Recovery From Going Bilateral...

I have been awful about updating my blog but I'm a busy bilateral bee. I got my stitches taken out on Saint Patty’s Day at some gosh awful time of 7:45 in the morning. The doctor said everything looks great. As I mentioned in my other post that when I was in the recovery room, the doctor said something about a hole in my head but I was a little preoccupied with organizing a manhunt for my Blackberry to care about a little hole in my head. I was concerned about it later on.

As I was getting the stitches ripped out of my head, the subject of the hole happened to come up. The area where the surgeon wanted to create a bed to put my implant in was thin and in doing so small part of the Dura Mater which is the covering of the brain had a hole in it and some cerebrospinal fluid leaked out. The surgeon had to patch that up. It is a similar to when they implant a baby because their skull is thin and pliable. First, I was a little freaked out because I was envisioning this implant sitting right on top of my brain but it is actually sitting on mostly skull except for a small portion of Dura Mater. That makes me feel a little better. I had to ask if I had to take any extra caution in activities and he told me to use common sense - right.

After the question and answer session with my surgeon, I preceded right back home to take a much needed shower. I admit that with this surgery, I was not as strict with the doctor’s orders as I was the last time. Day three, I decided to throw caution to the wind and slather the incision up with Neosporin and hire a cheap shampoo girl (Mom) to wash my hair. Afterwards, I dried the incision thoroughly with Hydrogen Peroxide and applied a layer of Neosporin. I guess I should put a half hearted disclaimer here: If this influences you to blatantly disregard your doctor’s orders, I am or this blog in no way shape or form responsible for your actions.

Now with the legalities out of the way, I wanted to create a post specifically to compare and contrast my left ear which was my first implant and my right ear which is the newest addition to magnetville. I revisited my surgery posts for my left ear. A wave of nostalgia came over me but I'm over it already. :)

Here goes.

Recovery room:

LEFT: When I woke up in the recovery room, I was in a good amount of pain. I felt as if my head got ran over by a Mack truck. The nurses were quick to shoot my IV up with some pain relievers. God bless them. It took a little while to come around from the anesthesia. I was under for three and half hours because my doctor had some issues getting the last electrode in but finally got the bugger in.

RIGHT: This time, I woke up with very little pain. I was able to wake up quicker since my surgery was only two and half hours. I was up and around within a half hour. The surgeon had no problem getting all the electrodes and the only issue were the leaking brain juice.

Sleeping:

LEFT: I parked my big ol’ butt on a recliner for a week. There was no way, no how I could lie down. When I tried to lay flat in my bed, I experienced the sensation of a spinning vortex. So the recliner it was for me.

RIGHT: The first night, I slept on an incline but by morning, I was sleeping flat on my back on a pillow and have continued to do so.

Pain pills:

LEFT: I was given the generic form of Vicodin that I was instructed to take two every four hours as needed. Well, I needed the whole damn bottle because I felt as if I got into a car accident with the aches and pains. I was a pill popping freak with this surgery.

RIGHT: This time around, I got the good stuff - Percoset which did the trick beautifully. Strictly for pain management - one in the morning and one at night for five days then I switched over to Tylenol gelcaps. One bad side effect of Percoset is constipation so try to increase your daily intake of fiber while popping the perks. :) Words of wisdom.

Metallic Taste Disturbance:

LEFT: I didn't get this side effect the first time and anytime I read that someone suffered from it, my reaction was always the same - dude, that sucks.

RIGHT: What goes around, comes around and it rolled around on day four, I went to take a sip of coffee that I had slumberly prepared that morning and as it coated my taste buds, a distinct copper flavor was detected in the right hemisphere of my tongue. Much to my dismay, I went on a coffee hiatus. It took about a week and a half for that to go away and for that next week and half, I found out what the headless horseman felt like but I lost four pounds. :)

Day of Doom: Day Three

LEFT: When day three rolled around, I was feeling pretty crappy.

RIGHT: When day three rolled around, I was feeling so good that I went back to work on day four which I will now admit was a very stupid move because I was so drained just sitting there. I resumed my right to recovery at home on day five with all the Food Network I could watch.

Dizziness:

LEFT: The only time that I experienced dizziness was when I laid down and I tried very hard not to do that!

RIGHT: Nothing at all :)

Fullness:

LEFT: I remember getting the cotton ball feeling with this ear for about two weeks.

RIGHT: The only time I experience the sensation of fullness is when I bend over.

Jaw pain:

LEFT: My jaw was tender but I could eat a hamburger without cringing in pain.

RIGHT: This time around was ouch. the jaw tenderness was bumped up a couple of notches. I couldn't yawn without flinching. Since opening my jaw anymore than an inch caused me to wince in pain, food preparation was a fiasco. Everything had to be in extra small bites.

Swelling:

LEFT: It was the fattest ear that I have ever seen in my life.

RIGHT: If I had any swelling, I couldn't tell and neither could anyone else. By the third day, curiosity got the best of me because I wanted to see whether the magnet from my processor could find the implant. It had no problem attaching itself.

Numbness:

LEFT: The top of my ear felt as if it had been anesthetized for three months. It took about three months for me to get feeling back into my ear. I could not sleep on for three weeks. In fact, the day of my activation was the day I was able to sleep on it.

RIGHT: Considering that I am two and half weeks post surgery, it is still numb but I can sleep on it now!

Tinnitus:

LEFT: Before the surgery, I had a major case of tinnitus that sounded like a train going around my head. After the surgery, I woke up to complete quiet. It was so pleasant to have that turned off. :) I did experience short episodes of tinnitus but after activation, it was gone.

RIGHT: I had some minor tinnitus before the surgery. After the surgery, it was like a different album was playing. Now, I don't hear much of anything except on occasions. I expect it to be less than noticeable when I get turned on.

Nose blowing.

LEFT: I don't even want to recount the anguish I went through when I just attempted to blow my nose with this surgery. I was truly paralyzed in pain.

RIGHT: Considering the painful experience I had with the left ear, I didn't want to take any chances. I decided to follow doctors orders on this and wait the two weeks before I attempt to blow my nose. The result was snot and a slight ear pop. :)

Neck stiffness:

LEFT: My neck was a little stiff but not near as stiff as the right ear.

