Two months post since activation day...

It's been two months since the big activation day and Raymond is doing extremely well, I am happy to report.

Raymond went for his second mapping session on January 25, 2008. This session was very short as the audiologist only just boosted the level up a bit - louder. All was going according to plan. However, one thing was noted that sounds were being cut off each time Raymond moved his head. It was noted the wire connected to the processor was very loose. The audiologist said she would order another new processor and it would be here for his next mapping session in two weeks.

The switch on processor is the same as the first time in January, start small at time and gradually increase the loudness as the weeks goes by until his next appointment. The volume control remains at 12 noon position, always.

Between January 25th to February 8th, Raymond still continued to hear new sounds and recognize them quickly later once he knew what they were. One thing he heard for the "first" time in his life was birds communicating to one another. We have a few bird feeders in front of our living room window and he went out one day to refill them. The chickadees were around the feeders and they flew away to nearby trees when Raymond arrived. He could hear their bird sounds from one tree to another, like they were communicating. This feeling gave him the goosebumps! Reason is he was never able to hear small bird sounds clearly before, and he was able to recognize where the sounds were coming from. This is an amazing feat for Raymond.

Sounds that were bothersome to Raymond in January after the activation date, has become like "nothing" to him. He is used to them now and has the ability to tune them out. One of them is newspaper :)

For Christmas, I gave Raymond two children's "Read-a-long" books with CD and he's been practicing listening to the CD and reading the story along at the same time. This really helps he finds. Another thing he has been doing is listening to CD music on our laptop and the lyrics pulled up from the Internet to read along. He listens and looks away and then looks back at the lyrics. Works for him and a good listening skill practice. Raymond has always been able to listen to music, so he is looking forward to hearing music again once he has re-learned the skills again.

On February 8, 2008, Raymond went for his third mapping session. The audiologist placed him in a booth to determine how close he was at their CI "expectation" level - and he is getting close or improving well. It came to 55%. The audiologist is very pleased with Raymond's progress.

Got his processor replaced with a new one. During this appointment, even after the processor was changed, the sounds were still being cut off. It is noted that the skin on his skull is thick, so the audiologist had to strengthen the radio frequency waves stronger to be able to go through to the implant. Sure enough, it worked since. Also, she changed the magnetic on the headpiece to a stronger strength.

The switch on the processor now has been changed:

1) First switch is normal sounds all around. This time around, he can use the volume control.

2) Second switch is for removing background noises. For example, in a restaurant, crowds, in the malls, at an assembly, or even at a party, Raymond is able to turn the switch to number 2 and block out the background and hear only sounds around him. He really likes this one as it makes the conversation flow better.

3) Third switch is for T/M. This is the T for listening to the phone and for loop-system. This one needs to be worked on as it is not quite the same as it is on hearing aids. This will be discussed at the next mapping appointment. This is what is happening now, for example in church - the priest uses the microphone for the loop-system, and Raymond would use the T-switch to hear only the priest. But with the CI - the T switch is the T/M = T-coil & Microphone which allows Raymond to hear the priest directly but also hears the congregation as well. We repeat things after a priest says something, Raymond would only hear the priest say something but he would also hear the congregation repeat. He is not too pleased with this part.

Even at home, we have a loop-system, where we can put our hearing aids on to 'T' to hear only directly the TV, and nothing else. But with Raymond's CI, he is hearing the TV directly and also hears my voice as well when I talk to him. So that is something we will be discussing with the audiologist at our next appointment. Maybe that is normal, I am not sure. Will find out more later.

Since February 8th, which was the third mapping appointment, Raymond has been consistently working on his listening skills with the read-a-long books, CD music and the radio. The radio is now starting to become clearer and clearer. It is not clear clear yet, but still working on it. It takes time, as it can take up to 3 months to a year...depends on your skills.

One day, he was doing some work outside and decided to use the outdoor water hose for something. He forgot to turn it off and came into the house. He heard "something" running and it sounded like water to him. He checked the bathroom, nothing was running, so he figured I was doing the wash, so he checked, the washer was not running. He became scared as we had a flood in the basement in the past and he thought it was happening again. So he went downstairs to check it out. The noise became louder as he went into the room. Looked around, and then looked up.... the pipes that leads to the outside water tap, the water was running through the pipe to outside :) He forgot to turn it off and he was able to hear that from the main floor. Amazing, eh?

