The next few days after the switch on...
It's the next morning and my implant is starting to sound a little more normal. I was also going to my grandparents house later on to show them my implants. Before I went there, my family made a quick stop at the supermarket to pick up some ingredients to make a banana cake. (It was yum I must admit!) Walking through the supermarket was fairly fine, I was on the second programme as the first one seemed too quiet compared to the day before after being switched on. The audiologist did say this would happen.
Up and down each aisle was a weird experience, I could hear the rustle of packaging when people picked them up. Trolley's banging into one another was really loud. It got worse when I was at the checkout. With all the noises of people putting things on the belt and sounds from people talking; got too much. So I ended up just pulling the magnet off my head until we left the shop. Reaching the doors, the magnets clipped back onto my head. I told my mam 'Quiet, finally', she just laughed and said 'This is what hearing people have to put up with regardless.'
Hmmm, sounds fun.
Being at my grandparents house, the noise was just immense. Too many conversational greeting going off at once made me pull a right face at my grandma. Luckily she didn't get offended and just kept laughing when I explained everything was really loud. Switching back to programme one again!
After this we all settled down onto the sofa's and gossip about recent events and what it was like to be switched on. I kept trying to come up with sounds which I knew to describe objects and what they we like to my grandparents as they are really curious.
On the Sunday I decided that I wanted to go swimming as it was a regular activity which I did on a weekend. Since the advice from the Doctors was not to swim 2 weeks before the operation and 4 weeks after I did actually miss the pool. The only nightmare about water was I had to wait for my hair to dry again before I could my implants back on. The peace and quiet was nice though.
Through out the rest of the week, friends and family we coming to see me and my CI's. They kept making noises to see if I could hear it (which I could), but the strange thing was they were no longer sounding the same both genders. They were actually sounding slightly different. Dudes were sounding like dudes and lasses were sounding like lasses. I quickly text my T of D of what had happened. I had finally broken through the barrier of people sounding alike.
Yippeeee!
Saturday 24 August 2013
Saturday 10 August 2013
The SWITCH ON!!!!
Friday 9th August...
My first switch on appointment, I was mega excited! I think anyone who was in my position would be. I knew not to expect much from this out come but from what I have heard so far after being switched on, I would say it is the best decision I have made this year and maybe the best so far in my life!
Setting off from home with my parents we were all going into the unknown, I have been told by many people, professionals and Cochlear Implant wearer, what to expect from the first switch on. Beeps and buzzes are all I will hear. That was ok, but deep down I knew I wasn't going to be satisfied with this. Oh well. My parents have told me that they just wanted me to hear something, anything is better than nothing, which I agreed on. On the way to Nottingham many people were texting me wishing me good luck with the switch on, but as we crept closer to Nottingham my nerves were playing up a little.
My dad was a little bewildered by the building of Ropewalk itself. He commented on it saying it looked like a swimming pool. This is what both me and me mam said on the first time we went.
Heading to the waiting room, there was a poster on the wall by a company which offered Teenagers to tell their story of their hearing loss/journey etc. My mam encouraged me to have ago at it, considering I am already do so, in this blog.
Whilst I was thinking whether to have ago, the audiologist entered the room, a big bubbly attitude and smile on her face. 'Hiding are you... Behind the wall?' Was the first thing out of her. I had to laugh, the waiting room is not exactly the best shape for deaf people to be in, as you cannot see if someone has called your name out as this wall is slap bang in the middle. My excuse was 'All the little kids were round that end of the wall, I wanted to hide.' The last time I went the kids were throwing balls at me, they were cute so I forgave them. Ha-ha!
The audiologist then lead me and my parents through a maze of corridors to the room, where I was to be wired up to the computer and be switched on! My right ear was first to be switched on, this was a really weird experience. (If your not a CI person then its going to sound even more strange when I explain.) The audiologist first had to find out the right magnet for my head as number 1 was useless! Eventually she put me on 5/6 magnets for both ears as my hair was so thick. My dad advised me by saying get a Mohawk.
'HELL TO THE NO!' was my response which made all the adults in the room laugh.
Then the right ear was switched on, the audiologist said I may not hear it at first but after 7 or so clicks with the mouse. It wasn't a beep I heard, it was a crackle. The audiologist kept doing this until all my high frequencies on my right side was turned on. Then my left side was done in the same way with me saying I can hear it etc. Beep, buzz and crackle every time.
Shortly after this I had to see what was the maximum I could listen to in one go, sound-wise. I was handed a scale to point at if the sound was soft, soft but comfortable, comfortable, loud but comfortable, too loud.