RIGHT: My neck was stiff for about two weeks until I could move my neck side to side with no problems.

Bruising:

LEFT: I looked like I got kicked in the side of the face by a mule. It wasn't pretty.

RIGHT: I think I had a slight discoloration on my temple. Other then that, I looked good.

Tiredness

LEFT: I was popping so many pills that knocked me out that I was having cat naps every two hours.

RIGHT: I was tired but not to the state of nap time. :)

Driving:

LEFT: I didn't dare to drive until the sixth day. I cherished the fact that I had a driver license.

RIGHT: I was driving by day three despite the stiffness I had in my neck.

In conclusion, my right ear surgery and recovery went much smoother then the first one. It was so drastically different. Here I am two and half weeks post surgery and I am back to work full time. I went back to the gym doing light work outs. My incision is healing quite nicely. It really has been a super simple recovery. My activation is a week from today - April 2nd at 2pm.

The only gripe I have about this surgery is finding out that I am not as thick headed as I thought I was.

Officially Bilateral!!!

Today is day four of my recovery from my second cochlear implant and you will never guess where I am - I’m sitting at my desk at work, sipping on a cup of copper flavored coffee skillfully prepared by the professional coffee artisan across the street. I’m visually picturing you – my loyal readers – jaws dropping right about now.

But I am not kidding you.

I have been totally unenthusiastic about going bilateral even though I have a swarm of bilateral buddies swearing up and down that two is better then one. I would just nod in agreement just to hush them up. When I had my first cochlear implant surgery, I felt a sense of urgency to get it done. It was either to remain deaf or given the possibility to hear and I chose the latter. I had a rocky recovery with my first cochlear implant surgery and I was hesitant going through the whole ordeal again though I know the benefits far outweigh a few days of feeling as if I got ran over by a train. With that in the back of my mind, I had no immediate desire to go freely jumping on the bilateral bandwagon. But then you read studies like these:

Bilateral cochlear implants: A case when 2 are definitely superior to 1


Adult Bilateral Study PDF

And ponder if it is really worth it? But then, what did I have to lose? So I finally got a surgery date of March 9th and insurance approval for going bilateral a week before going under the knife.

On Monday, I had to report to a different building then my first surgery. It was a happy building - lots of shiny stuff that caught my eye. The sage green aesthetic calmed the most neurotic of patients. I had to be there around 9:30 and I was a little late, of course, but they still took me in anyway. They slapped the identification bracelets on me and made me get undressed. They let me keep my skivvies on because last time they demanded them off which is a bit embarrassing. :)

Just like last time, I gave the nurse one chance to get the IV in. I start practicing my lamaze breathing and pop she got it in on the first try. She decided to put the IV in my arm as opposed to my hands which has some thin veins. I had a horrific experiences where a nurse tried six times to put an IV in my hand. I ended up passing out and was put on oxygen. Hence the reason I have a rule in place, one shot and that it is.



Then the gas man with this unbearable accent came strolling in my little curtained in area. I get nauseous with anesthesia so I asked him to put some extra anti-nausea stuff in with my cocktail. However, I had such a hard time understanding him. He was Indian with a heavy British accent that had no desire to move his lips to enunciate. He just gave up with me and carried on talking to my friend as if they were a bunch of little old ladies about smart phones. After he left, I bawled out of sheer frustration. My favorite bilateral bionic babe, Jennifer managed to get my tears down to a mild drip just in time for my surgeon came in. He recapped the procedure as he marked my ear lobe with a teeny tiny X.

Shave some hair. Slice the ear open. Drill a well. Drill a hole. Slip the implant in there. Boot it up. Stitch me up and ship me home.

Super simple stuff – really.

Just before noon, they got smart and sent a native English speaking member of the anesthesiologist team this time to wheel me back to the OR. They were so kind to let my implant come along for the ride. It was similar to playing bumper cars on the way there. The chairs that they use don’t exactly go around curves well. With some narrow hit and misses, I hopped up on the table.

Then the gas mask came out. The last time they used the mask, I actually tried to rip it out because I felt as if I were making a mistake getting the implant. Silly me. This time, I felt at peace and drifted off.

The surgeon got all 16 electrodes in and stitched up by 2:30. I was told that the area where he wanted to place the implant was a little thin and that there was a hole already there (scratching head) but he spackled it. I will find out more about that hole that was in my head when I see him on March 17th to have the stitches removed. I woke up in recovery around four o’clock and it was worlds apart how I woke up the first time. I felt dopey as all hell. With the first surgery, I felt like a mack truck ran over my head and a bit dizzy. With this surgery, I didn’t feel any pain, pressure, dizziness or taste of metal. I hardly noticed the traditional turban but I was able to wear the cochlear implant over it.

Within a half hour, I was up and using the lavatory all by myself. I was drinking water and questioning on the ETA of my applesauce. They decided to inject some pretty potent pain medication in my IV which made everything wrong seem right in the world. They kicked me out of the hospital around five o’clock.


When we got home, I walked into Walgreens and drop my prescription off. After that, I plopped on the couch and got the royal treatment for the rest of the night. I mean - homemade spaghetti and meatballs with warm apple pie! You can’t go wrong with that! With my first one, I had no problem eating but I did have a problem with sleeping. I slept in a recliner to keep my head elevated but with this ear, I slept flat on my back.





The next day, the sadistic piece of gauze that was wrapped around my head a few hundred times came off. I was pleasantly surprised. I think my tears worked on my surgeon because he did not shave off nearly as much hair as he did before. Notice my picture of my first ear incision compared to my second ear.



Another pleasant surprise was that I got the good happy pills this time and not the generic version of Vicodin. I got some pretty white round pills of Oxycodone. With my last surgery, I was popping the two Vicodin every for hours. I take maybe one every 8 hours.

