Long overdue update....

A long overdue update!! Sorry folks, I have been all over the place, like a chicken running around with its head cut off. That’s what happens when the Christmas prepping season hits upon us.

Things are coming along really smoothly with both of us. Raymond has pretty well settled into his hearing routine. He is hearing very well, and only requires periodical visits to the audiologist in Halifax, as his CI processor adjustments are pretty updated and pretty steady too. He is hearing soft and normal sounds, they are not as loud as they are for me now. He is now able to turn up the TV and radio which is painful for me, ugh.

Myself, I am still finding things pretty loud, but things are gradually getting softer, surely but slowly. Takes time, I guess. Lately, I seem to have the tendency to take the CI off as soon as I come home from work to take a “break” from the white noise and staff chatting away in the background. I always forget to put the CI back on in the evenings. I must get myself back on track in wearing the CI consistently. When Raymond’s CI is off, he talks loud; it goes from low to booming high for me. He thinks I am silly, but it’s the truth.

A lot of people have been great with us, and respecting our wishes to talk a bit lower than they usually do. Only a couple of people won’t, saying, “Too bad, get used to it.” Sighhhhhhhhh…. I wish they could actually hear what we are hearing and if it was the other way around, they would be asking us to whisper! When I am around them, I have no choice but turn down my CI volume control just a tad bit. They say "it is the way it is", "you have to get used to it", etc.... people don't realize that they had since childhood to get used to all these sounds and adjust to them. We are adults and have not heard very well majority of our lives and then we are given the gift of hearing things, so it is like cranking up the volume, pow!!! We do have a hard time in the first few months...we need time to get adjusted to it at our own time/pace. People need to have that picture in their minds on how things would be for us for the first time as adults after a quiet few years... it can be hard at times. Some people adjust to it very quickly, others just take a bit longer.
A funny thing happened the other night over at my parents. We all were watching the program, “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?” and while the contestant was thinking of the answer, I could hear a ticking in the background so I asked my sister if they were on a timer as I wasn’t aware of this. She said no. Listened again and it came to my realization that it was the clock on the wall, ticking-tocking. Phew, it’s a tad loud. How can hearing people tune these things out?

This part was written by Kimberly Carter, the CEO of the Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech Foundation:

"Raymond was visiting his friend's cottage in Caissie Cape, NB. As you can imagine in the first several months after a cochlear implant, recipients are hearing “new” sounds all the time. Raymond talks about getting off his motorcycle at the cottage and hearing this sound in the background. He didn’t know what it was but immediately knew he loved it. In the rush of greeting his friend and getting settled, Raymond forgot to ask for help in identifying the sound. But as the evening wore on, he knew he had to find out what was tugging at not only his ears but his heart. Raymond walked outside and noticed the waves breaking on the beach and as realization dawned he felt the peace and power of nature that comes with the sound of the ocean’s waves."

I have not heard the ocean's waves yet, and look forward to experiencing this next summer!

Another thing that fools me quite often, is when Raymond’s battery is depleted, he leaves the CI on his head. Many times I have called his name or talking to him, he never replies, making me think…”Oh it is not working as it should!” or sometimes I would say, “hmph – selective hearing”. Hee tee. Just recently, Raymond was looking for his CI processor and headpiece all over the house. He must have passed me a few times, going from room to room looking for them. I asked him what he was looking for and he said, “My implant” and I laughed!!!! It was still on his head!!!!! Of all places he was looking for it, it was on his head the whole time. Too funny!!! This proves we don’t feel it on our heads at all.

Winter has arrived, and I am hearing new sounds. The warming up of the truck motor, the crackling of the ice/hard snow under our feet, and the blowing snow when it is stormy, etc. Wow!

We have two new dogs in our household. First is a 11 month old Boston Terrier (Noel) we adopted on November 15, 2008 and second one is a crossbreed of a Boston Terrier/Miniature Schnauzer (still un-named) – 6 ½ weeks old, got it yesterday, December 20th. What’s cool is hearing the clicking of Noel’s toe nails on the uniclic laminates flooring, drinking from his water bowl, and licking us on our hands/arms. Man, they can be loud when drinking their water, I couldn’t believe it! I have never heard these with our previous dog, Lucky. As well, up to now, I have never heard Noel bark yet so it appears he is a non-barker, which I am not complaining about. :)

Our neighbor has a miniature schnauzer and she comes to our house frequently to socialize and play with Noel. Her name is Sophie and she can “bark”, and it’s ever loud! So she is my first “hearing a real bark for the first time”, so she has the honor of having that title.

Our new “un-named” puppy… whew, is a different whole story. A puppy is like a baby, crying, whining and yipping… poor soul was taken from his parents and 7 brothers, so it’s quite the adjustment for him without them. Such cute sounds tho’ but pitiful at times. He is content lying on the floor between my feet or lying on my chest or curled up in my arms. So cuddly and adorable! I will try to remember to post a couple of pictures for you dog lovers to see. He is so tiny, that I stepped on his foot twice already, ouch! And I almost tripped over him once and nearly lost my balance. We have dark wood on our sunroom and our living room floors, so it is hard to see him when he is on the floor in those dark shadows. Maybe we should have gotten a white dog, ha! It’ll be fine once he is grown to his full size, which will be in a few months.

Noel and the puppy are playful, and they jump around, run around, etc… it is soooo cute and fun to hear the sounds too. Sophie is the more sophisticated and mature lady dog, standing by watching them thinking they are idiots. She is 4 years old, so I can understand. Too cute!!

Raymond and I will have a little feature story on the following website anytime soon:http://www.hearingandspeech.ca/

Once it is on there, I will copy and paste the story and put it on the blog later.

Our next appointment with the audiologist is on January 16th, 2009. 

Myself, I have an appointment to see Dr. Morris on the same day, for my 6 month post-op check up.

Until the next time….

The Waiting list as of 2008....

The Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech Centre's Cochlear Implant Program waiting list is getting longer and longer... and most of them are New Brunswickers! Can you believe that, there's more NB'ers than Nova Scotians on the list!!! The program has received alot of referrals, and the waiting time is getting longer now... it can go up to 2 years or more before you finally can get the surgery, if you are a candidate.

Wow!!

Until next time..... :)

Wicked!!!................

On Friday, November 7th, Raymond & I decided to take a day trip to the Miramichi to visit some relatives. We have not been "up home" for quite a while, so it was due time. It rained the whole time, but a nice trip in overall.

Down in Napan, we dropped in to visit Grammie B. first and she certainly was surprised to see us and very happy too. Stayed for two hours with her. I am excited to say this part... so may as well spit it out now. In the past few years, I have had alot of difficulty to carry on a conversation with Grammie as I was not hearing her as well as I did in the past. Plus she was not talking clearly with me like she used to, and she kept turning her head down or away from my line of vision. She is 92 years old now, so it is part of her aging process.

So hearing her on this day was the first time with my CI, and to my complete surprise, I was able to hear her voice really clearly. I had forgotten on how low she spoke. We had great conversation for the entire two hours and I enjoyed every minute of it. Raymond really enjoyed this too, as it was his first time to hear her voice with his CI. He found that her voice was much clearer than what he heard with his old hearing aid. He said it was less work to listen to her now.

At Grammie's house, I went upstairs for a minute and I heard something off a distance and recognized it to be a clock ticking. So I set myself to find it and it was in Grammie's bedroom on the wall and man-oh-man, it was loud!!!!!! I was so amazed at the loudness of it, and thought to myself, "How in the heck can Grammie sleep with that thing running???" It is much louder than the one I have here at home. I told Grammie about my wee adventure upstairs and she laughed so hard.

Next, we visited my grandfather down in Napan Bay for a couple of hours. I was able to hear his voice clearly as well, but he runs his words together, or more like mumble to me, so I had great difficulty in understanding him at times. Raymond had no problems at times, but had to struggle couple of times to really listen to him. Papa is 89 years old.

After Papa, we visited Aunt June for almost 3 hours.....when we get together, we can talk up a storm! I never really had any problems talking with June, but this time around, I was able to hear her voice more than before... so it made the conversation flow much easier.

