Guest guest Posted December 21, 2003 Report Share Posted December 21, 2003 Hi BunE, What a special newsletter this was and I remember so much of this journey. It was one many of us enjoyed traveling with you on CI Hear. Meeting you at the SHHH Convention in Atlanta was one of the memorable parts of this past year for me. I'm so glad that you have been a part of our group so that we could get to know you. For those of you who haven't looked into our photos - you can find some wonderful pictures shared by BunE here on the list. We did go along on this journey with her. http://photos./group//lst?.dir=/BunE%27s+cochlear+implant+\ surgery & .src=gr & .order= & .view=t & .done=http%3a//briefcase./ I hope that goes thru so you can view them. Happy Holidays to you and yours BunE. Alice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 1, 2004 Report Share Posted January 1, 2004 Wow!!!! Sounds like you had a great Christmas hearing carols and hearing them at your children's concerts. Glad to hear that you are enjoying it. I have not been on this for awhile as I have been busy getting ready for the holidays. Happy Holidays everyone and Hope you all have a great new year. Holiday Newsletter > Happy Holidays to all! I just wanted to take a few minutes to share > the newsletter we sent out to family & friends this year. Thanks > again to all of you who provided support through the whole cochlear > implant process. And best of luck to all of those recently implanted > & waiting to be implanted! > > BunEWabbit > bilateral Med El 4-21-03 > hook-up 5-19-03 > " Do You Hear What I Hear " > > The 2003 Holiday season has been a joyful one filled with > fascinating sounds and songs for me. For those of you who have not > heard, I had bilateral cochlear implant surgery in April this year. > My journey out of silence began when the external parts of the > implants were activated at the end of May after the incisions had > healed. > The most pleasant sound to me those first few days with the > implant was the birds. It was (and still is) amazing to step outside > of our house & hear all of the chirping & whistling. Some of the > other sounds that I remember hearing those first few days were the > turn signal in the car, the clatter of the keyboard while typing, > silverware scraping against stoneware dishes, our dog's nails > clicking on the floor as she walks, and the incredibly loud rustling > and crinkling of plastic/paper. The noise made by paper or plastic > can still sound a bit painful even after 7 months of hearing. > It took a while for my brain to recognize speech with out lip- > reading. The first few weeks, it was a struggle to keep my place in > children's book while listening to the same book on tape. I am happy > to say that I can now understand most narrators of adult books on > tape & no longer need to follow along in a printed book to make > sense of the story. Being able to listen to books on tape or CD has > been such a wonderful and unexpected benefit of the cochlear > implants. Time flies when listening to a book while doing mundane > chores such as mowing, weed eating, vacuuming, or cleaning house. > Yes, I can even enjoy listening to books while mowing as I have > special cords that plug directly from the jack on the Walkman into > the speech processor that prevents other sound from being picked up > by the microphone. > Use of the telephone has been another wonderful delight. Harold, > my husband, has enjoyed being able to actually be able to > communicate directly with me on the phone. Although it sometimes > seems weird to him to hear my voice on the other end as he has spent > 15 years talking to the answering machine. At this time, I am now > able to understand most people on the telephone and I even have a > cell phone! > Worship services are now something that I look forward to, as I am > now able to understand most of the announcements, prayers, and > usually the entire sermon. Harold is now " out of a job " as he no > longer needs to try to write down the sermon, locate songs, or fill > me in on the announcements. > I also find myself enjoying all social activities so much more > now that I do not have to depend on Harold to fill me in on the > conversations. > The cochlear implants have also brought enjoyment to our camping > trips. At Oak Mountain State park in Alabama, I heard a gentle > breeze dancing through the trees on a hike. The nighttime symphony > of frogs and crickets was wonderful to hear. Once when I woke up in > the night, I put my speech processors on just to listen to the > noises made by all the bugs. My husband and I enjoyed being able to > talk through the tent while camping. And I know Harold is really > glad that I no longer need to shine a flashlight right in his face > every time that he wants to talk to me after the sun has set. > On our yearly fall camping trip to the Great Smoky Mountains, I > was looking forward to hearing the crackle and pop of the campfire. > But I had no idea that marshmallows would make a sizzling noise when > they caught on fire. I knew that the rivers and streams throughout > the mountains would make all sorts of wonderful noise. But I did not > imagine being able to HEAR the water before seeing it! It was also > thrilling to hear the soft gurgle of small streams hidden from sight > under rocks along the trails. Another surprise on this camping trip > was discovering the loud crunch of dry leaves and the noise made by > a strong wind blowing through the trees. It was scary to hear the > noise made by the leaves and wind on trips to the bathhouse at night! > There have been so many fantastic hearing experiences this year > that I could probably write a book! But for now, I'll end this > newsletter with a few lines about the sounds I have enjoyed this > holiday season. It has been fun listening to all types of Christmas > music! I do not leave home with out my CD player & several Christmas > CD's. I have played the song " Do You Hear What I Hear " at least 50 > times in the past week! The whole shopping experience has been > enhanced by the thrill of recognizing some of the songs being piped > in over the P. A. Systems. It has been so much more enjoyable > attending Harold's work dinners & other holiday gatherings now that > I am able to hear the music and understand most conversations. And > it amazes me to be able to hear those Salvation Army Bell Ringers > from across the parking lot. Those bells are loud! God has blessed > me in so many ways this year through the miracle of cochlear > implants. > I hope that each of you will be blessed with a safe & happy > holiday season! > > Sincerely, > > Fox (a.k.a. BunEWabbit in ) > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 Hello Jane! Happy (belated)New Year to you. I am glad to hear you are enjoying your walkman & discman. I have never tried using a remote battery pack as I thought it would just be too complicated since I am bilateral & I like to patch both processors into the walkman. Even with my frequent use of the walkman, my 675 batteries are lasting 3- 4 days. (a.k.a.BunEWabbit) bilateral Med-EL 4/21/03 hookup 5/19/03 > Hello , > That's a wonderful holiday newsletter! There is a question I want > to ask you, do you use remote battery pack with walkman? I use it > for my walkman or cd, because it lasts the battery life longer. > To wish you a very happy and healthy new year! > Warm regards, > Jane Motrinec > Med El 10/06/01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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