Friday, May 30, 2008

Another Weekend

This time it won't be long, or a holiday.

David is working tomorrow, then we'll have all day Sunday. I can't wait. I love the full days together and going to new places to hear new things.

David has his next mapping on Monday. That will be really nice. Hopefully he'll get some more refined programs!

Tuesday he's going to follow up with his ENT again.

The 12th he has his speech evaluation.

Things are moving along at an alarming rate. May is nearly done, and June is knocking at the door. Before we know it, another year will be gone.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Pictures

I never posted pictures of David's activation, so, without further delay, here they are!!!




And, just kicking around the house. Notice the yellow? David changed the mic cover to add a little splash of color :)

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

A Long Weekend.

I don't just mean that it was three days.

Have I ever mentioned how much our son talks? No? He talks constantly. From the time he wakes up, until the time he falls asleep at night. If he isn't talking, he's making some other noise.

David got to experience that in it's FULL glory this weekend. Let's just say it's frustrating. You can't get a moment of quiet!

We had family picnics this weekend. Everyone commented on how well David is doing. They were shocked, as it's only been a week since activation. It will only get better and better.

David was a rock star. He handled the picnics very well, didn't get frustrated, and seemed to enjoy the attention :)

Friday, May 23, 2008

Loud

"The water running...LOUD. The water draining from the tub...LOUD. The pressure being released when you open a soda...LOUD."

It's amazing what you tune out or just get used to when you're a hearing person. David is experiencing all of these things now, and I just smile, sometimes I giggle.

I'm tickled by the progress David has made in a week. I spoke to him yesterday with a paper in front of my face so he couldn't lipread. He understood the majority of what I said.

He doesn't wear his hearing aid at home anymore. He's wearing his processor at work more often now too. (The funniest description is of what a crowd of people sound like. "Like a bunch of birds chirping at each other.")

What do I sound like to him? At the moment, Mickey Mouse. That's a start!

There are little things that we don't notice too much as hearing people. The sound of a kiss, a gasp, walking in the hallway, turning on a light, the wind rustling through the leaves.

I'm bursting with pride when I see how dedicated David is to making this work to it's highest potential for him.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Hear and Now

I watched this documentary on HBO last night. I thought it showed a very negative view on cochlear implants.

A 65 year old couple, deaf since birth had CI surgery. They had NEVER heard sound, and had a hard time adapting to what it was like to hear. They couldn't make sense of it. They couldn't repeat words that were spoken to them.

I thought it was sad. It was made years and years ago, but they didn't seem to have any rehabilitation therapy after being activated, and they didn't seem to understand that is *wasn't* going to make sense at first.

I'm SO glad that throughout the whole process we've had people telling us the truth. It won't sound the same, it won't make sense at first, don't expect miracles at activation, it is going to be a LOT of hard work.

We've had a fantastic team of doctors and audiologists throughout the process.

I can't wait to meet the speech therapist :)

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

May 21, 2008

Yesterday was amazing.

David is already improving by leaps and bounds with his implant. He's turning off his hearing aid and just listening.

He heard Eloise humming, shaking her water cup, shaking her rattling toy, saying babababababa. He heard Jaime singing and could tell that he was singing. He heard the different tones on the piano. He heard the water click on in the dishwasher.

He heard me gasp when he kissed my neck when we were hugging.

I can't wait for the speech therapy to begin. His progress is much better already than I expected it. They tell you not to get too excited for the intial activation, so we were guarded.

This technology is simply amazing.

What a gift for our family.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Hello Readers

It's been awhile. I chose not to blog the day to day musings of a recovering implant recipient.

We have been anxiously awaiting "Activation Day". That day was yesterday.

David's appointment was set for 1pm and we started a bit late due to horrendous traffic on I-95.

Martha and Maureen were both there. Maureen has been David's audiologist since he was an anklebiter (2). She came down for his activation, which meant a lot to us. It's hard switching audiologists after so long. Fortunately, Martha is also wonderful. She called to check up on David during his recovery. He's a person to them, not just another file.

Now, on to the exciting part.

The activation took a couple of hours. For the initial maps, they set the comfort and threshold levels on the implant, made sure that all 22 electrodes were functioning and set volume.

Right now his four programs are just different volume levels. As he gets used to how things sound, more advanced programs will be put in their places.

During the activation process, David was able to describe how the tones sounded (this is a very very good sign). He said one sounded like a gong, another like the alarm on a truck backing up. He also heard his own voice. He said that he sounded hoarse, and it was interesting watching him try to find the right words. In the past he's told me that he wasn't able to hear himself speak.

David was getting very tired during the activation process, but kept plugging along.

Once we got home, he was pretty overwhelmed by all of the sounds in the house, so he went outside to water the garden. He turned his hearing aid off. When I came out, he told me that he heard birds. Too many birds! I laughed and told him it was always like that. He asked me if the water hose always made that sound. He heard a neighbor's child yelling from another house on another street. He heard Jaime yelling from the play scape. He heard Eloise blowing raspberries from my arms (that one made him smile his amazingly charming smile).

He's not yet recognizing speech as speech, but that will come with time.

In two weeks we go back for another mapping session. Until then, David will be working out all the new sounds that he's hearing.

Stay tuned!

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Random Musings

David goes back to work tomorrow.

He's nervous. I can tell. He's napping right now, before our dinner guests arrive.

It's been a great two weeks. He's recovered well.

15 Days until activation. He TOLD me he's nervous about that. He wasn't nervous at all for the surgery, but the 19th is the true test. What will he hear? What will it sound like? How long will it be before the things he's hearing make sense to him?

Many questions have yet to be answered.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Friday, May 2, 2008

More pictures

Sick of them yet? Too bad.

4/28

5/1

5/2


It is amazing how quickly he's healed up. His hair is growing in now, and we're back to "normal" (in quotations because I have yet to figure out what normal really is...).

17 days until activation.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Knowledge is power.

Cochlear Americas offers FREE information about the Nucleus Freedom.

If you are thinking about getting an implant, get over to their website (www.coclearamericas.com) and order a FREE information package.

I'm sure Advanced Bionics has something similar.

If you are getting an implant and have someone in your family who is uninformed and resistant to the idea, show them the information. They might just change their way of thinking ;-)

In other news:
David's scar is healing very very nicely, and the hair is starting to grow back. I'll post pictures later, after I take pictures. He is back to work on Monday. I hope that it goes nice and smoothly for him.

I've mentioned before how lovely it's been to have him home. The kids (and I) will really miss him.