Next pit stop was to visit Uncle Garth, but nobody was home, so off we go to visit Uncle David.... and this ended up as our last pit stop. Aunt Linda and I stayed in the house, while Raymond and David went into the men's garage, ya all know what that means. It was so funny, I just realized this AFTER the visit, more likely on the next day that Linda still continued to speak to me in her "higher than normal" volume after so many years of talking to me loudly. I guess it is a habit she soon will need to learn to adjust with me. I am sure she's the first one, but she won't be the last one.

So after seeing my relatives for the first time with my CI, made me realize it is a wonderful gadget! It works, and it is certainly SO worth it. I was extremely happy to hear Grammie's voice again so clearly. It "almost" brought tears to my eyes.

While thinking about up home.... and I felt like I was in a "timeless" zone... you know what I mean? Time stood still for a couple of years. Honestly! Things have never changed at Papa's house. I am pretty sure I have not been in the house for at least a year and half, and I felt like the last time I visited there was like a month ago. I took a "peek" in Grammie Sweezey's bedroom and nothing in there has moved or changed since she passed away 2 years ago. Just by looking in that room, you would think she was still around. I really miss her lots! :(

Ah, I am getting nostalgic.... so better end this before I bore you to death..... ;)

Until next time.....

Small update - noise reduction program and few tidbits

Tried the 2 noise reduction programs switches on my CI processor at work, and soon found out that switch #3 works best for me. It really reduces the noise level, but I do still hear the noises around me and in the background, but not as loud as it was before. I had too much simulation going on and it was making me extremely tired, and found a great difference with the noise reduction program.

However, one thing I noted with switch #3, the voices are not as clear and a little dull. That is okay as I work pretty independantly majority of the day.

Once I leave work, I go back to switch #1, which is for normal daily usage.

Last Friday, I met up with a friend of mine and she mentioned that she noticed I was talking a bit louder than a whisper now. That's good... hope it continues to improve. Or maybe it was because I had the volume down. I must check the next time someone says something about my voice level, and will check where the volume number is at.

Right now, I am having a heck of a time looking for a simple children's read-along book with a CD. They do have them in the stores, but they are more for teens, etc... I am going to drop in at Scholar's Choice/Moyer's on Monday after work to see if they have any. Keeping my fingers crossed as I would like to start practicing my listening/speech skills.

The speech therpist sent me a list of words for me to practice, and a friend will work on this with me, plus will get Mom/sister to help out as well.

Now, onward to Raymond. Really, there is not much to report from his end these days. He is doing extremely well. His CI is at the most comfortable level and he is hearing things pretty normally rather than the loudness he experienced in the previous months. Music is coming along well and he is picking up alot of words. He finally is able who the music artist is when it comes on.

Remember a few months ago, he tried out the bluetooth for his cell phone and he tried the MaxIT brand. It didn't pan out well for him, so he returned the product back to the company. Someday, not now, he will try another bluetooth thingy.

One thing we both still do not like...... is folks calling our names behind our backs testing us out. People don't realize that we DO hear the voices, but we do not realize it is for us. This has happened to me at work a couple of times, how do you expect me to hear my name with all that noise in the background, especially with the white noise?? Forget it.....

Every Wednesday night, we attend Bible Study over at the Lakeview Manor senior citizens/nursing home as they have allowed us to use their roomy chapel and large TV for our studies. There's all kinds of noises in that place!!! I can hear the buzzer's going off at the nursing station. Last week, while we were watching a session on the DVD, all of sudden Raymond and I heard a noise and I kind of looked over at Grace and shot my eyebrows upward. She laughed at me, as I am sure it was quite the sight that Raymond and I were the only ones that heard something while the other deafies watched the DVD. :)

Until next time.....

Cheryl's October 2008 mapping session

CI activated on July 29th - 3 month post-activiation mapping session:

Saw Cathy on October 23rd and it was a good session. Did a testing in the sound booth, spoke about my frustrations with sounds, and made some adjustments to my CI processor.

In the sound booth, we did the usual testing:

- audiogram testing - I am okay where I am at for now, there's more room for improvement
- sections of 4 words and CD in background saying the word, and I pick the word I think he is saying - I did good on this, 2 errors. It is noted that I have problems hearing the "s" sounds.
- simple sentences with lip-reading - fared 100% on this one.
- simple sentences without lip-reading (mouth covered) - fared 34%!!

Did you get that?? I got 34% and that is just by listening without lip-reading. That is quite the thing for me and it is awesome! Cathy was really surprised. I have taken this test several times over the past year and have always gotten 0%. With my hearing aid before the surgery and for all my previous mapping sessions with my CI... all 0%. So I consider 34% quite the achievement. I was plumb pleased with myself.

It does not mean I will improve even further, as this might be the end of it, or it may improve. Time will tell.

I told Cathy about my work noise level and on how ungodawful it is. So off she goes, made a few quick adjustments to my CI processor switches:

Switch 1 - normal, everyday usage. It is the same as switch 2 on my last mapping session.
Switch 2 - a little noise reduction.
Switch 3 - more noise reduction.

I am to try switch 2 and 3 at work to see which is best for me. Can't wait to test them out.

Will be working on speech therapy practices once I receive the exercises from the speech therapist from the same centre where Cathy works. For my listening skills, Cathy has suggested for me to try to listen to read-along books for children. Those books are hard to find. I have looked in the library and they do not have much choices for children. I will have to hit the mall one of these days, even shopping is what I hate the most :)

Date of return for another mapping session.... January 2009.

I am really frustrated with my hair, I no longer can put hair behind my right ear as the CI takes up most of the space in there. Once I do, my hair falls forward and is in the way. Argh...!!! I am seriously considering in changing my hairstyle... probably a shorter and easier style. I was supposed to do this last week, but chickened out. I have had this hairstyle for nearly 24 years, so it is really time for a change, and it ain't easy....wow!!! Someone, please hit me over the head and drag me to the hairdresser.... :)

New sounds - I actually heard the kitchen tap running while I was in the living room at a friend's house. Still hearing the other sounds I have heard for the past three months. The ticking of the clock is getting more distinct... it is so funny that I can recognize it so quickly now.

I am so thankful for the cochlear implant technology to allow me to hear things I have never heard before or have heard before but was dull. I am enjoying it all, including the frustrations. It is so worth it. Praise God.....

Until next time....

As my friend says, "My mind wanders alot...."

And my mind did wander alot this week as well........

Ever since the first time I heard the crosswalk signal sound for the visually impaired, I have been thinking.... and thought, "Wow!!" The visually impaired have it made, really!! Think about it, they have braille on the dollar bills, on the ATMs numerical keyboard, elevator buttons, etc., they even have different coin sizes, there is that crosswalk signal, audio books, etc., etc.... the list can go on. There is even a "zoom" programs for computers, which is a tool to magnify, capture, paint and write on screen. There is even a speech recognition program, etc, etc......

Folks in wheelchairs..... they have wheelchair accessible washrooms, doorways, low curbs, automatic doorbutton, there are even wheelchair accessible homes, Ability vans, etc... oh the list can go on....

I am thinking, what does the deaf have? Don't think, "Oh she is feeling sorry for herself", which I am not. I am just stating some facts. The list is pretty short compared to the ones I gave above. The population of Greater Moncton, my hometown, is 128,000 and we only have one full time interpreter, with just a few back-ups, and we have about 60 deaf people in our community.... only just one community interpreter. We don't pay for the interpreter, which is great. What else??..... we do have special alarm clocks, close captioned TV, flashing lights, Video Phone, TTY, etc., but these are used for our homes. We are lucky to have them, expensive products they are, yes, and we pay from our own pockets.....

You are probably thinking... What is Cheryl trying to say?

Compare the three paragraphs I wrote.... notice the first two paragraphs are about "things" out in town, around town, in buildings, workplace, out in public, etc.... and those things are paid by the town/city, companies, government, etc.... not a penny comes out of the visually impaired's pockets... and the person in the wheelchair's pockets as well.....

No problem to have a wheelchair accessible washroom in a workplace, and no problem to get a Zoom program for a couple of computers at work. In the past, I have asked for one simple thing at work and it was declined.... a pager or something I can have with me to warn me the fire alarm is going off. Instead I was assigned a fire buddy, for 8 years now. I don't feel comfortable with this at all, as we all work different shifts, different lunch hours, etc...

One time, the fire alarm went off and my TM was my buddy, she saw me as we "looked" at each other, so I assumed all was okay there, so I went outside with everybody. Then my TM comes to me nearly having a heart attack saying to me "where were you???" Gee......

