Now that I'm fully on the path to getting a Cochlear Implant, I'm talking about it more in "real life" - and by "real life" I mean "not on the computer via blogs and forums." In forums and blogs, I am naturally finding other people who are like me in that they have, are getting, or have a loved one with a CI - that's the whole point. What has been surprising to me though is that when I mention CIs to other people face-to-face, I'm also finding people that either have a friend or relative with a CI, have hearing issues themselves and have heard of CIs, etc.
For example, yesterday, when I took my son to the health department to get his immunizations updated, I asked the nurse giving the shots about the Pneumoccoccal vaccine (one that CI candidates/implantees should get), and in addition to finding out how that vaccine can help prevent meningitis, I also talked with her about her 11-year old nephew who had meningitis at birth and got a CI at a young age. I also mentioned my upcoming surgery at church on Sunday, and 3 different people came up to me after the service and asked me about it. Two of the people were Hard of Hearing themselves and one had an adult son who was hard of hearing but doesn't like or use hearing aids. In both situations, I had the opportunity to talk about why I was getting CIs, what the process is like, etc - just like I'm doing here online.
The lesson for me - even though it's not always there and visible to see, there are a lot of people who have something in common with me, even in my small local community. Exciting stuff.
Only 22 days to go until surgery!
For example, yesterday, when I took my son to the health department to get his immunizations updated, I asked the nurse giving the shots about the Pneumoccoccal vaccine (one that CI candidates/implantees should get), and in addition to finding out how that vaccine can help prevent meningitis, I also talked with her about her 11-year old nephew who had meningitis at birth and got a CI at a young age. I also mentioned my upcoming surgery at church on Sunday, and 3 different people came up to me after the service and asked me about it. Two of the people were Hard of Hearing themselves and one had an adult son who was hard of hearing but doesn't like or use hearing aids. In both situations, I had the opportunity to talk about why I was getting CIs, what the process is like, etc - just like I'm doing here online.
The lesson for me - even though it's not always there and visible to see, there are a lot of people who have something in common with me, even in my small local community. Exciting stuff.
Only 22 days to go until surgery!