A Wonderful Day of Visiting

A Wonderful Day of Visiting

Tuesday  July 9, 2013

What a wonderful day I had today!  It started out early as I had to get my hair washed and dried before putting on my sound processor and coil.  I got Ron's coffee made and got myself dressed and ready for a fun morning.  My good friend Rhonda picked me up about 7:15 and we headed out for breakfast.  Looking for something not far from our house, she suggested Subway.  Did you know that they serve breakfast?  I didn't.  Since we had the place almost to ourselves, I guess others also don't know.  It turned out to be a nice quiet place for our visit. 

For a long time, Rhonda and I used to exercise in the mornings, but all my health issues have ruled that out in recent months.  Off and on we meet for breakfast, but since I am not driving, she came to get me this morning.  It was good to catch up!  So much is going on in both of our lives, the two hours barely scratched the surface of topics to be discussed.  Her son is getting married soon, so that took up some of the discussion time.  Such a happy event to look forward to.  The best part of our breakfast was that I could HEAR Rhonda.  She is soft spoken and I have struggled to hear her for almost as long as I have known her (and that is a long time).  I think I only asked her to repeat one thing.  What a change from our recent visits.

Once I was home, I worked on the plants in the yard for a while, potting some I bought in Houston into the pots I bought at Wal-Mart last night.  It was hot even for early in the day.  It takes a while to do a project like that only using one hand.

Shortly after 10:00, another friend arrived.  This was Kathy.  I have known Kathy for even longer than I have known Rhonda, ever since Kathy was a little girl in a GA (Girls in Action) group that I led at our church.  Her mother was a good friend and it is fun to still have friendships with Kathy and her three sisters.  She and I have been staying in touch lately mostly by Facebook.  We had much to discuss today.  We were both rejoicing over our amazing results from recent surgeries. 

Kathy and I both had surgery in Houston, just two days apart.   Both of our surgeries involved hearing loss.  We compared scars and hospital stories.  There were many things in common, but there was one major difference.  My surgery was to put something in (the Cochlear Implant) and hers was to take something out.  Kathy had a brain tumor that was wrapping around her inner ear.  (She may correct me on details later.)  Kathy's brain tumor was causing her to lose her hearing in the ear on that side.  When I first suffered my Sudden Hearing Loss, people would ask me what caused it.  I would tell them that in 90% of the cases the doctors never know why.  In the 10% they can figure out, one reason can be a brain tumor.  Kathy's hearing loss was not Sudden Hearing Loss, but rather a gradual loss due to the growing tumor.  She had also been dealing with severe vertigo and headaches as well as the hearing loss.  It had been a rough path she walked as she had to wait a couple of years to be able to have her surgery.

We had both been prepared for the assorted side effects that could be caused by our surgeries: dizziness, facial nerve damage, loss of sense of taste, etc.  Both of us were blessed to have minimal problems.  Kathy had some facial paralysis, but that now is almost gone.  She suffered so much dizziness before her surgery from the tumor, that what she has now is very minor when compared to the previous.  We both are so thankful for the amazing technology that is being used in cases of hearing loss.  Kathy leaves tomorrow to return to Houston to start the process for her hearing device.  She will be using a different type of device than mine, and once she gets it ordered, I may be able to share more information about hers.

It is good to talk to someone who can understand much of what you are experiencing, whatever is going on.  We enjoyed our time together.  I guess the fact that we spent 4 hours talking, proves that!  Again, I was able to HEAR almost everything that was said!  What a blessing! 

After Kathy left, I took a nap (see, I am getting used to those) and then once Ron was home we ran one errand to pick up an allergy prescription for me.  It has been a relaxing day.