At one of my other jobs approximately 18 years ago , I was up on the 4th floor, and the fire alarm went off and I didn't hear this one. Nobody came to get me and I was the second lone person on that floor. Luckily a person heard me working away on the computer and she came to get me..... Guess what, it was a REAL fire alarm, not a drill. I was none too pleased. Since then, I have always been nervous about fire alarms.

With my new CI, I have not heard the actual fire alarm yet, but I am sure I will hear it soon. Likely I will have a heart attack and jump off the chair!! :)) We'll see and I'll let you know when I do hear it :)

The deaf ask for a small measly thing and most of the time, they say it can't be done, where the town/city, buildings, workplaces goes to "bat" for folks with other disabilities. There might be a few handful of deaf that got lucky at their workplace, mostly they are government jobs. Um, something is wrong with this picture.....

New noise....

Hi all.... last weekend, Raymond and I went camping in Amherst, a nearby town, for the weekend. A great time had by all! Our trailers were parked by the water, so therefore it was a bit windy. Whilst inside the trailer on our first day, I could hear the wind slow down and pick up! Patty kept telling me the tree was going to fall on our trailer, ha ha.... funny lady she is.

That evening, it rained. We were all in one couple's trailer for chat and games. I could hear the rain pitter patter on the roof. It rained so hard at times and it let down at times, and then picked up again. I was able to tell my friends this, and they were amazed (they are all deaf), and they looked out the window to see the rain :) Rain is still my favourite sound of all! Just LOVE it....

On Saturday afternoon, all three couples had their quiet time, and went on our merry way. Raymond was in a dire need of a nap, so we went inside our trailer... he had a nap, I multi-tasked - watched TV, read a book and surfed on the internet. All of sudden I heard a noise which I never heard before. I listened to it so intentively (is this a word??) and trying to figure out what it was. I turned off the TV and the noise was still around. I closed the lap-top... the noise was still there!! Ugh... I went over to the fan above the stove, it was off. I looked in the bathroom, the fan was off in there too! Gee.... so I went back to sit down in the dining room to listen again.

I leaned back against the chair and crossed my arms. I looked over at Raymond's way and listened again.... it came to my realization that the noise was in sync with Raymond's breathing (his tummy rising up and down).... oh wow.... the noise was his 'snoring'!!!!! Wow, is it ever loud!!

When I hear something new, I always ask Raymond what it is, so this way, I would recognize it the next time I hear it again. With this noise on the go, I didn't have the heart to wake him up just to ask him, so discovered this one on my own. Felt good!

This afternoon, a week later, Raymond had a nap on the couch and I recognized his snoring right away. I am amazed on how loud it is!!! It is like a rough motor at times! Fourteen and half years we have been together, and I am just learning this now :)

Things are going very well. Only two things that are hellish for me are work and church. I cannot wait for the background block be placed on my on one of my CI switches. I really need this for work - big time. My appointment is on October 23rd, so I am practically counting down the sleeps......

Thanksgiving for hearing new sounds...

It is thanksgiving time, and there are many that we are thankful - and for the sounds of life around us.

We are thankful for the engineers and their leadership to invent and improve the cochlear implants we wear today.

We are thankful for the amazing doctors who put the implants in our heads and become a part of hearing world.

We are thankful that we have friends and family that supports us during our cochlear implant journey.

(copied and pasted from another website....)

Rest Periods

When I first got my CI implant activated on July 29th and went back two weeks later for a mapping/adjustment, the audiologist, Heather Maessen said that anytime I felt overwhelmed with the CI, I can take it off for a little bit. We are allowed to take a small rest from it.

My work's noise level is very overwhelming so I take off my CI everyday during my 15 minute break. Sometimes just once during the shift, I would take it off just to chill out, but always put it back on like about 5 minutes later, it is never off long. This is only once in a while.

If you don't do this, you will only tire yourself out more and get yourself overwhelmed even more. Rest your ears once in a while. CI is an HUGE adjustment, I shall tell you.

Raymond does this alot too, and I am sure many other CI users do this as well.

September 20, 2008 - Update - Cheryl

This blog is so far behind, and I am afraid I may not remember everything I have heard to share with you, so I will try my best whilst I write this. This has been quite the month with some high and lows with my CI. My work colleagues can tell you if they could :)

I had my mapping session with Cathy on August 28th, and she balanced out the volume and tones of the 4 groupings. The volume is a bit higher than the mapping session I had before and do now hear more pitches, etc., of voices. There's no soft sounds just yet and I am anxiously waiting for this part. I hope it won't be too far into the future. Right now, everything is still loud to me, but I am hearing alot more things now than before, they are alot more distinct and clearer. Like I can identify the sounds better than before. It is still work in progress.

Cathy got me into the sound booth and was pleased to learn that I am almost where I should be. She gave me sheet of paper where there were 4 words in each section. She would cover her mouth and say a word in that 4 word section. I got 23 out of 25..... only two wrong. I was quite pleased with this because my hearing is different now than it was when I had my hearing aid, so I wasn't too sure before. Now I am sure :)

I don't need to go back to see Cathy again until October - likely the latter part of October, so this gives me nearly two months to work on the CI processor switches she has set up for me. The switch 1 is my old program, switch 2 is the new program, and finally, switch 3 is the same as switch 2 but louder.

Cathy has advised me that she would like for me to stay on switch 2 to get used to it. Up to today, September 20th, I am still on switch 2 and 12 o'clock. I can't seem to get it higher because if i do, it is so loud. I really don't know why. It seems like I have struck a "stand still" time, .......nothing is moving or nothing is happening in order for it to improve....hopefully it will break through one of these days. Cathy says, "have patience, it takes time."

The MOST difficult thing I am going through is the noise level at work. It is so ungodawful! I returned back to work on August 18th on an "ease back into work" transition of working 4 hours a day and up to today, I am still not used to the noise level. I work in a call centre so there are constant noises in the building. There is white noise above supposedly to help you "tune" out noise... ha ha... that ain't helping me at all. There is constant talking in the background, people coughing, sneezing, and laughing. Even worse, across from my pod, there is a private office and the lady who works in there is so loud. She gets alot of visitors so I hear them chatting away in there and her laugh is piercing!! (don't worry, she doesn't know me, so I am safe to say this in here :)

Two weeks ago, I tried two days of 6 hour shifts and I couldn't handle it, so reverted back to the 4 hour shift. Then went on vacation for 9 days. Returned back to work today, and did 6 hours today. I have not heard back from my case manager if I should stay on the 4 hours or not, so hope to hear from him for sure on Monday. If not, then I will ask my TM to call him for me to see what the next plan is.

When I returned back to work on August 18th, I was exhausted by the time I got home and had alot of naps daily. Now I try to avoid the naps, and instead I take off the CI just for a little break.

So in overall, work is still very difficult to get used to. Especially in a noisy group, etc. When I go back to see Cathy in October, I truly do HOPE that she will put in a background block on one of my switches so I can tolerate the work noise level. Keeping my fingers crossed and keep your fingers crossed for me please :)

The following are what I have heard for the last while:

- Beeping of the crosswalk. One day, Raymond and I drove down Main Street - downtown Moncton and stopped at the stop lights. I heard a beeping sound and asked Raymond what that beeping was... he smiled at me and said, "It's the crosswalk!" I NEVER knew it actually made noise. Boy, I was really amazed. I am 42 years old and I am just learning this NOW... geez.... This was about 2 weeks ago, and I am still in awe about this :)

- Cell phone ringing. I was in Chapters on the other night browsing around for a book and I was in deep concentration reading a book.... and all of sudden I heard a cell phone ringing! The person answered it on the second ring. I had this goofy smile on my face when I heard this. It was amazing!

- Bird communication. One day, I was sitting at the kitchen table and our patio door was open. A blue jay came to our bird feeder and started "calling" out to others. Did this twice so I looked over and sure enough it did it again. Two other blue jays came along.... so the first bird was calling out to them telling them, "Fresh food here!!! Come on down!!" ha ha....

- Raymond on phone. I was in the living room reading a book and Raymond was on the phone in the sun room....for those who has never seen my home, the kitchen separates the living room and sun room. When Raymond talks to a family member, he tends to be loud talking to them as they do to him as well....so I listened into his phone conversation and heard, "Yeah" a few times, "Okay" a few times, "Not a problem" and "Okay bye bye" and then heard him walking through the kitchen to see me... could hear his foot steps. Wicked!!!

