Counting down the hours....
...until re-implant surgery. Right now, it's just a little less than 24 hours to go. I have to be in Nashville at 8:20 for a pre-op appointment, then drive over to Baptist Hospital for my surgery at 2. This will make my third venue for as many surgeries...I am slowly becoming familiar with every hospital in town! ;)
I saw Dr. Haynes last night at an open house for the Nashville League for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing and talked to him for a few. I asked him if he thought the surgery would be shorter because he wouldn't have as much drilling to do, and to my surprise he said that he didn't think it would be much different time-wise. He said that because of scar tissue, possible bone regrowth, and the time to actually remove the implant, it would work out about the same. I don't remember exactly how long it took last time (I was zonked when I woke up) but seems like it was about 3 hours or so. I will try to at least post something letting everyone know I'm home, but since it will be later in the day I imagine I'll be ready to hit the sheets when I get home! If something goes crazy I'll get my husband to contact either Abbie or Laurie...so if I don't post anything, check out their blogs :).
The Open House was neat...the League has a new CEO and it was great to get to see her again and talk to her, even if it was just for a short period of time...she had so many people to talk to!
While I was talking to Dr. Haynes, I got called away briefly, and when I turned back around, I did a double take...he was talking to a really special blast from my past. Ann Sitton was my very first full-time audiologist. I might have seen another one here or there at the very beginning, but Ann was the one that I saw on all my visits to the Bill Wilkerson Clinic in Nashville...when I was four years old. Ann was the first one to read me the classic "hot dog", "baseball", "sidewalk" and "cupcake".
"Miss Sitton" made all my earmolds and ordered all my hearing aids and I just LOVED her. She hasn't changed a bit, although I personally have gotten quite a bit taller since then. When I started losing the rest of my hearing back in March of 2006 I had my mom call her to see if she approved of our local audiologist's recommendation that we should get Dr. Haynes to implant me...and she heartily approved, which made my decision that much easier. I hadn't seen her in probably 14 years...the last time I saw her was when Will was a year old and I needed a new hearing aid. Soon after that we got a local audiologist and I didn't need to make the drive to Nashville anymore. It was GREAT to see her and catch up just a bit...Dr. Haynes filled her in on the implant situation and I got to talk to her a bit about my involvement with Advanced Bionics and HLAA.
I saw Dr. Haynes last night at an open house for the Nashville League for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing and talked to him for a few. I asked him if he thought the surgery would be shorter because he wouldn't have as much drilling to do, and to my surprise he said that he didn't think it would be much different time-wise. He said that because of scar tissue, possible bone regrowth, and the time to actually remove the implant, it would work out about the same. I don't remember exactly how long it took last time (I was zonked when I woke up) but seems like it was about 3 hours or so. I will try to at least post something letting everyone know I'm home, but since it will be later in the day I imagine I'll be ready to hit the sheets when I get home! If something goes crazy I'll get my husband to contact either Abbie or Laurie...so if I don't post anything, check out their blogs :).
The Open House was neat...the League has a new CEO and it was great to get to see her again and talk to her, even if it was just for a short period of time...she had so many people to talk to!
While I was talking to Dr. Haynes, I got called away briefly, and when I turned back around, I did a double take...he was talking to a really special blast from my past. Ann Sitton was my very first full-time audiologist. I might have seen another one here or there at the very beginning, but Ann was the one that I saw on all my visits to the Bill Wilkerson Clinic in Nashville...when I was four years old. Ann was the first one to read me the classic "hot dog", "baseball", "sidewalk" and "cupcake".
"Miss Sitton" made all my earmolds and ordered all my hearing aids and I just LOVED her. She hasn't changed a bit, although I personally have gotten quite a bit taller since then. When I started losing the rest of my hearing back in March of 2006 I had my mom call her to see if she approved of our local audiologist's recommendation that we should get Dr. Haynes to implant me...and she heartily approved, which made my decision that much easier. I hadn't seen her in probably 14 years...the last time I saw her was when Will was a year old and I needed a new hearing aid. Soon after that we got a local audiologist and I didn't need to make the drive to Nashville anymore. It was GREAT to see her and catch up just a bit...Dr. Haynes filled her in on the implant situation and I got to talk to her a bit about my involvement with Advanced Bionics and HLAA.
Speaking of which, last night I got to spend some time with two awesome people from the HLAA national office! Nancy Macklin and Chris Sutton are in town checking out the Gaylord Opryland Hotel for the 2009 HLAA convention! I met Chris in Reno but had never met Nancy before. I went to the hotel to meet them and we hit it off right away. After a few minutes of visiting and "horsing around" (there is a picture to go with that...but it's not on my camera) and walking through the ENORMOUS HOTEL we located my car (it was in a no-park zone so we were relieved it was where I left it) and got in the car and headed for the League. Nancy and Chris got an impromptu tour of I-24 East...I took a wrong turn somewhere and was headed back towards my house for several miles before I realized my mistake! We all enjoyed a good laugh over that and then turned around and headed back the other way. We have nominated me "Person Who Should Not Drive The Airport Shuttle Bus" at next year's convention. Honestly, I even got lost in the hotel, so I suspect I will need my own personal tour guide at the convention. I wonder if they would pay for me to spend a few days there at the hotel getting the lay of the land a bit?
Nancy and Chris went to the League open house with me, then we and several of the Nashers went to Logan's for dinner. We ended up staying there until around 11 talking about convention stuff! Then I drove Nancy and Chris back to the hotel and headed home. I am SO looking forward to working with them over the next year and seeing them at the convention in June! :)
About to hop in the shower, then it's off to Mexican and church...then to drink that last cup of coffee before bed. Nothing to eat or drink after midnight...*sigh*. Thanks SO MUCH to all of you who have commented here, e-mailed, or posted on HearingJourney.com...I have such an incredible support system. I'm VERY grateful in particular to my family and to Laurie, Abbie, Sam, and Gloria...they listened to my concerns and encouraged me to try again...without them I might still be trying to get up the nerve to do it! Will catch you all on the other side...love you all!!
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