tracy Chapman singing, "Talking about a Revolution!" For the first time since I received a CI, lyrics actually sounded like SINGING.
For me, that's HUGE. You are talking about someone who tested within the limits of the audiogram in April, 2010, fast-forward to February 2012, and I am hearing SINGING. Not scratchy voices with garbled lyrics, but SINGING.
Later tonight I listed to more of Tracy Chapman on my computer - one favorite song of mine is "Fast Car." I heard and saw "Fast Car," on music video television when Tracy Chapman first sang that song. I had never heard of her, but grew to like her music.
It has been a year and nearly four months since I received my first cochlear implant. It just goes to show you that I am still experiencing "soundflavorings anew." I continue to experience more "WOW!" moments as I progress on my journey hearing with a cochlear implant.
When the weather gets warmer, and it is late Spring, I will be hearing the sounds of Spring with two cochlear implants this time. I'm not in a patient, waiting frame of mind. More of an anticipation of what two cochlear implants will bring to my world.
Hearing is such a gift.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Single-Sided Deafness
I saw my surgeon last month. He agreed I was a candidate for a second cochlear implant, this time in my right ear. I am scheduled for cochlear implantation surgery on the 29th of this month.
Since I was implanted in my left ear a year and three months ago, I have noticed I have become more sensitive to changes in the barometric changes of wind pressure. It affects balance on my right side and I don't feel as steady. When this happens, I adapt. I don't wear high heels, and I don't put myself in precarious situations which demand I concentrate on my balance. Walking on a balance beam is definitely not an option - I was horrible in gymnastics because of balance issues, so I am definitely NOT a gymnast. I am not using my elliptical machine. What I am doing, in preparation for surgery, is using the stairs at work and not the elevator. I have a railing to hold on to.
Those marble stairs in my office building are absolutely unforgiving. It is, however, a great cardiovascular workout. So even though I leave for work in the dark, and come home in the dark, I still must exercise. I still use the stairs.
It's funny. I wore a single body aid with a cord and a button ear mold in my left ear for 22 years. The summer I was to start my junior year in college, I needed new hearing aids. My audiologist told my parents that there were behind the ear hearing aids available for my hearing loss. She also suggested that I try wearing a behind the ear hearing aid in my right ear. I had never done that. Well, my parents purchased two behind the ear hearing aids and surprisingly, I adapted very quickly to a hearing aid in my right ear. From that point on, I hated it when one of my hearing aids needed repair and there was no loaner available. I would miss hearing in both ears and complain about what I refer to as "single-sided deafness."
I wore behind the ear hearing aids until November 2010, when I was activated in my left ear post-cochlear implantation. My audiologist told me to put away my hearing aids, she wanted me to learn to hear with only the cochlear implant sound processor for six months. That was one of the hardest things I have ever done, put away the hearing aids. Well, my hearing aids, being eight years old, died not long after that. I had three days of listening with the hearing aid after six months, and when I heard again with the hearing aid and the cochlear implant sound processor, it felt pretty unbalanced. I told my CI audiologist that I had a little taste of what hearing with two cochlear implants could be like. I told her I wanted a second cochlear implant as soon as possible.
As my hearing aids were eight years old, I didn't see much point in investing in another hearing aid when I had tested within the limits of the audiometer and got little benefit from a hearing aid. I have been functioning with just one cochlear implant.
In November, 2011, my CI audiologist evaluated me for a second CI implant and I met all the candidacy requirements and scheduled an appointment with my surgeon. The process was a lot quicker this time. I just needed a current audiogram for my right ear. That was done. As I had a CAT scan done in August 2010 for both ears, I didn't need that again. I also received a pneumonovax vaccine in August 2010. That vaccine is good for ten years.
My younger sister will once again be with me during surgery. We are spending the night at a local hotel the night before surgery, as I live two hours away and we didn't want to be stuck in traffic on the interstate the morning of surgery. The surgery will be done on an outpatient basis and we will return to the hotel after surgery and spend the night at the hotel again. Then in the morning post-surgery, my younger sister will drive me home and then she will drive herself home.
As I have learned to hear with a cochlear implant and lived with it for a year and three months, I am impatient to hear more. I am hungry for more sound. My new cochlear implant veteran friends who wear two cochlear implants tell me hearing with two "bionic" ears is just awesome.
I am really curious to find out if my brain has adapted to the cochlear implant. Will voices again sound like people talking underwater after activation day when I have my right ear activated? Or will my brain recognize sounds and voices right away?
I am a lot more excited this time around. I definitely want what I call "surround sound!"