- Unknown Noise. One evening, I was home alone and I could hear a noise constantly all evening and it was annoying, I shall tell you! I didn't recognize this one so I had to struggle to figure out what it was, I even listened around the house, nearly every room on the main floor, and soon learned it was from outside... but "what"???? Finally Raymond comes home shortly after 9 pm... and told him immediately - "Listen!!!".... so he listens and tells me what it is right off the bat... I felt soooo small! They are building a garage next door, so they were using the hammer all evening. LOL.....

- Cracking.... I hear the cracking of my neck and wrists all the time.

- Newspaper & Kitchen Noise. I still despise the sound of the newspaper, getting better each time though. Raymond is soooo noisy in the kitchen, so while he is in there, I actually take off my CI, I have no choice. He bangs things, does not put things down lightly, bangs the doors, etc... gosh...I cringe everytime he goes in there to make something or make a meal. His meals are lovely, so it is worth it anyways. :)

- Flooring. We have uniclic flooring in our house and they do squeak everytime I walk down the hallway. I never heard this before with my hearing aid. It is annoying but I am getting used to this now.

- My voice. Everybody tells me that my voice has nearly disappeared. I talk really low now, just above a whisper. The T-mic next to my ear is very close to my mouth, so to me, I sound very very loud, but to them it is like a whisper or a very low voice. This can give you a fair idea that sounds are indeed loud to me.

- Keys in truck. I am trying to "train" Raymond just to put the key in the ignition but don't turn it on until he puts the seatbelt on first. The beeping of the seatbelt warning is so ungodawful loud.

Up to now, my very favorite sound is the rain!! How I love this so much! I love the way it hits our screen room roof, the roof of the truck, the roof of the trailer, and even the roof of the house. It is an awesome sound!

As I read through this blog, I realize that I complain that certain things are so loud. It is supposed to be like that for the first while after your CI has been activated. This is the process for your brain to learn the sounds. It will get better within time and patience is virtue. I know it is not easy, and there are some days, I just want to whip off the CI and leave it off, but I love alot of the sounds I hear and have learned to hear. It will get better within the next few months after a period of adjustments and mapping, etc.

Learned today that I go back to see Cathy on October 23rd, so another trip to Halifax again :) Looking forward to this one.

Coming soon, Raymond's update....

Until next time.....

Most common questions....

Since I got activated, I have been asked alot of questions by friends.... and it was interesting to learn that there is indeed a most common question. Want to know what it was?

"Do you sleep with your CI on?"

It is natural for people to be curious and I love answering their questions. But this one as thrown me for the loop, as I am thinking to some of these people..."Do you sleep with your glasses on?" :)

Two other popular questions are:

"Do you go swimming with your CI on?"
"Do you shower with your CI on?"

The answer to questions like that, is.... "no". The CI is a tool same as glasses, prothesis, etc., we take them off when needed to. CI is not waterproof, like full immersion in water. We can go out in the rain with them on... but they cannot be immersed in water. And plus sleeping with the CI, it will definitely fall off as you move around in your sleep, so therefore we don't sleep with them on. They are expensive enough as it is, so we need to take a good care of them. It is a nice advantage to be completely deaf during your sleep - nice and peacefully quiet. Even now, if I put my head back on a chair/couch just to relax and move my head in a certain way, the headpiece will fall off hanging from the processor.

August 12th Mapping Session

Visited Heather on August 12th at 2:30 p.m. and we discussed on how I did for the past couple of weeks. I have told her I am hearing alot of high pitched sounds and she reduced this for me. Boosted up the loudness of the processor and I am to follow the same steps again - switch #1, #2, #3 again until August 28th, which is my next appointment. That was it. My own appointment time took all of like 15 or 20 minutes.

Raymond had difficulty with the loop system and Heather changed the program on switch #2 and #3. Raymond is to try them at home to see how things go, and so far, he loves switch #3 which is "aux only with T-Coil", all background is cut off. Finally we got it! We have a loop system at home and tried it with the TV and as well as the stereo... he really LOVES it. Next is to try the church loop system this Sunday.

For the last two or three days, Raymond was hearing noises in his processor and it was discovered that his T-Mic was either dirty or had moisture inside it. Tried another one and it worked just fine. Lucky we have two T-Mics he can rotately use once in a while.

Most importantly of all, if you had humidity problems with your hearing aid, then it is likely you "may" have humidity problems with your CI. You should be putting your CI and T-Mic into the "Dri-Aid" nightly. That will help alot.

There are several kinds of Dri-Aids, this picture above is just one of the examples.

Back to me, Heather made some changes to my processor after I explained what I was hearing too much of. It sounded great in the audiology office and it sounded great while Heather and Raymond was talking.

As I left the office, it still sounded great. Watched TV for a while, no problems at all. Today, oh, it is a different story. Maybe I explained the sound to Heather in the wrong way. Maybe I should have not said "high pitched" sounds, instead I should have said, "loud noises that really echo". I find it a real challenge to describe these sounds and getting the point across.

Today, the noises really comes to me really high, even the vehicles driving by my house. I don't know....needless to say, I am a little frustrated today. Maybe that is part of the process and I will need to have patience and ride it out until my next appointment on August 28th.

With this changes to my processor, I am even more nervous in going back to work on Monday the 18th. More new sounds and more people around. We'll see how that goes.

We learned something new from Heather yesterday, is to keep checking the headpiece area of our head to ensure there are no rash or irritations. If there is, just simply get a piece of gauze and put your headpiece over it (over your implant). If there is a redness or worse than that, put polysporin on it, then gauze over it and then headpiece over it. If it is alot worse than that, go see your CI doctor.

Tomorrow will be 6 weeks ago I had the surgery, and today is exactly 8 months ago Raymond had his second CI surgery. (Read earlier posts on why he had the second CI).

Soon, I think I will head over to the public library to see if they have any children's "Read-along" books with a CD so I could practice reading and listening at the same time. I am told this is a great exercise.

Until next time.....

Pictures of Activation Day - July 29, 2008

Arrival at the audiologist's, Heather Maessen, office in Halifax (I am no small fry and who cares):


Heather getting my headpiece ready:

Putting the processor behind my ear:

Headpiece goes on:

Listening attentively to Heather's explanations:

Turning on the mapping program on computer:

Explains further what I will expect to hear:

Chatting away as usual to Raymond and Kim:

Hearing for the first time!:

Freaked over the sound of my voice:

The mapping on the computer:

Heather saying the "days of the week" behind a folder and I got 6 out of 8 correct!:

Me listening to Heather saying the days of the week:

Going through the Harmony kit which I was given:

Heather and me :)

Raymond and I with our wee purses for our batteries:

Raymond, Kimberly Carter - CEO of Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech Foundation and myself:

Just outside at Gatsby's Pizza Pub on Spring Garden Road - can't even tell I am wearing the CI:

Time to celebrate, eh??:

Raymond:

Raymond's Update as of August 9, 2008

Raymond is doing extremely well with his CI. He is still learning new sounds, playing with the CD music, etc. He practices listening to music while reading the lyrics at the same time, and trying it later without the lyrics in front of him. Doing well in this area, still quite a ways to go, but coming along.

Raymond has a cell phone and it is Bluetooth enabled. He discovered he can have a neckloop that is Bluetooth capatible with his cell phone. He ordered one yesterday and hopes to have it by next week.

http://www.alds.com/maxit-bluetooth-inductive-loopset-p-206.html

For the hard of hearing, there is a variety of "Assistive" technologies; for example: FM, Infrared, Loop System etc. Bluetooth is the latest technology that is being incorporated into Assistive Listening Devices. In each case, you need like product to complete the transmission. Example: to use a FM Receiver, you need an FM Transmitter. This applies to Bluetooth products. To use a Bluetooth MaxIT Neckloop, you require Bluetooth enabled products.

A MaxIT will work with:

Any standard Bluetooth enabled Mobile Phone.
Any standard Bluetooth enabled computer.
Any standard Bluetooth enabled cordless phone
etc, etc.

There are other Bluetooth neckloops:

http://www.harriscomm.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=bluetooth

http://www.weitbrecht.com/product/Artone-bluetooth-neckloop-telecoil-tcoil-cellphone-headset.html

As you google this, I am sure you will find something that would be capatible with your cell phone or whatever you want it for.

