My Cochlear Implant
One Year Later
June 10, 2014
Yesterday on our way home from Houston after a visit to The Houston Ear Research Foundation, I mentioned to Ron that my Cochlear Implant was done a year ago, June 10. He didn't realize it had already been a year. It has been a busy year! It has been a blessed year. There have been a lot of medical issues to deal with besides the Cochlear Implant, but God has gotten us through them all and things are going well.
Most of us know someone who has a hearing aid but won't wear it. My grandmother Landreth was one of those years ago. The first time I went to a doctor who specialized in hearing problems, he had a questionaire for me to fill out before I saw him. One question was, "Does anyone in your family wear a hearing aid?" I told him my grandmother had one, but she kept it in the drawer. His response after examining me was that if he prescribed one for me, it would also be in the drawer. This doctor, like several others over the years, did me a disservice in the way they approached my hearing loss.
As you probably recall, I had already had hearing problems for about 30 - 35 years when, in January of 2013, I suffered what is called Sudden Hearing Loss, and I lost almost all of my remaining hearing. I had been wearing a hearing aid in the left ear for about 8 years at the time of the additional loss. The doctors I had seen over the years first said things like, "It is not too bad. When you can't stand it anymore, come back and I will prescribe a hearing aid." Or "You aren't a candidate for a Cochlear Implant." I took that to mean that the type of loss I had could not be helped with the implant. What they meant was that my hearing loss was not yet bad enough to meet the conditions for the Cochlear Implant.
I mentioned in yesterday's blog the discussion I had with the director of the Houston Ear Research Foundation. She commented on how sad it is when her patients arrive having needs that could have been dealt with 10 years earlier, but they had doctors who gave them wrong information. She and I are both committed to encouraging people to get help and then to use the devices that can help them. I had asked her if they had people who had the implant and then wouldn't use it. She said a few don't use it all day, but for almost all, the alternative (as I have mentioned in my case) is being deaf. She said even those who don't have nearly the good results that I have, still are helped a good bit by what they can hear with the implant.
A year ago today I was in Houston at Hermann Memorial Hospital in the Medical Center, having my Cochlear Implant done by Dr. Chang. He is an outstanding surgeon and a very nice man. Added to my situation, was the broken elbow which had most of my left arm in a cast, as a result of the fall I had about 10 days earlier.
Ron and I were blessed to have our sons David and Stephen, and Stephen's girlfriend, Kristina, come to Houston to be with us. That really helped pass the time for Ron on the day of my surgery. In this photo, they weren't being rude by being on their phones, they were using the iTranslate program on their cell phones to communicate with me and Kristina had a dry marker board to write notes to me. They were keeping me entertained in the recovery room.
When we left the hospital, we returned to the home of our friends John and Linda Reed. God has used them in so many ways over the years to minister to our needs. They make us feel "at home" in their lovely home. Linda fixed a delicious dinner that night for us and it was good to relax after a stressful time over the previous few months. The next day our daughter-in-law Vickey flew into Houston from Albuquerque to come home with us for a week to help me recover from the two surgeries (the implant and the elbow surgery).
The Cochlear Implant was not activated until July 2, so I could not hear during the time following the surgery, until the activation, but the time went quickly.
We feel blessed in so many ways. We had a very skilled surgeon. We had the backup staff from the Houston Ear Research Foundation. Our family supported us in countless ways. The Reeds were always quick to offer whatever help we needed. Many people were praying for me. Friends and family visited and brought food when we arrived home. What a year it has been. What a blessing to be able to hear!
There is one funny story from our trip to Houston yesterday that I forgot to share. As we left the offices of the Houston Ear Research Foundation, I was walking several feet ahead of Ron (I usually am since I walk fast and he doesn't). Just about the time I got to the car, a grackle swooped down and grazed the right side of my head (I told Ron if it had been the left he might have gotten my sound processor!). I turned around to see Ron laughing at me. I think most of us have seen videos of the birds doing such things when they are protecting their nests. We got in the car and sat there a few minutes while Ron looked up the next place we were going. A well-dressed young businessman came out of the building carrying his briefcase and he got a similar treatment from the bird that I had except I think he may have gotten pecked. Watching the expression on his face was classic. I motioned to him that it had happened to me, too and he left just shaking his head and watching over his shoulder to be sure the bird was not coming back.