I have one pro and one con about Raymond's CI:

Pro: It is "wonderful" to be able to call his name and he can respond quickly. No more banging my feet on the floor or lightly hitting my hands on the table to get his attention (the deaf way for those who wonder why).

Con: Before the CI, when Raymond did not have his hearing aid on, he was still able to hear some things and I was able to call his name and he would respond. Now, with the CI, he is completely 100% deaf because of the electrodes damaging the remaining of the hairs in the cochlea. He can no longer hear me calling his name, or he can't hear the phone ring anymore. That is gone now. I keep forgetting that and when I call his name, he just keeps walking away or does not respond, argh!

I have to share something with you. Something happened to Raymond yesterday at a RV Show and it was so hilarious! I laughed myself to tears. At the RV show, he was looking at a flat TV that was hooked up on the outside trailer wall. He was impressed with it and was wondering how it was hooked up and bent over to look in the back of the TV. You know those handles by the door you grab on to when entering the trailer. This handle was a long extended one and it is aluminum/metal. While Raymond bent over to look at the back of the TV, the magnetic headpiece went "whoosh" and attached itself to the handle. Raymond knew something was wrong as he went completely deaf because the magnetic was taken off from the implant. The processor was still on his ear so you could see this wire and headpiece over on the handle. Man, it was quite the sight to see. I laughed so hard!! :)

In closing, overall, there is only one thing Raymond still has struggles with is the clarity of voices, etc.,... it is becoming clearer each time, but not clear-clear as I mentioned above. This will improve within time and with patience.

Next appointment is in April.

Most Important Prerequisites.....

In order to be qualified to go for the cochlear implant assessment, it is very important that you have the following three:

1) Have always worn a hearing aid, I mean always - like all your life and wear it full time and still do.
2) Have a speech pattern already developed.
3) No abnormalities inside your middle ear or cochlea.

How a Cochlear Implant Work....

I am sure many of you really wonder what the cochlear implant looks like inside your ear and how it works?

Here's a pretty straightforward image of it:


1. Sound processor: External sound processor (hidden behind the ear) captures sound and converts it into digital signals. Sound waves enter the system through the microphone, located in the headpiece or the processor.

2. Digital signals: Processor sends digital signals to internal implant. The sound processor converts the sound into a distinctive digital code that has been programmed or "mapped" to maximize sound and speech understanding. Once processed, the electrically coded signal is sent to the headpiece and transmitted through the skin via radio frequency waves to the implant.

3. Electrode array: Internal implant converts signals into electrical energy, delivering it to the array of electrodes positioned within the cochlea.

4. Hearing nerve: Electrodes stimulate hearing nerve, bypassing damaged hair cells, and the brain perceives signals as sound.

Here is a video explaining how the CI works:

Off the Track Tidbit - about Cheryl

Some of you already know, some of you don’t yet…..druuuummmmm rollllll - that I, Cheryl, am on the waiting list for the cochlear implant.

:)

I wanted to announce this now so it would not come as a surprise when it is time for me to have the surgery, which is not far from now.

This may be a surprise to some of you as some of you think I am deaf and cannot talk because I do ASL. The prerequisite to have the CI, you must be wearing hearing aids full time and have a speech pattern. Actually, I am hard of hearing and speak fairly well, as most of you know. I wore hearing aids all my life, have mainstreamed in public school and am a lip-reader. I only just learned ASL when I was age 26.

My mother has asked me to go for the CI surgery several years ago and I said no. I have always said no, until earlier this year. In the past 10 years, I have lost a lot of my hearing and needless to say, it is frustrating at times. I noticed I am losing some of my lip-reading skills. Funny, how you lose your hearing, you can lose your other senses/or skills….that may not happen to all, but it did happen to me.

As all of you knew Raymond had the CI surgery in December. This past March, he went for the assessment test to see if he was a qualified candidate for the CI. He passed and then the audiologist gave us a very informative session about the CI itself and we asked a lot of questions and gave us some resources to review. That day changed my mind about the CI. It is an amazing technology and it is available for those who are qualified.

