The CI Halloween Meet And Greet Party! Sunday, October 29, 2006

Friday was the CI Halloween Meet and Greet here at school. This is a party hosted by the Audiology and Speech departments here at school, so people (students, staff, faculty) with CIs can meet each other, as well as their friends. Events are held throughout the year, so I’m looking forward to more of these events and can’t wait!

It was a lot of fun, and I wish I was able to be there for the whole thing, but I had to leave for a little bit due to a prior commitment. I did manage to make it back for the very tail end of it. It was great getting to see some people that I haven’t seen for awhile, and some who were totally surprised to learn that I had gotten a CI.

What I learned at this party was that the official total of CI users here at school is 206 students and 15 faculty/staff, with one faculty member soon getting implanted.  Then there was a boy who had a special pair of glasses, and the legs were specially made so they didn’t cause interference/push the CI off the ear.  It was pretty cool, if not futuristic-looking.

 

This is my speech therapist, Karen! I’ve been working with her ever since I started speech therapy here at this school.

 

 

Day 20 – Stay On My Ear! Sunday, August 27, 2006

Today I saw my stepmom and dad for the first time since I got the CI activated. I showed my stepmom all the stuff I got for the CI and explained everything to them. They also both saw my audiogram results from one week post-activation, and were impressed. My dad was especially pleased that I could understand the word jalapeno. 😀

We also looked at glasses for me today, and it was challenging to find a pair of glasses frames that didn’t press on the scar-area of my incision (since it still hurts, especially the little bulging spot), or cause my CI to fall off of my ear. The other criteria I had for my glasses was that they had to be super-lightweight, especially since the CI is already “heavy” on my ear. I also wanted a stylish pair of lime-green/bright-green glasses, because I’m all about the lime green. 😀 I will primarily be wearing my contact lenses, because I don’t like wearing glasses (especially in the extreme cold/snowy weather)! All I have to get is the prescription, which the doctor has to fax in. I’ll be happy to have glasses instead of sunglasses to watch TV before bed, because my glasses broke the night before I had my second surgery.

I got to play with some cell phones while we were out, and must link to them for reference: Motorola Q, LG V, Blackberry 8700g, and the XV6700. The representative seemed to suggest that the XV6700 would be the best one in terms of phone/email/music. My stepmom cautions against the SureType feature with the Blackberries, since they never get what you’re typing correct, and that’s what the upcoming Pearl has. -.-

I wish I could hear more with the CI, because everything sounds so quiet/muffled right now, but in certain situations it sounds great. If somebody’s up close to me, like within a foot, I can understand/hear the full timbre of what they’re saying. Otherwise, I’m like “What? What did you say? I can’t hear you.” At times, it makes me feel like that my hearing with the CI is worse than it was with the hearing aid. And today, I was having problems with the HA again. Grrr.

We also watched the Emmys, and it was frustrating because I could understand/lipread what they were saying, and the captions were several sentences behind, so I wasn’t getting that confirmation that what I was hearing was correct. I eventually gave up trying to read along and just read the newspaper, looking up occassionally.

Now I wonder what it’s going to be like when I go back to school and see the interpreter for all my classes. How am I going to reconcile what I am hearing with what the interpreter is signing/mouthing? The TV/captioning already drives me crazy. Oh wait, I’m supposed to be *LISTENING* with the CI. Silly me. Gonna have to work HARD to get to that point. Everything is still so visual for me, and I really need to break that habit and let my brain do the listening.

Bedtime. In the morning, a checkup with Dr. M for my surgical incision, and then Megan after that. I’m going to play with that program as long as she will let me. So much to do before I leave Wednesday. Aiiieee. I’m really not ready to end my summer break, as the entire summer has been all medical, not much fun/relaxation. But that’s real life.

Today’s Sounds List As Per Susan’s Request
– Hearing people drop dishes in the sink in the kitchen at the restaurant.
– Ice cubes clattering into glasses in the kitchen at the restaurant.
– Waitress dropping metal tray on floor.
– Baby at table behind us banging hands/silverware on table.
– Silverware/glassware clinking at restaurant.
– guy tripping over his feet/falling flat on his face outside of Best Buy and in front of three oncoming cars. everything literally STOPPED, all I heard was a “thump” as I was talking to my stepmom.