Spreading the word around...

Just in case you didn't notice...I posted up some links on the right side on my website.

One is for the Auditory Verbal Center, Inc. Thats the center that taught me to hear and speak.

The next one is the homepage for Advanced Bionics, the implant company that I have (and ABSOLUTLY LOVE!).

And the others are friends with Cochlear Implants and AVC graduates from the center I graduated from. They vary in ages, so you get a wide variety of points of views and lifestyles with the Cochlear Implants.

But they're all really good, so if you're interested...check them out too and see what they have to say! : )

Just thought I'd point that out for those curious minds out there...

Who's ready for Senior Year?!?!

I AM! I AM! I AM! I AM! I AM! I AM! : )

Yesterday we had registration at school...that was pretty much really hectic! The only awesome thing about registration yesterday was standing in the SENIOR LINE!!! haha I was so excited!! :D I also got to see some old friends that I havn't seen all summer and my teachers from last year!! That was pretty fun!

But today I had to go back beacuse I had an appointment with my new counselor to talk about my schedule, introduce myself, explain my hearing, and what-not. And of course my mom told him my awesome story with the implant and how I was born deaf and how I can now hear and speak...and of course he was just blown away and couldn't believe that my brother and I were born deaf! haha Its amazing how people's face expressions change once you tell them that you're deaf!! haha : )

So here are my classes for next year...
1. AP Microeconomics
2. Environmental Science
3. British Literature
4. Algebra III
5. Banking/ Finance
6. Bussiness Document Processing
7. Introduction to Technology

I'm looking forward to my classes this year....the courses seem like they may be a little challenging but for some reason I'm excited! So we'll see when I start next Monday!

But you know what else?!

Today, I also got my first Parking spot at Lakeside!!! I was soo excited!! I didn't get one last year (even though I could have) but I got one for this year!! YAY!
I got a little sticker to put on my back window and we went out to find the spot...and lucky me, my spot is one of the few that were in the shade!! YAY! YAY!
Heres a picture of me in my parking spot...can you tell I was excited?! haha :D





So yeah, this year should be a pretty intersting year! I'm a senior and my brother is a Sophomore!! I can't wait till football time starts! Then HOMECOMING! My favorite part of the year!! haha

We LOVE our Direct Connect!

Hey - Just thought you might enjoy a picture of the implant with the direct connet. We went hiking this weekend in North Carolina and so my brother and I both took our ipods to listen to in the car. And lets just say, now that my brother got the new harmony - he has become OBSESSED with the new direct connect!! haha So now both my brother and I won't go anywhere without it!! haha : )

Here is a picture of my brother with his implant and the direct connect attacted to it.
For those of you who don't know - the direct connect is like a headphone set for the Advanced Bionics users. Its the black cord that hangs down from the front of the implant that connects to the ipod or to whatever you're listening to (cell phone, ipod, computer, mp3 player, etc.)...



And just another thing to notice...my brother got his implant about a month and a half ago and his hair and skin is already back to normal! I know there are alot of parents out there that are worried about what their kids are going to look like afterwards and scared about the whole hair thing...but his hair grew back, you can't really see the scar, and he's already had a hair cut since after the surgery.
So your hair will grow back and it'll go back to normal!!

Just another note for those worried parents... : )

VolunTEEN at the Children's Hospital

My last day as a VolunTEEN at the children's Hospital was today! :( I could only do it for the summer, and becuase of school starting in two weeks, today was the last day for us.
I got to work in the Operating Room with my friend Sumon. We had fun helping all the nurses, watching the different surgeries, helping the hospital move into the new building (which was so confusing lol), and learning about what its like to be a nurse at the hospital! My favorite part was seeing all the surgeries - I got to see intestines, the inside of a stomach, lungs, and a heart!

Who knows, maybe I'll become a nurse working in the OR one day... :)

Here's a picture with me and the people I worked with in our lovely scrubs...

Sumon, Elizabeth, Mrs. June (the lady in charge of us) and then me...

An Emotional Summer...

So much has happened this summer - I don’t know where to start!

Well...in May of this year, I got my new harmony! I was so excited!! : ) I went to go get it mapped and had my programs set to:
P1 – 120 – 60 IDR
P2 – Hi Res – 60 IDR
P3 – 120 – 80 IDR
But being that I don’t like to change my programs through out the day, I tend to just stay on program 3.

I can’t tell a difference from the Auria and the New Harmony when I’m just talking to people and when I’m in my normal environments. But when I’m listening to music…I can see the changes. I’ve been able to hear the words to the songs better, I’ve also been able to get more of the instruments from the background too! There have been a couple songs that I liked before I got the Harmony, but never really understood the words and what the song was about…but once I listened to it with the Harmony, I understood the words and finally got the meaning of the whole song! And now its one of my favorites! : ) Its so weird to hear different songs on the radio and compare it to what it used to sound like and to what it sounds like now! Some of them have been good changes, but then again, some of them have been kind of wierd...like this one time - I listened to this one song that I liked before and I listened to it with the Harmony and heard what it REALLY sounded like! And with the Harmony, it sounded sooo wierd and different! It sounded so whiny and strange. Lets just say...its not one of my top songs anymore! haha But for most of the songs...they sound so much better! So thats a good thing! : )

