Fw: Normal eight day post op report

[Guest guest]

Hello,

I'm sorry -- I couldn't recognize your name from my screen reader I'm

totally blind and use a screen reader which reads the contents of the

computer screen aloud to me) .

I wanted to address your comments regarding bilateral CIs. When you say that

your father is scared the surgery won't work, do you mean he's afraid the CI

won't work or allow you to understand speech? Are you able to understand

speech with your first CI (sorry -- I don't know your hearing history, so do

not know if you were born deaf?).

There are many people with bilateral CIs who are doing quite well. In fact,

many of them report being able to function better than they did with just

one CI.

Is your father concerned about the surgery itself, CI surgery is one of the

easier surgeries to perform and side effects following surgery are minimal

in a majority of cases and can be controlled with medication.

To give you some background about me -- I'm totally blind and received my

first CI on December 22, 2004. Until then, I faced numerous difficulties

with traveling safely due to my inability to hear traffic. I also

experienced two incidents before CI surgery which reminded me of the impact

my severe-profound hearing loss had on my safety. The first incident

involved being locked inside a building because I didn't hear people leave.

If it were not for the fact that I was shown an alternative entrance, I

would have had to call 911 and hope someone responded.

The second incident involved my mother who had terminal cancer. One evening

she was quite ill and needed medical attention. I picked up the phone to

call 911 and then wondered how I would ask for help if I couldn't hear the

operator. I had no choice but to indicate that I was deafblind and repeat my

request for an ambulance. After I got off the phone, I went to the door of

my mother's apartment and kept my hand on the door so I could feel the

vibration and know when medical help arrived. There were several medics

gathered around my mother and yet I could not see or hear anything that was

happening. I can't remember the last time I felt so helpless.

Those two incidents made me painfully aware of the realities of my hearing

loss and the fact that I had to do something about it as soon as possible.

I've had my CI activated for almost a year (January 18th). I'm now able to

use the phone after 10 years, listen to music, the TV/radio -- and hear

conversations comfortably as long as people are speaking from my left

(implanted) side.

I'm now in the process of awaiting a surgery date for a second CI. During

the [past 11 months I've had continual difficulty hearing traffic on my

right side. My surgeon and audi are confident that a second CI will not only

improve my personal safety while traveling, but also improve the quality of

my life as a whole.

If you would like to read more about my experiences (from the evaluation

process to the present), visit the website at:

http://www..com

and click on the link that says " Deafblind Information. "

On that page, you will see my CI journal ) " New Beginnings " ) as well as two

journal entries I wrote about my activation ( " 's Activation " ) and first

day of sound with a CI ( " 's First Day of Sound " )

If you would like to communicate further or have any additional questions,

please feel free to e-mail me privately. I would be more than happy to

answer any questions you may have about CIs and/or share my experiences.

Good luck with your bilateral evaluation in February!! <smile>

Implanted: 12/22/04 Activated: 1/18/05

Deafblind/Postlingual

BTE hearing aid user 20 years

Severe-profound hearing loss 10 years

Normal eight day post op report

>I had my left ear CI implanted Dec 30th. So far surgery has been very

> successful with nothing unexpected. I write this report because it

> seems like day to day nothing changes, but when I look at where I was

> 1 week ago remarkable improvement has occurred. Others who are

> contemplating CI, or are in this in between phase may be interested.

>

> One week ago:

> I was taking Vicodin for pain(really only 6 tablets total) - now

> nothing and the pain is 80 - 90% gone.

>

> I was initially mildly dizzy with a " walking on eggs " feeling. Never

> any spinning feelings but had mild nausea. I did need to hold unto the

> wall when showering the first day post op. Now driving, no nausea,

> the slightest of uneasy feelings occasionally when turning the head

> fast. 99% of the time totally normal. I've been doing some of my

> hobby wood working without difficulty.

>

> Wound became red, swollen, and tender 24 hours after surgery. Never

> any fever, no drainage. Tenderness confined to the suture area. This

> is now 80% improved. I like to sleep on the left side and now no pain

> when I put the left side of my head on a pillow. Marked improvement.

>

> Hearing has been unexpectedly good for me. I never realized how much

> I depended on lip reading before surgery. I still understand 80 - 90%

> of of what I did pre op. And that was near 100% face to face.....and

> 0% on the phone, TV, radio, or even 25 foot distance!!

>

> So, all in all everything is going well. Processor date Feb 2nd!

> Dave

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