After this I was told that one implant at a time was going to be switched on with all the sounds joined together. The left ear was just continuous beeps and buzzes. Then it was turned off, the right go. I could actually hear the audiologist voice. It was high pitch and very squeaky. Like Minnie Mouse or Donald Duck talking, depending on the distance away from me.
Both CI's were turned on together after this. A big shock to my system but awesome. I was told to allow the crackling to settle down for a second. Then I could hear the audiologist speak clearly but very high pitch and squeaky. Then was turn to hear my parents. I haven't hear them for nearly 8 months. I could hear them!
Very high pitch even my Dad was squeaky! I told my mam that I could hear, she laughed. It sounded like bells ringing. I told her that and she laughed even more. 'Bells, bells, bells...'
Afterwards I was told that I had 4 programmes to work through before I was to go back on the 23rd of August. 'Keep brain training' my audiologist told me just as I was to leave.
So me and my parents left to go out for dinner, they kept banging the cutlery about soon as we sat down. It was loud. Testing me on different sounds. I don't like the hand dryer as that gave me a shock, when it went on. Also I didn't realise that my feet had a noise every time I walked. Something new to experience.
As the day went by I experimented with sound, banging on the table, slamming doors. Sticking my head in the fridge to hear the fan noise which my sister says is there. Hmmm haven't heard it yet.
By the time I got to the evening, after showing my mates what my implants look like on and describing what they sounded like. Which gained some laughs along side the comments of EXTERMINATE (as I described one of my friends like a Dalek from Doctor Who) I decided to plug in my IPod as an experiment to see if I could hear anything.
I could *cue the smile plastering across my face*.
Hallelujah!
My first switch on appointment, I was mega excited! I think anyone who was in my position would be. I knew not to expect much from this out come but from what I have heard so far after being switched on, I would say it is the best decision I have made this year and maybe the best so far in my life!
Setting off from home with my parents we were all going into the unknown, I have been told by many people, professionals and Cochlear Implant wearer, what to expect from the first switch on. Beeps and buzzes are all I will hear. That was ok, but deep down I knew I wasn't going to be satisfied with this. Oh well. My parents have told me that they just wanted me to hear something, anything is better than nothing, which I agreed on. On the way to Nottingham many people were texting me wishing me good luck with the switch on, but as we crept closer to Nottingham my nerves were playing up a little.
My dad was a little bewildered by the building of Ropewalk itself. He commented on it saying it looked like a swimming pool. This is what both me and me mam said on the first time we went.
Heading to the waiting room, there was a poster on the wall by a company which offered Teenagers to tell their story of their hearing loss/journey etc. My mam encouraged me to have ago at it, considering I am already do so, in this blog.
Whilst I was thinking whether to have ago, the audiologist entered the room, a big bubbly attitude and smile on her face. 'Hiding are you... Behind the wall?' Was the first thing out of her. I had to laugh, the waiting room is not exactly the best shape for deaf people to be in, as you cannot see if someone has called your name out as this wall is slap bang in the middle. My excuse was 'All the little kids were round that end of the wall, I wanted to hide.' The last time I went the kids were throwing balls at me, they were cute so I forgave them. Ha-ha!
The audiologist then lead me and my parents through a maze of corridors to the room, where I was to be wired up to the computer and be switched on! My right ear was first to be switched on, this was a really weird experience. (If your not a CI person then its going to sound even more strange when I explain.) The audiologist first had to find out the right magnet for my head as number 1 was useless! Eventually she put me on 5/6 magnets for both ears as my hair was so thick. My dad advised me by saying get a Mohawk.
'HELL TO THE NO!' was my response which made all the adults in the room laugh.
Then the right ear was switched on, the audiologist said I may not hear it at first but after 7 or so clicks with the mouse. It wasn't a beep I heard, it was a crackle. The audiologist kept doing this until all my high frequencies on my right side was turned on. Then my left side was done in the same way with me saying I can hear it etc. Beep, buzz and crackle every time.
Shortly after this I had to see what was the maximum I could listen to in one go, sound-wise. I was handed a scale to point at if the sound was soft, soft but comfortable, comfortable, loud but comfortable, too loud.
After this I was told that one implant at a time was going to be switched on with all the sounds joined together. The left ear was just continuous beeps and buzzes. Then it was turned off, the right go. I could actually hear the audiologist voice. It was high pitch and very squeaky. Like Minnie Mouse or Donald Duck talking, depending on the distance away from me.