Once he gets the neckloop, I will fill you in on how he made out with it. There is a 30 day policy on the item, if he does not like it, he can return it no problem. So that is one good thing.

Until next time....

Cheryl's Nine Day Post-Activation Update....

I am sitting out here on the screened patio with the rain pitter-pattering the roof, it is so cool!! I heard it before but right now it is with more clarity...I love it!!! Right now, I don't regret a bit that I had the surgery as I know I will improve in a few months.

Since activation day, I have been hearing so many sounds, some of them I recognize from the past when I heard "well" with my hearing aid. But this time around, it is different. It is so much louder, clearer, etc., it is hard to describe it. I am actually having a ball with this, but at the same time it is very overwhelming.

As of day 9, I am on switch #2 and the volume control is nearly at 4 o'clock. So likely later tonight or tomorrow, I will turn the control back to the 12 o'clock position and flip it to switch #3. I think I am progressing very well and up to par. Knock on wood...

Over the long weekend, we went to a friend's cottage in Pugwash, NS, a place we really enjoy staying annually. It is right on the basin, so it was a very relaxing time. Here are a few things I have heard for the first time ever:

- heavy dog breathing -> a large beautiful black lab has lung problems and he was sitting next to me and breathing heavily. I looked at Raymond, pointing at the dog and said, "What's that noise???" Too cool. It made me realize that I have never heard the clarity of my late dog, Lucky, breathing like that as he did breathe loudly at times as folks said.
- next door neighbor of cottage was chatting away and I could hear her from a distance, I was like, "whoa!"
- cottage is 106 years old, and the floor squeaked each time a person walked across it.
- wind blowing
- our trailer, we have a propane stove - heard fast boiling of water with clarity. As well, the boiling of a kettle and the warning it was done!
- hearing folks take a deep sigh or deep breath

Before, with my hearing aid, I could hear the rain pitter pattering the trailer roof, but the sound was always very dull to me. One evening, it rained so hard and to my excitement, I could hear the rain on the trailer roof alot more than I could before, really an awesome sound!

In the town of Pugwash, we did a little bit of sight-seeing, visiting a gift shop and art gallery. After I went through the gallery, I went outside to sit on a bench with Lois and watched the action on the street. I could hear something from a distance but was not sure what it was. Lois is completely deaf, so she was unable to assist me to find out what the sound was. I kept hearing it over and over, and I wanted so bad to know what it was... I knew it was coming from "that-a-way". Concentrated for a bit and looked in that direction.... BINGO.... it was a wind-chimer on a tree, wooha!! I was soooo excited!!! Raymond came along and confirmed it for me and turns out I was correct :)

(I am hearing BIRDS from my patio now! Never heard this before. Man, I am happy! :)

Raymond's "annoying" sound is the ticking of a clock run by a battery. I can't hear this just yet, but I put my head near it one day, just to see if I could hear it, and I could. Listened to it for a few minutes, and I could see how it can be annoying. I told Raymond he needs to learn to tune it out. He seems not able to tune out this one for some reason.

Back home, here are two other things I have never heard before - one is the back-up beeping warning on the truck. It beeps as you get closer to an object when you back up the truck, 4 beeps to begin with means you are 4 feet away, 3 beeps means 3 feet and so forth. Lastly, a long beep means now is the time to stop. I LOVE this!!!!

Second is the water filling up the back tank of a toilet after it flushes... wow! And the sink making a funny noise while water is going down the drain once the tap is off... I have always called this the "fish is burping", don't ask me why.

Dave came here for the weekend and he is seeing me for the first time with the processor on and he is loving every minute of it.... looking at me everytime he does something, sigh...I really hate the crinkle of a bag of chips, oh!! No wonder his nickname is "Chip", as known by all of his friends and co-workers. lol...

Here are the things I hate so far:

- crinkling of the newspaper - oh, this is the worst!!!
- loud voices
- Bonnie's high pitched laughs, sorry lady as you read this....I said I would be honest on this blog. (Tobie/Laurie/Ginnie & Laura, I can see you laughing as I write this....)
- voices and noises from TV
- forks/knives scraping on the plates... this one is a challenge to get used to

(ohhhh, it is pouring so hard right now - listen!!! ;)

I am disappointed to learn that I can't wear my headpiece while wearing my motorcycle helmet. The headpiece falls off as I put on my helmet and I tried holding on to it while putting the helmet on, it is snug fitting, so forget it. I will have to put the processor and headpiece in a container and put it in the trunk, while I wear the helmet. I guess I have a big head :)

I have a habit of playing with my hair, combing it back with my fingers... and the wire connected to the headpiece and processor is in the way and I keep forgetting about it. The headpiece would flip off and hang down. Argh.... I am thinking..."Should I get a new short hairstyle or stick with what I have?" We'll see as time goes by.

Signal light of the truck, I am getting used to this one. Does not bother me as it did 9 days ago, so it is good to know I can have the ability to tune things out.

There is only ONE thing I miss about the hearing aid.... is the battery will die down gradually and you are aware of this as sounds are becoming lower and duller - knowing it is coming soon to die. With the CI, it is a completely different story - it is powerful all the way to the end and then poof, it is off without a warning! It can take me by a surprise sometimes... I am talking away or listening to someone and then all of sudden, I don't hear anything at all - 100% deaf. This is something I have to remember if I go to team meetings at work, is to have a spare battery with me.

I return back to work on August 18th, and kind of looking forward to it now. I am glad Dr. Morris requested for me to be off work for 6 weeks as I was not feeling well for majority of July and it took alot of time to get back to my old self. It was a big operation, as we CI users know. And as well, I am glad I did not go back to work once I got activated, oh my, where I work is pretty noisy and I would only just be so overwhelmed and frustrated for sure. I know I am still in my early stages and I know I still will be overwhelmed once I go back to work as the "work noise" is still unfamiliar to me and will need to re-learn them all over again. One thing I am terrified is to hear the fire alarm as I am told it is very loud. It was suggested to me previously that I have my team manager to let me know ahead of time when they have one of their practice fire drills. Good idea!

Second mapping is soon.... the audiologist will increase the volume of my processor and make some adjustments.

Cheryl's Activation Day!

I see most of you are waiting with abated breath for my blog update :) Sorry for the wee delay, I just got home from Halifax yesterday, and last night, Raymond & I went out for a nice leisurely supper for our anniversary/birthday.

Activation Day - July 29, 2008, wooha... it was a day to remember. I arrived at the NS Hearing & Speech Centre at 1:26 for my 1:30 pm appointment!!! Darn traffic/road construction work in Halifax, so just made it on time! Next time, we will leave little bit earlier!

In the waiting room, I met Kimberly Carter, the CEO of the Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech Foundation - she will be documenting my and Raymond's CI journey. I was happy to have her with us to experience my CI activation.

Heather Maessen, audiologist, greeted us in waiting room and off we go!! Raymond was still "out" there looking for a parking spot, it is a horror to find a spot in Halifax!!! Ugh. So we chatted for a little bit, I was nervous as heck as I was laughing alot, joking too.... sigh. Heather checked out the scar and implant area behind my ear and said I healed really well. She set up the computer getting ready, and Raymond arrived just on time... he parked the truck wayyyyyy over at the VG Hospital, ha!! Good exercise ;)

Heather explained step by step what she was going to do and what will happen. I really appreciated this part because I was stepping into an unknown territory and plus I was a bit nervous too. It was nice to have Raymond and Kim in the room with me, it made it more relaxing for me.

(Oh my, a dump truck just went by and I heard its motor running with a bit of clarity!!)

Heather showed me my new gold/beige processor and headpiece. She checked the magnetic strength of the headpiece on my head and had to change the magnetic to a stronger one. Tried again and it went plunk on the implant. Too cool!! Hooked the processor to the computer and put it on my ear.

(This keyboard is loud as I type!!)

There are four groups she will do and I am to tell her when I hear the first sound and she would gradually increase the sound until I find it loud but comfortable. That was the hard part as how do I know what is "comfortable"??

All 16 electrodes were now up and running. Heather spoke and I was puzzled... she sounded like a cartoon. She said that was normal and to be expected. I hear the words but alot of it is missing. I spoke and freaked out. Spoke again and freaked out again... then I accidently said, "Shit"....it was so shocking on how loud my voice was. Naturally, the mic is not far from my mouth, so it tends to sound louder from there.

