Where DID January go?!

I can't believe we are going into our second week of February! It HAS been a busy time here, but even so....
Things seem to be going okay with the Implant - although it will never be a fast enough process for me. I am still hearing new sounds from time to time - I can make out different birds now (now I need to identify which species they are!) and hearing more sounds around the house, but speech is slow to progress, due to the complex nature of the sound. I can hear the 's' and 'ch' sounds fine, its the other frequencies I'm finding harder - though I think I'm probably hearing more than I realise. I must take more time to practice 'listening' - I've been told that listening books are a way to go.
Why have things been hectic here? Well, we had mum here for the Festive Season but she passed out during a party I had here on 2nd January. She ended up in the local Cottage Hospital whilst I frantically converted the dining room into a bedroom for mum so that she could access everything on the one level. (it was a deep green paint - walls and radiator! - hastily painted magnolia). Sadly mum passed away in her sleep in the early hours of the day she was due to be discharged. Mum IS sorely missed, but I'm glad that she is now free from her failing health and increasing breathlessness of recent months - very frustrating for such an independent woman. She had her first heart attack 25 years ago - and nearly died of multi-organ failure in 2006 - so she was really living on borrowed time. A tough cookie she was! We did have a lovely Christmas and New Year with mum - and I can still picture the look of joy on her face when I could hear the birds for the first time! I do believe that her legacy lives on in the rest of us, with the skills that she taught us, her values, humour and care and concern for others - and will surely be passed on for generations to come. It was a lovely day for the Funeral and I managed to do a Reading - may mum rest in peace.
So its been a roller-coaster of a few months for me - really since packing 6 weeks before moving house, then unpacking before the admission for the CI 10 days after the move, then Christmas and New Year, then mum....I'm looking forward to a quiet 'routine' for a change! I'm not one to sit still though, and have started decorating our new home. My wee girl's room is just about finished - she's gone from being a 'pink' girl to a 'blue' one (in colour - not mood!). My bedroom is next on the list - I'm using the bedroom as a 'tester' - if I like the colour enough I will use the same colour for the living room. Once that is done - it will be time to sort out the acre of garden!
We're really loving our new home though - it's a beautiful part of the country. I really must get taking some photos. I don't even need to venture far to see the wildlife - I have plenty of birds visiting from the usual sparrows and chaffinches, blue, coal and great tits, to siskins, gold finches, a pheasant, dove, and woodpecker. There are also birds of prey in the countryside nearby. I'm looking forward to more bike rides and walks when I get a spare moment!
What amazes me is the resilience of my wee girl - she'll be 7 in April. Either she is just taking everything in her stride - she's has had just as much to cope with the move, new School, me in hospital, Christmas/New Year, then 'granny' - or else she's keeping it all to herself. I do get frustrated that I can't have an 'easy' chat with her - being so dependant on lip-reading and not always getting it right. It has to get easier one day...
So there you have it. Hopefully I'll now have more time to ponder, listen, take life at a more leisurely pace rather than 'crisis management'! Who knows what my next blog will bring...

Happy New Year!

As I type there is only a short time before this year ends - and what a year it has been for me too. At least things now seem to be on the up.

I had my 'switch on' on Tuesday - which I was already nervous about as I slipped and fell on ice 10 days ago and got a gash not one inch from the cochlear implant. Never mind my brain - I had concussion - I was more worried about the implant! Anyway, we made it through the snow on the high ground (it was beautiful too.) and it turns out that the implant is fine after my fall, thank goodness, and that all 10 electrodes are working. That's the good news, but I was rather disappointed that I couldn't make any sense of speech at all. All I could hear were constant whistles and beeps at the same frequency for all sounds - even more annoying than tinnitus. The technician wasn't concerned - she says that this is how it starts for some people and that I will come to learn what all these beeps mean. It's much harder work lip-reading and tiring too - but being me - I'll persevere! I go back again next Tuesday for a re-tune and assessment - but it looks like this rehab is going to take a while. The technician says it can take months before I get recognition of speech - I was hoping I would be quicker than that (as some people are).

I must say I AM hearing more today than yesterday - things like paper rustling, the cat miaow, the fire sparking - sounds I've never heard before. It's strange then that I can't hear the hoover - though that is maybe a blessing! I still can't make out conversation and rely heavily on lip-reading although I am starting to hear 's' and 'ch' sounds - again I've never heard these before. So I'm feeling much more positive now.

So a New Year is nearly on us, and new, exciting, beginnings for me. A wonderful new home and discovering new hearing - and this is only the start! Here's wishing you a very Happy New Year and best wishes for 2010 - may it be a good one!