Yesterday was the dreaded day three of the recovery process. It is usually the day that most people feel really crappy. With my first ear, I felt horrible from day three to five but I felt disgustingly good. I have virtually no swelling whereas the last time my ear needed liposuction. It was gross. I woke up and started cleaning. I went for a drive and did a little grocery shopping. Just out of curiosity last night, I decided to dangle my magnet and see if it would attach itself and sure enough, it attached. That oughta tell you how much swelling I have. This recovery process is just so hard on me... :)

And today, I woke up with a slight metallic disturbance amidst my taste buds. This is new but it is not uncommon. I didn't have this with my first implant. It is pretty annoying and I find that really sugary substances like grapefruit and apples - do not taste good. Other then that, I'm feeling peachy...

Activation is on April 2nd!

Bilateral Surgery Date...

I know it has been a while since I have brought good tidings to my blog. I have been poked, prodded and even had a sheep thrown at me as means to inquire into my whereabouts. The sheep did me in. But first, I like to take the time to thank the highly anticipated gazillion snowflakes that I will have to shovel and then risk life and limb to drive to work tomorrow for the time to sit and down and update this blog.

The breaking news that I have is that in a week on March 9th, I'm going bilateral. That's right folks, I am going under the drill again and getting my right ear implanted.

The countdown begins now.

A moment on the NYC Subway

Here I am, completely placing my faith on mass transportation to dump me approximately an hour and a half north in one piece, right into the Big Apple. A city that I have navigated at least a hundred times before. A city full of seemingly possessed cabbies complete with a touch screen GPS for our viewing pleasure. A city where you can get a massage where they whack you in the back with branches from a birch tree, takes in an over priced burlesque show and visit a Bedouin coffeehouse for a cup of the strongest java ever and a pipe full of fruity flavored Hookah all in the same night. You just cannot get this kind of action in the suburbs.

My cochlear implant just can't get this kind of stimulation in the suburbs either. New York is complete with never-ending supply of auditory stimulation from the hustle and bustle of eight million people with an influx of lord knows how many more. After two hours of being encapsulated in the good graces of the NJ Transit bus, they finally unleashed the fury of passengers in Port Authority of New York. I have been here before. The familiar smell of carbon dioxide and rotten eggs infiltrated my nostrils. I took a deep breath and sighed as I thought, "Ahh, good old New York hasn't changed it scent one bit." I hopped down the stairs, hugging the right side of the rail as I skillfully navigated myself towards the subway entrance. One needs skillful navigation to find the damn subway entrance but since I have graced just about every subway line from the 1 to the 7, the A to the G and all the others in between, I consider myself an intermediary expert in the art of understanding subway paths.

After swiping my MetroCard through the subway turnstile, I make my way through the underground sauna to catch the R train heading downtown. As I started my sweaty descent down the stairs to the subway platform, the irony of perfect timing brought a smile to my face as the R train comes rolling in with the hundreds of passengers beginning their evening commute home. I clutched my purse closely to my side and then with one swift step, I entered through the double doors of the train and scouted for an empty seat. With no such luck, I grabbed a hold the nearest pole and prepared my footing for jerky acceleration to the next stop.

Amidst the slight chatter, stench of massive BO and the metal rattling over every rail, I heard, "34th Street - Herald Square, Next stop - 28th Street"

I'm standing there perplexed, did I really just hear that? I turnaround to this young Asian girl when they started announcing the stops. She replies, "No speakie English." I apologized for bothering her. Then out of the corner of my eye, I felt this intense chemistry towards a very attractive, clean shaven man with piercing blue eyes in a grey suit with a pale blue shirt. I love a man in a suit. I figured what the hey, I tapped his shoulder and smiled coyly as I asked him when they started announcing the stops. He smiled revealing the most beautiful smile and chiseled jaw line. I decided I was in love right then and there. I had to ask him to repeat himself, not because I couldn't hear him but I was so smitten with him. He spoke with the most beautiful voice that I have ever heard, deep, smooth, and dreamy. He said, "They always have." Those three little words are forever etched in my memory. I managed to utter a thank you. My mind is running a thousand clever conversational icebreakers, and every single one of them was hindered by my timidness. He got off at the next stop. I watched my future husband walked away only to be embraced by the arms of another man. Figures, he's gay.

After I recovered from the heartbreak of my minute long unilateral love affair, I realized how astounded I was to be hearing all the stops being called out. I have never heard them! It answered so many questions of how my friends knew well ahead of time when to get off. I have cochlear implant moments every single day, but this moment was truly gratifying.

I get off Rectory Place and head towards Ground Zero to say a little prayer in memory of those that lost their lives on 9-11. After that, I walked back up towards Broadway with a little help from Google Maps application on my Blackberry Curve, I finally arrived at my destination ─ an hour and a half late. I rushed up the elevator and walked into the room. There was lovely Tina Childress standing there smiling. She asked me whether I was okay. I said, "I'm fine." I was more then fine. I was on a high about hearing the subway conductor announce the stops. There is something about the element of surprise that can really take you aback when you discover that you can hear something ─ that has always been there but not for you.

Here is others that are well on their way in having their own moments:

David went in this past Wednesday to have his other ear done. He is officially bilateral buddy! David is from Canada and they have universal health care, so bilateral recipients are rare. He really lucked out. However, because David had bacterial meningitis and the side effects can show up months or years later apparently, he had a thin membrane grow over a couple of electrodes of his first implant. Instead of 16, he is down to 11 which is fine because you only need 8 working electrodes (no matter the brand). With his past surgery, the surgeon was only able to get in 11 electrodes in due to ossification which is yet another side effect of bacterial meningitis. Please join me in wishing him nothing but the best for his upcoming activation! I love this mans attitude.

Deb, who is the owner of the CI-Clarion II Yahoo Group, had revision surgery this past Monday to replace a very old C1 implant with the latest Advanced Bionic HiRes90k implant. They had to go through the original incision, ouch! She came through like a real trooper after a six hour surgery! There weren't able to get all of the electrodes due to ossification, but she suspected that they wouldn't be able to going into the surgery. She will be activated August 4th (i think) and she will be back to being bilateral. :)

Shari has finally had her surgery this past Wednesday after being denied by United Healthcare whom is well known for denying CI surgeries. I'm glad to see they are coming around thanks to the persistence of Let Them Hear Foundation. Shari has Ushers Type 2 and a hearing loss. She actually had the hearing loss before she had Ushers. She seems to be coming along smoothly! I'm so happy for her!

