Well, this is Cynthia - Cherri's sister. Today was surgery day. I am sure Cherri will go into greater detail later.....but.....here is a recap of today's events:
9:45 am - arrived at hospital - did pre-op stuff
10:05 am - sent to waiting room
11:15 am - taken back for surgery (with a quick "potty" break on the way)
3:45 pm - surgery was complete
4:30 pm - sent to hospital room
It was the coolest thing - Cherri was assigned a "number" so the family members could keep track of her progress. There was a screen out in the waiting area that showed all the numbers and the numbers were highlighted to reflect what stage the patient was in.........pink for "in OR" blue for "surgery complete" and so on...........very nifty!
Ok - so much for the short version of the story............yes, this is Cynthia...........anyway, apparently she did great...........in true Cherri form - however she did have a slight complication. The surgeon said this was his 206th surgery and this one was the most difficult yet! While putting in the electrode.........she began leaking spinal fluid..........nice. So, the doctor had to get that under control and stopped. Then back to the implanting of the electrode - he had to do this twice - the first time it wouldn't "register" so he had to remove it and re-insert............it worked the second time! The surgeon came into her room late this evening and he seemed very pleased with the outcome......she should get to come home tomorrow!!! I am sure she will post soon!
Thanks to everyone for their prayers! Please keep them coming - we won't know how the implant actually is working until it's "hooked up" in early April! Just pray for quick healing and no more complications!! The Good Lord knows she needs all that fluid inside her body around her brain........not OUTSIDE of the body!
Oh yeah, when mom and I got to the hospital this morning and saw Cherri - she had a little note written in ink on her skin under her right ear............YES. (picture to follow)
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
SURGERY DAY!!!!!
Yes!! The day has finally arrived!! I can't believe it!!! Ohhhh myyyyy!!! I slept good last night.....no nervous breakdowns!! And I'm all pilled up!! They gave me a patch to put on last night and also a pill to take. This is to counteract any nauseaous feelings. I also have a pill to take this morning and ANOTHER one to take once we get to the hospital.
I'm just about parched! However, I do get to have 1 cup of water before 7:45. Getting ready to have my cup!! And looking forward to it!!
We have to be at the hospital at 9:45 with surgery to begin around 11:15 to 11:30. Surgery should be over about 3:00. I do spend one night in the hospital, but should be home in the morning.
Maybe Cynthia can add a post this evening to let you know how surgery went. I'll be back to post all the exciting happenings in a couple of days!!
Remember me in your prayers!! I'll catch you all later!!!
I'm just about parched! However, I do get to have 1 cup of water before 7:45. Getting ready to have my cup!! And looking forward to it!!
We have to be at the hospital at 9:45 with surgery to begin around 11:15 to 11:30. Surgery should be over about 3:00. I do spend one night in the hospital, but should be home in the morning.
Maybe Cynthia can add a post this evening to let you know how surgery went. I'll be back to post all the exciting happenings in a couple of days!!
Remember me in your prayers!! I'll catch you all later!!!
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Before and After
It's almost time!!! The hospital called and I'm suppose to be at the surgery center at 9:45 Tuesday morning. I don't know exactly what time surgery is scheduled for, but I figure it will probably be between 10:30 and 11:00. Say lots of prayers for me!!
I thought I would show you some before and after pictures. Well, so far, I only have "before" pictures!! "After" will come in a few days. The "before" pictures are scary enough, I doubt you'll be able to handle the "after" pictures!!
Let the fun begin!!!!!
I thought I would show you some before and after pictures. Well, so far, I only have "before" pictures!! "After" will come in a few days. The "before" pictures are scary enough, I doubt you'll be able to handle the "after" pictures!!
Let the fun begin!!!!!
