I can't believe how fast this day has arrived. It seems like just a few short weeks ago, I was going for the CI evaluation visit, and now here I am, the night before surgery to receive a Cochlear Implant. This morning, the whole family woke up and we drove a few hours to a hotel that is near the hospital where I will be having the surgery. Yesterday was my wife Josephine's birthday, so we went out for a nice lunch, and afterwards did a little walking around the shopping mall. Right now, my children and son-in-law are downstairs swimming in the hotel pool, and Josephine and I are just relaxing. It's 7.23 in the evening - we will report to the hospital tomorrow at 12.30 in the afternoon, so at least there won't be any big rush to get ready in the morning. In fact, the surgery is late enough that we might decide to stay another night in the hotel - we'll see about that tomorrow. My parents will also be driving in to see me at the hospital, so we'll have a big group there. I've already got some pictures - I'll post them here when I'm feeling up to it after the surgery.
Surprisingly, I'm not nervous at all - just looking forward to tomorrow, the activation date in November, and the days, weeks, and years to come with hopefully much better hearing. This weekend, I noticed that there was a sound that I used to love hearing - the sound of wind blowing through the autumn leaves - that I cannot hear anymore. It's probably too late to expect to hear it again this year, but it's something to hope for in 2016. All in all, it's a momentous occasion - sometime tomorrow, I'll remove the hearing aid from my left ear, never to wear it again. Six weeks of total silence. Activating the CI just before the Thanksgiving holiday - truly, I'll have a lot to be thankful for this year.
17 hours to go until surgery.
Surprisingly, I'm not nervous at all - just looking forward to tomorrow, the activation date in November, and the days, weeks, and years to come with hopefully much better hearing. This weekend, I noticed that there was a sound that I used to love hearing - the sound of wind blowing through the autumn leaves - that I cannot hear anymore. It's probably too late to expect to hear it again this year, but it's something to hope for in 2016. All in all, it's a momentous occasion - sometime tomorrow, I'll remove the hearing aid from my left ear, never to wear it again. Six weeks of total silence. Activating the CI just before the Thanksgiving holiday - truly, I'll have a lot to be thankful for this year.
17 hours to go until surgery.