On the way home from this appointment, Raymond and I talked about the CI and how advanced it is now and how we have learned so much. He said to me, “Why not you go for an assessment to see if you are qualified or not? It is free and does not cost us anything, what’s there to lose?” If I did not pass, then I will never think about it again and also if I did not take the test, I will always ‘wonder’. On the very next day, I made arrangements to have the assessment test.

Appointment was set for August 2007 in Halifax and passed the test. Next were the balance test and the CT scan, all completed in Moncton. These are done now and next is to wait to meet the surgeon for the final “yes” or “no”. No appointment has been set yet.

During this waiting time after the August appointment, I can always have my name removed from the waiting list. I have decided to proceed with the CI surgery, why not? I have a good many years left ahead of me and would like to hear again like I did in the past. Seeing Raymond’s CI success has put a fire in me in hoping that the surgery will be sooner, not later.

Again, Raymond’s success does not mean that I will have the same results, no. Everybody is different and all have a different outcome.

Will CI work for me 100%? No. It will help me with sounds around me, hear voices, etc., but I will never be able to talk on the phone, listen to the radio, etc., because in my brain, I am a trained lip-reader and a visual person. I don’t have the skills to “listen” to voices without looking. The CI will help me in my daily life, like Raymond or others calling my name, hearing thing around me clearly and communicate easier in conversation settings.

I was not with Raymond when he had his assessment test, however, I can share with you my experience on what happens during this test.

First of all, the audiologist checked the insides of my ears and checked my hearing aid. I forgot to clean my ears, so if you go, make sure you clean yours. :) Next was another kind of test, where she placed ear piece in my ear and wire is connected to the computer. There was a chart on the computer screen, I forget what this was for.

Then she put me in a sound booth:

- Hearing test, push the button each time you hear a sound
- Listening to audiologist as she said some words. She did not cover her mouth, so I was able to get all words. Then she covered her mouth, I did not get anything at all. Only could hear her voice.
- Listening to a CD and I must tell her what it says. I couldn’t do this one but I was able to identify that it was a man’s voice.
- She gave me a sheet of paper. It had 4 columns of a total of 24 or 25 sets of words. Each set was 4 words. I had to listen to a CD and on the first set of words, the man would say one of the words and I had to tell the audiologist which word he said. I passed this with flying colors with only 2 errors, meaning I am a visual person.

After this assessment, some reviews and some discussions, the audiologist said I was a qualified candidate for the CI surgery.

Next was the balance test. I shall tell you this was a “trip” for me. The lady, I forget her profession, but she worked in the Audiologist department of the Moncton hospital, got me to look at a long LED board and follow its dots back and forth. Again follow it up and down, all keeping my head still, and only just move my eyes. Piece of cake.

Then she placed cold water in my ears and I had to close my eyes and count backwards by 2’s starting from 100. It sounds simple, but as soon I hit around number 50 I became extremely dizzy. Once I got dizzy, I still had to keep counting backwards until she tapped me on the shoulders. It was a challenge to focus on counting the numbers by 2's backwards because I had to say it out loud. By then I was around number 30 when I opened my eyes, oh my lands, everything was spinning. I had to focus on a dot on the ceiling which was “supposed” help to stop the spinning. It didn’t work. Luckily, the LED board was straight up, so I focused on that until the LED board looked straight.

She repeated this step on my other ear with cold water. Then gave me a break for a couple of minutes and started all over again with hot water in both ears separately.

By the time I left this place, it took me about two hours before finally feeling “normal”. I will never understand this, when Raymond had the balance test, he walked out of the room just like nothing had happened and went straight for Tim's coffee! Me, Raymond took one look at me and said, "What happened to you??" ;)

I asked the lady what was the purpose of this test and she said it was to measure my balance. She said as long as there is balance and spinning, which means all is normal. Gee...nice to know.

Lastly was the CT scan which took all of 2 minutes. Now am waiting for an appointment date to see the surgeon.

Stay tuned….

The Activation Day

Starting after a few days after Raymond’s CI surgery up to the activation day, Raymond has been missing hearing sounds, really craving for them. He found it very frustrating at times, thus making him really cranky at times, and making me cranky too. The most common word he said over the three week period was, “What?”. I said I would be honest on this blog, and you are getting it. It was his left “good” ear that was implanted, so he had to rely on his poor right ear.

