Second Mapping

A very late update. So sorry! Here goes: 

I had my second mapping completed last Thursday, Aug. 14th. It has been a improvement to be able to finally hear words and be able to figure out sounds better. All four programs on my remote are brand new. I have Program 1 and Program 2 (a little bit louder than the first) and there's two different programs, so they are now known as "CAFE" and "Music." The "CAFE" is when I go to Starbucks, or to a bar/restaurant to help me to drown out the background noise a bit. The "MUSIC" is obvious - It's for when I want to listen to music on the iPod, on iTunes, on the radio, wherever, really. I am able to tell the differences between the 4 programs - so I am surprised about that. It means I am getting better!  So currently, my remote looks like: 

Of course you can see it's on "MUSIC," and that's not a big surprise. I absolutely love being able to listen to that. Pretty much 90% of the time, that's what I'm doing. 

What I really enjoyed at that appointment was seeing the pie chart of how much usage I am using with the new cochlear implant. I was able to see when I had it on, when it was off, when I used it for music, when I used it for sounds, and when I used it for speech (basically when I talked/when people talked to me). I got a big kick out of it because all of that was from the remote I use to help figure out which program/volume/sensitivity suited me best. I guess you can't lie if you have been "learning how to use it." It's a good thing. 

The best part during the appointment was that I was told this - I was well ahead on the progress of adjusting to my new cochlear implant. That is exciting to hear. It was a short appointment, about a hour long. So it went well! 

On Aug. 18th, I had my first speech therapy appointment and that went actually really well. All good praises and I was given homework until my next appointment on the 26th. Mostly new words and type of strategies to train/help my brain to recognize sounds better. I think it'll be a bit harder at the next appointment because it'll be focused on words that I struggle with trying to recognize them, especially words that starts with "C", "K", "B", "P" "T" and sounding the same, like "Cat", "Pat", "Bat", "Tat", "Hat," and so on.  But since I grew up having speech therapy, it helped me a lot and will continue to help me still while training my new cochlear implant. I was able to do well on hearing these sounds that make up a word and know what it is, but with these letters I just listed, those I have to work on. I do also struggle with hearing "C" "M" "N" "R" and "Z." So it's definitely a lot of work to do! I have the patience and time to do that so bring it on. 

Something random that I noticed a couple days after I had my second mapping was that I could start recognizing songs on the country radio in the car, first song? "Drunk on a Plane" - Dierks Bentley. A couple others I recognized here and there: "Drink a Beer" - Luke Bryan, "All Summer Long" - Kid Rock, "Springsteen" by Eric Church. So I'm getting there! SLOWLY. Not 100% clear, but I recognize the music part more than the words. :)

Just the other day, I was told that I am starting to speak bit more clearly. So that is very positive and a great encouragement to hear that also! 

Today, I forgot to pack in a couple batteries for my first cochlear implant, and guess what? It died so I had no backup. So I was forced to use my new cochlear implant for most of the day. I was a little upset about that but no excuses and I wanted to work on getting to hear better. Still a struggle and I admit I get really frustrated but I try to remind myself not to. It is really, really difficult trying to hear something when there's noise in the background and I can't drown it out. When I'm wearing both cochlear implants, I hear so much better and very clearly. So I am thinking that tomorrow, I will just wear the new one and work on it again. I'm supposed to do that daily but I just actually get into the habit of wearing both when I get up in the morning. 

So that's about it. I promise I'll try to update within a couple days! Just have a lot going on especially with wedding planning! :) 

Five days...

So it's been five days since I've updated. Sorry about that, but here is a long one for today's post! 

Thursday (Aug 7): I decided to head over my parents' house and have my mom help me out with words that I have been learning to hear. I didn't do well. I was too tired to be able to fully recognize the words. It was a off day. So I relaxed for most of the day and give myself a break. 

Friday (Aug 8): I decided to meet up with my former speech therapist, Judy who I had since I was four years old up to 18 years old. She is the reason why I am able to speak so well today. I owe it all to her. When I was little, she would have a lifesaver candy to reward me for speaking correctly or hearing correctly. I used to work SO hard just to get ONE lifesaver. I still hear about it from my mom and how determined I was. :) 

She also helped me to learn how to recognize and hear words with my first cochlear implant in 2000. She also kept all the old practice sheets! We went over the first six words: baseball, toothbrush, cowboy, hotdog, popcorn, and airplane. We also went over the names and decided to throw in two new subjects - colors & numbers! So I did very well with the words so I was glad about that. I was on program 2 by the way. 

