photo by, Stuart Holcombe
photo by Stuart Holcombe
Photo Op! Cochlear Implant
photo by, Stuart Holcombe
photo by Stuart Holcombe
Month: July 2012
photo by, Stuart Holcombe
photo by Stuart Holcombe
Surgery went “Perfect”
Sorry I haven’t posted, and unfortunately this post won’t have photos, I promise they will be coming soon.
My surgeon told Stuart that my surgery went “perfect”. Yay!
Of course, I’m a weird patient….I had a reaction to the antibiotic. Not a severe reaction, but I looked like a clown. I had very red cheeks. Nothing serious, and it faded the next day, I didn’t even have to change my antibiotic, but we had to keep a watch out for a little while.
I also had a reaction to the adhesive they used to attach the heart monitor to me. I looked like I had huge hickies from an octopus hugging me. But again, nothing serious.
The pain isn’t bad. But it is there. Yesterday was worse, probably because I hate taking pain medication and was tired for feeling drunk. I am swollen, but I think it’s better than it was yesterday. I’m very tired, and I’m having some killer migraines. That’s why I haven’t posted before now. The migraines made it way too uncomfortable for me to look at the computer.
So….everything is fine! I’m doing well!
My Cochlear Implant will be activated on the 31st.
I’ll get photos up as soon as I get them off of my phone! They look much like the photos from the endolymphatic sac surgery…same smiley cup and everything. Wait until you see how much hair is gone! (really, not much at all, you can barely tell!)
off to sleep some more.
Thank you all for so many get well wishes.
One Week until Surgery
As excited as I am about getting the Cochlear Implant (CI) next week, I’m nervous too. I realized this yesterday. I had appointments scheduled for this week and a dinner with friends scheduled for Sunday, and I told Stuart I just couldn’t do it. I simply feel like there is too much stress on me right now. With all the stress, I was making myself sick.
So what am I nervous about? You would think I’d be nervous about the surgery, but I’m not. I am nervous about the nurses finding a vein for the IV before the surgery, that is always an ordeal with me. However, mostly I’m worried that the surgery will be postponed. There have been so many delays, I’m having a hard time believing it’s going to happen. I am expecting something to happen…I’ll get sick, my doctor will get sick or have to postpone for some reason….anything.
Now that I realize what has been bothering me so much, I’m dealing with it much better. I know the surgery will happen. If some unforeseen circumstance causes the surgery to be delayed , I’ll deal with it. I know it will happen, if not next week as scheduled then as soon as possible afterward. I still don’t want to be stressed out more by going to the dentist, having a mammogram, and having a dinner party. These things will just have to wait.
Now, let’s talk a little about the surgery. I’m pretty lucky really, about 90% of the surgery has already been done to me. Since I had the Endolymphatic Sac Surgery, they don’t have to drill a hole in my head. It’s already there. All that has to be done is thread the wire from the CI into the cochlea, and place the implant.
There were 3 companies for me to choose my CI from, each had positives and negatives but really they were all pretty close. I chose Advanced Bionics. This is a very personal decision for each person who gets a Cochlear Implant, I felt that the Advanced Bionics CI would fit best in my life style.
This is what will be going in my head:
I’m so happy that Duke is a two processor facility. The processor is the part that you see on the outside. Since Advance Bionics offers more than one processor, I was given the choice of getting 2 the same or one of each. I chose to get one of each. One processor is called the Harmony, it is a Behind The Ear type. I liked this model because the T-mic (microphone) is located at the opening of your ear, so it will be easier to talk on the phone, and my ear will act as a natural buffer for noises, like your ear normally does.
Here’s a photo of the Harmony Processor:
The Harmony comes in a variety of colors. I think I was allowed to choose 5, but it’s been so long now, I don’t remember what colors I chose. We’ll have to wait and see after I get hooked up. You can use regular hearing aid batteries, or rechargeable batteries, I’m sure you know which ones I’ll be using. I was able to chose different types of rechargeable batteries, small and large. The small battery doesn’t last as long as the larger one. I ordered both.
The other processor I chose was the Neptune. The Neptune is capable of being Water Proof, it’s the only CI that is Water Proof, so I can swim in it! The Processor is not behind the ear (BTE) it can be clipped to different things: an arm band, your shirt, a lanyard, your hair…ect. The microphone is on the part that fits to the head.
Here’s a photo of the Neptune:
I realize the photo above doesn’t give you a good idea of what the Neptune really looks like. So here’s a few that will give you a better idea:
(photo from Advanced Bionics)
With the Neptune I was also given the opportunity of picking all kinds of colors. I know I picked a brown, and the lime green seen above, but I don’t remember the rest. We’ll all be surprised when I get hooked up.