The big day, January 8, 2008, finally arrives! Oh, the anticipation leading up to this appointment was intense… full of wondering if the implant will work, how much will he hear, how clear will the sounds be, what will he actually hear, very excited to hear ‘sounds’, etc., etc….

During this appointment, the audiologist conducted measurements of soft and comfortable sounds, created an initial program or “map” for Raymond’s processor. Also she reviewed the parts and care of the new cochlear implant with us.

First, the audiologist placed the processor on Raymond’s ear and tried to place the headpiece over the magnet that is in the implant which is embedded in his side skull. She was unable to find it so she changed the magnet on the headpiece to a stronger strength. Raymond’s hair is still new and spiked from it being shaved for the surgery. Hopefully it will become softer as his hair grows.

The audiologist attached a wire to the processor from the computer and turned on a program. It begins now :) You should have seen the look on Raymond’s face….it was mixed with different emotions – anxious, curious and excited. They went through four different groups of sounds. Raymond was to tell her when he first hears something, even the tiniest sound and then she would increase the volume of that sound until bearable and comfortable.

That took some time and did some tuning and adjustments. Finally, when it was done, the audiologist “turned” on the processor officially and she talked for a bit to see how Raymond felt. He was really shocked how well he could hear her. These are the sounds he heard during this moment – she snapped her fingers, tapped the desk, and rustled her sweater sleeve. He was able to hear them all clearly. She laughed and then I laughed. When he heard me laugh, he was surprised to hear me for the first time. He became emotional and started to cry. The reason for that is the audiologist’s voice and my voice is different and he noticed the difference and was able to identify the difference. It was the first time for him to “know” my real voice, my real laugh. We have been together for 14 years, so that is a long time for him not to know or hear my real voice.

Then Raymond started to talk and he jumped back a bit. His voice is “loud” to him. To me it was normal, but with the CI, the hearing becomes more clearer and with clarity. All of sudden, his voice dropped and it’s been like that since. I miss his voice already as I now don’t hear it with my hearing aid as he is like whispering, well, to me it sounds like that. He is embarrassed that his voice was loud, so he talks low now.

The audiologist tested some words on Raymond, covering her mouth. First set was days of the week, second set was months of the year, and then lastly were sentences. He got all the days of the weeks, and months right. The sentences were more of a challenge for him but he got it very well considering.

The audiologist then set the processer into three programs – 1, 2, and 3. For the next two weeks, Raymond is to start at number 1 and when he gets used to the sounds around him, and the quality becomes lower, he is to change it to number 2 where it is louder. And so forth. By the time he goes back for the second mapping, he will be on number 3. The first mapping went very well; he was able to hear very clearly and sharp.

Before heading out, the audiologist reviewed the parts of the cochlear implant processor, items and how to take care of it. Next appointment date is January 25th.

Here comes the real world!!!!! The Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech Centres is located in a mall, so we had to go through the mall to get to our truck. He could hear people walking around him so clearly, more so than before. He was in a daze walking through the mall with a silly smile on his face.

Started the truck and he jumped a little shocked… he could hear the motor run. Now we were parked in those indoor parking areas that have several floors, I am not sure exactly what they are called. The ceiling is low and our truck is a bit high. As we drove out, the radio antenna was hitting every pipe overhead causing a clacking noise each time we hit one. It was a bit annoying for Raymond. Finally, got outside and as Raymond accelerated the truck, he could hear the motor run faster and the tires going faster. A dump truck went by us; he watched it go by hearing its entire mechanics running. When it was time to make a right turn, he turned on the right signal and nearly jumped. It felt so loud and right in his ear.

We were to meet friends of ours after they got off work and we were a bit early so we decided to go into Lower Sackville and stopped at A&W just to sit back, relax and shared small fries. Raymond ordered and while he was standing there, he could hear the fast bubbles of the deep fryer in the kitchen! He heard the whine of the foundation soda machine and heard himself “eat” and realized he ate loud. I blew my nose forgetting he can actually hear more, and he jumped and said, “Oh that is gross!!!” Oops.

