You haven't heard from me for a while because I've been busy. If you are a Facebook friend, you know that my cochlear device was implanted on November 4. It will be activated on November 19. The surgery went well but I was kept overnight in the hospital for nausea control. My son came from out of town to care for me for the week. I have arranged for friends and a handi-cap van service to take me to my many follow-up appointments and other long-distance appointments for I have decided that it is unwise for me to drive very far or in heavy traffic due to the enormous concentration required with hearing loss and the spacial disorientation that comes with bilateral vestibulopathy.
As I mentioned in my last post, my hope is that the cochlear implant device will help to alleviate fear and confusion is crowds. A good example of confusion caused by my hearing impairment occurred at my Silver Sneakers Class. The class was paused near the end and the instructor handed her microphone to a participant. I heard and understood the words "Mary" and "died" and thought that it was an announcement about another participant's death, but why were they laughing? Beyond the noisy environment after class, my friend told me that it was a joke: "An elderly gentleman told his wife that, when he dies, she is to get rid of everything he owns; that when she remarries he doesn't want some A--hole using anything that was his. Her response was '.What makes you think I'm going to marry another A--hole when you die.' " Not much of a joke third-hand, but my confusion gave us a good laugh.
My device is actually two complete kits; one for every day and one for activities such as aqua-aerobics which I had given up because I could not hear the instructor without my hearing aids and could not wear my aids in the water. This new device is submersible! YAY! I am excited to finally get it activated. I'll post again soon to let you know how happy I am with it.
I'm too hard on myself. I'm tired being tired. I still expect to be able to do everything and, when I can't, I am disappointed and despondent. On the other hand, when I DO accomplish something on my own, it is cause to rejoice. Yes, the struggle IS part of the story and it will have a happy ending.