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
San Antonio
Well, it's been a few days. Rick and I went to San Antonio this past weekend for the Cochlear Celebration. This was a convention kind-of-thing put on by Cochlear Americas. They have seminars, guest speakers, fun things to do and it's a time for people who have cochlear implants to get together. Yes, this one is mostly for people who use the Cochlear brand, but I thought anyone was welcome. A lot of the seminars sounded like they were just basic information that I thought would benefit me. Also, I wanted to meet people who have a cochlear implant. However, I am going to be implanted with a CI made by Advanced Bionics. To make a long story short, when we went to check in with the Cochlear representative, we were taken aside and, in as nice a way as possible, we were told that we were not welcome, we were not wanted there and we should not attend. They would gladly refund our money. Apparently someone had been researching me online and knew who I was, when I was having surgery and also knew that I was going with Advanced Bionics. Apparently they did not like this at all. We were totally speechless!!! Beyond shocked!!! Needless to say, we got our money refunded and did not attend any of the seminars. So, we had a couple of days to see San Antonio.
We went to the Alamo, the Riverwalk and the Market Square. The Market Square is 2 blocks of Mexican shops. And let me just say....the smell from the restaurants was FABULOUS!! But we had just eaten breakfast, so we didn't get to eat there. We did eat at 2 Mexican places at the Riverwalk. They were wonderful! The Riverwalk is a snappy place! I would love to see it in the spring when everything is bloomed out. I bet it is absolutely gorgeous!!!
Cherri & Rick at the Riverwalk.....aren't they smashing??!!!
A pretty spot on the Riverwalk.
We went to the Alamo, the Riverwalk and the Market Square. The Market Square is 2 blocks of Mexican shops. And let me just say....the smell from the restaurants was FABULOUS!! But we had just eaten breakfast, so we didn't get to eat there. We did eat at 2 Mexican places at the Riverwalk. They were wonderful! The Riverwalk is a snappy place! I would love to see it in the spring when everything is bloomed out. I bet it is absolutely gorgeous!!!
Cherri & Rick at the Riverwalk.....aren't they smashing??!!!
A view along the Riverwalk.
A pretty spot on the Riverwalk.
Oh, and by the way -- SURGERY IS 6 DAYS FROM TODAY!!!!!
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
The Beginning....
2/11/07
Hello everybody!! For those of you who may not know me, I’m Cherri. I’m almost 46 years old……yep, I have a birthday coming up in a few days…..I really wish these things would leave me alone!!.....and I'm in the process of getting a cochlear implant.
I’ve had it suggested to me several times that I needed to keep a blog of my journey. At first I thought noooooooo, I don’t want to do that!! However, I did want to keep my own journal so that I could look back at it to see how things went for me and note all the changes. So, after people kept mentioning it strongly, I thought I might as well!! Maybe it could help out someone else who is considering a cochlear implant and it would also keep my family and friends up to date with what’s happening to me.
So, here I am. Since I’m already in the process, I’ll give you a little background and get you up to speed. Well, “little” might be a smidge deceptive. This could take a while to bring you up to date. However, once you are caught up, the rest of my posts should not be so long. But I make no promises!!! So, let’s get started!!
In the beginning………
Let’s see……where to start…….hhmmmmm….well, it seems I’ve had hearing problems my whole life. The first time Mom really noticed and took me to the doctor was when I was about 13. It has progressively gotten worse over time. I don’t remember having problems in high school, but I did try to go to college and that’s when it really hit me. I was totally lost. But, I didn’t want to face up to it, so I never said anything and didn’t even finish one semester. I tried hearing aids somewhere around 1990, but they didn’t help a lick. They just made noises louder, but didn’t help me understand speech or anything that was important. Those didn’t last long. So….life goes on and I just learned to deal with it. You learn to manage with what you have. Over the past several years, I have gone to the doctor to see how things were and if anything new had come up that might help me. A cochlear implant has been mentioned here and there, but it was never talked about seriously and I surely wanted nothing to do with it. I could still hear the low tones and I was scared of losing what I have. I didn’t want to take the chance of sacrificing what I had with no guarantee that things would be better. Well, first off, I never really knew what a cochlear implant (CI) did, how it worked, what I might gain, or anything. I never checked into it and never did any research. I just knew that I wanted nothing to do with it.