Saturday (Aug 9): Took a break from training. Attended a friends wedding - that was a lot of fun. I found myself being able to recognize songs quicker once I heard it playing! I was excited about that. 

Sunday (Aug 10): Nothing to update. Another day off to recover from the wedding in Columbus. :) 

Today, I practiced saying the words to myself out loud. I played around program 1-4. I found myself using 2, 3, and 4 throughout the day and finding out what I liked best and what I heard most out of with. I would have to say program 3 or 4 would be the best so far. 

Tomorrow I meet with the speech therapist at University Hospital to have my first training session. I am wondering on how that will go. It should be interesting! 

That's all I have to post for today.

Good night! :)

Good Day!

Hello!

Today was a good day. Aunt Joanne came over to help me out. 3 days in a row! I am so grateful to have help from family so I can improve myself! 

I decided to go with program #2 since I felt that I was able to hear more and it is louder. So I gave it a shot today.

So, with both implants, all words were correct. With the new implant, 14 missed and 26 correct the first time! Then I tried again and got 7 correct out of 7. A third time, I was able to get all them correct. That is with the six words: baseball, cowboy, popcorn, hotdog, airplane, and toothbrush along with the names in my family. Total of 40 words. 

Colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown, black, and white. First time was 7/10. Second time, I was able to get 10/10. Aunt Joanne did sneak in blue twice and I caught that. So that's good progress!

Something else I was able to hear slightly was music. I was in the car listening to the radio and Dierks Bentley's "Drunk on a Plane" came on and I tried to see if I could hear a line or two and I could! It was from the chorus part. So that's cool too. So I'm excited about that. Still can't wait to see him at Blossom next month! 

That's all for now. Til' then, take care! =) 

I am Bilateral!

Hi! 

I apologize for the late update, but it will be a long post. =) 

Thursday, July 31st was the big day to turn on the Nucleus 6. I waited about 3 weeks! Steri-strip is still on but hopefully it will fall off soon. I did get a call from the office saying that my appointment with the surgeon was cancelled for next Thursday so I'm hoping to hear back and reschedule. Actually, I had three missed phone calls from the office and they had to call Mike and let him know they were trying to get a hold of me. He had to explain that I don't talk on the phone and most importantly, it won't be anytime soon that I will be able to. Maybe someday. I just find the whole 'talking on the phone' complicated for me. 

Mike and I woke up around 7AM and got ready. We stopped by Dunkin Donuts to pick up some coffee on the way. You know I can't function without coffee, haha. We arrived a hour early so we had time to sit around and relax. We also grabbed a egg sandwich from Einstein Bro's in the cafe at the hospital. We also waited for my parents to come and meet us for the appointment. We didn't have to wait long to meet with the audiologist. The appointment took about at least 2 1/2-3 hours long. 

First time it was turned on: 

Mapping process started - basically to determine softest to loudest I can handle. What I heard were sound exercises (ahhhh, ooooh, mmmm, shhhh, sssss...) and beeps. No pain! But I did develop a headache soon after. My brain was on sensory overload and trying to comprehend on what to do!

Then the process of figuring out the words I am hearing - where the audiologist covers up her mouth and says a simple word, such as baseball, toothbrush, cowboy, popcorn, airplane, and hotdog. These words are easy to hear and know what they are when I have both implants on. But with the new one, it is difficult. It takes a lot of work to figure out what word I am hearing especially when I can't read lips. 

This may help for those readers who are following my blog to understand this and why I need to do this. Your brain has two sides for hearing/auditory information. The one ear is already trained but the other side is not. Both have its own pathway to the brain and the brain has to learn to recognize what sounds are what and what words are what with the new ear.

When I can't simply understand a word:

Completely NORMAL! No need to get nervous. So right now, I am unable to figure out the words I am hearing. I only hear sounds but very, very muffled/static type of sounds. It will take me quite a while to get to where I want to be. I plan on working to improve and train my brain to recognize things. Thankfully I will have all the help from family & friends to get me where I want to be. I also have my first appointment set up to meet with a doctor in the speech therapy department at a University Hospital location. That will be in about two weeks. Meanwhile, I have made up of 6-7 sheets of different words to help me to go ahead and prepare. I want to start right away and see where I will be in two weeks - I hope to accomplish at least something! 