But yeah, I really like the Harmony, not only because of the more channels and how the music sounds… but also because of the battery life! The battery life is TRULY AMAZING!! AND SUCH A LIFE-SAVER!! For me, I was lucky because with the Auria I only had to change my battery twice a day….but even still, I always had to worry about my batteries charging at night, making sure I had my batteries with me and what-not. But now, I just use the one on my implant and I’m good for the WHOLE DAY! I still carry one battery with me as an emergency backup if I need it, but honestly I don’t even need to carry an extra battery with me! The one battery lasts all day long and I absolutely LOVE it!! : )

So everything is going great with me….but unfortunately this summer and been a rough few months for my younger brother, Jonathan (16). At the end of May, his C1 internal implant (after 9 ½ years of having it) failed. So after the “confirmation” of the device failure he went into surgery to get the new Harmony. Lucky for him, the doctor was able to just take out the old one and put the new one right in the same spot on the same side. We were really happy about that because we both want to keep the other ear open for down-the-road emergencies and for the more advanced technologies that are coming out. So then after the surgery he waited a few weeks to get turned on. Those few weeks were probably the toughest weeks we all had to go through! He doesn’t lip read or use sign language (because we went through Auditory Verbal therapy to learn to hear and speak) so basically we had to walk around with a pen and paper so we could even communicate with him and to tell him what’s going on! I don't think I've ever seen my brother so depressed and bored! We were also all really nervous about the whole thing because we weren’t sure how this was going to turn out. We didn’t know if he was going to like it, if it was going to even work, or if he’s going to have to relearn the sounds all over again. But then the turning on day came… and it worked! But as it turns out, it did start off to be beeps and it moved into the “robotic” sounds and now it sounds like normal people. Its been about 2 months and he’s now hearing fine! I think because he had the implant for the last 9 ½ years in the same ear, the process of understanding with the new one was quicker and easier for him then for someone just getting it for the first time.

But after this rough and emotional summer, he’s now really liking the implant and seems to be hearing great!
He wears the new color caps, loves the direct-connect to listen to his ipod with, and most of all… he loves the battery life! With the C1, he had to go through 6-8 batteries A DAY and now he only uses one battery for the whole day!

So now, that my brother and I both have the new harmony we have fun with sharing the new color caps and jazzing up our implants!

Now, we're both stylish AB Harmony Implant users!! haha : )

Here is a picture of me and Jonathan swing dancing at a local concert a few days ago....



But on the flip side...even though this summer has been really emotional and crazy for us, we still had a great summer!
This summer, I worked in the Operating Room at the Children's Hospital again and I absolutly love it there! I went to Texas for 2 weeks and cruised around San Antonio with my Mom. And I've also been working at AVC and hanging out with all my friends.
And for Jonathan - for the last five weeks he went to the Riverside Military Academy to take Algebra II and to see whats its like to be in the military. Now, you're probably confused and wondering why he went off to the military academy when he JUST got the implant... well he actually signed up before the imlant failed and nothing was going to stop him from going (even the implant failure). And much to our surprise, the teachers and sargents were all really cool with him about the implant and really worked with him! He took a whole years-worth of Algebra II in 5 weeks ( and PASSED) and had a great time playing sports and working out with all the other guys!

Here is a picture of Jonathan and me from the Military Ball (you can kind of see him in his uniform)...



So yeah, you never know what life is going to bring you.... : )

FINALLY! ...an update! : )

Wow, I haven’t posted in while! YIKES! I’m sorry…I keep forgetting to post! : /

But yeah, things are going good. Last week I went to get remapped because I felt like I was loosing most of what people are saying. So we changed my settings and put my implant in the cleaner (wow-that cleaner thing really makes a difference! lol). So right now my settings are set the following:
program 3 – 50 - quite environment
program 2 – 60 - noisy
program 1 – 80 - cafeteria or very noisy environment
She set me on these settings because it’s supposed to help me hear better when I’m driving in a car, listening to music, and eating in the cafeteria or a restaurant. So my homework was to experiment with the different programs and see if it helps make a difference.
And right now, I’m in the process of doing that. Although I gotta say, I hate changing the programs throughout the day because for some reason it takes so long for the implant to switch over. And by the time I switch over, I’ve already missed a lot. But I think that that’s something that will get better with more practice on switching BEFORE I get there! : / But I’m working on it…
But other then that, the new mapping seems to work good…it’s defiantly better then what I had!

Oh, the other day I also put an order in for my NEW HARMONY! YAY! Thanks to my mom for helping me get that, maybe now I’ll be able to HEAR EVEN MORE! Now, I’m not even sure if I should be happy or a little nervous! Because quite honestly, it gets kind of annoying to hear my dog lick herself while we’re watching TV! Haha, just kidding…I’m looking forward to it! : ) I should be getting it in the next few weeks, so it should be interesting to see the differences between the Auria and Harmony. They say that the Harmony helps make music a lot more clearer – YAY! And being that music is everything to me…I’m looking REALLY forward to that! : )

But other then that, life has been going good! I just turned 18, I went on my first date, I've been to two Proms, I’m touring colleges, and also I’m taking Swing Dance Lessons! My junior year has definitely been the best so far, and it’s all because of my implant! My freshman year sucked because I had hearing aids (Superos by Phonak), and missed A LOT. Then my sophomore year, I was just getting the implant and I was trying to get used to it. And now, it’s the end of my junior year and I’m doing GREAT with hearing everyone and making all A’s and B’s!!