Then in the spring of 2006, I started having a lot of pressure in my ears. I thought I was getting a cold and I kept waiting around for it to hit. Well, the cold never hit and the pressure in the ears never went away. So, after waiting several months, I finally went to my ear doctor. He saw nothing wrong, had no idea why I had the pressure and therefore, couldn’t do a thing to help me. After waiting several more months, I decided to try a different doctor just to see if he had any ideas.
Now, I must tell you, I truly believe that God has totally directed my path during this whole process. I feel He has guided me, directed me and just took control to lead me along the way, because I know, without His divine intervention, I would not be in the process of getting a CI right now. I would just be getting deeper and deeper into the non-hearing hole. I can tell that over the past year my hearing has gotten worse. Things are harder to hear and my understanding is less than it was.
Here’s how it went – we had no idea what doctor to choose. I didn’t just want any ol’ doctor…..I wanted a really GOOD doctor. Rick called my thyroid cancer specialist, Dr. Ain, to see if he had any idea who was top in the “ear” field. My thyroid doctor is top-of-the-line in his field, so we thought he might be able to direct us to a great ear doctor. He suggested Dr. Jones at the University of Kentucky. He is chairman of the board and head of the otolaryngology department at UK. So, off we go to see Dr. Jones. At my appointment, they did the standard hearing tests and of course I did baaaaad. The audiologist started talking about a CI. I still kind of tuned her out. When I saw Dr. Jones, we talked about the pressure situation and again, he didn’t see any reason why I was having the pressure. We ended up putting a tube in one ear to see if that helped. Well, it did somewhat, but it caused me other issues and I’m not happy with the tube, so I’m going to have him take it out. However, that’s neither here nor there………. After that appointment, he sent me on my way, but I had to go back in a week to see how my ear was doing. At my next appointment he starts talking about how a CI would really help me and all that. Well, the next thing I know, he’s giving me informational packages to take home to read over and watch the dvd’s. There are 2 different companies. He said it’s basically like Ford and Chevy……I asked him if they had any Toyotas!!!!!! Then, I found myself sitting in the audiologist’s office getting fitted with some loaner hearing aids because I had to try hearing aids to prove they don’t help……this is part of the process of getting approved for a CI. I’m thinking HEY!!!!!…..DID I SAY I WANTED ONE OF THESE THINGS????!!!!! I felt like I went to the doctor for one issue and was being pushed along another route that I really didn’t want to be on. I never said I wanted a CI…..I never said I was interested……apparently somebody got the wrong idea!!!! However, I went along for the ride. I really don’t know if they thought that’s what I was there for, or if they just saw that I really needed it and kind of helped me along the way. But it just appeared that everybody thought that was what I was there for.
Well, I tried the hearing aids for about a month and again……no help at all. I knew that’s the way it would be and they knew that’s the way it would be, but it must be proven during the evaluation process. So, during this time, I go back to my thyroid doctor for my annual checkup. We told him that I was in the process of getting a CI. He told us to ask the doctor about his surgeries and don’t let anybody new operate on me. He said he knows that somebody has to be the first, but you really don’t want to me that person!!! He said….make sure he’s done about 200.
During this time, I’ve been doing lots and LOTS of research on CI’s. I’ve signed up on a couple of forums so I could read about other people’s experiences and also ask questions. I learned that a CI could do a lot more than what I thought. Plus, technology is advancing so fast that things are changing all the time.
Well, at my next appointment in mid January 2007, we talked about the surgery, the different things that can go wrong, all the risks and whatnot. We asked about his experience and he said……well, I’ve done about 200. I immediately thought…..that’s exactly what Dr. Ain said!! As I said before, I really believe God has had His hands all over this situation!! There’s just been too many coincidences. Dr. Jones told me about any problems that had occurred with his patients, and there was nothing really bad. Everything was taken care of and all was well!! I told him I sure didn’t want to be the first one that got screwed up!!!!