Wendi had her simultaneous bilateral cochlear implant surgery this past Tuesday. She is only one of three people, Valerie being one, that I know that has opted to have them both done at the same time. Her surgery took only 2.5 HOURS for BOTH ears! That is it! It took 3 hours for one of mine! However, I am glad to report that she has no dizziness, a little bout of nauseousness and a little bit of taste disturbance. Otherwise, her recovery is a dream! I think I want her doctor next. :) Her activation is coming up on August 20th! I feel a special connection with her because our hearing loss history is so very similar that it is scary. She didn't lose her hearing altogether during a nose job surgery like I did but everything else lines up perfectly. I have a feeling she is going to do fantastic.

Karen had her surgery on Tuesday as well, just one ear though. Karen is a Type 1 Diabetic with an insulin pump. I was very happy from Laurie that she came through with flying colors. She was a little dizzy and nauseous but all of the electrodes are in! She is having a tough time recuperating but her darling husband is taking wonderful care of her! I'm not sure when her activation is. I'm so excited for her!

Amanda had her surgery on July 14th and her activation is August 12th. She is a sweet 14 year old girl that has been fighting for a cochlear implant for a very long time. She has never heard before in her life. She is going to find out just how noisy the world. Her stepmother is a former teacher of the deaf and does a wonderful job of taking videos of Amanda and captioning them. I can't wait to see how she reacts!

Jen was supposed to have her surgery last week but they had to post pone it to August 1st which is next Friday! I am sure she will be glad to get it done and over with.

Its been pretty busy around here! Gosh! :)

Check Up, Cheerios, CapTel and Chalkboards.

The four “C’s”

Check-Up.

Last Thursday I hightailed it over to the University of Pennsylvania to see my surgeon for my three-month check up to make sure I don’t have a runway implant floating around in my head. He said everything looks great and I have healed up quite nicely. I don’t know if I mentioned this at the time I had my surgery since I was under the influence of some pretty darn good prescription narcotics :) but my surgery took a little longer then normal because he had some issues threading all the electrode in. He said the possibility of an obstruction in the cochlea prevented him from going as deep as he normally does. Obviously, it is working for me so it is not an issue. I popped the question about getting my other ear done, going bilateral with implants. Cochlear implants that is. I would not have to go through all the tests that I went through with the first one but he warned me that dealing with the insurance company to pay for another one might be my battle this time. I just have to start the proceedings, which is another blog entirely.

Cheerios.

For little such a little ring of whole grain goodness, it has a big crunch! I was talking to my friend who was snacking on dry Cheerios and the conversation went a little something like this.

“Abbie, (crunch) is Home Depot (crunch) or Lowes cheaper for (crunch) wallpaper?”

“I would say Lowes since Home Depot doesn’t carry wallpaper.” I said.

“(crunch) I thought they did. (crunch) Are you sure (crunch) they don’t?”

“Are you eating Cheerios?” I asked..

“What does that (crunch) have to do with Home Depot?” She crunched again!

“It doesn’t, but I can’t help but notice how loud the Cheerios are.”

“You can’t have any.” She pops a whole bunch in her mouth and proceeds to macerate them with her fangs.

“You know, Home Depot does carry wallpaper!” I smiled.

A few hours later, I get a nice text informing me that I’m a bleeping bleep for sending her on wild wallpaper chase.

My reply was: Cheerios! :)

Her reply: You bleep. Ahh, the love.

Captel Phones.

Deaf technology rocks my socks! My friend Joleen who lives right down the street from me showed me this nifty little gadget (by the way she is having her CI surgery on January 17, keeps you fingers crossed :) It is a phone for the deaf or hard of hearing with the biggest set of buttons that enables you to talk on the phone normally while reading almost real time captioning, word for word of what is being said on the other end of the phone. I was so amazed by the ease of how Joleen talked on the phone. She has the 2-Line Captel phone, one line is the regular house line and the second line is for the Captel operator. I requested to see if I could get one because I think this will really help me out at work. I hardly answer the phone because I have a hard time with understanding people on the phone. I remember when I first started working I had to learn how to use the phone, I answered phone call after call and I eventually got use to it. This is what I need to do now and this is the perfect thing to help me! The possibilities are endless!

Depending on what state you live in, you might be able to get it free. Here are the links to check it out

http://www.captionedtelephone.com/

This site is to check out what your state has to offer as far as CapTel phones go (some states even free!)

http://www.captionedtelephone.com/availability.phtml

Go check it out!! But after you read the rest of this post!

Chalkboards.

I had next to no clue what nails against the chalkboard sounds like but not anymore, I could never hear it. Most deaf people cannot hear it and I must say thank god for that because if what I heard today is anything close to that, I don't want to. I was always able to tell by the immediate cringe or the makeshift corking of the ear with the fingers while I sat happy as a clam twiddling my thumbs completely oblivious to the sound. My boss was pushing a baseboard heater across the floor and I am not sure what it came in contact with but it made one hell of a piercing sound that shuddered right throughout my entire body. I watched my boss stand there frozen in the famous “chalkboard” cringe. Ouchies. Word to the wise, metal on metal sounds are not the greatest sound in the world.

Heed my warning, keep a 100 yard distance from any welder!! It is just bound to sound no good!

PS: Good luck with your surgeries Sam, Amy, and Joleen! Ears are all sorts of crossed for you guys! :)

Hello World.

• Gigantic Productions is going to begin producing a show called "True Life: I’m deaf" on MTV. They are looking for a variety of deaf individuals ages 14-28. This is the casting call notice from HearingExchange along with the contact information

Do you have severe or total deafness? Are you a deaf student, about to graduate and go out into the world on your own for the very first time? Or are you currently attending a school for the deaf but about to transition to a mainstream school? Perhaps you’re trying to find a job but experiencing difficulty because you are deaf? Are you hoping to get a cochlear implant or be fitted for a hearing aid to significantly improve your ability to hear? Are you a [deaf] member of an advocacy group, fighting to gain more rights or assistance for deaf people?