I went on my first date a few weeks ago. I was soo excited! Because I didn’t know how people would react to me being deaf and this guy asked me out!! I was honestly really nervous about it because I didn’t know if he knew about my hearing or not. But he was actually pretty cool about it! We went to the park and we were talking and he asked what that thing was on my ear. So I explained it to him and his mouth just dropped! Haha, he couldn’t believe that I was deaf! But he was surprisingly cool with it which made me really happy and a lot more confident about my hearing. And what’s so funny about it all is that he’s actually part deaf too! And I didn’t realize that either! He can’t hear out of his left ear either which was kind of neat to find out! : ) So you never know what you might learn about someone else, huh?!? So yeah – I guess I was just imagining the worst when I thought about telling people about my hearing. People are actually more understanding about your hearing then you realize! And that really makes me happy! : )

I’m also touring colleges right now! I went to tour Georgia College and State University (GC&SU) and I absolutely LOVED that place!! I am looking soooo forward to college, no offense to mom, but I am!! We got to tour the dorms, see the classes, and eat in the cafeteria and what-not. The dorms were pretty cool. It’s more of a quad-suite so I would have a roommate. And hopefully my roommate won’t mind my vibrating alarm clock!! Haha! So yeah, right now that’s my first choice in colleges (go GC&SU!) but I’m also touring some others such as University of West Georgia and Berry College. SO we’ll see…

I’m also taking Swing Dance Lessons which is A LOT of fun! My brother is actually my swing dance partner (he also has the implant)! We’re not as good as the dancers on Dancing with the Stars (…not yet at least! hehe) but we’re having fun learning the dance moves and listening to all the jazz and swing dance music! ; )

So yeah, life is going good…I love my implant! I’m definitely enjoying my life a lot more!! I’m making better grades, hearing more things, trying new things such as dance lessons and running for office in clubs, and I’m also getting better at being more vocal about my hearing! : )

Survey....

Hey Everyone!

My friend wanted me to answer this survey for her project in college, and I thought it'd be interesting to post on here. I thought they were good questions and I figured they might be helpful to you....so enjoy!


1. What age were you when you received the Implant?

I got the implant in april of 2005 when I was just turning 16 years old.

2. Has Getting the implant limited what you can do?

Yes, there are some activites that I have to avoid now becuase I have the implant, for example different things with magnetic fiels such as some rollar coasters, MRI's, and plastic slides.

3. How does the Implant help you with your daily life?

The implant helps me to hear no matter where I am, such as the cafeteria, outside, at home, or even on the phone. I wasn't functioning good with two hearing aids, so thats why I got the implant. And now I can hear alot more and its helped me to understand people, music and environmental sounds better.

4. Is it noticeable to other people when you first meet them?

No, becuase the cochlear implant is a small device that sits behind my ear. And being that I have longer hair, its hard to see it because its being hid. Plus, people don't "look" for the implant becuase they don't realize that I'm deaf when they meet me because my speech quality is so good. I was taught spoken language through the auditory verbal approach to where I don't lip read or use sign language.

5. How has the implant affected your life?

Yes, dramtically. With it my grades have gone up becuase I can hear now, I have been more involved with clubs such as Key Club and Girl Scouts, I have volunteered at differnt places, and I can even get a job now because I can hear what I have to do. And of course music is my favorite thing, now I can really enjoy the music and words.
But then again, its also frustrating because I always have to make sure I have charged batteries to get me through the day. Because if my batteries go dead, I can not hear a thing and I'm in a silent world.

6. If you had not gotten the implant how would your life be different?

If I had not gotten the implant, I would not have been involved with the clubs, volunteering, and plus I probably wouldn't be at the public school that I am now. I also wouldn't have been able to do some things such as going to concerts, movies, and plays. Without the implant, I would have very few friends, I wouldn't be as socialble and I wouldn't be where I am today.

But yeah, it was a short survey but it had some interesting points about the implant...

Interesting Quote...

Well the other day I was reading this magazine called "Choices" in interior design. And one of the articles in the magazine was about a hearing loss and all the things you do that makes your hearing worse and all the things you can do to prevent a hearing loss. In one part, it was trying to explain what a hearing loss is like and this is how American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) put it....

"It's like a dining room chandelier with bulbs that go out. Every day, it dims a little bit until one day you think, 'it's dark in here,' but then its too late to turn the light back on."

But anyways, I thought it was pretty funny how they relate deaf people as chandeliers!! : P So my friend and I were joking around with each other about this and teasing me about being a chandelier!! At first I laughed and I couldn't believe that they were saying that but once you think about it...in a way a hearing loss is like dying light bulbs!!