Good news is: my audiologist is very happy with my progress even if it was only the first time. What I've done exceeded her expectations so that is good! It's still the beginning...  Adter the appointment, I fell asleep. It is definitely exhausting and a lot of work. It may not see like that from the outside but it is. It'll be all worth it whenever I get there. I can't wait for the day when I finally hear or make out words clearly. I am going to need TONS of paitence!

So, I've noticed and am excited about: I have realized that when I was listening to music on iTunes earlier with only the left cochlear implant (the original one I have) - I've noticed a major difference! It seems like my brain is working harder to recognize the words. Now, music is a lot more clearer when I have both implants on. It's amazing how I am able to hear the words better, but I still do look for the lyrics to read along. But the point is, when I hear it without looking for the words, I force myself to weed out the words I can hear in a line and try to write it down. I seem to get more words out than before. I'm going to practice with this and get better at it. So that's very good! 

Here's pictures to show you what I have:

The bag that has everything I need. It looks like a suitcase. 

The inside of the bag: 

 

(My remote to control the programs, sensitivity, and volume - it is pretty cool and so handy to have in my purse! I will always have this with me. I find it useful. 

"1" is program one. It is what I start off on. In a day or two, I will graduate to "2" as it will be a little louder. It should be interesting! The audiologist wants me to constantly wear the new implant and just train myself while I can until my next appointment with Dr. Megerian, whenever that is. 

So I have been on "program 1" and doing what my audiologist wants me to do - stay on that and make sure to go from volume 1-5 and end up at 5. After a couple days, I can switch to "program 2" since it is louder so we will see how I do! I don't want to rush myself and allow my brain figure out what it's supposed to do. 

I had Mike help me with the speech therapy last night. It was interesting. We did the basic names like baseball, hotdog, popcorn, airplane, cowboy, and toothbrush. I want to get myself to recognize these words! We also did names - from my name/my family to Mike's family.  That's gonna take some work too. I didn't do that well but it'll take time. 

Anyway, I will update more when I can! I just want to say thank you to everyone who's supported me throughout the journey. I'm so lucky to have great people around me! 

Take care!

Rachel

Concerts

Hi! Hope everyone had a nice weekend. On Friday evening, Mike and I went to see The Fray in concert downtown Cleveland. One complaint: the speakers were not clear enough and I think out of the entire show, I was able to recognize 4-5 songs. Their concert was my last one to see with only one cochlear implant. That's pretty exciting. 

When I think about it, I've seen so many concerts since I've had it done in 2000. I am feeling nostalgic. So I think I will list who I've seen - and you'll see my big LOVE for music. I just can't live without it.  =) 

- Kenny Chesney 

- Phil Vassar 

- Montgomery Gentry

- Keith Urban

- Garth Brooks

- Trisha Yearwood

- Brad Paisley

- Dierks Bentley

- Tim McGraw

- Sugarland

- Lady Antebellum

- Brooks & Dunn 

- Reba McEntire

- George Strait

- Lonestar

- Diamond Rio

- Sammy Kershaw

- Trent Willmon 

- Jake Owen

- Darius Rucker

- Rascal Flatts

- Gary Allan 

- Luke Bryan

- Uncle Kracker

- Terri Clark

- JoDee Messina

- LeAnn Womack

- Blake Shelton

- Josh Turner

- James Otto 

- Trace Adkins

- Jamey Johnson

- Rhett Akins

-Jerrod Neimann

- Gretchen Wilson

- Big & Rich

- Deana Carter

- Rodney Adkins 

- John Michael Montgomery 

- Canadian Cross Ragweed

- Jimmy Wayne

- Aaron Lines

- Chris Cagle

- Miranda Lambert

- Jason Aldean 

- Backstreet Boys

- Usher

- Christina Aguilera/Destiny's Child

 - The Fray

…. I'm pretty sure I'm missing out a couple more… 

So my next concert with BOTH implants? Dierks Bentley with Chris Young, Jon Pardi, and Chase Rice. I'm really looking forward to that one in September at Blossom Music Center. 

By the way, 4 more days until the Nucleus 6 is turned on. 

Good night!

7 more days!

Hello! 

It's been a while since I've updated. I haven't really had much that's new to share. So I've included a picture of the progress of how my incision/ear is doing. My hair is growing back pretty quickly so that's good. My steri-strip is still on there, stuck behind my ear - so I think I will have it removed next Thursday by the doctor if it's still there. I am doing very well, back to my normal sleeping schedule - the only thing I would have to say that has not changed is the numbness of the top of my ear.  