If you fit any of these descriptions, MTV and Gigantic! Productions want to hear your story at casting@gigantic.tv or call 212.343.2674.

• Project readOn is a completely free online video captioning service. You can go there and search through video that have captioning or submit one that you want it! Sounds like a bargain to me!

• This is a petition to the FCC to push the issue of making it mandatory to caption online or downloadable video. Popular broadcasting networks such as NBC, ABC, CBS AND FOX all have rich video content on their websites, but they do not provide captioning. However, CNET TV has announced that all their videos have the capability of captioning with a click of a CC button.

• Paula Rosenthal over at HearingExchange has made an online site for kids! HearingExchange Kids is geared specifically towards elementary and middle school kids with a hearing loss. I feel that this site would be good for educating a hearing child about hearing loss as well.
  

• HLAA (Hearing Loss Association of America) is holding their convention in Reno, Nevada this year on June 12 to the 15th. The only problem with this is that I have to fly *gulp* but I'm going! I was considering driving but I did the math, $640 in gas alone changed my mind quickly.

• When I was listening to Josh Swiller, he mentioned a company called Godisa Technologies located in Botswana that provides low-cost digital BTE hearing aids and did I mention it is solar powered to people that otherwise would have been unable to afford them. The battery, the aid, the charger is all charged by a solar panel. From the clean technology to the vision of the company is genius!

• I just ordered this book off of Amazon, its called Rally Caps and the author is a loyal reader, an amazing and HIGHLY entertaining blogger and a wonderful devoted mother to her son Jordan who has a cochlear implant, meet Jodi Cutler Del Dottore
  

Now for some Cochlear Implant Surgeries and Activations

• A loyal reader and fellow blogger Deafcone had his first cochlear implant surgery this past Monday and I would appreciate if you would pop over there and give him some love! His recovery process sounds so similar to mine, poor guy.
  

• Sam Spritzer is going bilateral on January 15th and getting turned on.. February 15th which so happens to be yours truly birthday! Sam used to suffer from the eye twitches like me UNTIL he printed out a copy of the post that rectified mine and took it with him to a mapping. Read about how it fixed him up! I am SOOO happy that it was able to help him!
  

• Another blogger SkullChick is having her first cochlear implant surgery on January 15th and her activation is February 12th!!

• Michael Chorost is activating his second implant on January 24th!
  

I can't keep up with them all!!!

Atención!!

My buddy Jennifer is having her second Cochlear Implant surgery. She is going bilateral today!! Stop by her page and give her some love and good wishes.

Destination is merely a byproduct of the journey.

“Can you hear yet?!”

If I had a dime for every time I have been asked this since I had my surgery, my piggy bank would be overflowing! I wouldn’t be a rich girl but I would have enough money to buy my poochie a couple bones. The surgery is the first step of this journey back to sound. Nothing is ever easy, and learning how to hear again is no exception. My next step is activation. Before you even bat your eye, I’m going to explain the process and what activation entails, and with pictures too!

HiRes 90K Cochlear Implant by Advanced Bionics

The surgery inserts the internal part, the cochlear implant. The cochlear implant (see picture above) was inserted right above my left ear and under my skin as you can see here. A small hole was drilled through the mastoid bone to gain access to my cochlea and feed the tail through. At the end of the tail, you will notice the wire is a thicker. The thicker part of the wire houses 16 electrodes. The clear plastic mouse shape part is where the receiver and the magnet are located. The magnet is the part that resembles a watch battery at the top of the implant. Essentially, I got micro chipped :D I have no qualms with walking around asking people to cop a feel off my magnet.

This diagram gives offers you a visual interpretation of how the implant is inserted in my ear. If you follow the silver wire that starts from the top part of the ear, you will see that the electrodes follow the contour of the cochlea (the snail shape organ). It is pretty nifty right? With any surgery, there is minimal trauma but time heals all wounds and Vitamin E and cocoa butter heals all scars. My time to heal is three weeks before activation. I am down two and one week to go! Technically, it is closer to six days and 19 some odd hours but who is counting. Ah, hem…

Harmony Processor from Advanced Bionics

Activation involves the external part of the system, which is the processor that resembles your standard behind the ear hearing aid. The coil with the flat round disc at the end houses a magnet that will attach to the magnet in the implant that lies under my head. Whew, try saying that five times fast. Before I continue, for the record my processor will be boring beige. I am far too colorful with my hair and wardrobe to rock a colorful processor. Once the two magnets attract each other then my audiologist, Jennifer who is going to be my new best friend for the next couple of months, can get down to business and start programming the implant according to how I respond to the tones. Once the programming is complete, she activates me and slowly starts to turn up the volume to a comfortable level. At this point, I should be able to hear something. These sessions are called mappings that will be explained in detail as the countdown dwindles down. I like to keep my loyal readers in suspense! :D

More details at 11 tomorrow.

Here is my ear...

WARNING: This blog is rated PG-13 and suggested viewing time is before breakfast, brunch, lunch, high tea time, or dinner.

I was simply too excited about washing my hair and getting a new cell phone to post yesterday. I did not know which way to go but I knew I had to go west to see the good doctor. The stitches came out with very little pain since my incision is still numb. Whew, I was sweating in my sandals because I do not deal with a little pain being afflicted on me that well anymore. I can deal with massive pain but not the other way around. It never used to be that way until a couple years ago. I am a wuss now and I have no other choice to embrace the wussy way of dealing with pain.

Anyway, off to the good stuff. The doctor looked in my ear, gave me a clean bill of health, and then uttered those magic words, “You can wash your hair now.” So I put my biggest Kool-Aid smile and thanked him for putting up with my vanity, it was not an easy task for that man. I go back to see him in January sometime.

I thought I left my keys in the ignition and my car running because the minute I parked my car, I went from driver’s seat to the shower in 60 seconds flat. It was invigorating experience with a new sensation with water gliding over the incision being numb. Of course, I learned a few things after not being able to wash my hair for 8 days (whose counting? I sure was!). I discovered that I will never be able to rock dreadlocks or cornrows. How unfortunate… just a crying shame.