Now, from reading on the forums, I thought surgery would be several months in the future. I was pretty well set on getting a CI at this point, but yet, it was in the future. Not something I had to worry about right now. I knew there were still more tests to be done, so it was going to be a while. So, yes, I was seriously thinking about it, but it would be later on and so I could live in denial for a while longer.
Well, at this appointment, after Dr. Jones told me about the surgery, possible problems and all, he then asks if this is what I want to do. I said……weeeeeeelllllll, yeah…..I suppose. He said I still needed to get a ct scan. He said we would schedule that. So, he sent one of his people in and I thought we were scheduling the ct scan. The helper guy said, how about February 27, that’s about 6 weeks. My first thought was – it takes 6 weeks just to get a ct scan???!!!!! I said something to Rick and he said, nooooooooo, we’re scheduling surgery. I’m like WHAT?????? SURGERY!!!!???? Did I say I wanted surgery???? Apparently I missed something here!!! OH MY GOSH!!! Well, needless to say, my heart was jumping around in my chest!!! Before we left, I got the ct scan scheduled for mid February. I left the doctor’s office and went on to work. I was a nervous wreck!!! Excited!!! Nervous!!! Felt like I was going to jump out of my skin!! Did I say excited??!! Yes, I was very excited, but also scared to death!! I had no clue that we would be scheduling surgery so quickly!!! I mean speedy weedy!!!!
On my way to work, I called Cynthia, who was also on her way to work…….95% of our conversation was -- OOOOOHHHHHHH MMMMMMYYYYYYYYY!!!!!! OOOOOOOHHHHHH MMMMYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!
YES!!!!!! That’s exactly what I was feeling……….OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH MMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!
I got to work and told my friends Kerri, Holly and Regina. I was excited! I was jumpy!! I was nervous!! OH MY GOSH!! Was it really happening!!??!! I finally settled down and got on with my day!
At that point, February 27 seemed like it was going to be in about 2 days!! Here much too soon!! I wasn’t ready!!! However, after reading more and learning more…..I want it NOW!! February 27 will NEVER get here!!!
I still have continued my quest for information. As part of the process, I had to choose which company I wanted to go with. The 2 main ones are Cochlear and Advanced Bionics. After lots of research, I decided to go with Advanced Bionics (AB). They are just coming out with the newest, latest and greatest processor. Things change so quickly with CI’s that something is always new!! Technology is changing rapidly. About every 3 to 5 years, they come out with a new processor. It upgrades the ability to hear, improves what you hear, gives more understanding, and such things as more depth, sound is more normal……….those kinds of things. If you want to look at AB’s website, it is http://www.bionicear.com/.
In my opinion, there are 2 bad things…no…..make that 3. Thing number 1 is that after my surgery, I have to wait 4-6 weeks before my hook up. We have to wait for the incision to heal. During that time, I will be deaf in that ear. I’m definitely not looking forward to that. It will be even harder to understand what people are saying. That’s going to be a long month!!! Thing number 2 – when I take the processor off, such as at bedtime or while taking a shower and doing my hair or swimming, I will be totally deaf in that ear. Yes, that will be a little more of a pain in the beehootie, but it’s a small price to pay for being able to hear the rest of the time. THEN, there’s thing number 3!!!! For the surgery, they have to shave off a chunk of my hair!!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! I’m not real sure how I’m going to manage for the 3-6 months that it will take for it to grow back. Scarves!! Lots and lots of scarves!! Or hats!! Or a head band!!! Or there’s always Cynthia’s wonderful suggestion – going to the Walmart craft section and buying a square of fake fur…..stick it to my head!!! Nobody will know the difference!! Cynthia is FULL of wonderful ideas.