Both CI's were turned on together after this. A big shock to my system but awesome. I was told to allow the crackling to settle down for a second. Then I could hear the audiologist speak clearly but very high pitch and squeaky. Then was turn to hear my parents. I haven't hear them for nearly 8 months. I could hear them!
Very high pitch even my Dad was squeaky! I told my mam that I could hear, she laughed. It sounded like bells ringing. I told her that and she laughed even more. 'Bells, bells, bells...'
Afterwards I was told that I had 4 programmes to work through before I was to go back on the 23rd of August. 'Keep brain training' my audiologist told me just as I was to leave.
So me and my parents left to go out for dinner, they kept banging the cutlery about soon as we sat down. It was loud. Testing me on different sounds. I don't like the hand dryer as that gave me a shock, when it went on. Also I didn't realise that my feet had a noise every time I walked. Something new to experience.
As the day went by I experimented with sound, banging on the table, slamming doors. Sticking my head in the fridge to hear the fan noise which my sister says is there. Hmmm haven't heard it yet.
By the time I got to the evening, after showing my mates what my implants look like on and describing what they sounded like. Which gained some laughs along side the comments of EXTERMINATE (as I described one of my friends like a Dalek from Doctor Who) I decided to plug in my IPod as an experiment to see if I could hear anything.
I could *cue the smile plastering across my face*.
Hallelujah!
Tuesday 6 August 2013
The CI's Equipment.
Getting the equipment...
Both of my teacher's for the deaf (T of D) came today, one from Nottingham who brought the equipment and the other from my local area.
The Nottingham teacher came bouncing through my doors lugging a huge black which looks like a laptop bag. 'This is your equipment' she said after putting it on the floor. My initial thoughts was all that for my hearing, Jeez-Marie!.
It intrigued my local teacher as being a teenager, who has a bilateral implants at my age is quite rare. Eager to see what the mystery bag held, the Nottingham teacher began by showing me my processors. Very shiny, thin! Slight problem the processor was brown where as the coil and wire was black. It turns out I made a mistake when ticking the box and choose the wrong colour for the coil. Ooops! She then told me I could change them when I go for the switch on, thank god!
Anyway, the T of D proceeded with explaining how the equipment worked and I was rather pleased that the battery usage was both rechargeable as well as hearing aid batteries. Then smaller boxes came out of this bag, with wires for connecting to music and cleaning thing. It was a lot of things just for two small items which allowed me to hear. She then told me that there was an instruction book off how to operate the processors, one look at it and I was like huh? Thank goodness she gave me a simple version of how to do it. Otherwise it would take me ages to figure it out!
So the switch on is on Friday, so both T of D's said they will see me within the next week to see how I am getting on. Excited but I know not to expect much I keep telling myself. So after a cuppa, some biscuits and a chat they left me to fiddle about with the processors as the magnet in the coil wouldn't attach to my head. Luckily I can ask at Nottingham, to change the strength of the magnet in order to attach it to myself.
Later that evening, my parents came home from work and I was bursting to tell them all about what I have learnt today. They themselves were having ago at trying on my processors for the weight, looking at the instruction booklets and threw the same facial expressions as I did. When I saw how many types of flashes of colour to remember and what they symbolised. My mam said 'Oh this is going to be fun, Beth!' I knew what she meant, as I do have a memory of a goldfish sometimes...
Anyways, come tomorrow its two more sleeps till the switch on! Yippee! :D
Both of my teacher's for the deaf (T of D) came today, one from Nottingham who brought the equipment and the other from my local area.
The Nottingham teacher came bouncing through my doors lugging a huge black which looks like a laptop bag. 'This is your equipment' she said after putting it on the floor. My initial thoughts was all that for my hearing, Jeez-Marie!.
It intrigued my local teacher as being a teenager, who has a bilateral implants at my age is quite rare. Eager to see what the mystery bag held, the Nottingham teacher began by showing me my processors. Very shiny, thin! Slight problem the processor was brown where as the coil and wire was black. It turns out I made a mistake when ticking the box and choose the wrong colour for the coil. Ooops! She then told me I could change them when I go for the switch on, thank god!
Anyway, the T of D proceeded with explaining how the equipment worked and I was rather pleased that the battery usage was both rechargeable as well as hearing aid batteries. Then smaller boxes came out of this bag, with wires for connecting to music and cleaning thing. It was a lot of things just for two small items which allowed me to hear. She then told me that there was an instruction book off how to operate the processors, one look at it and I was like huh? Thank goodness she gave me a simple version of how to do it. Otherwise it would take me ages to figure it out!