Since I was implanted in my left ear a year and three months ago, I have noticed I have become more sensitive to changes in the barometric changes of wind pressure. It affects balance on my right side and I don't feel as steady. When this happens, I adapt. I don't wear high heels, and I don't put myself in precarious situations which demand I concentrate on my balance. Walking on a balance beam is definitely not an option - I was horrible in gymnastics because of balance issues, so I am definitely NOT a gymnast. I am not using my elliptical machine. What I am doing, in preparation for surgery, is using the stairs at work and not the elevator. I have a railing to hold on to.
Those marble stairs in my office building are absolutely unforgiving. It is, however, a great cardiovascular workout. So even though I leave for work in the dark, and come home in the dark, I still must exercise. I still use the stairs.
It's funny. I wore a single body aid with a cord and a button ear mold in my left ear for 22 years. The summer I was to start my junior year in college, I needed new hearing aids. My audiologist told my parents that there were behind the ear hearing aids available for my hearing loss. She also suggested that I try wearing a behind the ear hearing aid in my right ear. I had never done that. Well, my parents purchased two behind the ear hearing aids and surprisingly, I adapted very quickly to a hearing aid in my right ear. From that point on, I hated it when one of my hearing aids needed repair and there was no loaner available. I would miss hearing in both ears and complain about what I refer to as "single-sided deafness."
I wore behind the ear hearing aids until November 2010, when I was activated in my left ear post-cochlear implantation. My audiologist told me to put away my hearing aids, she wanted me to learn to hear with only the cochlear implant sound processor for six months. That was one of the hardest things I have ever done, put away the hearing aids. Well, my hearing aids, being eight years old, died not long after that. I had three days of listening with the hearing aid after six months, and when I heard again with the hearing aid and the cochlear implant sound processor, it felt pretty unbalanced. I told my CI audiologist that I had a little taste of what hearing with two cochlear implants could be like. I told her I wanted a second cochlear implant as soon as possible.
As my hearing aids were eight years old, I didn't see much point in investing in another hearing aid when I had tested within the limits of the audiometer and got little benefit from a hearing aid. I have been functioning with just one cochlear implant.
In November, 2011, my CI audiologist evaluated me for a second CI implant and I met all the candidacy requirements and scheduled an appointment with my surgeon. The process was a lot quicker this time. I just needed a current audiogram for my right ear. That was done. As I had a CAT scan done in August 2010 for both ears, I didn't need that again. I also received a pneumonovax vaccine in August 2010. That vaccine is good for ten years.
My younger sister will once again be with me during surgery. We are spending the night at a local hotel the night before surgery, as I live two hours away and we didn't want to be stuck in traffic on the interstate the morning of surgery. The surgery will be done on an outpatient basis and we will return to the hotel after surgery and spend the night at the hotel again. Then in the morning post-surgery, my younger sister will drive me home and then she will drive herself home.
As I have learned to hear with a cochlear implant and lived with it for a year and three months, I am impatient to hear more. I am hungry for more sound. My new cochlear implant veteran friends who wear two cochlear implants tell me hearing with two "bionic" ears is just awesome.
I am really curious to find out if my brain has adapted to the cochlear implant. Will voices again sound like people talking underwater after activation day when I have my right ear activated? Or will my brain recognize sounds and voices right away?
I am a lot more excited this time around. I definitely want what I call "surround sound!"
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Happy New Year, January 2012
It is a little after one' oclock in the morning. One of the biggest blessings I have received as a recipient of a cochlear implant is the HUGE community of cochlear implant users out there. I have made new friends and met some of my online friends at a convention this past summer. I could not have asked for a more dedicated group of supporters. They will talk you through any fears you have prior to surgery, encourage you when you are recuperating, cheer you on, encourage you when things are a little off, celebrate your "Wow"! moments, offer advice, all without bias.
These folks have walked the walk and talked the talk. They will even talk to people who are scared of the very idea of getting a cochlear implant. I do not regret getting a cochlear implant one bit. It was the right decision for me.
I am still a deaf person with a cochlear implant. But how wonderful it is to hear with the speech processor, for eight to twelve hours a day.
Hearing is such a gift.
Happy New Year, Everyone!
These folks have walked the walk and talked the talk. They will even talk to people who are scared of the very idea of getting a cochlear implant. I do not regret getting a cochlear implant one bit. It was the right decision for me.
I am still a deaf person with a cochlear implant. But how wonderful it is to hear with the speech processor, for eight to twelve hours a day.
Hearing is such a gift.
Happy New Year, Everyone!
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