Now that the initial flurry of activity (evaluation, reading lots of information on the web, watching videos, etc) has subsided, I'm in the "wait" phase of getting a Cochlear Implant, or should I say the first of perhaps many waiting phases. It's becoming more clear that getting a CI is a process with lots of stages, not a single event; yes, there are some pretty major events along the journey - having the surgery and turning on the sound processor for the first time are some pretty big events, but they aren't the end of the story (nor the beginning).
I'm currently waiting now for three things; first is the CT and MRI scans, both of which are scheduled for the same day next week. The health insurance company was quick to pre-approve those processes as medically necessary, so I was able to get in "right away." I had one MRI done in the past, and I don't remember much except for being startled when they turned the thing on - sounds like a motorcycle. I'm not claustrophobic, thank God, or afraid of the needles they will use to inject the contrast agent, so I'm good to go. The second thing I'm waiting for is an appointment with my family doctor, scheduled for the day after the scans. That should also be "no big deal;" I just need the doctor to say that I'm OK to have surgery and to give me the first of two immunizations I need to reduce the risk of meningitis - apparently, having a CI slightly increases the risk, so getting those shots is a good thing to do. After I get the first immunization, I'll then need to wait some weeks and get a second one - I'm not sure if that has to be before the surgery or if it can wait until afterwards. Finally, I'm waiting for my clinic, Cochlear (the company), and my insurance company to come to an understanding whereby the insurance company will pay for all this stuff - that's pretty doggone important. If the insurance company says "no," I'm not going to shell out the $85,000 or whatever it would take to get the surgery done, not to mention the rehabilitation that comes afterwards!
Fortunately, I do pretty good with waiting. As long as I keep my mind occupied, the time goes by pretty quickly - writing this blog is one way to keep my mind occupied. I also like to play a game with myself, where I do the waiting in thirds - if I have, let's say, 6 weeks to wait for something, I break it up. First I wait out the first third (2 weeks). Then, there's only 4 weeks remaining, and a third of that is about 9 days. Sounds silly, I know, but it works. Before I got married, I used to do that to break down the months until I would travel back to Kenya for a visit to Josephine's (who is my wife) family.
I also had a chat with Dr. G - my audiologist today about having both ears implanted simultaneously - it made sense to me to do that because I have no usable hearing in my right ear, so why not just do one surgery and get it all done with. Apparently, however, in my state, simultaneous bilateral implants (as the procedure is called) aren't done in adults. Such is life.
Once I'm done with the current bunch of waiting, I can get on to the next stage (of waiting, of course), and that will be to schedule the surgery. I can't do that until the MRI is done and the insurance company approves. I don't know how long Dr. C's (my surgeon) calendar is booked, but I'll find out when the time comes. In the meantime, there is a Cochlear (the company) regional event tomorrow that I may or may not attend - it's 2+ hours away by car, so I'm leaning towards "not" at this point. I've also gotten in touch with a Cochlear Concierge - the concierges are trained audiologists who either have a CI themselves or are parents of a CI implantee. I wasn't able to meet him for dinner yesterday, but Josephine and I will have lunch with him next month; he has bilateral implants himself - I'm looking forward to talking with him. Josephine is a little worried/stressed about the surgery aspect, so I think that will be good for her to meet someone and hear the story from an implantee.
Until then, we wait...
I'm currently waiting now for three things; first is the CT and MRI scans, both of which are scheduled for the same day next week. The health insurance company was quick to pre-approve those processes as medically necessary, so I was able to get in "right away." I had one MRI done in the past, and I don't remember much except for being startled when they turned the thing on - sounds like a motorcycle. I'm not claustrophobic, thank God, or afraid of the needles they will use to inject the contrast agent, so I'm good to go. The second thing I'm waiting for is an appointment with my family doctor, scheduled for the day after the scans. That should also be "no big deal;" I just need the doctor to say that I'm OK to have surgery and to give me the first of two immunizations I need to reduce the risk of meningitis - apparently, having a CI slightly increases the risk, so getting those shots is a good thing to do. After I get the first immunization, I'll then need to wait some weeks and get a second one - I'm not sure if that has to be before the surgery or if it can wait until afterwards. Finally, I'm waiting for my clinic, Cochlear (the company), and my insurance company to come to an understanding whereby the insurance company will pay for all this stuff - that's pretty doggone important. If the insurance company says "no," I'm not going to shell out the $85,000 or whatever it would take to get the surgery done, not to mention the rehabilitation that comes afterwards!
Fortunately, I do pretty good with waiting. As long as I keep my mind occupied, the time goes by pretty quickly - writing this blog is one way to keep my mind occupied. I also like to play a game with myself, where I do the waiting in thirds - if I have, let's say, 6 weeks to wait for something, I break it up. First I wait out the first third (2 weeks). Then, there's only 4 weeks remaining, and a third of that is about 9 days. Sounds silly, I know, but it works. Before I got married, I used to do that to break down the months until I would travel back to Kenya for a visit to Josephine's (who is my wife) family.
I also had a chat with Dr. G - my audiologist today about having both ears implanted simultaneously - it made sense to me to do that because I have no usable hearing in my right ear, so why not just do one surgery and get it all done with. Apparently, however, in my state, simultaneous bilateral implants (as the procedure is called) aren't done in adults. Such is life.
Once I'm done with the current bunch of waiting, I can get on to the next stage (of waiting, of course), and that will be to schedule the surgery. I can't do that until the MRI is done and the insurance company approves. I don't know how long Dr. C's (my surgeon) calendar is booked, but I'll find out when the time comes. In the meantime, there is a Cochlear (the company) regional event tomorrow that I may or may not attend - it's 2+ hours away by car, so I'm leaning towards "not" at this point. I've also gotten in touch with a Cochlear Concierge - the concierges are trained audiologists who either have a CI themselves or are parents of a CI implantee. I wasn't able to meet him for dinner yesterday, but Josephine and I will have lunch with him next month; he has bilateral implants himself - I'm looking forward to talking with him. Josephine is a little worried/stressed about the surgery aspect, so I think that will be good for her to meet someone and hear the story from an implantee.
Until then, we wait...