Now for some eye candy, or ear candy to be politically correct!!

Here is a picture of my incision with my stitches....

Eww... my ear is fat!!

And without my stitches...

It looks like I have to get liposuction in my ear.

I am absolutely knackered from going to bed late last night since my sleeping habits went off kilter during recovery and then going back to work today for the first time since my surgery. I was missed. I am glad that I am back to work since I felt the walls were closing in on me but I'm exhausted. I just want to climb into my box shaped bed and go to sleep.

This is me signing off with 12 more days to go til turn on. Sweet dreams.

A stitch in time cost me thirty.

Happy Labor Day everyone!!! I love getting a day of rest just because I am a member of the working society. I unknowingly finagled it so I can have an extra day for recovery. Genius, I know. I feel great today besides the cotton ball fullness feeling in my ear. If that is the only thing I am complaining about, I am grateful. Tomorrow is the day that I get the stitches removed. Boo-yah!!

How much does it cost to get some stitches snipped out of my head in America?

• Three hour round trip
• $12.00 in gas
• $3.00 in tolls
• $10.00 dollar co-pay
• $5.00 to valet park your car
• Being able to wash my hair tomorrow night

PRICELESS!!!

People, I am excited!!! I have not even thought about activation since I have been counting down the days hours to washing my hair. That does not mean I have been completely oblivious because I know I still have two weeks to go until I'm turned on. My right ear is doing very well since the good doctor killed the tinnitus is my ear. I had company over today and I looked away to self-test my speech discrimination. The result was that I felt there was an improvement since I picked up a few simple words here and there.

That and taking just one Tylenol was my cool factors for today.

I see things all so clearly now.

I woke up to a beautiful Sunday morning and watched for the first time Gone With the Wind on TV. Today was the day I felt pretty good. I didn't wake up with an immediate craving to reach for my prescription bottle full of Percocet with its adult proof caps. Instead, I took plain old Tylenol and it worked like a charm. It is nice to interpret reality clearly instead of living in a fog. I was going to take a picture of my lovely stitch work behind my ear for the world to see but lo and behold, digital cameras seem to have an expiration date and mine expired. Sigh. I hopped online and ordered a new one though. I love having the world at my fingertips! Now if I could only try shoes online by the measurements of my feet, that would be my golden egg.

I should give a brief summary of this past week.

• Monday was the easy part. I got my ear partially "Van Goghed" and flipped over and this computer stuck in it. They sewed me up, my head was dressed with a huge bandage wrapped so tight that Erin Brockovich could have worn it as a skirt.

• Tuesday - The skirt was snipped off my head. I spent most of the day high off my Percocet. Every couple hour I would fall asleep.

• Wednesday - Same thing as Tuesday. Pop pills, sleep, eat, pop pills, sleep, eat, ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, la la la.

• Thursday - I started to feel uncomfortable. My whole left side of my head ached.

• Friday - I felt even worse then Thursday. My aches and pains turned up the voltage a bit more.

• Saturday - I woke up feeling better then I had but then I had that awful nose-blowing incident. I shudder just thinking about that. I went for a drive with no problems.

• Sunday was the day I stopped taking the prescribed narcotics and started popping over the counter stuff. That is a milestone for me. I am not much a pill popper unless I have to.

There you have it, the condensed version of recovering from a cochlear implant by yours truly.

READ THE FINE PRINT.

DISCHARGE INSTRUCTIONS FOLLOWING EAR OR TUMOR SURGERY
Don’t blow your nose for two weeks following ear surgery.

There it is printed, by a laser printer in crisp black font on this stark white sheet of paper. I have a few problems with how this is presented on this list. They should make that a smidgen bit bigger. They should have put this on a separate piece of paper, say a POSTER BOARD BILLBOARD for example, with big bold capitalized letters. Preferably, I think a flashing neon sign stating this would have gotten the message across. I feel that the concept would have been grasped with such clarity at that point that your average dumb blonde would have understood. Dumb who? Dumb me.

I had the pleasure this morning of getting up on a beautiful sunny day and started it off by gently blowing my nose with almost enough wind to move a dust bunny. HOLY SWEET MOTHER OF ALL SAINTS, I was frozen in pain and fear like I saw a rattlesnake. I sat there screaming silently. I thought my eyes were going to fall out and start a new life as marbles. I thought to myself, "did I just blow a fuse or fry an electrode or rip a stitch?" Moments felt like hours went by before I could move. However long it took, it really @#$%^&* hurt. Do yourself a favor, do not blow your nose, better yet, do not breathe through your nose, even better yet, forget that you have a nose. You can thank me later.

Lesson of today: Listen to what your doctor tells you, fine print and all.

Van Gogh did what to his ear?!

Reporting from the same darn recliner in my living room.

I'm still taking one Percocet a day. I do not see foresee Tylenol in my future soon. Today was yet another uncomfortable day. All I did was lounge on the recliner and slept between Percocet poppings. Everything on my left side of my face is sore. It starts from my eye and radiates to my cheek, my teeth, my jaw, my ear lobe, my head. It all aches! I have not whined through my entire recovery yet because this is suppose to be a small price to pay for the big boom. I just have one thing to say, what the hell was Van Gogh thinking when he decided to hack his ear off?! He was definitely a few colors off a full palette. Holy crabapple, I can't even begin to fathom the very idea of what he did.

It has been five days since they did the old buzz cut and my hair is already starting to grow. I heard from the grapevine that pre-natal vitamins helps hair grow at an amazing rate. I wonder...

Attention Homo Sapiens, Attention!

Reporting live from my micro fiber plush recliner located in the living room filled with sunshine from the northwest.

This is an official CI news update.

I have the tendency to nod off several times a day, which I contribute to the Percocet. I have taken steps to reduce the Percocet from two tablets every 4 hours to one every 4 hours. Tomorrow, I am going to start taking plan old Tylenol. Boring, I know.

I religiously clean the incision with Hydrogen Peroxide and apply Polysporin twice a day. My mom noticed that there is a small patch of redness at the end of the incision but no sign of infection or discharge. We put a call in to the doctor just to double check that there is no reason to sound the alarms. My hair is looking downright ridiculous.