For those who have no clue about a CI, I will give a brief description……as brief as I can. At the surgery, they will rudely shave off some of my hair, then make a fairly big incision behind the ear. Kind of above the ear and back a little then down to the bottom of the ear, they will remove some of the bone on my skull to make an indention for the implant. The internal implant will be “fixed” to that area and then they will drill through some more of my skull so that the electrodes can then be inserted into my cochlea. Once all of that is done, they will sew me up……but notice….they don’t put my hair back on!!!!
At this point, my normal ear is of absolutely no use other than a place to hang earrings!! I will no longer use my ear for its intended purpose. After the 4-6 weeks, I will then start the journey back to hearing!! This is where it will get real exciting!! At my hook up, I will get the processor, which basically looks like a behind the ear hearing aid. There is a thin cable that connects to a piece that is about the size of a quarter. This has a magnet in it and there’s a magnet in the internal implant. So, that piece sticks to my head. Kind of weird looking!! But most likely, no one will see that part because it will be in my hair…..so it will be covered up. WELL, that is…..AFTER my hair grows back.
So, sound is picked up by the processor, travels up the cable and passes through the head piece to the implant by radio waves, then travels down to the electrodes that are in my cochlea and the electrodes will fire away!!! The info will go up my auditory nerve, move on to my brain, which then has to make sense of it all.
When I am first hooked up, everyone says that sounds are very weird, very mechanical and that people sound like cartoon characters. My brain has not heard high tones in many, many years, so it has to figure out what it’s hearing and what it’s suppose to do with that noise. I basically have to learn to hear again. Everyone is different….some adjust very quickly, some take longer, but it’s a process for everybody. Time…..lots of time. I must be patient. My audiologist said it will take about 6 months for me to feel confident with what I’m hearing.
I will go through a lot of mappings (that’s what it’s called when I go to the audiologist to get the programs in my processor tweaked.) As the brain learns to hear again, the programs in the processor need to be changed. So, I will go get mapped pretty often in the beginning because the brain will change a lot when I am first hooked up. Well, I sure hope my brain has not forgotten how to re-learn some things!!! It’s pretty old and feeble!! I’m kind of worried!!!!
That’s a very quick version of what’s ahead. Now we just wait. And wait.
If you ever have questions about any of this stuff, just let me know and I’ll answer as best I can!
2/13/07
Today was the last doctor appointment before my surgery. First I went to get the ct scan, then over to see Dr. Jones, then on to Pre Op. The ct scan was just peachy…..they saw no problems. We went over all the surgery info again and he answered any remaining questions that I had. I also had him remove the tube in my left ear. That was OUCH! Not deadly, but OUCH!!! He said it would take about 3 days for my eardrum to heal. As of right now, I’m not hearing squat in that ear. I sure hope I will be hearing my usual puny amount when it heals up!!! I’m supposing it’s just the trauma to the eardrum. At least I hope so. At Pre Op we went over the same stuff…….what to do, what not to do, don’t eat, don’t drink, blah, blah, blah. Just the standard stuff. Right now, I don’t know what time my surgery will be. All I know is that it’s the 27th. They will call the day before and tell me what time to be there. That’s about all the exciting news of the day.
Hello everybody!! For those of you who may not know me, I’m Cherri. I’m almost 46 years old……yep, I have a birthday coming up in a few days…..I really wish these things would leave me alone!!.....and I'm in the process of getting a cochlear implant.
I’ve had it suggested to me several times that I needed to keep a blog of my journey. At first I thought noooooooo, I don’t want to do that!! However, I did want to keep my own journal so that I could look back at it to see how things went for me and note all the changes. So, after people kept mentioning it strongly, I thought I might as well!! Maybe it could help out someone else who is considering a cochlear implant and it would also keep my family and friends up to date with what’s happening to me.
So, here I am. Since I’m already in the process, I’ll give you a little background and get you up to speed. Well, “little” might be a smidge deceptive. This could take a while to bring you up to date. However, once you are caught up, the rest of my posts should not be so long. But I make no promises!!! So, let’s get started!!