But in my case, I got high-tech, life-time guaranteed new light bulbs!! : )

I have my speech which will last a lifetime (thanks to AVC) and my new high-tech Cochlear Implant which will also last me forever!! hehe

So now, I am a very bright and shiny chandelier!!!! : )

When do Direct Connects come in handy??

Well today, I went on a field trip with my Photography class to the High Museum. That was interesting. But we all had to walk around with recorders and headphones that was talking about all the pictures. I couldn't hear a thing on the head phones so guess what...I pulled out my Direct connect from my purse, plugged it in...and ta-da! I can HEAR!!! YAY! YAY! YAY!

haha, who would ever have thought that that was going to come in handy?? I usually use it just to listen to my music on my MP3 player, I never thought I'd need it for something else.

So for all of you who have the implant....get the Direct Connect!!! You never know when you'll need it!!!

Update

Well things are going good with me and my Implant. I'm a Junior in High School and school is going great! I'm aceing all of my classes, which is really exciting! YAY! Last week was Homecoming, that was bunches of fun!! Friday night was our homecoming game, my brother and I stood up in the front cheering for the Lakeside Vikings. And believe it or not...we WON!!! YAY! YAY! YAY! That was really really really exciting to win our Homecoming Game!!! : ) Then saturday night, we had our Homecoming Dance. Jonathan (my brother) was my date so we danced and had alot of fun the whole night!!! It was pretty cool to be able to hear the beats and be able to follow along with the music.
Oh, the other day my brother and I spoke on a panel in front of a bunch of therapists, parents, and teachers at this Advanced Bionics Meeting. That was pretty interesting....apparently we were really good!! : ) They asked us questions about how we deal with the implant at school, the differences between the Hearing Aid and the Implant, Our favorite and least favorite things about the implant, etc. so I guess that went well. I was glad that we were there to help answer questions!
But other than that, everything seems to be going pretty good.

Last day as a Volunteen!!

The other week I had my last day of being a volunteen at Egleston Children's Hospital. I have been working there in the Operating Room every tuesday this summer and it has definatly been the highlight of my summer! I got to help patients get ready for surgery, get the operating rooms ready for surgery and I also got to help nurses during surgery!! And whats so cool about it is that I got to get all dressed up in scrubs, a hat, and a mask! And I still was able to hear everyone!!
But there is one thing that my mentor, June Malcolm, and I will always remember! The story when she learned I was hearing impaired. Ok, on the first day of working there, June was giving me a tour around and telling me everything I've got to do, etc. And we come in front of the OR room where Dr. Todd does his implant surgerys. And June was getting ready to tell me this whole "speel" about what the cochelar implant is and what its for. And immediatly I bursted out "I GOT ONE!!". hahaha, I was so excited to be able to see them getting one that I just bursted that out! And the look on June's face will always stick with me! She was so suprised and couldn't believe that I was deaf and I was working in the Operating Room! So then from then on, she told all the nurses and advisers, etc. about my hearing and about our story! And everyone that she told was always shocked and so suprised that I was deaf!!
So yeah, I guess you can say....nothing will get in the way of getting what you want!! And I wanted to be a volunteen at Egleston and I got it!! And I had the BEST TIME OF MY LIFE!!

This is a picture of June, Me, and Cynthia. Notice the scrubs - don't we look cute!! hehe : )

Swimming with friends....finally!

I just got back from going to a mountain house with a group of my friends for the weekend. I had an awesome time!! We got to hang out, go swimming, canoeing, hiking, listen to music, etc.
But the main thing I really wanted to share was about the swimming, I've never been much of a swimmer and I always tried to avoid swimming with a bunch of people as much as I could. And the reason being was my hearing. I was to embarresed and almost scared to swim with a bunch of people. I was always worried about missing what people would be saying. I don't lip read and I don't do sign so its kind of hard and wierd to swim with a bunch of people. And plus the fact, I always felt wierd just sitting there while everyone else was having a great time chatting and playing games. But for the first time, I actually swam with a whole group of people! It was alot easier than I thought it would be!
My best friend Zoe was there too, so she kind of stuck by my side to help with what people were saying and kind of guide me to where we were all going, etc. And when ever people would start talking to me while I'm in the water (which would be quite often) zoe would explain to them that I can't hear. And everything would be fine!
But then at one point I sat on the dock (with my aids on) while everyone else swam and I was listening to what everyone was saying. And at one point this guy was talking to us (me and zoe) and zoe was explaing to him about my hearing...and suprisingly he was realy accepting of it! All my life I have tried to keep my hearing as much of a secret as I could becuase I was too embarresed of what people would think of me. But this weekend I was so suprised and it felt so good to be able to tell people and they don't treat me differently! Everyone was really nice and treid to help me with whatever we were doing in the water.

I don't know what I was thinking on how poeple felt about my hearing! I wish I had expeirenced this earlier in my life. Becuase now I feel like I can come out of my "shell", you know? It felt sooo good to be able to swim and hang out with a bunch of friends and knowing that they all know about my hearing and they have no problem with it!

Gosh, this feels great!! : )

Remapping

The other day I got remapped!