Heather, Kim and Raymond all spoke for me so I could get the feel of the sound of their voices. They all sounded like a cartoon/tinny but there was a difference between all three of them, so that was a good beginning. Made some adjustments and then Heather turned on the HiRes Fidelity 120, which added more pitches to the electrodes. HiRes Fidelity 120 delivers on all 3 dimensions of sound for richer sound quality and a more natural hearing experience. I found this clearer than the 16 electrodes alone.

Before I go further, my degree of hearing loss is profound sensorineural hearing loss bilaterally. The audiologists do not describe hearing loss for pure tones in terms of a percentage, just to speech understanding. I had 0% speech understanding with my hearing alone - meaning with your mouth covered, I never understood anything you have said to me but I do hear your voice, that's all. So I am a visual lip-reader.

Heather tried something on me that really BLEW me out of the water!!!! Mind boggling!!!! She covered her mouth to say some words to me and I told her that I couldn't do it. She said for me to try it and she would be saying the days of the week to me and I have to say what she said. So off we go, she covered her mouth and said the words, and I repeated after her NOT knowing if I have them right or not. So kept right on along with her. Get this.... I got 6 out of 8 right!!! Sweet!!! First time in my life to actually understand a few words without lip-reading. I call that a huge accomplishment for me! Raymond was totally flabbergasted, jaw practically on the floor, lol.

Heather advised me that the first two months or so, things will not sound clearly to me, and things will sound distorted for a while. I must have patience and learn to go along with it. Made a few more adjustments and off I go.

The processor now has three settings and I am to try to get to the third setting before I see Heather again. Right now, I am on setting #1 and volume control is at 1 o'clock. Once the volume control increases to 3 or 4 o'clock I am to turn it back to 12 o'clock and turn it to setting #2 and work my way down to 3 or 4 o'clock and so on. Each setting is louder than the other. This is a little bit different than what Raymond did... interesting, but I like it this way as it gives me more control.

Here are a few things I heard for the first time on my first couple of days:

- tapping of the fingers - each one!
- scraping of a case
- my loud voice, ugh....
- blinker of the truck signal light
- clicking of coins together (can you see me doing this, lol!!)
- people sound like cartoons
- truck motor revving
- recognize words with mouth covered
- noise in restaurant - forks, knives on clinking on plates, people's conversation
- in same restaurant - waitress putting glasses away on a shelf in next room (knee wall) and I could hear the click of glasses touching each other, one by one
- my own deep breathing/inhaling
- rain on roof of truck
- clicked a coin on the metal shift stick of truck, then again on Tim Horton's cover, on window, on plastic, on leather console, and could hear the difference in sound of each one... lol...
- while Raymond was driving on the highway going back to Moncton, I complained how loud the truck was and said, "we need to buy a vehicle without a motor!"
- heard music in the background at the restaurant, but not with clarity, but know it is music
- clarity of water tap running
- clarity of piling the plates, ugh!

I go back to see Heather in two weeks for more adjustments and fine tuning. I am to write down the things I don't like, or what I am missing so we could work on these too. I will be seeing the speech pathologist as well, but not sure when that will start - this is to work on my speech/sounds, and provide me homework to do. Fun, eh??

The only thing I don't like it is the cartoon/tinny sounds, no soft sounds yet... this will take a few months. I have hardwood flooring in my house, and as I walk down the hall, it sounds tinny...

Raymond took some pictures, but I have not really looked at them yet so once I do, I will post some of them on here... more likely next week.

Question from Cheryl....

Hi Bloggers and CI Users out there:

I have a question for you - after your CI surgery, you were not able to use that ear until activation day, during that period of time, did you experience loud tinnitus??

I am having an incredible amounts of loud ringings in my right ear - I would say about 10 or 20 times an hour - it is awful and it is tiring too.

If you did experience this, does it go away gradually once you were activated?

I would so much LOVE to hear from you CI users! You can post a comment here or send me an email at raymondcheryl72@gmail.com

Thanks!!!

Cravings.....

Since my CI surgery on July 3rd, I have been deaf as a post. For the first few days, it was alright not to hear anything as I was not feeling well at times, still recuperating, napped alot, etc.... but now, I am so craving to hear "something", anything at all! I really miss my hearing aid and it does not work for me anymore as my cochlea is now dead, dead, dead.... the implant killed it, murderess it is!! lol...

Had a couple of friends over last evening, and man, it was tiring to read their lips after a few hours. Over in the last couple of days, I learned that I do rely on my hearing in order to lip-read well. Without my hearing, there's more work involved in lip-reading. How interesting is that!? I am just learning this after a life time of lip-reading with my hearing aid :)

I gave away my last three hearing aid batteries to a friend of mine, felt good!

Only 8 days, 23 hours and 28 minutes to go before my big activation day, can hardly wait!!!! Woot!

Cheryl again......

Forgot another thing... once you have had your surgery, don't be alarmed to see your ear "stick" out. Mine is certainly sticking out now, but not much. It will gradually go back to its normal position. This is from them pulling the ear over during surgery so they could insert the implant, etc. Nice thought, eh? :)

It is normal:

* for your operated ear to stick out a bit
* to have slight brusing around your eyes
* to have slight swelling of the face on the operated side
* to have change in taste on the same side of your tongue that your ear was operated
* to have slight numbness of the ear and face on the side of the operation (not paralysis)

I have/had all of them. The bruising around my eyes and behind the ear is slowly disappearing. Swelling has gone down. The top of my ear is still numb and drinks of any kind, such as water, pop, juice, etc., still taste funny to me. All will gradually go away.

Raymond's Update as of July 3, 2008

During my surgery on July 3, 2008, Raymond had an appointment with his audiologist, Cathy, at 1:30 pm, a block over from the hospital. Perfect timing for him.

As mentioned previously, he was not happy about the life span of his processor batteries - they were now lasting 2 to 3 hours since he went for his last mapping in April 2008, quite the drop!

Cathy looked into this and found that the processor was sending too much frequency waves, so she made some adjustments to this. Raymond is very happy with the results now, the batteries now last approximately 12 hours a day. That is the norm :) If Raymond is in a noisy environment, this will drain the battery a little bit but not much, it would last about 8 to 9 hours. Still that is great!

With the mapping adjustments, the sound quality of words are much softer and with much more clarity. Things are alot more clearer now so things are going smoothly now.

So far so good. Raymond has not mentioned to me as of yet when his next appointment would be as I was zonked out in surgery :) I assume in three months, but will let you know later....

Last night, I met up with a friend of mine who has the cochlear implant, she's had it for 9 or 10 years now. And she has mentioned to me there are wonderful exercises on the Advanced Bionics website called the "Listening Room", they have one for children and one for adults:

http://www.bionicear.com/Support_Center/Educational_Support/Therapy_Resources.cfm?langid=1

I have not had the chance to really look at this site yet, because I am deaf as a post until activation day, but so far it looks great. Hope it works for you.... and you bet I will take the advantage of it in August and onward.

Cheryl's Surgery...

Sorry for the delay in writing this since my surgery was completed 13 days ago. I know some of you have been waiting for this, so here it goes :) It is a coincidence I have chosen today to start writing my part, the post-op 13th day, and I had 13 staples, ha!

For the first part, I will do a basic outline of what happened step-by-step: good for those who are contemplating to have the surgery or will go for sure one of these days.


July 2, 2008

- packed up our bags and left to go to Halifax, NS. You might be lucky the hospital is in your hometown or a short drive to, but we have to drive 2 1/2 hours to mine. Not bad.

- lots of anticipation going through me, lots of mixed emotions, excitement, etc.... so many feelings all thrown together. Wow....

- listening to everything for the last time with my hearing aid on this day. It is the only "kind" of sounds I know since I was fitted with a hearing aid when I was wee child

- Pre-Admission Clinic at 12:45 pm at the Victoria General Hospital:

* registered
* electrocardiogram: testing of my heart
* recording of my weight, oxygen level, temperature and blood pressure
* Questionnaire - questions like - full health history, what medications are you taking, any allergies you have, past surgeries you had, etc., etc.
* asked if I had any questions, so took this opportunity to ask the nurse a few questions

That was all. Some people may meet the anaesthesiologist if you had past problems with surgery. I didn't need to meet him/her as I had no difficulties with my previous surgery I had 5 years ago. The only warning I gave them was the fact I had breathing difficulties when morphine was administered to me in the past, my breathing became decreased. So they avoided morphine, which was great.