It is hard to describe the “pain” in my ear. It feels like a headache behind my ear. If I bend over, yawn, swallow or hiccup, it begins to feel full. If I straighten up or lay down, the fullness sensation goes away. I have started to feel little fluttering sensations around my stitches. My little nerve guys are beginning to wake up ☺ I wish they would wake up in the top of my ear though because it feels heavy.

My neck has loosed up some since I used an ice pack and the results are simply delightful. It no longer feels like I slept the wrong way. In exchange for that delightful feeling, I can see the god-awful ugly bruising around my eye, neck, ear, and incisions. When the pain medication wears off, I tend to stiffen up. I would say today has been the most uncomfortable day so far. The left side of my face is just very sore.

My spirits are high and I feel energetic. I am being forced to suppress this happy feeling because I don’t want to hear a certain shrilling voice, “ABBIE! You need to rest!” Sigh. I’m forced to do simple activities like watch the boob tube, eat chocolate covered strawberries and play with my little puppy. Watching TV is getting exhausting because the batteries in the remote control are going and it burns a few extra calories then what I want to getting to the channel I want to watch. I just ate the last of the strawberries. My puppy requires constant attention. My puppy pounces up on me with a ball and uses her entire head to roll it to me to engage in a game of play. While she is in her play stance, I grab the ball and throw it within a 6-foot range. This goes on for several minutes before she gets tired and resumes her beauty sleep. Then I resume mine.

Since the good doctor killed the tinnitus in my left ear, sounds are coming through much clearer in my right ear. For example, my mother is making dinner and she is creating such a racket with banging pots and pans. I had to turn around and ask her are you always this noisy making dinner?! After I said that, I realized how long it has been since I have not heard banging pots and pans and immediately told my mother to bang away. I was grateful for hearing it.

That concludes our report, good night and good luck ☺

The first day of the rest of my life.

Being bionic is rough work. I am exhausted with lounging around on the recliner all day long. I spent last night wrapped in that sadistic headband with bows that kept slipping down over my left eye. I felt like a pirate all throughout the night. I woke up every four hours to take my perkies because my incision was sore. I missed the moon eclipse by 10 minutes! DOH!

I remained stationary for most of the day. I took pressure bandage off around noon and continued to pop my perkies. I felt free from the evil grips of those gauze bows. The doctor did not shave much hair off. My mom said the stitches are very fine, resembles a very good plastic surgeon handiwork. The left side of my neck is stiff and beginning to develop bruises. I have to use hydrogen peroxide to keep it scab free and Polysporin twice a day. I discovered a couple little cuts on my lips from the breathing tube. I spent most of the day drifting in and out of sleep watching TV and emailing back and forth. The highlight of my day was I just drove down the street to go get my mail.

I got some sweet cards in the mail. I got flowers and balloons delivered earlier today from a friend of mine. It amazes me that in the world that we live in today that I manage to have a fine collection of generous and kind friends that will take time out of their day to drop me a note to see how I am doing. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by them. How many people can say that they have a bionic friend? :)

I'm officially a bionic baby!! :)

Darn gone it folks, I went bionic! Here is the recap.

7:30am - My famished self and the rest of the clan arrived at the hospital. I got myself checked in and signed a few papers so the hospital can get paid. The infamous bracelet got slapped on the wrist and I was sent on my merry little way to prep.

8:30am - I got into prep and got changed into my stylish cotton gown and little blue booties. I warned the OR nurse that she had only ONE shot of getting that IV in me and that was it. She did not get it in on her one and only chance and happily obliged by my wishes. Whew! The last time I had surgery, it took the nurse six times until she finally gave up and handed it off to another nurse who knew what she was doing and got the IV in. All the while, I was passing out, sweating, and seeing stars. They gave me the oxygen mask and all was made right. I refuse to go through that again.

9:00 to 10:30am - My spirits were high. I was cracking jokes because my mom and my dear friend Philly and George were upset. The anesthesiologist and an attending doctor came to visit and introduced themselves. While I was trying to bribe them with some home made cookies to convince the mean doctor not to shave my hair, they were going over a few things with me. One of the doctors asked my mother if she and my good friend Philly, who is around the same age as my mom were all related. This is classic. My mother so innocently replied, "We are both her moms." The look on the doctors' face confirmed that they thought my mom meant that I was the pride and joy of a domestic partnership. We all had a gay ol' time laughing at that!

10:30am - I was left alone until the good doctor came to visit me. He asked me if I was ready to roll. After nodding affirmatively, I began to bat my baby blue eyes, and begged him not to shave my hair. He did not fall for it. I pouted the whole way being rolled to the OR. Meany!!

11:00am - With the red carpet rolled out, I arrived at my destination, the OR room! The realization still has not sunk in I was going bionic. It was not until the anesthesiologist put the mask on my face to put me to sleep that I realized, pardon my French, "Oh shit, I don't want to do this, stop!" *snoring* I was officially checked in at the pillow department of the Cochlear Implant factory and there was nothing I could do about it. Resistance was futile.

2:45pm - I woke up very groggy but not nauseous. I immediately took notice that there was no tinnitus in my left ear, no sore throat, no dizziness and little pain in my left ear. Hot damn, this is great! I got some water and started waking up little by little. My mother and Philly came to visit me. They commented on my cute little headband, little did I know they put made bows out of the gauze where my "horns" would normally be. Sick joke. The good doctor told me them that they had a little trouble getting the last electrode in but finally got it inserted. I got some water, Jell-O and gray chocolate pudding! Gordon Ramsay would have been all over that chocolate pudding, it was disgusting. I do not suffer from that metallic taste side effect as you will see later on in this post.

4:00pm - Discharged and on my way home!!! They gave me some perkies and sent me on my merry way. I got a philly pretzel and munched on it on the way home! Washed it down with some diet coke.

6:00pm - I arrived home after getting my perkies and sat my tushy in my recliner and ate some more :) There isn't a darn thing wrong with my appetite. I knocked out for a few and then woke up to blog and answer some texts. I made myself some little english muffin pizzas, had some strawberries, and had a sugar free Popsicle (girl has to watch her figure after all, LOL).