I've been needing it for awhile but I've been dreading it because its usually a pain to do it! But I decided that it was time and I need to add some "tweaks" to it because I wasn't really hearing as good as I usually was. : (
So anyways...I went to a new audiologist and we did all the programming we needed. First I had to say weather or not the beeping I heard was comfortable or not. Then I had to compare between two different beeps to try to "levalize" them. That part was hard because sometimes you had to compare between a low pitch beep and a high pitch beep...And we all know the high pitch beep would seem louder!! But I had to try to levalize them, so my hearing would be all leveled and not all over the place. (???)
So after all that annoying and pain-in-the-butt beeps (no offense to those audiologists reading this)...I finally got it to where I like it!! Everything sounded really clear and it was comfortable and I was finally really really happy with what I was hearing!
Then after that, we added some settings to the other programs. Rene (my audiologist) said that since you have 3 programs to switch to, you should use them! So I thought, what the heck...I'll give it a try! I don't normally switch around to different programs because I like to just put it on in the morning and not have to worry about changing any programs...I've always been like that, even with my hearing aids! But anyways, we put the regular setting on the first program, we put a setting the turns down the background on the second program, and on the third program we put a setting that's really loud - that's apparently really good for music and trying to get everything like in a library.

My Programs:
P1 = 60 - normal
P2 = 50 - noisy places
P3 = 80 - try for music, libarys, etc.

Then we put me in a sound booth and tested to see what all I was actually hearing with my new settings. And it turns out that I was actually doing really well!!! I didn't think I was going to do all that great because I've been wearing my hearing aid, but I guess it really doesn't matter!

My Testing Results:
55 Quiet 94%
45/55 +10 Noise 77%
65 Quiet 100%

So now, I've been wearing only my implant a lot more. I've been more comfortable with it! I mean its still weird not getting any sounds out of my left ear but that'll take time to get used to for anyone! So yeah....I'm happy!! I can finally go without my hearing aid!!! YAY!

So I guess its a good thing to get remapped!! haha

Troop Cruise

I got back from a cruise with my Girl Scout Troop!! It was alot of fun! I did a bunch of things I've never done before! : ) To me, the highlight of the cruise was the Deck Party, Snorkling, and the Theater!!!

Well first of all....one of the nights, they have a deck party and for the first time....I actually danced to "fast" music. I'm not much of a dancer to start with but since I could here it and I could alctually hear the rythem...I got to dance!! YAY! I danced till 1 in the morning (non stop) YAY ME!!

Then I went snorkling...now, going in the water in public was never a big thing for me becuase I was too afraid that I wouldn't hear anyone or I'd miss something someone said. But I actually went snorkling with my troop leader, and I gotta say it was AWESOME!! I was sooo glad I went!!

Then after dinner, we would all go to the theater...we had comedians for 2 of the nights and I heard everything they said!! Gosh, they were hilarious!! haha, I don't think I've ever enjoyed a show like I did there!! And on the other nights...we had musicals. And I heard everything they were saying!!! : D

But yeah...those were the highlights of the cruise!! But in case if you were wondering, we went on a 5 day cruise down to the bahamas to see Grand Turk, Nassau, and Half Moon Key (my favorite island!!)

Questions and Answers...

I’ve had some questions about the last post on my hair and the implant, so I thought it might be best if I answered them on here…

Question: Do you wear your implant on top of your hair or underneath it??
Answer: Me personally wear it underneath. When I wear my hair up I try to put it underneath but there have been times, where I would have to put it on top due to the hairstyle (ex. Pigtails or a Ponytail). But when I wear my hair down…its always underneath. I have seen people wear both ways, so I guess it really depends on your preference and your hair!

Question: Do people see it more easily than a hearing aid?
Answer: On me…no, if anything they notice the hearing aid more than the implant! I think a lot of people think that your implant is probably some new technology for listening to music or one of those “blue tooth” things that you see people wearing for their cell phones. And I say this because I know that almost every time we get in an elevator somebody asks Jonathan what he’s listening to…because they see the implant and assume that its like an MP3 player or something. But then that’s when we tell them what it is and what its for and they think its pretty cool and amazing that we can hear and talk even though we are deaf!! : )

I hope that helps a little bit...and if you have any other questions - ASK ME! I love answering questions that anyone has!! : )

Wearing My Hair Up....FINALLY!!! hehe : )

Well today was the first day I wore my hair up to school since I got the implant!! I never did, becuase I was too afraid of what people would say. And plus, I wasn't sure what was going to happen for when my battery dies...beacuse when it dies, I take the implant off and change the battery. But if my hair is up...then I was afraid I was going to mess up me hair when I take it off!! : / But since the school is re-doing their air conditioning systems....its like "boiling" in the school!!! : ) So I wore my hair up to keep me cool! YAY!

I was kind of nervous and hesitent to wear it up, but I decided it was time to just let everyone see it and just accept what they say.

