Update:
Well, honestly, there hasn't been much news lately. My surgery seems to be on schedule...while I am grateful that it is scheduled and seemingly on time, I was really hoping that I might get called in on a cancellation...and that hasn't happened yet. Since I'm taking a trip to Savannah, GA, in a few weeks, I don't want to have it after October 1st...I will have to be recovered enough to be able to drive myself there!! So I'm gradually relaxing a bit, resigning myself to the wait!
I went to the Nashville HLAA Picnic a couple of weeks ago...pictures here! This was one of the first events hubby and the kids had gone to with me in a while. There were several other kids there so my girls had a great time...and since Will and hubby were some of the only hearing males there, they stuck together...although they did meet quite a few of my buddies, and I think they had a pretty good time, too. There is another big picnic on October 7th...the Nashville League for the Deaf is celebrating its 80th anniversary...so they are combining the CI Group, picnic, the HLAA meeting, and the League's anniversary homecoming all into one big event. I am really looking forward to that! :) Then the Nashville HLAA group will meet on the 13th...from there I will be taking off to Savannah! :)
I have been reading and posting over at the Hearing Journey forums lately....and in the past few days we have had quite a few new CI activations. They are all doing so incredibly well with their implants....I can't wait until I have my second one! I think this will be an entirely different experience from my first CI...I think this time I'll be able to hear at activation instead of just "feeling"...and am looking forward to seeing how this implant compares with my first one! I have been pushing myself with my first CI a bit...trying to crank up the volume just past comfortable, to see if I can't get myself used to it. It's tolerable until someone yells or drops something...and I have to keep it quiet in noisy situations so I won't get headaches. I was in Bible class Sunday morning and the guy behind me made a comment...I didn't get it all, but I did get the first few words that he said without looking...which was a big deal!
I took an online "webinar" taught by Tina Childress last week. Tina talked about different ways to enhance our understanding of music, and suggested a few websites where we could practice our listening skills. Some kinds of music are better for learning than others, obviously...hard rock, for example, is just noise....very uncomfortable to listen to, lyrics practically undecipherable. I like country and softer rock, and more recently, jazz (which is GREAT for practicing picking out musical instruments!). I try to listen to it at a high volume (wake the ol' brain up) and try to pick out as many sounds as possible. It gets exhausting quickly, but I can tell a slight difference in the way music sounds after just a week! :) I have also started listening to my Harry Potter CDs again (I keep the volume manageable for that so I can listen to it longer). They are still largely unclear, but hopefully in a few weeks, with more practice, I'll be able to pick out more and more words. I know that a lot of my failure to progress is physical, but I'm sure that some of it can be helped with some hard work...and I haven't been really putting in my best effort!
Gonna get going...it's Claire's 7th birthday today, and we're headed out for dinner in a bit...I have to clean up a bit, help with homework, and get the little girls ready to go out! Later! :)
I went to the Nashville HLAA Picnic a couple of weeks ago...pictures here! This was one of the first events hubby and the kids had gone to with me in a while. There were several other kids there so my girls had a great time...and since Will and hubby were some of the only hearing males there, they stuck together...although they did meet quite a few of my buddies, and I think they had a pretty good time, too. There is another big picnic on October 7th...the Nashville League for the Deaf is celebrating its 80th anniversary...so they are combining the CI Group, picnic, the HLAA meeting, and the League's anniversary homecoming all into one big event. I am really looking forward to that! :) Then the Nashville HLAA group will meet on the 13th...from there I will be taking off to Savannah! :)
I have been reading and posting over at the Hearing Journey forums lately....and in the past few days we have had quite a few new CI activations. They are all doing so incredibly well with their implants....I can't wait until I have my second one! I think this will be an entirely different experience from my first CI...I think this time I'll be able to hear at activation instead of just "feeling"...and am looking forward to seeing how this implant compares with my first one! I have been pushing myself with my first CI a bit...trying to crank up the volume just past comfortable, to see if I can't get myself used to it. It's tolerable until someone yells or drops something...and I have to keep it quiet in noisy situations so I won't get headaches. I was in Bible class Sunday morning and the guy behind me made a comment...I didn't get it all, but I did get the first few words that he said without looking...which was a big deal!
I took an online "webinar" taught by Tina Childress last week. Tina talked about different ways to enhance our understanding of music, and suggested a few websites where we could practice our listening skills. Some kinds of music are better for learning than others, obviously...hard rock, for example, is just noise....very uncomfortable to listen to, lyrics practically undecipherable. I like country and softer rock, and more recently, jazz (which is GREAT for practicing picking out musical instruments!). I try to listen to it at a high volume (wake the ol' brain up) and try to pick out as many sounds as possible. It gets exhausting quickly, but I can tell a slight difference in the way music sounds after just a week! :) I have also started listening to my Harry Potter CDs again (I keep the volume manageable for that so I can listen to it longer). They are still largely unclear, but hopefully in a few weeks, with more practice, I'll be able to pick out more and more words. I know that a lot of my failure to progress is physical, but I'm sure that some of it can be helped with some hard work...and I haven't been really putting in my best effort!
Gonna get going...it's Claire's 7th birthday today, and we're headed out for dinner in a bit...I have to clean up a bit, help with homework, and get the little girls ready to go out! Later! :)
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