Most of us know someone who has a hearing aid but won't wear it. My grandmother Landreth was one of those years ago. The first time I went to a doctor who specialized in hearing problems, he had a questionaire for me to fill out before I saw him. One question was, "Does anyone in your family wear a hearing aid?" I told him my grandmother had one, but she kept it in the drawer. His response after examining me was that if he prescribed one for me, it would also be in the drawer. This doctor, like several others over the years, did me a disservice in the way they approached my hearing loss.
As you probably recall, I had already had hearing problems for about 30 - 35 years when, in January of 2013, I suffered what is called Sudden Hearing Loss, and I lost almost all of my remaining hearing. I had been wearing a hearing aid in the left ear for about 8 years at the time of the additional loss. The doctors I had seen over the years first said things like, "It is not too bad. When you can't stand it anymore, come back and I will prescribe a hearing aid." Or "You aren't a candidate for a Cochlear Implant." I took that to mean that the type of loss I had could not be helped with the implant. What they meant was that my hearing loss was not yet bad enough to meet the conditions for the Cochlear Implant.
I mentioned in yesterday's blog the discussion I had with the director of the Houston Ear Research Foundation. She commented on how sad it is when her patients arrive having needs that could have been dealt with 10 years earlier, but they had doctors who gave them wrong information. She and I are both committed to encouraging people to get help and then to use the devices that can help them. I had asked her if they had people who had the implant and then wouldn't use it. She said a few don't use it all day, but for almost all, the alternative (as I have mentioned in my case) is being deaf. She said even those who don't have nearly the good results that I have, still are helped a good bit by what they can hear with the implant.
A year ago today I was in Houston at Hermann Memorial Hospital in the Medical Center, having my Cochlear Implant done by Dr. Chang. He is an outstanding surgeon and a very nice man. Added to my situation, was the broken elbow which had most of my left arm in a cast, as a result of the fall I had about 10 days earlier.
Ron and I were blessed to have our sons David and Stephen, and Stephen's girlfriend, Kristina, come to Houston to be with us. That really helped pass the time for Ron on the day of my surgery. In this photo, they weren't being rude by being on their phones, they were using the iTranslate program on their cell phones to communicate with me and Kristina had a dry marker board to write notes to me. They were keeping me entertained in the recovery room.
When we left the hospital, we returned to the home of our friends John and Linda Reed. God has used them in so many ways over the years to minister to our needs. They make us feel "at home" in their lovely home. Linda fixed a delicious dinner that night for us and it was good to relax after a stressful time over the previous few months. The next day our daughter-in-law Vickey flew into Houston from Albuquerque to come home with us for a week to help me recover from the two surgeries (the implant and the elbow surgery).
The Cochlear Implant was not activated until July 2, so I could not hear during the time following the surgery, until the activation, but the time went quickly.
We feel blessed in so many ways. We had a very skilled surgeon. We had the backup staff from the Houston Ear Research Foundation. Our family supported us in countless ways. The Reeds were always quick to offer whatever help we needed. Many people were praying for me. Friends and family visited and brought food when we arrived home. What a year it has been. What a blessing to be able to hear!
There is one funny story from our trip to Houston yesterday that I forgot to share. As we left the offices of the Houston Ear Research Foundation, I was walking several feet ahead of Ron (I usually am since I walk fast and he doesn't). Just about the time I got to the car, a grackle swooped down and grazed the right side of my head (I told Ron if it had been the left he might have gotten my sound processor!). I turned around to see Ron laughing at me. I think most of us have seen videos of the birds doing such things when they are protecting their nests. We got in the car and sat there a few minutes while Ron looked up the next place we were going. A well-dressed young businessman came out of the building carrying his briefcase and he got a similar treatment from the bird that I had except I think he may have gotten pecked. Watching the expression on his face was classic. I motioned to him that it had happened to me, too and he left just shaking his head and watching over his shoulder to be sure the bird was not coming back.
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