In the beginning………
Let’s see……where to start…….hhmmmmm….well, it seems I’ve had hearing problems my whole life. The first time Mom really noticed and took me to the doctor was when I was about 13. It has progressively gotten worse over time. I don’t remember having problems in high school, but I did try to go to college and that’s when it really hit me. I was totally lost. But, I didn’t want to face up to it, so I never said anything and didn’t even finish one semester. I tried hearing aids somewhere around 1990, but they didn’t help a lick. They just made noises louder, but didn’t help me understand speech or anything that was important. Those didn’t last long. So….life goes on and I just learned to deal with it. You learn to manage with what you have. Over the past several years, I have gone to the doctor to see how things were and if anything new had come up that might help me. A cochlear implant has been mentioned here and there, but it was never talked about seriously and I surely wanted nothing to do with it. I could still hear the low tones and I was scared of losing what I have. I didn’t want to take the chance of sacrificing what I had with no guarantee that things would be better. Well, first off, I never really knew what a cochlear implant (CI) did, how it worked, what I might gain, or anything. I never checked into it and never did any research. I just knew that I wanted nothing to do with it.
Then in the spring of 2006, I started having a lot of pressure in my ears. I thought I was getting a cold and I kept waiting around for it to hit. Well, the cold never hit and the pressure in the ears never went away. So, after waiting several months, I finally went to my ear doctor. He saw nothing wrong, had no idea why I had the pressure and therefore, couldn’t do a thing to help me. After waiting several more months, I decided to try a different doctor just to see if he had any ideas.
Now, I must tell you, I truly believe that God has totally directed my path during this whole process. I feel He has guided me, directed me and just took control to lead me along the way, because I know, without His divine intervention, I would not be in the process of getting a CI right now. I would just be getting deeper and deeper into the non-hearing hole. I can tell that over the past year my hearing has gotten worse. Things are harder to hear and my understanding is less than it was.
Here’s how it went – we had no idea what doctor to choose. I didn’t just want any ol’ doctor…..I wanted a really GOOD doctor. Rick called my thyroid cancer specialist, Dr. Ain, to see if he had any idea who was top in the “ear” field. My thyroid doctor is top-of-the-line in his field, so we thought he might be able to direct us to a great ear doctor. He suggested Dr. Jones at the University of Kentucky. He is chairman of the board and head of the otolaryngology department at UK. So, off we go to see Dr. Jones. At my appointment, they did the standard hearing tests and of course I did baaaaad. The audiologist started talking about a CI. I still kind of tuned her out. When I saw Dr. Jones, we talked about the pressure situation and again, he didn’t see any reason why I was having the pressure. We ended up putting a tube in one ear to see if that helped. Well, it did somewhat, but it caused me other issues and I’m not happy with the tube, so I’m going to have him take it out. However, that’s neither here nor there………. After that appointment, he sent me on my way, but I had to go back in a week to see how my ear was doing. At my next appointment he starts talking about how a CI would really help me and all that. Well, the next thing I know, he’s giving me informational packages to take home to read over and watch the dvd’s. There are 2 different companies. He said it’s basically like Ford and Chevy……I asked him if they had any Toyotas!!!!!! Then, I found myself sitting in the audiologist’s office getting fitted with some loaner hearing aids because I had to try hearing aids to prove they don’t help……this is part of the process of getting approved for a CI. I’m thinking HEY!!!!!…..DID I SAY I WANTED ONE OF THESE THINGS????!!!!! I felt like I went to the doctor for one issue and was being pushed along another route that I really didn’t want to be on. I never said I wanted a CI…..I never said I was interested……apparently somebody got the wrong idea!!!! However, I went along for the ride. I really don’t know if they thought that’s what I was there for, or if they just saw that I really needed it and kind of helped me along the way. But it just appeared that everybody thought that was what I was there for.