7 more days until I have it turned on. I can't wait. I'm really eager to get everything started and start training my right ear. I know it'll make me tired, cranky, stubborn, and so on but it'll be all worth it. I will be patient to go through everything. I just hope that everyone will help me/teach me on what the sounds I'm hearing and be patient with me as well.

That's about it! Just a short update. I promise the next one will be longer and expect it sometime on the 31st! 

Have a good evening.  =) 

Just Another

Hello again!

Well it seems like that I have a new challenge. The last couple mornings I've woke up on the wrong side that I shouldn't be sleeping on. The other morning, Mike woke up and saw that I was doing it and rolled me over so I wouldn't wake up in pain. So I have been doing that and I will have discomfort on my right ear, which is numb. It is expected to be numb for 4-6 months so I hope it isn't going to be that long. I like to sleep on my right side than my left. I usually fall asleep on my left then end up on my right. I move around a lot in my sleep. So much for laying still! So I've had discomfort and headaches from that but nothing top bad that I can't handle. 

I can't wait to get back to normal. I have been feeling lazy and laying around often. Who keeps me company? Ryder. He's such a good dog. He will be lazy with me so that's nice! See? :)

Snoozing away...

He wanted to sleep by me while I was catching up on a new episode of "Suits"

And he didn't want me to get up! Always touching me somehow when he sleeps by me... 

That's about it for today! Have a good Thursday. =) 

A Week

Hello!

It's been a week since I have had the surgery. Everything is going well. I'm healing well. Showering is now a easy task so thumbs up. Yesterday was my last day on antibiotics. So I'm done! I admit that I am still sore, especially around the incision. It feels tight also. It seems that it is healing fine. I have Mike check it to see how it's doing daily. The steri-strips are still on, but curling up. I give it a couple more days until they fall off. I was told to keep them on as long as possible to help the incision/stitches so I'll do my best with that. 

The past week, I've been laying around the house, doing nothing but watch T.V and sleeping a lot. Today I finally feel that I have energy to move around so hopefully I won't nap. I find that if I fall asleep and nap, I end up sleeping between 1 hour to 2 hours. Sometimes 3 hours! Kind of wasting away the day and today's a nice day so I don't want to do that...  

Mike bought a brand new T.V for the bedroom so I can stay comfortable. We used to have a 12 inch which made it difficult to read the closed captions, haha. So that had to go! The only unfortunate thing is that I gained weight while in recovery but I guess I have to let it slide. I've been working pretty hard on trying to get my weight down the past 5-6 months. So I think I'm ready to get back to that now. Try to eat clean & walk daily and cut out most of the carbs. That means less beer and less pizza, well good luck to me! Those two are my worst enemies when it comes to dieting/losing weight. :P 

Anyway, I contacted my audiologist at University Hospital to find out what I will be getting on July 31st. So I am SO excited! I know I've said it before, but I am so glad that I chose to get the second cochlear implant when I did. All that waiting throughout the years to decide if I wanted to go ahead or not made it all worth it so far in this journey. Best decision I've made also! 

I will be getting: two speech processors, three rechargeable batteries, a remote assistant/control, a personal audio cable, a box of microphone protectors, and a accessory in reserve to select later, which will be most likely the bluetooth option. That's a lot to have so I can't wait to see what they all will be like. 

Oh also, I wanted to thank a couple of my family and friends who have sent me a "get well soon" card and that made my day when I got them in the mail! I appreciate it and just wanted to thank everyone who has kept me in their prayers & thoughts. 

I think that's all I'll write for today. Have a great Wednesday. =) 

Doing Well

So yesterday, I woke up feeling good. Took a shower and realized I could wash my hair throughly without having a hard time. That instantly put me in a good mood. That meant I was going to have a good hair day. I could wear my glasses again! AND the best part: my appetite came back! I was able to eat and actually ate a lot - sandwiches, veggies, fruits, and BW3 boneless wings & potato wedges with cheese. Those little things mean a lot! ;)

Drove down to Columbus, Ohio (Mike did, not me) for a friend's bridal shower party. I was thinking about how amazed I am by this recovery. I had surgery on the 8th and was able to go out and about by the 11th and 12th. No pain at all either. So I was happy to be able to do that! It was a nice getaway for a day. It was fun also and I was glad that we could get to see our good friends and visit for a bit. Columbus is one of my favorite places! 