Finally, we went to friends of ours and chatted some. Raymond was downstairs in the bathroom looking at his new cochlear implant in the mirror for the first time. Admiring it, shall I say. Our friend sneakily put the bathroom fan on and scared Raymond for a second as it was loud. He flushed the toilet for fun and was amazed to hear the sound of the water flushing, sounding like waterfall, and then for the first time, he heard the water tank in the back fill up.

Instead of cooking supper, we decided to go out to a restaurant later that evening. Never thought it was a bit overwhelming for Raymond’s first day, maybe we should have gone to a quieter place or even stay home. However, it was an experience for Raymond as he could hear everything, such as utensils hitting the plates, overlapping of people talking, banging of things around him, etc. During that evening, he went to the washroom and heard the music overhead, it had no words and it was very soft. He soon washed his hands and was enthralled with the sound of the water as it sounded like “air”. The paper towel has an auto-sensor where you place your hands over the sensor and paper towel will roll out. Raymond heard the mechanic roll running and the paper sliding out. He thought that was amazing. Like a child, he tried it again about 3 or 4 times until the paper hit the floor. He grimaced when he ripped the paper from the dispenser and was surprised to hear how loud a paper towel sounded while drying his hands. He had to force himself to easily dry his hands.

Getting ready to leave the washroom, there was a spot on the floor that was sticky and he never noticed. When he left and as he picked up his feet from the floor, it stuck a little bit and sounded like tape on the bottom of your shoes peeling off. He could hear that “peeling” sound and thought that was neat and tried it again a few times :)

My friend and I were in the back seat of the car on the way home and Raymond was able to identify who was talking or who was laughing without looking back. He was never able to do that before. During this time, it was dark, so he could not see us so it was absolutely amazing he was able to identify our voices.

Over the next few days, it was all new sounds; however, once he recognized them, he was able to tune them out. I will name a few, and remember, most of these he never heard clearly and with clarity:

- the rustle of the newspaper, he hated this one the most but now is getting used to it.
- heard the wet snow slush while walking outside, heard it go whoosh whoosh.
- overhead fan of the stove. This was loud to begin with but now can tune it out.
- the click clacking of a computer keyboard.
- heard the sound of hitting the touchpad of the lap-top and also heard the dings, etc., when clicking on “Inbox” of e-mails, etc.
- his own breathing, it is strong sound when breathing out very clearly.
- he made chicken fricot and was able to hear the “very” beginnings of boiling. He never heard that before. It was very small bubbles at first and could hear it gradually boil faster and faster. When it really boiled, he was able to recognize that now it was time to turn it down before it over boiled. He could hear it boiling steadily from the living room.
- I peeled and diced carrots, Raymond found the dicing a bit annoying as it was repetitive.
- Raymond was sitting in the living room and I was in the kitchen. I had a glass of water on the island and normally I always “pick” up the glass but at that moment, I slid it a bit before picking it up (not thinking what I was doing) and Raymond looked at me. He was able to hear it from a distance! He said that it sounded like that I was dragging the glass across the island.
- the low fuel alarm came on (rarely) and this really scared him as it was pretty loud
- his son loves to sneak into chips when he knows he has had enough. In the past, he was able to take some more without our knowledge. Last night, this failed ;) Raymond was able to hear him trying to put his hands into the chip bag lightly and Raymond said, “I hear you!”. His son was really surprised and also disappointed at the same time, ha!
- when he tapped his hand on the chair arm, he was able to hear the 'click click' of his wedding band.
- heard me use the water cooler behind him. I did not let him know that I was there and he heard the stream of water going into my glass. He was able to identify the direction of the sound as he immediately turned around and looked at me. Amazing!
- we have a phone booster on our phone for more volume. With his CI, he has to turn it all the way down and thinks will need to remove it and use the normal volume control on the phone itself. He hears a lot more and with the booster, it is too high. :)

Right now, he is able to hear sounds around him and afar too. The only thing is people’s voices on TV, radio and also music are very vague right now. He says it sounds like the person has a cold, with a coarse voice. This is partially blocked for now and that will eventually come to him in the next few months while he goes through these mapping processes with the audiologist.

I will leave here as it is, as there are many other sounds he is learning. He is doing extremely well and loves the cochlear implant.

Next is the second mapping on January 25th. Stay tuned.

The Surgery Day!