If one has back problems and cannot sleep flat on your back, please ensure you tell them this during the pre-admission testing. I have a herniated lower disk - an old injury and I can't sleep flat on my back. During the operation, they put a pillow under my knees to keep it elevated, and as well as in the recovery room, my hospital bed was elevated at the end. Worked out well and had no back pain at all.

Left the hospital and stayed overnight at friends of ours. Had a great meal, great chat, and hit the sack early. Slept really well, surprisingly. Woke up nice and early. Showered and then hit the road to the hospital for 8:30 am on July 3rd.

No eating from midnight and onwards. I ate last was 8 pm. Took my meds on the following morning with a sip of water, so didn't need to worry about them again until the next day.


July 3, 2008

Arrived at the hospital around 8:10 am. Met the interpreter. I really don't usually get an interpreter but for this day, I decided to get one to ensure there's no misunderstanding at all, and didn't want to make the effort to lip-read different people, so interpreter I got, and best decision of all it was! If you know ASL sign language, it would be a good idea for you to get an interpreter. I left my hearing aid, all my jewellery and even my wedding band at home. Boy, I felt lost without my wedding band but got used to it quickly.

- Registered to let them know I was "present".
- Registered again in another area and met a receptionist who asked me all kinds of questions again, who the referring doctor was, etc., and obtained my benefit contract number to get a private room. This took all of 10 to 15 minutes. Put a name band on my wrist and a red band to show I am allergic to morphine.
- Went down to the "Pre-Op" room.
- Nurse called me to a private area, asked for my name, which ear was being operated on, etc., any allergies, etc... same questions over and over again as I was asked on the previous day. This is for safety to ensure they have the right person, and right place of operation, etc.
- Back to the waiting area again and stayed there until about 12:30 pm, I think. My surgery was delayed as the person in the OR took longer than expected and then they had to sterilize the OR room for me.
- Interpreter and I went up to the pre-op prep room on next floor. This is where Raymond and I parted ways... gave each other two kisses, naturally, lol.
- Got on a bed, and nurse asked me for my name, same questions all over again... annoying, I know.
- Intern doctor with a big long last name, from the Netherlands, came to see me and looked over my chart and marked my right ear with a "x".
- Explained what would happen to me as soon as I go into the OR room.
- Time to go, said goodbye to the interpreter, and rolled me into the OR down the hall
- My first impression of the OR room was, "How cute is this!!! It is so small and cozy!" Lots of machines everywhere, wow!
- Transferred me onto the OR bed.
- Put a pillow under my knees.
- Got myself all nice and cozy. Put a nice warm heated blanket on me as it was cold in that room!
- The anaesthesiologist prepped my left arm for the anaesthesia IV and put in a needle of gravol as well to prevent nausea afterwards. I highly recommend you do do this as it is very effective.
- Put me on the heart monitor.
- Put a mask on me and said I would be ready to sleep very soon. Stupid of me, I wanted to see how LONG I could stay awake with this on me...I fought against it by trying to keep my eyes open. The nurse told me to "breathe" it in, don't fight it... nah.... I breathed and struggled to keep my eyes open at the same time, lol. Powerful stuff, I shall tell you... whiff, whiff.... zonked out.....

Felt like all of 5 minutes later, I was in the recovery room. Amazing!!! I was in recovery room by 4 pm. Woke up in a little bit of pain discomfort, but the nausea was worse. The nurse gave me more gravol, and that cleared it up in no time. As soon as I arrived in the recovery room, apparently I was awake and the doctor spoke to me saying that all went very good. I signed to him over and over, "Thank You, thank you, thank you!!" I have no memory of this.

Interpreter came to be with me during this time. Thank God for her!!!! It was so much easier to read the signing instead of lip-reading as I was so "out" of it, all groggy and drugged up. Doctor came back into the recovery room as the interpreter was there. He said the surgery went very well and everything looks great. The audiologist came into the OR room to test my cochlear implant to see if it was "live" or not before they closed me up and it was excellent. So thanked the doctor again thinking it was my first time to thank him, lol.

Raymond came into see me in the recovery room and told me what the doctor told him, that all went well. He only stayed for a moment. It was nice to see him.

Zonked out again..... and woke up again at 5 pm, feeling like only 5 minutes later. I asked the interpreter what time it was... she said, "It's 5 pm" with a smile. I was so shocked. From here and on out, I stayed awake and became more alert. Took the next half hour chatting with the interpreter, which was great.

At 5:30 pm, they took me down to my room on the ENT floor - private room, yay! Raymond and a close friend of mine were in the room chatting, waiting for me. I smiled at them and chatted with them. They were so shocked on how well I was doing - compared to Raymond's recovery.

Once I was settled, the interpreter's job was over, so bid her farewell. She did an excellent job with us all day. "Thank You!!" - you know who you are :))

Nurse came in to see me to do her usual job - take blood pressure, check oxygen level, and temperature. Gave me painkiller tablets. Put me on oxygen.

Raymond and my two friends stayed until 9 pm. During this time, we had great chats. Raymond called my mother on his cell phone so I got Raymond to give me the cell so I could talk to Mom. I know I have never talked on the phone in my life, but at least she is quiet at the other end listening to me while I talk. I wanted her to hear my voice and for me to tell her that I was doing fine, so talked to her for a few minutes. I told her that I wanted to bring out the wine and celebrate, have a party now! God, that was the drugs and after-effects of the anaesthesia talking, not me!!! Mom had a great laugh over that, sigh.....

Relaxed for a couple of hours, read a couple of magazines and turned out the lights at 11 pm. Before that, I went to the washroom, but with the help of the nurse when I got out of bed for the first time since surgery. They request you to do that, because you don't know what you will be like once you get up, so they have to be with you for the first couple of times for safety reasons. The first time was fine and the nurse said I can get up anytime on my own afterwards. That's good. Took me off oxygen, didn't need it anymore.

You call a hospital a place of rest, NOT!!! They woke me up nearly every hour to do my blood pressure, oxygen level check, and temperature. And about every half hour, or something like that, they shine a flashlight into your room to see if I am okay or not.


July 4, 2008

On the following morning, woke up nice, bright and early. Feeling very good. Had breakfast, gave me my meds, and relaxed for a bit.

A group of doctors and interns came into my room around 7 am, oh, I would say there were about 6 or 7 of them all around me. Can be very intimidating. One asked me a series of questions, like how I was feeling, any pain, any dizziness, any off balance, etc., etc., and then he took the bandage off me to look at my incision. All looks good and then he told me the surgeon, Dr. Morris, will be in to see me later. I will be going home later in the morning.

Raymond arrives around 8:30 am.

Dr. Morris and his intern doctor who assisted him during my surgery, came in at 9 am. Checked the implant/incision and asked me the same series of questions, and gave me home-care instructions - I could shower on July 5th, with a cotton ball slathered with polysporin or Vaseline in my right ear to prevent water from entering the ear canal. Can use shampoo as long as there's no perfume in it, etc., lots of common sense things to do. That was it, I can go home anytime. Gave me Tylenol #3 prescription for pain when needed.

Nurse came in and re-bandaged my head for "support" for my long 2 1/2 hour trip to home. Released at 10 am.

Here's the catch, the Victoria General Hospital does not enforce the strict policy of wheel chairing us out of the hospital, so had to walk myself out, of course, with the assistance of Raymond. I found the openness of the hallway and lobby area threw me off a little bit, made me off balance.

Waited for Raymond in the lobby and picked me up at the door. Off we go back to Moncton. Slept most of the way off and on. Good trip. Glad to be home. Mom and sister came out to see me in the evening - gave me lovely flowers.

Took two Tylenol #3 that night before going to bed, and slept right through the night. I was exhausted. And as well, you should not be alone at home for the first 24 to 48 hours, in case something happens to you.

To make a long story short, the rest of the week of recovery was spent resting alot, relaxing and had lots of naps. I had some pain discomfort in my ear canal, ear drums and outer ear as well. Dizziness and off balance was very minimal and improved over the next few days. Today, July 16th, I still do experience it once in a while, but not as frequent as it was. The worst time is when waking up in the morning, the room is spinning a little bit, but as I wake up more, it gradually stops.