But as it comes to my shock...nobody said anything!! : D Well except when I was in the bathroom washing my hands...this girl was staring at my head. So I'm thinking she was looking at my hearing aid. hahaha. But I didn't say anything...I just kept on going! hehe : )

But yeah...Its a big differnce between the hearing aid and the cochlear implant!! And my golly...I gotta say, the implant is ALOT nicer looking than the hearing aid and plus the fact...you can color match!!!!! hehe : )

Hearing Aid (pic. 1) AB Cochlear Implant (pic. 2)

Oh, and I almost forgot....exactly one year ago (last April) I was dreaming about getting the implant....and look where I am now!! My Surgery was April 13th and I was turned on May 17th. It has been exactly One Year and One day since I got the impant!!! Coolies! : )

April 14, 2006

WOW....its been awhile!! Sorry about that!! I guess I aught to post, huh??

Well lets see, alots been going on...but first things first, my implant is doing great! I can hear everything with it and it sounds normal! And I absolutly love having the implant...and I gotta say that the main think that I like about it is the Direct Connect! I love listening to music now because I don't have to worry about it being too loud for every one else!! hehe.

Then not too long ago, I was in a photo Shoot for Advanced Bionics! That was fun! I wasn't looking forward to it in the beginning becuase I didn't know what to expect but it actually turned out to be quite interesting!! This photographer (Gill-spelling?) went camping with us over spring break to take pictures of us doing things like canoeing, talking on the cell phone, listening to music, making a fire, grilling, etc. so I hope he got some good pictures. I hope we can get coppies, that would be cool! And who knows...maybe you'll see me or my brother in an Advanced Bionics Flier. Coolies!!

Oh, and another thing....I got asked to my first Prom!! YAY! I was really shocked though, becuase I thought I was never going to get asked out or that I wasn't going to hear a guy asking me out becuase of my hearing!!! And I never thought a guy would want to date a deaf girl...but it turns out that I was wrong! haha And it makes me feel good becuase of all that time of worrying, it was really all for nothing! But yeah, the Prom is next weekend and I'm kind of nervous becuase I don't know how the music will sound to me. I went to a Homecoming dance and it was kind of like a bunch of noise....but I hope I'll be able to hear a little bit of the beats and the rythem this time. But I'll make sure I post to let you know. : )

So to all you girls waiting to be asked out...it will happen!! hehe And I guess this proves that the world really doesn't care about you being deaf!! They just think its cool that you can hear them!! : )

Realizing why its a hard change from HA to CI

Every now and then I like to experiment with my hearing aid and Cochlear Implant by listening with my hearing aid only for a few minutes, then I switch to my cochlear implant for a few minutes and then I switch to both. And you know sometimes I get the wierdest results. Sometimes I can hear better with just the implant and sometimes I can hear better with both. But the hearing aid never win. Its either both or just the implant.
But anyways, I went to the movies the other day and I was experimenting with them to see which one makes the movie sound best. So I turned off my hearing aid and listened for a few minutes to the movie. And that was the wierdest feeling! It sounds like I don't have sound on the other side. Like all the sound comes in on one side. And that makes me very uncomfortable!! I had to keep looking over to see if someone was talking to me. Its really freaky not having sound come in on the other side. I guess its more of a security thing.
So it makes you think if Bilateral is really a good thing or not and if it really makes a difference. But only someone brave enough would get one. I don't think I would ever want to get another implant....Don't get me wrong, because I love my implant but I think I'm too attached to my hearing aid to let it go. You know? And then you know another great thing about having a hearing aid in one ear is when the battery dies, which is always in the middle of my last class, I can still hear a little bit of what the teacher is saying while I'm changing the battery on my implant. So the hearing aid is like my backup.
And since I'm on this topic.....I have never had someone ask me what that thing was on my ear! People have always said something about my hearing aid but not my implant. I thought people would be asking what that was because its bigger and filled with colors. haha. But that's almost a relief. Because I like it when people think of me as a normal person...And not a disability.
But anyways, I thought I'd share that with you.

Progress

Hey!
Yesterday I had a mapping session. That went ok. We tried to change the program but I didn't like it at all. It sounded too high pitch and mechanical. So instead, we decided to just keep the other program, the one that I walked in with. But since I was wearing it at about 8 o'clock, we moved it to the 12 o'clock spot.
So now I've been wearing just my implant as much as I can. Yesterday I watched a whole movie with just my implant....That may not sound like a lot but for me it is. And whats shocking is that I actually got everything they said! But you know, its really weird wearing just an implant because its like you don't get any sound from the other side. All the sound comes in my right side, so I keep feeling like I forgot to turn on my hearing aid on my left side. And the urge to turn it on is so frustrating! But it really helps to just put the hearing aid in my pocket. So that way, I can't just reach up to turn it on quickly.
But anyways, another thing that we did at my appointment was that we changed the extra magnet to a "half strength" which helps hold my implant on better. Before I had to hold my magnet on with another magnet on the outside. Which got really annoying because it magnetized to EVERYTHING!! I tried to put the magnet on the inside but after 20 or 30 minutes of wearing it, I would get a really bad headache. But now after getting this new magnet, I haven't had a headache and it holds my implant on ALOT better! So I'm really excited about not having to have the outside magnet on. YAY!!
Well I guess this is it for now.

Back into Therapy...