This blog will cover all basics of Raymond’s CI journey so you could have an idea what you can expect on the day of your CI surgery. Please keep in mind that everybody is different, every hospital is different, and most doctors have their unique way, but it is pretty well the same routine overall. I won’t go into detail about the technology of the cochlear implant devices. You are more than welcome to visit the following websites:

http://www.bionicear.com/index.cfm?langid=1
http://www.nshsc.ns.ca/programs.html
http://www.cochlearamericas.com/


This is the 'before' picture before the surgery...last time to wear a hearing aid. No more cotton ball jokes :)

On the big day of the surgery, December 12, 2007, Raymond was so excited and was in good cheers. We arrived at the Victoria General Hospital approximately 6:15 a.m. and met the interpreter.

- Registered and filled out some forms, such as getting a semi-private room, etc.
- Went into the “pre-op” room to get ready to go into the operating room. Got him into a hospital gown and lovely foam slippers. They checked his blood pressure, temperature, oxygen level and gave him the required meds.
- Left to the operating room approximately 8:30 a.m.

I, the wife, went into one of the 4 family waiting rooms and mistakenly chose a room without a television! I will be bluntly honest with you, I was very nervous about Raymond undergoing the surgery. It was hard to keep my mind on one track. Your spouse may be fine, everybody is different. This was Raymond's 8th surgery in only 6 years - 4 major ones and 2 minor ones. This one is on the brain, so natually, I was worried. Thank God there was a jig-jaw puzzle on the table so worked on that off & on and it really helped to keep my mind off Raymond for short periods of time. There was a liaison nurse who goes into the OR room to keep updates and would come to see me every half hour to let me know how things were going. This was another big help instead of always wondering how things were going. The interpreter went into the OR with Raymond until they gave him anesthetic and he left the room. The interpreter came to see me for a few minutes and left for about an hour, then he came back to sit with me for a while because he was waiting for the call to go into the recovery room. Ended up having a great chat with him which really helped me to keep my mind off Raymond.

Let’s backtrack a little bit. Surgery started approximately 9:20 a.m. and at 12:45 p.m., the surgeon came to see me in the waiting room. The operation itself was about 2 ½ hours to 3 hours long. The doctor called me out of the room, which had me thinking twice because there were other people in the waiting room too and their doctors came into the room to inform them of the surgery results, etc. All eyes were on me while I was walking out of the room. The doctor was very kind to get us into a private room and he informed me that the surgery went “ok” or it went well. I have met the doctor on different occasions and he is usually peppy but during this time, he was not. He mentioned that the x-ray they had taken was cloudy and not clear so they were not exactly sure if the wire was in its exact place, so will have another x-ray taken soon and would let me know later on what he thought. The audiologist “tested” the implant in the operating room and it was ‘live’.

The doctor gave me instructions on home care, there are three important things to keep an eye on which are:

- Heavy dizziness – if there’s light dizziness, that is fine
- Lots of pain
- Redness on incision area, which might mean an infection

Any one of the above, I am to call the hospital and luckily I didn’t have to. The doctor said if there was numbness in the incision area, it is normal. Post-op check up is on the following week to have the staples removed and check things out. Raymond had 15 staples, a lovely incision right behind the ear.

The surgery was on Wednesday and he was allowed to have the bandages removed and have a shower on Friday, using shampoo on his head. Dry dab lightly with a towel. Put a little bit of polysporin on for a few days to prevent any infection from developing.

Raymond has no memory of being in the recovery room so I can tell you what happened in there. When he woke up, they asked him to move his face as in facial expressions to ensure there was no paralysis. All went well.

Arrived into his room around 2:45 p.m. and this was the first time for me to see him since 8:30 that morning. I can tell you this much that he not himself at all. He had a very difficult time to stay awake for the remainder of the day. Not long after that, he went down for a CT scan as the second x-ray did not show up clearly as well. He has no memory of the recovery room or going into his room or even going for the CT scan.


The above is a picture of Raymond after his first surgery. Grumpy he looks, eh?

They gave him anti-biotic to prevent infection from developing. Remained on IV and gave him Tylenol #3 for pain.