So the switch on is on Friday, so both T of D's said they will see me within the next week to see how I am getting on. Excited but I know not to expect much I keep telling myself. So after a cuppa, some biscuits and a chat they left me to fiddle about with the processors as the magnet in the coil wouldn't attach to my head. Luckily I can ask at Nottingham, to change the strength of the magnet in order to attach it to myself.
Later that evening, my parents came home from work and I was bursting to tell them all about what I have learnt today. They themselves were having ago at trying on my processors for the weight, looking at the instruction booklets and threw the same facial expressions as I did. When I saw how many types of flashes of colour to remember and what they symbolised. My mam said 'Oh this is going to be fun, Beth!' I knew what she meant, as I do have a memory of a goldfish sometimes...
Anyways, come tomorrow its two more sleeps till the switch on! Yippee! :D
Monday 5 August 2013
Counting down to the SWITCH ON!
Counting down the days...
I only have a few more days of being in silence, then I get switched on. Every day get marked with a big cross on my calendar. '7,6,5,4 days....'
I am more excited for this than my birthday or Christmas to come. I think partly due to the fact it will help me seem a little more 'normal' again; that I can talk to my friends about music which has come out. Although I know its going to be a lot of hard work to get to that stage but it will be worth it!
In some ways I think I am going to miss hearing nothing, the benefits of not hearing my siblings squabble or having to hear really loud noises, for example thunder the other day.
I am really excited to hear little things such as Rice Crispy going 'snap, crackle and pop' or the squeaky noise of balloons rubbing together as I had never heard these before.
*Note to self, do not put the processors near the balloons as its will wipe the programmes as I have been told. Ha-ha!*
The one sound that I haven't missed is the birds tweeting in the morning, this has always annoyed me every time I had my hearing aids reprogrammed to allow me to hear again; but with hoping I am wishing that I will like them, as its tough luck.
I have the Teacher for the Deaf from Nottingham, along with my own Teacher of the Deaf, coming to see me this week with the equipment for the Cochlear Implants. I am dead excited to see all the bits a pieces and have a play about with them. I know my family are as wired up as I am about this!
So in the mean time, I am busy with University research of planning which open days to attend and courses etc. to keep my mind off the SWITCH ON.
Eeekk, I am looking forward to it, despite this, I must keep my expectations low as I know its not a quick fix.
Roll on Friday 9th of August!
I only have a few more days of being in silence, then I get switched on. Every day get marked with a big cross on my calendar. '7,6,5,4 days....'
I am more excited for this than my birthday or Christmas to come. I think partly due to the fact it will help me seem a little more 'normal' again; that I can talk to my friends about music which has come out. Although I know its going to be a lot of hard work to get to that stage but it will be worth it!
In some ways I think I am going to miss hearing nothing, the benefits of not hearing my siblings squabble or having to hear really loud noises, for example thunder the other day.
I am really excited to hear little things such as Rice Crispy going 'snap, crackle and pop' or the squeaky noise of balloons rubbing together as I had never heard these before.
*Note to self, do not put the processors near the balloons as its will wipe the programmes as I have been told. Ha-ha!*
The one sound that I haven't missed is the birds tweeting in the morning, this has always annoyed me every time I had my hearing aids reprogrammed to allow me to hear again; but with hoping I am wishing that I will like them, as its tough luck.
I have the Teacher for the Deaf from Nottingham, along with my own Teacher of the Deaf, coming to see me this week with the equipment for the Cochlear Implants. I am dead excited to see all the bits a pieces and have a play about with them. I know my family are as wired up as I am about this!
So in the mean time, I am busy with University research of planning which open days to attend and courses etc. to keep my mind off the SWITCH ON.
Eeekk, I am looking forward to it, despite this, I must keep my expectations low as I know its not a quick fix.
Roll on Friday 9th of August!
Saturday 3 August 2013
12th July 2013 - THE OPERATION
The day finally dawned upon us...
The day of my operation was on the 12th of July and I had a morning slot. The letter stated that the night before I could eat and drink but only up to certain times. So my last snack was at midnight whereas I was allowed to have a glass of water at 5 in the morning. God it was an early start. Having less than 5 hours sleep didn't help either. I was so excited as I knew I would soon be hearing again after 7 months of silence.
Arriving at the hospital at 7 am, people were walking around half asleep, in a almost zombie like state, but my and me mam were rather giddy as we knew this was the day everything changes. A new chapter in my life so to speak.