I feel pretty darn good compared to the other surgery I had. I'm going to check in at the pillow factory and let you know how I'm doing tomorrow.

Thank you for all your prayers and support :)

Strength is irrelevant, resistance is futile. I wish to improve myself.

I'm off to join the collective, the most wonderful collective of all!!!

I don't think I am going to have a problem sleeping tonight. I was like a crazy pregnant woman diagnosed with nesting syndrome today. This is what I have accomplished since since 7:00 this morning.

• Went out to breakfast with my mommy and the best neighbor in the whole wide world! (you can't have her, you just can't, she's all mine.)
• Food shopping (it is tough but someone gotta do it.)
• Mowed my brand new lush green lawn with the worlds heaviest lawn mower :)
• Wacked some weeds, pulled some weeds, and sprayed the suckers so I don't have to do it again in a weeks time.
  
• Operated the leaf blower for the hell of it, it is fun (just wanted to blow the weeds in the other direction instead of raking them up)
• Rearranged my sun room furniture (I was bored)
• Gathered up the garbage and she shoots, she scores right into the trash can for 2 points.
• Popped some bubble wrap (Truly liberating)
• Washed, dried, and folded and/or hung three extra large loads of laundry (and yet I complain every morning I have no clothes, pfffft.)
• Sweep and/or vacuumed, washed, and scrubbed the floors (lemon scented floor cleaner is bliss)
• I cleaned all major appliances back to the sparkling showroom status.
• I cleaned and disinfected the telephone, doorknobs, bathroom sink, tub, and last but not least the porcelain god.
• Posted a couple "Extra, Extra, Read All About It!! Surgery Tomorrow!" on a couple cochlear implants websites.
• Lastly, I talked to the anesthesiologist about my medical history via my mother.

I'm pooped.

Signing off to join the collective!

P.S. Thank you all for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers.

A time to plant, and a time to get implanted.

I believe last year around this time I was hiking at about 1,100 feet in the Appalachian Mountains. I distinctly remember discovering this massive clearing full of wild flowers and exotic looking butterflies flitting all over the flora. Beyond the wild garden was the steepest valley covered with the dark green trees tops. It was the perfect backdrop to the organic activity in the garden. The valley was illuminated by bright clear blue sky with the afternoon sun beaming above. The moment was perfect, almost phantasmagoric. One I could never forget because yours truly who is normally a camera happy citizen was so overwhelmed I forgot to put down my bear mace down to snap a flick. Doh!

365 days later, I opted not to become one with nature, but with technology. I am shacking up in the lovely achromatic operating room held at knife point by the man in white. The good doctor will wriggle the implant deep into the very bowels of my inner ear. Once in, reinforcements are called in to make sure everything is up to par. Then he will do some fancy blanket stitch to prevent everything that I got up there from oozing out. Instead of discovering plants, I'm the one getting planted. On the bright side, I won't need fertilizer.

All of this will be starting at my arrival at 8:15 Monday morning. Something tells me I am not going to bright eyed and bushy tailed for this venue.

Its the call we all been waiting for....

Tomorrow between the hours of 3 to 6pm EST is when I receive confirmation on what time they want my freshly shampooed head at the hospital on Monday. Oddly enough, I am like the sponge of useless knowledge and yet I cannot soak up the fact that they are going to be drilling a hole in my head and putting this contraption in my ear. I spend my free time reading about others going through their candidacy process, surgery, activations and their new hearing moments. As a result, I am so amazed with how they are making out that I put myself on the back burner.

It is all so surreal to me, like tye-dye pigs with rhinestone collars soaring through the air.

Just like the Energizer Bunny...

I keep going and going and going.

I have 7 days to go and then it is scalpel time! Pardon my morbid sense of humor. I am delirious. I just want Monday morning at whatever godforsaken time the hospital wants me to be there to arrive.This weekend flew by at the speed of light. On Friday, I attended the end of the season softball bash at a fellow player's house. The house was gorgeous, hard-scaping was magnificent, pool was beautiful, and the food was delicious with a capital D. By the end of the night, all my energy was consumed trying to keep up with conversation, but I had a great time nonetheless.

It was a beautiful day on Saturday. I did some shopping and I attended a spa party! I tried numerous beauty treatments. None of them made me look like Heidi Klum but it was relaxing. I had this stuff put on my face that gave me a patina effect. Then the chair happened. I am going to nickname this chair Chocolate because it is just as dreamy as chocolate. Chocolate is a torque up pedicure chair for your own personal use! I felt so relaxed between the treatments and the massage. Later on, that night, my friend and I decided to try our hands at making hair extensions. We eventually gave up and started looking into some technology to modernize the process. It was coyly named "Mom with the sewing machine."

Then Sunday, a few wonderful hearing friends and I went to the NYC Deaf Festival at South Street Seaport. We arrived at Fulton street hot off the subway, and I had no idea which way was east. It did not take me long to find out, all I had to do was follow the deaf people. It was everyone's first deaf event and it was a learning experience for all of us. It was a good time with the music, the vendors, and the food. I think it would have been better if I knew sign language. Not all was lost because we learned some sign here and there. We learned how to say thank you and success. Sign language is a beautiful way to communicate. I wanted to find someone who had a cochlear implant and failed miserably. We had good food at Uno's. I was very impressed at their quality of food. I would say the experienced has been a success, thank you all!

Then today at the office was business as usual at my not-so-sunny little cubicle. I was so jaded this morning from my weekend :) It was a very hectic day. My tinnitus was mild this morning. I thought I was going to need a rubber room last week! I faced reality this morning that my residual hearing in my right ear is going and fast. Things that I heard a couple weeks ago I am barely making out now. This morning I had to use someone else's desk to make a quick copy. I had several people behind me and they were trying to get my attention. I did not hear a single word. I was able to be hear some environmental sounds. I turned around to get the copy and I saw that they all had the infamous grin on their face of "Hellllllo, we are trying to get your attention!" Words were exchanged and I walked out the door with my tail between my legs, figuratively speaking.

It is a dog-eat-dog world out there and I'm happy I can still hear mine bark.