Hey everyone!
Well I don't have much to say at this point. But I had a therapy session not to long ago....and its about time too! My last therapy session was before school started (beginning of August). Once school started I just got to busy and had no time to do it. But I finally put my foot down and got back into therapy.
So last week I had a therapy session and it went great! I think my therapist and my mom was amazed and shocked at how well I was doing with just the implant. And I was too! I was soo nervous about therapy that I was actually dreading it. I haven't been going just with my implant so I wasn't sure how I was going to do. But I actually did well!
Since I'm in school and I have homework and club meetings, we decided to have therapy about once a month or every couple of weeks. So at each session, she would give me alot of homework to do. And whenever we had time, my mom and I would do a little bit. So I'm really excited about how things are going with me and the implant. I've been listening to my music too, so hopefully my goal will be reached before Christmas......I'm hoping!!! (keep your fingers crossed!)
Well I guess this is it for now, I just wanted to let you know what I've been doing lately. Later!

Promise to myself

Well, I made a promise to myself and I plan on keeping it! You want to know what the promise is?!?!
Well I promise that I will work with my implant by praticing on listening to music, and hearing people without my hearing aid. And if I'm successful at doing this....I'm going to buy myself an ipod! Yeah, I know it may sound weird but I really want to do it, beacuse if I get really good at listening to music with just my implant, I can use the "wireless" headphone set for my implant so I'll look like everyone else. I won't have to deal with those big and bulky headphones. Cool huh?!?! Well I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing.
Until then....

September 24, 05

Hey everyone! Well things have been going good here. I've been wearing my hearing aid and my implant and it seems to really help me alot. I've noticed that I can't function very well with just my hearing aid so I always have to wear my implant....which is a good thing!! It shows that the implant really deos help me and I hear better with the implant. Its been about 4 months since I've had this implant and I am still noticing more sounds and hearing more. Like yesterday....it was so cool... I was getting ready to make a phone call and so I turned my hearing aid to t-switch and started dialing the numbers, etc. and in the background I have my music playing kind of softly, and then all the sudden Sharon (a friend of ours) was downstairs calling me. And I immediatly responded!!! How cool is that?!?! I've noticed that I can hear alot from downstairs when I'm upstairs. I may not be able to undertand word for word...but hey - if I can hear you from downstairs....I'm happy!! Okay, well I guess this is it for now, there isn't really much to say but things are going good here.
Until then readers.....

Finally sounding like a hearing aid

Hey everyone, Not to long ago I got remapped and now it sounds like hearing aids! YAY! My therapist, Stacy, said that maybe now I'll be moving alot faster! So thats really cool! You're probably woundering what I mean by saying it sound slike hearing aids, right? Well its kind of hard to explain but it deosn't really sound like a "machine" is on my ear. It's like I can't hear it "working". But It sounds normal, so thats a good thing!!! That probably didn't make any sense but what can I say?!? lol. Well I'll write later! bye!

First Day of School

Hey everyone! Well yesterday was my first day of school. I'm now a sophomore in hogh school! Yay! It went pretty good. I got good classes and nice teachers. So this year should go really well. I made sure I got close to the front in all my classes. I always have to go up to the teachers after class to tell them that "I'm deaf and I wear hearing aids to help me hear. So I kind of need to be near the front to hear better" you know the usual stuff. But you know it would be alot easier if the counceler or the principle would tell all my teachers so they don't look at me funny. You know? But I guess thats what I'm going to have to live with for the rest of my life. thats part of being deaf! But anyways, I think I did pretty well on hearing everyone. I had to wear my hearing aid and my implant becuase I don't really know enough to go completly implant in public. But the only problem I reall had was in noisy enviroments. But I think that is alwasy going to be harder for any deaf person! Okay well I guess this is it for now. And I'll try to post some more later when I have alot more to say. Until then....

AUG. 3, 05

Hey everyone! Well things are going good. I had therapy today and it went great. They said I was doing good but the only thing I really need to work on is reconizing when someone is speaking in the background. For example if I'm working at a table and concentrating on my work...I need to be able to tell when someone starts talking to me with out calling out my name to get my attention. Deos that make sense? So now when I'm working people are going to "pop in" and say something to me when I'm working and I have to be able to respond back to them. So we'll see how that goes this week. Wish me luck!
Anyways, a few weeks ago I went to go pick up my brother from camp and I forgot my batteries at home. That was the first time I had to go "deaf". I was quite angry at myself but then later on I learned that I can put my brother's batteries on. And it works! I'm not sure if I told you this or not but ,oh well! But before that, on the way home I started to write a poem. There was nothing else to do - haha. I couldn't talk, listen to the music or anything. All I could do was sit there, so anyways, I decided to share the poem with you. So here it is...

My Worst Fear…
July 7, 2005

I’m standing there
As the cold from my feet
Shiver up my body.
Feeling alone, and scared.
I watch the world go by
Yet I’m still there,
Hopeless and not sure
What to do or where to go.
A man taps on my shoulder,
And begins to speak but
All I can “hear” are
His lips moving,
Not a sound,
Not even a whisper.
I try to explain that
I’m deaf but
He doesn’t understand.
As he continues to talk
I feel more alone,
And depressed
I stare at his mouth
Trying to read what he’s
Saying but it doesn’t
Seem to help.
More people come and
Still they continue to talk.
No one understands,
No one cares,
They just go on with their life.
Now that’s my worst fear!