Merry Christmas!

Just a quick message to say Merry Christmas to all my readers - and hope that you have a good one!

We are looking forward to our first Christmas in our new home even though it looks set to be chilly! Very pretty out there though. There is one downside - I slipped on ice and fell backwards two days ago and landed on my head. I am now sporting a one inch gash on my skull just one inch from the Cochlear Implant - never mind damage to the brain (I was concussed) - I'm more worried about technical damage to my implant. Time will tell - ie next Tuesday when I go for the 'switch on' - lets hope the weather won't stop this.

Here are some wintry pics for you of our new home..


and a view of the garden...



Have a very Merry Christmas!

I'm home!

Actually I've been home since Thursday - just haven't really been up to blogging until now. The op seemed to go well, with 10 out of 12 electrodes being implanted. Amazingly, I've not had any pain around the ear at all but I am bothered with nausea and dizziness if I move too quickly. Strangely enough, any pain I've had is stomach cramps from the painkillers that the hospital insisted I take - I'm still bothered with cramps even after stopping the pills over a day ago. An op on the ear resulting in stomach pains - how strange!!

The surgeon managed to persuade me that I should get my better ear implanted...hopefully this will have been the right decision. 'Switch on' is due on 29th December 09 - I can't wait!

We have also settled into our new home - a beautiful place to recuperate. I'm just glad that I managed to get the place sorted before going into hospital and now I can relax - until I knuckle down to the Christmas preparations... At least most of my Christmas Cards are on their way with my new address - I had already prepared for that one.

A new year is nearly on us, and new beginnings for me and us. I'm sure 2010 will be an exciting one for me - and I hope it is the same for all you readers of my blog!

The day before tomorrow.....

It's been some week. We moved house 9 days ago and I've been working solid ever since to get the house shipshape before going into hospital tomorrow. In some ways, its been good that I've been so busy as I haven't had time to think about the op - but the day is looming over me now. I just wish it wasn't so soon after the move so that I could have relaxed here for a few days - then there is Christmas to organise soon after but hey..... the sooner done, the sooner I'll hopefully be able to hear, at least more than I am now. I'm guessing that the 'switch on' won't happen until next year with the Festive Season - another reason that I would have preferred the op after the New Year as my wee one will be off school for two weeks before I'm 'wired up'.

At least, I love our new home - its so different from anything I've had before. It's not the cottage on the beach that I mentioned in my first post - that buy fell through at the last minute - but another, better house not far from the first. As there are no leaves on the trees at the moment we can see the sea from some of the windows (and the waves crashing in the wind!). I've not had much chance to look round the huge garden yet. That's the good thing about moving house at this time of year - the garden doesn't need much attention until Spring.

Anyway, better go and get some things looked out for tomorrow - D-day. Here's hoping all goes well.....

A strange sensation!

Well, sensation is maybe the wrong word but it happened when I was in the cinema recently with my wee one and her friend. We were watching the movie "Up" (which was excellent by the way) with subtitles and about half way through the film I wondered how on earth the girls (both 6 years old) could follow the dialogue if they can't fully read? I soon realised what a stupid thought this was as both girls are hearing, and can perfectly follow the soundtrack - it's just not something that I am used to. Its the same when I see people listening to the radio, or talking on the telephone - and it has made me realise how much I rely on the visual cues to speech for interpretation of sounds whilst others take hearing 'only with ears' as the norm. In fact, that was how my mum first realised that I was deaf (all those years ago) when I said at bedtime "switch on the light mum, I can't hear you" - that says it all.

Will I one day be able to hear without seeing? Who knows? Roll on the Cochlear Implant!

It's been a while!

I realise that I have been quiet lately - I just didn't have any real news and life was passing me by. Now it is all happening!

Just last week we met with my Solicitor - and we are buying a house! We had planned to buy a house on the beach last month but that fell through at the last minute (so much for all that planning) - there was a problem with the Title Deeds and a clause in the missives that was unacceptable to us, so we pulled out. However, we've found somewhere bigger, better and good value for money - I guess it was meant to be!! Now here comes the crunch - we move in less than two weeks! I should be packing right now but wanted to share the news first. (plus I've only got 15 minutes before I get my wee girl from school). I will tell you more about this new place in due course.

Even more than that - last Friday I got word of my Cochlear Implant op scheduled for 30th November - 10 days after we move!! I was in two minds to postpone the op but have been persuaded to go ahead. It just seems so soon after the move, and Christmas is not long after....

So there we have it - nerve-wracking but exciting at the same time. At least I won't be bored in the recovery period - I'm sure there will be plenty of boxes still to unpack......