Well, I tried the hearing aids for about a month and again……no help at all. I knew that’s the way it would be and they knew that’s the way it would be, but it must be proven during the evaluation process. So, during this time, I go back to my thyroid doctor for my annual checkup. We told him that I was in the process of getting a CI. He told us to ask the doctor about his surgeries and don’t let anybody new operate on me. He said he knows that somebody has to be the first, but you really don’t want to me that person!!! He said….make sure he’s done about 200.
During this time, I’ve been doing lots and LOTS of research on CI’s. I’ve signed up on a couple of forums so I could read about other people’s experiences and also ask questions. I learned that a CI could do a lot more than what I thought. Plus, technology is advancing so fast that things are changing all the time.
Well, at my next appointment in mid January 2007, we talked about the surgery, the different things that can go wrong, all the risks and whatnot. We asked about his experience and he said……well, I’ve done about 200. I immediately thought…..that’s exactly what Dr. Ain said!! As I said before, I really believe God has had His hands all over this situation!! There’s just been too many coincidences. Dr. Jones told me about any problems that had occurred with his patients, and there was nothing really bad. Everything was taken care of and all was well!! I told him I sure didn’t want to be the first one that got screwed up!!!!
Now, from reading on the forums, I thought surgery would be several months in the future. I was pretty well set on getting a CI at this point, but yet, it was in the future. Not something I had to worry about right now. I knew there were still more tests to be done, so it was going to be a while. So, yes, I was seriously thinking about it, but it would be later on and so I could live in denial for a while longer.
Well, at this appointment, after Dr. Jones told me about the surgery, possible problems and all, he then asks if this is what I want to do. I said……weeeeeeelllllll, yeah…..I suppose. He said I still needed to get a ct scan. He said we would schedule that. So, he sent one of his people in and I thought we were scheduling the ct scan. The helper guy said, how about February 27, that’s about 6 weeks. My first thought was – it takes 6 weeks just to get a ct scan???!!!!! I said something to Rick and he said, nooooooooo, we’re scheduling surgery. I’m like WHAT?????? SURGERY!!!!???? Did I say I wanted surgery???? Apparently I missed something here!!! OH MY GOSH!!! Well, needless to say, my heart was jumping around in my chest!!! Before we left, I got the ct scan scheduled for mid February. I left the doctor’s office and went on to work. I was a nervous wreck!!! Excited!!! Nervous!!! Felt like I was going to jump out of my skin!! Did I say excited??!! Yes, I was very excited, but also scared to death!! I had no clue that we would be scheduling surgery so quickly!!! I mean speedy weedy!!!!
On my way to work, I called Cynthia, who was also on her way to work…….95% of our conversation was -- OOOOOHHHHHHH MMMMMMYYYYYYYYY!!!!!! OOOOOOOHHHHHH MMMMYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!
YES!!!!!! That’s exactly what I was feeling……….OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH MMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!
I got to work and told my friends Kerri, Holly and Regina. I was excited! I was jumpy!! I was nervous!! OH MY GOSH!! Was it really happening!!??!! I finally settled down and got on with my day!
At that point, February 27 seemed like it was going to be in about 2 days!! Here much too soon!! I wasn’t ready!!! However, after reading more and learning more…..I want it NOW!! February 27 will NEVER get here!!!
I still have continued my quest for information. As part of the process, I had to choose which company I wanted to go with. The 2 main ones are Cochlear and Advanced Bionics. After lots of research, I decided to go with Advanced Bionics (AB). They are just coming out with the newest, latest and greatest processor. Things change so quickly with CI’s that something is always new!! Technology is changing rapidly. About every 3 to 5 years, they come out with a new processor. It upgrades the ability to hear, improves what you hear, gives more understanding, and such things as more depth, sound is more normal……….those kinds of things. If you want to look at AB’s website, it is http://www.bionicear.com/.