That evening, Raymond still had difficulty to stay awake, did not eat much for supper and started having double vision. When Raymond had his workplace accident 6 years ago, he had double vision and it was the same thing happening all over again. He needed to rest completely so I left around 7:30 p.m. and stayed overnight at friend’s house.

Me being a smaller city version gal, I arrived at the VG hospital around 7:30 a.m. as I wanted to beat the bigger city traffic rush and get a good parking spot as we have a huge truck. Raymond looked a lot better than the day before, but still was not feeling “A1”.

They changed the bandage on his head and replaced it with another one.

The surgeon and his assistant came to see us later that morning and spoke to us. He looked at the CT Scan and noted the wire of the implant was “bent” at the end of the cochlea. He was not too happy about that as it is not totally guaranteed if the implant will work at its best level. He wants Raymond to have the best benefit of the cochlear implant so he gave us two choices:

1) Leave it as it is, try it out when it is activated and if it does not work, re-surgery again at a later time.

or

2) Do the surgery over again “today” as he was available after that morning.

Raymond decided to re-do the surgery the same day and I agreed with him. So it will be done that afternoon or evening, meaning no food for Raymond for nearly 48 hours. He was dreaming of all kinds of food all day long – nice, thick and juicy steak, Tim Horton’s coffee, submarines, etc…. poor guy! I was mean to him during one point, not thinking what I was doing...drinking a Tim’s coffee and eating chips in front of him. Sigh, I’ll know better the next time. I am going for the implant myself in the near future and he said he’ll pay me back by eating in front of me. All in fairness :)

The surgeon’s assistant came to see us at 4 p.m. telling Raymond, “We have not forgotten you!” There was an emergency came up that afternoon, so they needed the OR room, so Raymond’s surgery was delayed to that evening. He thought, “oh no, more waiting time for food!”

They came to get Raymond at 6 p.m. and went directly into the OR room. Surgery started at 6:45 p.m. Thank goodness I had the support of a good friend who stayed with me during this time, went to have a bite to eat and a good chat. Went up to Raymond’s room to chat more and watch some TV. I will never forget this.

The surgeon came to see me around 9:45 p.m. and said he was very happy with the surgery this time. The testing of the cochlear implant was much better than the first time around. They replaced the whole thing and got the wire in the right place this time. What happened here is they “forgot” all about Raymond’s workplace accident 6 years ago and the insides of his head was shifted some, making the surgery a bit difficult the first time around.

Raymond arrived into his room at 10 p.m. in a very cheerful mood! A complete turnaround from yesterday! He immediately asked for food, so he had some toast, milk and water. He even asked for a beer, nah!! No more pain, no nauseous, no double vision and he slept very well that night.


The above picture is after his second surgery, looks a bit better.

Now I can relax and arrived at my friend’s house at 11:30 p.m. and made the usual phone call to Mom.

The following morning, they changed the bandage and replaced it with another one because of the 2 ½ hour drive back home, wanted to keep it nice and sturdy. The surgeon came to see him and said all was well. Two more rules:

- No blowing nose
- No coughing, sneezing at all possible, if needed, open your mouth to get the pressure out (suggestion – lightly cover your mouth with a Kleenex)

Gave us meds for pain and infection prevention. Off we go!

Arrived home just before supper and very happy to be home. Raymond slept most of the way, which was good. He noted that he was a little dizzy, not bad at all. On the following day, he noted his balance was off a bit and gradually got worse after that for a few days. He needed my support when we are outside in the open space. He was okay at home. He felt when he put his foot down, the floor would appear to come up and when he put his foot up, the floor appeared to go down. It was a strange sensation for sure. That did not stay with him long and gradually got better.


This was the day the bandages came off at home.


This was after his shower.

He prefers to sleep on his left side and that is where the CI implant is so he had to sleep on his right side most of the time. Just a couple of days ago, he was able to handle sleeping on the left side but only for a short time. As for pain, it was very minimal – it was more like “sore”.

Staples and post-op check up was on December 20th. Dad took him down for me as I didn't want to take too much time off work. I will go to activation day tho'.


This is after the staple removal. Keep in mind surgery was done twice in the same area. Not a bad job, eh?


Raymond is proud of this one!