That means no more pain pills! I did take those as required the first couple days and I felt alright, but constantly felt nauseous and dizzy. All it did was to help me sleep but they helped me out. I took it one last time on Friday night because I had a lot of dull pain in my ear and above my ear. Soon after that, I felt very panicky and realized that my body was not doing well to the effects of the pain pill. I told Mike that I couldn't relax and it wasn't fun. Too strong for me! I got nervous and felt like I had to walk around and try to relax myself. I decided that I was 100% done with it after that experience and stick to Advil if I needed to. 

Today I did need to do Advil because now I am experiencing ear aches - but I hope that means it is healing slowly. Although, it's been 5 days since I had surgery - I am doing great, though. :)

I am pretty excited to see what will happen once I have it turned on. My surgeon is looking forward to see how I will benefit from it. July 31st can't get here fast enough. 

Two pictures from yesterday to show you how I am doing 4 days after. You can't tell that I had surgery done. First one is of my friend Michelle and I at her bridal shower. The second is of my friend, Shaun and I at his 30th surprise birthday party. It was great seeing friends again and being out and about. Pretty much 95% back to normal!

  

Update on the incision: healing well & the steri-strips are starting to curl up. My hair is growing back too. 

Have a good Sunday! =) 

Feeling Alright

So the bandage is off, I feel better. No pressure on my right side anymore. My ear is still numb as well as above the ear where my hair was shaved. I'm slowly getting that feeling back, all that tingling and numbness wearing off. I can't wait for it to feel normal again. It get itchy still. I'm hoping that my hair will grow back quickly. I'm not in any pain today so far. If I feel a little bit of pain coming back, I take a Advil or two and that works well. 

I slept great last night. Slept from 11:30PM to 5AM. No interruptions! I was comfortable and was able to sleep on my left side all night and avoided rolling over to my right side. I'm thinking that the white bandage was what kept me up the first two nights and didn't allow me to sleep much. I am still sleeping upright, though - with 6/7 pillows. 

One thing I am missing is my appetite. I haven't had my stomach growl since Tuesday. I haven't been able to eat a actual meal without feeling sick. The anesthetics, sedatives, and pain killers that I had on Tuesday were in my body for the next 24 hours. So that stuff is gone now since it's been more than 24 hours. But my appetite is just not 100% yet. It seems like I am able to have coffee (at home or from Dunkin Donuts & Starbucks), chocolate milkshakes, toasts with jam, or ice cream. No issues there, I feel fine afterwards. I've been drinking a lot of water and Gatorade.  

Showering is still difficult to do. But today was the second time I showered so I did better. I was able to wash throughly and I am still figuring out how to dry my hair. I managed just fine this morning but my hair looks like a mess, like when you wake up in the morning and your hair is pretty wild. Haha. I also wear glasses, but I haven't been able to because of the steri-strips behind my ear where the incision is. It feels uncomfortable if I try to put it on so I am leaving that alone. When it is better, I will wear my glasses again. :) 

I've been under great care by Mike (who I get to marry in 5 months!) and he's been very supportive with me and made sure I was feeling OK. I can't forget about Ryder. He's been constantly by my side and has been very cuddly since I came home. He's such a great dog. 

I guess taking care of me is too much work! Both of them passed out while I was watching Castle. ;)

Ryder has been extra loving and cuddly and whenever I am in bed, he lays on top of me. Last night, mike tried to get him to get off the bed to go to the bathroom but he refused and stayed on me or he'd fall back onto me and be "boneless" - Such a baby! 

So far, so good! It's pretty amazing how easy this recovery has been...

Happy Friday! 

Bye White Bandage!

Today, I was able to take off my white bandage. It felt so good to remove it. I was starting to get very itchy. Mike's mom came over to help me out to cut off the bandage. 

They did shave a little under my long hair and around the right ear to make a incision. I currently have steri-strips on my stitches to keep them in place. It will fall off soon. I just can't touch it and allow it do that by itself. So that's what you are seeing in the second picture. It's amazing how different they do the surgeries today and how simple they are, compared to my first cochlear implant surgery in 2000.

The trickiest thing I had to do today was to wash my hair in the shower! My right ear is very sensitive. I wasn't so sure on how to properly wash my hair around my right ear without getting it wet! But I think managed okay. I haven't attempted to brush my hair yet. So I am thinking how I can do that. Haha. 

July 31st is the big day to turn on the Nucelus 6! Exciting news! =)