2 weeks ago, we recieved the call that the surgery was finally rescheduled for November 29th, 2004. So except for a few problems and scares concerning insurance coverage and etc, I have been nervously awaiting that day, and it’s almost here.
All this time I have been extra careful, okay, paranoid, of getting the flu or a cold or something. I’ve been walking around holding my breath whenever I pass someone up in public, bolting out of crowds as fast as possible, and as of the last few days and this upcoming weekend, not even GOING in public. Tomorrow morning is Thanksgiving, and we have plans to go to my husband’s parent’s house and spend it with his family, but in the morning we are going to call and make sure every single person that is going to be there is not sick or has not been around someone that is sick, if they are, we aren’t going. We are also going to visit my grandparents tomorrow evening and same applies there. The last thing I need to deal with is some kind of illness on top of what is already probably going to be a horrible recovery, if it’s anything like the recovery for the first implant.
The recovery is really the only thing I’m worried about. The last one was bad enough that I said I would never ever do it again. But it turned out to be well worth it, so that is why I am doing it again after all. So maybe this time, even if it is as bad as last time, at least it will be easier to get through knowing that there is a good chance it will all be over with and I won’t be dizzy and sick forever, and that once I get activated and used to it, I will be able to hear so much better than I ever have before.
As for implant #1, it is still doing well. Nothing major to report, it is still just a slow but steady pace of improving over time. Things are still sounding more natural, and it is much easier to use it for the basic sounds. The hardest part is reminding myself to pay attention to what I am hearing, to try to take in any new sounds that didn’t register before, and also when I know for sure there is a sound I can’t hear too well, I work on trying to hear it better, getting my brain to zero in on that sound and filter out the rest of it. For example, popcorn popping in the microwave. I can barely hear the popcorn popping over the hum of the microwave, but if I concentrate really hard the popping is gradually more noticeable. It’s just hard for my brain to filter out the microwave hum enough to hear the popping really well.
That’s about all the CI news for now! The next journal entry will be after my surgery for the second implant in the other ear. I am sure this probably will not be written until about a week after the surgery, if it’s anything like last time. So until then, adios!