I don't know if anyone feels the same about this poem. But after the ride home I began to realise how thankful I am for the new technology we have today! Without this implant I wouldn't be able to talk to my friends, listen to my music - which is by the way EVERYTHING to me, haha - I wouldn't be able to baby-sitt, or talk to my long distance family on the phone. I wouldn't be able to hear anything!!! Now what kind of life is that?? So for all of you new implant users..... don't give up! If you do....just think about the life you'll end up with.
So that's my "pep talk", haha. Well I better go. I'll write later and tell you how this week goes. Until then...

July 25th, 2005

Hey!
Well right now I'm kind of in a "plateau". I seem to be doing ok. I can function fine without my hearing aid... But the thing is that its kind of a hassle to deal with. For example I went on a trip to the Lake Burton. And yesterday we were loading the car and cleaning the lake house. Its like 90 degrees out so my brother told me to take my implant off because of the sweat. That was annoying because I like to hear everything, I don't like to wonder around like a "deaf" person (if you know what I mean). Then when we were out in the boat, I had to be careful because when your hair is wet...You can't put it on, you have to be careful to not splash anyone or make sure it doesn't blow off from the wind of the boat. So to me it was just easier to use my hearing aid. Which wasn't very good!!! : ( But I did use the implant whenever I could. I think it's a "life-saver" to have my brother around (who is by the way also an Advanced Bionics Implant user) because he tells me what I can and can't do with my implant. I always forget, like when we were going to the playground...He reminded me to take it off when I was going down the slide. So I guess special thanks go to my brother. hahaha. Well I guess I better get going. I'll try to keep blogging to keep yall up-to-date!
Talk to you later!

July 14th, 05

Hey Everyone!
Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. But things have been going great! I've learned that sometimes things can sound better if the volume isn't blaring loud! haha. But anyways, right now I'm hearing lots of sounds. I haven't been wearing my hearing aid and so I keep forgetting I don't have my hearing aid on. SO that's GREAT news!! That means I'm getting better! Yesterday I had therapy and I got remapped. Therapy went good! I'm in the middle of stadge 1 and 3! Yay!! Right now I'm detecting the differences between words but I'm not able to tell you what it is. Does that make sense?? So I guess that's what I need to be working on now. I got lots of homework for the next two weeks (next week's therapy is canceled because I'm on a vacation). So I promise I'll do my therapy! Its really important to do so because then I'll be ready for school to start. I hope I'll be able to hear my friends and teachers very well. So keep your fingers crossed!!! As for the remapping....I think we are going to pretty much stay where we are. Because if I go louder, things get distorted, rattles come in, and I don't hear as good. So where I am right now is good!!! Okay, well I better get going. I have to get back to work. : )

Reasons why I wanted this Implant

My hearing was borderline on being a candidate for the Advanced Bionic Cochlear Implant for a long time. But the reasons we were holding back was becuase of my speech. We didn't know if it would go down or if it would even improve. Your probably wondering why I would have such a great voice if I'm deaf but the truth is...its all beacuse of my mom! She was the one who made me go through therepy for so many years. My mom, a therapist, and I did Auditory Verbal therapy till I was like 9 years old. Now thats only beacuse they didn't know I was deaf untill the age of 2. Most people are probably in and out of thereapy by the age of 5 or 6. But my speech and hearing has been going downhill for several months. And we all decided it was time to get it. My mom already had to go through this with my brother, so she already did all the resaerch on which implant was the best. So that was one step less for me. We had already decided that we were going to do the Advanced Bionics Implant becuase my brother had such a success with it. Other things that we really liked about the Advanced Bionics Implants were: the service we get (it was fantastic everytime we needed something or even for an answer to a stupid question we had- haha), we also liked the looks (It comes with a variety of colors, and the processor itself looks "sleeker" and more stylish). So you can tell we are big fans of the Advanced Bionics Cochlear Implant. But anyways, when thinking about this, there were a whole list of things I wanted to get out of it, such as
- hearing all the annoying noises in the enviroment,
- hearing my friends talk in the Cafeteria,
- hearing someone ask me out with out saying "WHAT?!?!",
- hearing people in a resturant and the waiter taking our order,
- and watching T.V without Captions,
I want to hear everything possible in this world!! So these are my goals through this journey of having the Implant. Maybe this will help you make an easier decision on getting the implant.

Getting used to the Cochlear Implant

Hey! Well today I'm sitting around the house, nasty weather huh? But you know everyday I've been noticing different sounds that I don't think I've ever heard before. For example...Dogs....THEY ARE QUITE ANNOYING. haha. I can hear them licking themselves and when they walk. I have to site there and tap them to stop licking its so loud. haha. But oh well. I've also relized that I keep forgeting that I only have my implant on! Thats GREAT huh?? Right now my hearing aid is in the dry-box just collecting dust. haha. I've been leaving it there and going all day without it. Yippee!!! Now at this rate, by time school starts I'll be able to hear everyone perfectly!! YAY! Well I better go. Chao!