Checked into the ward but I was given the offer to chill in the adults area - I did not want to be around screaming children at that time in the morning. settling onto the bench other patients began to enter the ward. It was nice to talk to other people to try and take my mind off the fact that I was hungry. God my stomach didn't stop rumbling!
Shortly after that the nurse came to check my blood pressure and ask my any questions I had regarding the operation and whether I felt alright. I didn't care about the op, I was looking forward to eating afterwards. Ha-ha! Then the anaesthetist came to explain how I was going to be put asleep etc. and said that I would have to have the 'numbing' cream applied to my hand considering I was put on the children's list despite being 17. I wasn't going to argue I just wanted it to be over and done with.
The junior surgeon came to see me after the anaesthetist, explaining the procedure and that it should take roughly 4 hours. Then my main surgeon who I met at Ropewalk House told me to have both sides implanted it should be 3 1/2 hours. I was expecting around 4 so that was good or was it?
Entering the theatre prep room, the surgery team were having a team brief whilst I was being pumped with drugs to put me to sleep. I thought I should count back from 10, as that what I was told the last time I had surgery. I didn't even get to count down - knocked out!
5 and half hours later...
Finally I was out of theatre and put in recovery - it was painfully I must admit, but what do you expect when you skull has been drilled into and electrodes pushed into the Cochlear. My sight was off balance, if I moved a slight inch the whole room stated to spin. Luckily for me this only lasted a few hours. I was being dosed up on morphine and other drugs to try and numb the pain. For me this wasn't a success until the next couple of days. It was nice that my surgeon came to see me after he finished his operation list. I couldn't keep up the conversation as I kept dosing off. Ooops, I think he would understand.
After that, my mam came down to the recovery room to translate and keep me company before we were transferred to the children's ward. Thank god, they saw common sense to keep me away from the children. It was time to dose off for a while. After waking up, my mam told me that my teacher for the deaf from Ropewalk Walk came by whilst I was having my surgery and was expecting to see me but my surgery took longer than expected. So she left but gave me a present, a teddy bear with it's own cochlear attached. Sweet thought!
Around 8 o'clock I wanted to eat - it was going to be my breakfast for the day. A pack up appeared shortly after my request and it was a cheese sandwich. I shortly found out that I had no taste buds working, a risk which I knew about and the surgeon said it would come back after a while. The cheese and onion crisp tasted really funky, I could feel the texture but not taste them. Trust me it was a weird experience! .
As my mouth was so dry I kept drinking fluids ,as the ward sister wouldn't let me be attached to my drip after my op. This meant I was constantly drinking water to keep hydrated as I hadn't drank anything since the early morning. The side effect of this was needed the loo in the middle of the night. My mam choose to stay with my that night, instead of going to The Ear Foundation. I didn't want to wake her in the middle of the night, but the only problem was my balance being off. I couldn't walk in a straight line with out bumping into something/one. So I decided to become inventive by grabbing onto the blood pressure monitor which was attached to wheels and used that to get myself to the opposite end of the room and back. On my way back the nurse caught me and just started laughing. I must admit I did look a bit of a state. Back to bed I went and another dose of painkillers and antibiotics.
The next morning...
The next morning I woke up rather early, simply because I couldn't get to sleep without causing so much pain by pressing on my bandage. Eventually the doctor made his rounds about dinner time to check my wounds as it kept bleeding through out the night. I got the ok, so I could go home after my X-Ray to get the all clear that the CI's were placed in the right spot.
Nearly 4 hours passed by and then I was X-Rayed but I had to wait a little while longer before I could go home.
By the time I got home, I was knacked from not having enough sleep and my siblings were bursting with questions. They wanted to see what my scars looked like and kept asking a variety of things regarding my operation. Nice to know that they care!
Later that week...
My taste buds were still funky, I couldn't taste anything till Wednesday evening and since then things have been coming back slowly. God, I missed the taste of coffee and chilli! My balance seemed to figured itself out straight away, by the Monday I could pretty much walk in a straight line with a few occasions when I wobbled.
The worst thing about having this operation was the fact you couldn't wash your hair for a week. Thank goodness for dry shampoo and even then that was horrid by the following Thursday, when I went back to the doctors for a check to make that my wounds were healing correctly. Soon as the nurse gave me the ok for washing my hair my instant reaction was 'hallelujah'!
Only 3 more weeks to the switch on I kept telling myself...