The CI will be turned on 2 weeks after surgery. That will be the beginning of August, hopefully the 2nd or 3rd.
Anybody want to know anything else?
I know this is a LONG post, but it’s full of information, right?
We can make it, one day at a time. : )
What to say, when you don’t feel like talking?
I’m sorry to my followers, my friends, that I have not been around much. I am a bit overwhelmed by so much that has been going on that I haven’t told you about, and I’ve been sucked into a depressive state. I keep trying to pull out of it, I even have a new medication, but I’m still just blah. I wake up in the morning, and often feel awful for the first hour or two, it takes me a while to feel like a real person, then when I actually feel alright, I think what reason do I have to get out of bed?
I don’t find pleasure in the things I used to be so passionate about, like art, cooking, blogging….ect. I do still find pleasure in reading, perhaps it is an escape? I also still find pleasure with my husband, just being next to him makes me feel better.
I will be seeing my psych. tomorrow, I’ll discuss this with him, and we’ll see if I should increase the antidepressant I’m on, or try something else. I’m sure he can help pull me out of this.
If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I’m normally very positive. This turn of emotions has hit me like a wall, I don’t feel like myself. I need to get my positive outlook back.
The ironic thing about this, I’m actually much better. I have the weird feelings when I first wake up, but I think that’s because I’ve been horizontal for so long that my cerebrospinal fluid raises a bit, and I have to sit up for a while, and take my medicine before I feel better.
I’m still having migraines, but they aren’t as intense. I’m still having Migraine Associated Vertigo (MAV), but not as often, and when I do it doesn’t last as long. Maybe I’m just getting the medication in faster, all I know is it’s better. I’m still having chronic migraines though, yes they are better, but they still knock me out of commission for a while, so my doctor is starting a new treatment plan. We want to get it where I’m having much fewer migraines, not just less intense.
No Meniere’s vertigo!
My surgery has FINALLY been scheduled! July 19th, I will receive my bionic ear! (my implant is from Advanced Bionics…so I can literally say I will have a bionic ear!) Two weeks after surgery they will turn on the cochlear implant. (I wrote a post telling all about the processors I chose, but that’s the one WordPress deleted half of, so I need to finish it again…I will try to do that soon, so you can see what will be hooked to the side of my head. I’m sure you are all eager to see that! : ) Just wait until you see it actually on my head!
Other things that have been happening: We got new carpet. We replaced our worn out couch. We had our mattress replaced under warranty…it wouldn’t bounce back. So the house is full of chemical smells, and I’m so sick! I keep trying to stay in rooms with less chemical smells, but I’m still coughing so much my throat is sore, my head hurts, I’m so tired all the time….ect. I’ll be so happy when I can breathe in my own house again!
Tell me is it normal to feel down when you start feeling better? Yes, I’m feeling better but not to the point that I can do everything I want. Since I feel better, I’ve begun to resent that I can’t drive, I can’t have that independence. I hate that Stuart has to be with me for me to leave the house. I know with the uncertainty of vertigo it’s even dangerous for me to walk around the block by my self. I resent that I have to be careful of all the food that I eat. We took a little trip this weekend, and it was so very hard to find food that I could eat. I felt horrible, every time we wanted to eat it was such an ordeal. It’s not so bad locally, we know places that are safe, but I didn’t think about not being able to find safe food on the road. We tried so hard to make sure everything I ate was safe for me, but still I got sick. On the way home we had to stop numerous times so I could run to the bathroom. I was so embarrassed to have that happen in a public restroom. eww.
I used to find it a challenge and a pleasure to cook even with my restrictions. I thought it was interesting to figure out how to change a recipe so I could eat it. Now I resent that I can’t eat some things. That I can’t cook whatever I want. I don’t like this feeling.
Oh, I almost forgot, I had a birthday. July 2nd! My husband is a dear man, he celebrated my birthday for 4 days, and I’m getting my main present today! So, still celebrating… he’s done something sweet for me every day since Friday! He really made up for the one time he forgot my birthday! haha Funny thing, I thought I was turning 50 this year. Stuart and I were walking along one day last month and mentioned my birthday, I said that this one was a big one, he asked why 49 was big for me, I said, “No, I’ll be 50!” He looked at me, and said “No Wendy you will just be 49”. I was sure I was going to be 50! He said, “What year is it?” I said, 2012….Ooooh! I guess I’ll be 50 next year.” How silly was that? Here I’d been telling people for months that I was turning 50 this year! hahaha
Well, I think that’s all I can purge out of myself at the moment.
I will try my best to blog more often, I really want to become passionate about it again. I’ve missed my friends.
Picnic with Ants 