Another thing I am experiencing is tinnitus - which is ringing in the ears. It is terribly loud at times, and it seems to be ever so present when I am doing something, let it be walking, or talking with someone. It is very tiring. I have this all day long until I go to bed.

I have to insert something here, I have to thank someone..... my husband, Raymond. He has been a great help to me all week, he made a great nurse, minus the uniform :) Thank you Raymond!! Love you lots.


July 10, 2008

Back to Halifax again to see Dr. Morris for the post-op check up and staple removal for 2:30 pm. Dr. Morris says everything looks great, so far so good. Removed the staples, and a couple hurt, but other than that, all came off easily. It felt SO good to have the staples off as they were getting tight and itchy. The incision healed really good. Looked inside my ear and saw dried blood behind my ear drum. Dr. Morris says that will eventually fall off and down the tube into my throat, and will spit out blood. Up to today, that still has not happened yet.

Still have to take it easy and he talked about my work, etc., and advised me to be off work until August 18th.

The appointment was like 15 to 20 minutes... that's it. Off I go back to Moncton.

The BIG activation day is July 29th, and can hardly wait for it :))

I am going to post some pictures now, however, I would like to add one more thing. For those who will have the cochlear implant surgery, I suggest for you that once you go home after your surgery, it is a good plan to have a few quiet days afterwards. You need alot of rest and you will be napping alot. Try to keep the visiting times very minimal if people visit you. You need the rest and it is important for you be well rested to make your recovery successful.

And be prepared not to be able to drive for over a week or so. Took me 13 days before I could drive comfortably. It took Raymond 3 weeks before he could drive again.

Here are some pictures:

This is the eve of my surgery.

Raymond and I.....

Chatting with Raymond and a couple of friends of mine....

Staples, 13 of them. See the tiny blue dot on the shaved portion of my head, that is where the implant is.

Voila, staples off!!!

This is actually after the surgery, they only shaved the hair underneath and left the overtop. Wonderful, eh? Hair is thin in this area tho'.

Feedback from Others....

On the long weekend in May, Raymond and I went to the deaf bowling tournament as fans in Halifax, NS, where we had the greatest opportunity to meet four wonderful people who had the CI. For me, it was just awesome just to chat with them and hearing about their experiences. It was a great opportunity for me to ask them alot of questions. It left me feeling satisfied and answered a few of my unanswered questions. All of them had different experiences, so it is a reality that the CI works differently for everybody. That is what the doctor wanted me to have that picture in my mind, and not to expect to hear as well as Raymond does.

After doing talking with them, I think it is really important for CI users to meet people who will have the CI surgery - this is SO much better than reading CI materials, etc. By talking to them, you are hearing real life stories. Thus, another reason why I am doing this blog. It is honest and has no hidden agendas.

If my CI surgery turns out not to be successful as I had expected it to be, I will be honest and tell you in this blog.

If you are going for the CI surgery, try to grab that opportunity to meet other CI users. Ask your audiologist if she/he has a list of people you could meet. My audiologist, Cathy, has already asked me and Raymond if others could contact us and we gladly told her that she could.

If there is a CI support group in your community, join it! It is the best place to receive the good and bad feedback. This will help you to make your decision to have the surgery or not. Try not to listen to all the negativity too much, as everybody receive different results from their surgery. It is based on their hearing skills growing up, etc., and also it is based on how your brain will receive it...so nobody is the same, I stress that importance.

As well, speaking to CI users, you may get some ideas that you have never thought of before. Like for example, one person didn't know that it is good to obtain a children's book with a CD - a "read-a-long" book for you to listen to and practice your listening skills. It is good to share best practices with each other.

Most important of all, if you are involved with the deaf community, try not to listen to their negativity as well. Ignore it and put it aside, as it is YOUR life, not theirs. Some deaf people will try to stop you from having the CI surgery. Some will make some comments to you, some will say you are no longer a part of the deaf community as you will not be deaf anymore. It is sad to hear this. Some deaf will give you great support, and congratulate you. Please don't be afraid of them. It is your life and your hearing. You heard well before and you are losing what you already have, so it is natural for you to want to hear like you did in the past, or maybe even better than before. You enjoy hearing things and you miss these sounds. Some deaf people don't understand this because they have never "heard" before. Hard of hearing people do understand.

One thing I can tell you, is we will never lose our identity. Raymond and I think of ourselves as deaf and hard of hearing, and that will always remain. The CI only helps us to hear a bit better than before, that's all, it does not change us into a hearing person.

For those who are new CI users, you might end up having people - friends or family - sneak up behind you and "test" you by calling your name or whatnot and then they go around telling everybody the "CI is not working at all, it is a piece of sh*t" or whatever they say. This is not fair and it is considered rude. That's just my opinion, it is rude! If it is in a crowd, naturally, we will NOT hear you...we might hear something, but not know what it is immediately. It is the same for hearing people too, and I am sure some of you will agree. We all have the tendency to tune out things and focus on what we are doing. And if it is in a quiet setting, then we will hear you, however, we might not respond to you right away. The CI does not make us into a 100% hearing person!! Would be nice, but unfortunately not.

People need to understand that CI is a tool, the same as hearing aids are a tool. They are only objects to help us to hear better, to improve the quality of our life. Same as glasses....how would you feel if I told you that you don't need glasses. You would have a fit saying that you need glasses to see things. It is the same with the cochlear implant.

How's that for the "thought" of the day for you :)

Cheryl's Update

I saw Dr. Morris on May 15, 2008 for the final approval to have the surgery or not. I had confidence that he was going to say "yes" and he did!

During this appointment, he had informed me that my CT-Scan looked good, as well as my balance test I had done in 2007. He was happy that my balance "spun", saying, "That's good!!" That part I will never understand as I didn't like the balance test too much. Remember, everybody is different. Raymond had no problems and he went directly to Tim Horton's for coffee right after his test, where it took me nearly 2 hours to recover...

What I like about Dr. Morris is his honesty. He had a little bit of a concern that I would expect to be successful as Raymond's cochlear implantation. I told him that I do not expect to be up to Raymond's hearing level and I was aware that Raymond has a higher hearing level than I do so said for him not to worry about it. The audiologist, Cathy, who was with us during this appointment, told Dr. Morris that I was very aware of these facts. After hearing this, Dr. Morris was satisfied. For me, the purpose of the CI, is to remove the frustrations in my life, and as well for my family, friends and co-workers. The CI will help me to hear sounds better, like the phone ringing, the door-bell or knocking of door, someone calling my name, etc. As well, the one-on-one conversations would be smoother. This is just to name a few.

For me, what I hope is to be able to hear as well as I did when I was a teenager and in my 20's. Even close to that level or a bit more than that, I will be happy. I will never have a perfect hearing, no, but just to remove the frustrations and the dullness, that I hope to remove.

Dr. Morris said that my CI might end up surprising everybody and exceed their expectations. Only time will tell.

Lastly, he goes over the surgery, what can happen, etc. Then I signed some papers, and he filled out my work medical leave papers. Date of surgery was provided to me during this appointment and it is July 3, 2008!!

On July 2, I have an appointment for the pre-admission testing at 12:45 pm. This is for blood work, lots of questions - such as allergies, etc, what pills I take, how much I weigh (must I tell the truth for this one???? lol). During this appointment, I meet with the anesthesiologist, to discuss what they will use to put me to sleep. I will ensure they give me a gravol before going to sleep, as this will reduce the nausea after the surgery. Anything to reduce anything, I will take.

As of today, I have 10 more sleeps to the actual surgery day!!!! Yay.... Time flies!!!!

Being off work how long, it varies for everybody. They informed me that I will be off work for 2 weeks for sure, but expect to be off work until activation day, so that is nearly a month after the surgery. Raymond had balance problems for nearly 3 weeks and gradually disappeared a month after his surgery. So after seeing Raymond go through this and after talking to others who had the CI, all advised me it is a good idea to be off longer than two weeks. We'll see how I do. I will keep you guys updated after my surgery, for sure.

Man, I am really excited about this. The timing is perfect and I am so ready for this!! All I ask of you guys is to pray for me on my surgery day (July 3), and pray for God to guide the doctor's hands and for the doctor to use the best of his knowledge/skills. Thanks! :)