His left ear was the “good” ear, and he is really surprised that he is now completely deaf in that ear. It is because the wire has destroyed the nerve “hairs” in the cochlea. He knew that would happen but never “realized” it until he experienced it. He tried to listen into the phone, nothing. He tried to listen to my voice, nothing. I called his name last night loudly and nearly busted my voice, nothing! His right ear is the “poor” one, so he does not hear well out of that one. He is now craving for sounds. He is anxiously waiting to hear something soon.

Activation date is January 8, 2008.

Six years in a nutshell

Before Raymond’s surgery next week, I’d like to tell you in a nutshell why Raymond is going for the cochlear implant.

Raymond was born premature and as a result, he became deaf. At the age of 13, the tubes or something in his ear started to “work” so he progressed to the hard of hearing level. The first sound he heard was the train. This happened just before Christmas that year. Raymond wore hearing aid since then but still continued his education at the deaf institution until graduation. He worked as a roofer for all of his working career, promoting at different levels and eventually became the foreman. He worked as a roofer for 25 years. Raymond was able to communicate very well with the public, was able to converse on the telephone, etc.

On October 23, 2001, Raymond had a workplace accident. He was working at a building out of town and these buildings had their own ladders attached to the exterior wall. These ladders were the old models, heavy thick metal, not like the light aluminum they are made of today. He was doing the final check of the roof before leaving and he proceeded to go down the ladder. The bolts of the ladder that was attached to the building wall pulled from the wall and he went down to the second roof with the ladder landing on top of him. Today, he still has no memory of this “fall”. The drop is 12 feet but he did not drop down, but went along with the ladder diagonally to the other side of the second roof. According to WCB inspector, this fall was equivalent to 40 feet. Raymond was VERY lucky to be alive as 99% of these kinds of accidents, most are killed. To make a long story short, it was and still is a long recovery from this accident and he will never go back to workforce. I will not explain further about his health as this blog will be based on his cochlear implant journey only.

As a result of this fall, Raymond suffered a head trauma. At the time of the accident, the doctor mentioned to me that brains takes time to heal, so it is really hard to predicate what the future brings. Time will tell, and time told us that Raymond has suffered hearing loss, short-term memory loss and muscles in the brain are very weak. This has brought on a series of health problems. He looks good on the outside, but the inside is not good. Many people don’t realize this.

Raymond, for the past few years, has lost a lot of his hearing. He has difficulty to listen on the phone, misses out some conversations, and sometimes we have to repeat what we have said to him. Two years ago, it was recommended for him to see a specialist to research his hearing loss. It came to the point that it will never improve as it is damaged, so it was suggested that he have the cochlear implant (CI) surgery.

During the course of next two years, he has met with the surgeon in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and he has determined that hearing lost is a very complex subject to research and spoke about the CI and provided him some information. After much discussion, research and some thoughts about it, it was soon decided that he would proceed with this, but first he had to see if he was a qualified candidate for the surgery. He went through a series of tests and had a very, very informative session with the speech pathologist and the head audiologist of the Nova Scotia Cochlear Implant Team of the Nova Scotia Hearing and Speech Centres. His name was officially placed on the waiting list in March 2007, but has to have the final “Yes or No” from the surgeon at a later date.

The first test he did was the “balance test” in March 2007, which he passed successfully. Next was the CT Scan of his ears/head. Lastly, just of September 28, 2007, he had his final visit with his CI surgeon for the final “Yes or No” to have the surgery or not. The answer is yes and it was determined that the CI will be on his left ear. Surgery date set for November 14th in Halifax.

November 13th, we went to Halifax Victoria General Hospital for the pre-admission testing, such as EKG, oxygen test, blood work, series of questions, etc. Just before the testing took place, we were informed that the surgery was cancelled as the doctor had unexpected family emergency and had to fly back home to England. Surgery was postponed to December 12th.

Raymond is very positive about this surgery, nervous, yes, but excited at the same time. Myself, the writer of this blog and his wife, is very nervous about the surgery itself, however, I am very positive that it will be successful.

This is all of 6 years in a nutshell – 2001 to 2007. Raymond just figured this out the other day and it is quite the coincidence that he regained his hearing in 1971 just before Christmas. And 36 years later, 2007, it is just before Christmas he is having the cochlear implant :)

Next is his surgery....December 12th at 7:30 a.m.