The day of my operation was on the 12th of July and I had a morning slot. The letter stated that the night before I could eat and drink but only up to certain times. So my last snack was at midnight whereas I was allowed to have a glass of water at 5 in the morning. God it was an early start. Having less than 5 hours sleep didn't help either. I was so excited as I knew I would soon be hearing again after 7 months of silence.
Arriving at the hospital at 7 am, people were walking around half asleep, in a almost zombie like state, but my and me mam were rather giddy as we knew this was the day everything changes. A new chapter in my life so to speak.
 |
| Ready for surgery! |
Shortly after that the nurse came to check my blood pressure and ask my any questions I had regarding the operation and whether I felt alright. I didn't care about the op, I was looking forward to eating afterwards. Ha-ha! Then the anaesthetist came to explain how I was going to be put asleep etc. and said that I would have to have the 'numbing' cream applied to my hand considering I was put on the children's list despite being 17. I wasn't going to argue I just wanted it to be over and done with.
The junior surgeon came to see me after the anaesthetist, explaining the procedure and that it should take roughly 4 hours. Then my main surgeon who I met at Ropewalk House told me to have both sides implanted it should be 3 1/2 hours. I was expecting around 4 so that was good or was it?
Entering the theatre prep room, the surgery team were having a team brief whilst I was being pumped with drugs to put me to sleep. I thought I should count back from 10, as that what I was told the last time I had surgery. I didn't even get to count down - knocked out!
5 and half hours later...
Finally I was out of theatre and put in recovery - it was painfully I must admit, but what do you expect when you skull has been drilled into and electrodes pushed into the Cochlear. My sight was off balance, if I moved a slight inch the whole room stated to spin. Luckily for me this only lasted a few hours. I was being dosed up on morphine and other drugs to try and numb the pain. For me this wasn't a success until the next couple of days. It was nice that my surgeon came to see me after he finished his operation list. I couldn't keep up the conversation as I kept dosing off. Ooops, I think he would understand.
After that, my mam came down to the recovery room to translate and keep me company before we were transferred to the children's ward. Thank god, they saw common sense to keep me away from the children. It was time to dose off for a while. After waking up, my mam told me that my teacher for the deaf from Ropewalk Walk came by whilst I was having my surgery and was expecting to see me but my surgery took longer than expected. So she left but gave me a present, a teddy bear with it's own cochlear attached. Sweet thought!
Around 8 o'clock I wanted to eat - it was going to be my breakfast for the day. A pack up appeared shortly after my request and it was a cheese sandwich. I shortly found out that I had no taste buds working, a risk which I knew about and the surgeon said it would come back after a while. The cheese and onion crisp tasted really funky, I could feel the texture but not taste them. Trust me it was a weird experience! .As my mouth was so dry I kept drinking fluids ,as the ward sister wouldn't let me be attached to my drip after my op. This meant I was constantly drinking water to keep hydrated as I hadn't drank anything since the early morning. The side effect of this was needed the loo in the middle of the night. My mam choose to stay with my that night, instead of going to The Ear Foundation. I didn't want to wake her in the middle of the night, but the only problem was my balance being off. I couldn't walk in a straight line with out bumping into something/one. So I decided to become inventive by grabbing onto the blood pressure monitor which was attached to wheels and used that to get myself to the opposite end of the room and back. On my way back the nurse caught me and just started laughing. I must admit I did look a bit of a state. Back to bed I went and another dose of painkillers and antibiotics.
The next morning...
The next morning I woke up rather early, simply because I couldn't get to sleep without causing so much pain by pressing on my bandage. Eventually the doctor made his rounds about dinner time to check my wounds as it kept bleeding through out the night. I got the ok, so I could go home after my X-Ray to get the all clear that the CI's were placed in the right spot.
Nearly 4 hours passed by and then I was X-Rayed but I had to wait a little while longer before I could go home.
By the time I got home, I was knacked from not having enough sleep and my siblings were bursting with questions. They wanted to see what my scars looked like and kept asking a variety of things regarding my operation. Nice to know that they care!
Later that week...
My taste buds were still funky, I couldn't taste anything till Wednesday evening and since then things have been coming back slowly. God, I missed the taste of coffee and chilli! My balance seemed to figured itself out straight away, by the Monday I could pretty much walk in a straight line with a few occasions when I wobbled.
The worst thing about having this operation was the fact you couldn't wash your hair for a week. Thank goodness for dry shampoo and even then that was horrid by the following Thursday, when I went back to the doctors for a check to make that my wounds were healing correctly. Soon as the nurse gave me the ok for washing my hair my instant reaction was 'hallelujah'!
Only 3 more weeks to the switch on I kept telling myself...
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