In my opinion, there are 2 bad things…no…..make that 3. Thing number 1 is that after my surgery, I have to wait 4-6 weeks before my hook up. We have to wait for the incision to heal. During that time, I will be deaf in that ear. I’m definitely not looking forward to that. It will be even harder to understand what people are saying. That’s going to be a long month!!! Thing number 2 – when I take the processor off, such as at bedtime or while taking a shower and doing my hair or swimming, I will be totally deaf in that ear. Yes, that will be a little more of a pain in the beehootie, but it’s a small price to pay for being able to hear the rest of the time. THEN, there’s thing number 3!!!! For the surgery, they have to shave off a chunk of my hair!!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! I’m not real sure how I’m going to manage for the 3-6 months that it will take for it to grow back. Scarves!! Lots and lots of scarves!! Or hats!! Or a head band!!! Or there’s always Cynthia’s wonderful suggestion – going to the Walmart craft section and buying a square of fake fur…..stick it to my head!!! Nobody will know the difference!! Cynthia is FULL of wonderful ideas.
For those who have no clue about a CI, I will give a brief description……as brief as I can. At the surgery, they will rudely shave off some of my hair, then make a fairly big incision behind the ear. Kind of above the ear and back a little then down to the bottom of the ear, they will remove some of the bone on my skull to make an indention for the implant. The internal implant will be “fixed” to that area and then they will drill through some more of my skull so that the electrodes can then be inserted into my cochlea. Once all of that is done, they will sew me up……but notice….they don’t put my hair back on!!!!
At this point, my normal ear is of absolutely no use other than a place to hang earrings!! I will no longer use my ear for its intended purpose. After the 4-6 weeks, I will then start the journey back to hearing!! This is where it will get real exciting!! At my hook up, I will get the processor, which basically looks like a behind the ear hearing aid. There is a thin cable that connects to a piece that is about the size of a quarter. This has a magnet in it and there’s a magnet in the internal implant. So, that piece sticks to my head. Kind of weird looking!! But most likely, no one will see that part because it will be in my hair…..so it will be covered up. WELL, that is…..AFTER my hair grows back.
So, sound is picked up by the processor, travels up the cable and passes through the head piece to the implant by radio waves, then travels down to the electrodes that are in my cochlea and the electrodes will fire away!!! The info will go up my auditory nerve, move on to my brain, which then has to make sense of it all.
When I am first hooked up, everyone says that sounds are very weird, very mechanical and that people sound like cartoon characters. My brain has not heard high tones in many, many years, so it has to figure out what it’s hearing and what it’s suppose to do with that noise. I basically have to learn to hear again. Everyone is different….some adjust very quickly, some take longer, but it’s a process for everybody. Time…..lots of time. I must be patient. My audiologist said it will take about 6 months for me to feel confident with what I’m hearing.
I will go through a lot of mappings (that’s what it’s called when I go to the audiologist to get the programs in my processor tweaked.) As the brain learns to hear again, the programs in the processor need to be changed. So, I will go get mapped pretty often in the beginning because the brain will change a lot when I am first hooked up. Well, I sure hope my brain has not forgotten how to re-learn some things!!! It’s pretty old and feeble!! I’m kind of worried!!!!
That’s a very quick version of what’s ahead. Now we just wait. And wait.
If you ever have questions about any of this stuff, just let me know and I’ll answer as best I can!
2/13/07
Today was the last doctor appointment before my surgery. First I went to get the ct scan, then over to see Dr. Jones, then on to Pre Op. The ct scan was just peachy…..they saw no problems. We went over all the surgery info again and he answered any remaining questions that I had. I also had him remove the tube in my left ear. That was OUCH! Not deadly, but OUCH!!! He said it would take about 3 days for my eardrum to heal. As of right now, I’m not hearing squat in that ear. I sure hope I will be hearing my usual puny amount when it heals up!!! I’m supposing it’s just the trauma to the eardrum. At least I hope so. At Pre Op we went over the same stuff…….what to do, what not to do, don’t eat, don’t drink, blah, blah, blah. Just the standard stuff. Right now, I don’t know what time my surgery will be. All I know is that it’s the 27th. They will call the day before and tell me what time to be there. That’s about all the exciting news of the day.
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