The world is getting a lot less noisy :)

I am still working on uploading the videos from when I was first activated. It does not seem to be working for some reason. I will keep trying! Thanks for your continued support! The world has become a lot less noisy! I am becoming used to hearing sounds in my environment. It is not as overwhelming as it has been. The fans have definitely toned down :). Sounds seem much more natural and sometimes it is hard for me to remember if I heard a certain sound before or if it is new for me.

On Friday night I was playing Pictionary with nine other friends who are hearing. A lot of talking was happening at once especially during "All Play"! That night I asked Sarah if she noticed if I was hearing a little better than before. She said it seems like it a little but it was hard to know because it was a noisy game! My friend Ben later told Sarah that he noticed stutle differences. He noticed that I did not say "what" as often as before or do the frequent nodding acting like I heard it (I know I am terrible!). I felt less tired and more with it.

Today, I was at Sarah's house getting ready to go on a walk. I said I had to use the bathroom quick before we went on our walk. As I closed the bathroom door, I heard clear as day, "Oh Kristine". I thought, she wants my attention, so I opened the door then walked out. I looked at her, thought for a second, and said, "could I have heard that before?". She said no and she was surprised I heard it too! It was a funny experience, I am hearing through walls! Sometimes wonder if I have bionic hearing!

Then, we went on our walk for an hour. I have gone on numerous walks with her before. Usually I ended up getting a stiff neck from turning my head to read her lips while walking at the same time. So, when we walked today, I noticed I did not need to look at her when walking. I heard everything she said while looking straight ahead. This did not feel natural for me, ha. I was not sure what was normal, so I asked her, "people who do hear normally, do they look straight ahead while walking with someone?" It was a funny experience and I was able to see more on my walk!

Every Day is a New Day!

I think I am still in shock or it has not hit me that I can actually hear fairly well with my right ear. I sometimes think it is a temporary thing and not forever. That I am trying out a new hearing aid or something. It continues to be a bizarre experience of hearing sounds that a normal person would hear. I always thought I could hear very well with the support of my hearing aids. I guess I thought the hearing aids gave me normal hearing, but actually it brought my levels up to a conversational level. At this level I did not hear all those soft and high pitch sounds that actually alert you of what is going on in the environment.

Everyday is a new day and I continue to discover new sounds and new ways of doing things. Today, I was in one of my bathrooms curling my hair and my implant went flying onto the metal of my curling iron! I thought this was hilarious! So, I now know to not curl the hair with the implant on! Then when I was in the bathroom, I heard a buzz from the other bathroom which let me know that the dryer completed it's cycle. Then, I was in the kitchen and I heard the same buzz three times which meant the washer was done. Crazy!

Tonight, I had the opportunity to go back to my old part time job of being an advocate for a teenager who has Autism. I worked at the Jewish Community Center and the camp for three years. This camp was in Minneapolis and it was Art Fest week. This was my first time being around many teenagers (about 100!) with the implant on. The noise did not bother me too much and I was able to understand most of the teenagers when they talked to me.

One interesting discovery was hearing my camper talking to himself and making noises while walking behind me. I guess he must have always done this in the past and now I actually hear it. It brought a smile to my face, I was able to understand his behaviors a little more. Then, we walked out to the outdoor pool. From across the pool, I heard someone calling my name. It was my old supervisor and he along with myself was surprised I actually heard it!

After swimming, all the campers gathered around the campfire to sing songs. The first song was the Hebrew version of Happy Birthday. It was Israel's 60th birthday this year as a country. I have heard this song numerous times during my three years at Camp Butwin, but I truly understood the words. Tonight, I was able to sing along :). There were many other Jewish songs that I never could grasp in the past, but I felt like I discovered the Hebrew language for the first time tonight! I was actually able to sing along! On top of that I was able to hear people around me singing the songs which never happens. It always sounded garbled and this experience allowed me to feel included.

One of my biggest fears of getting the cochlear implant was losing my identity as someone in the deaf world. In the past week, I have found that nothing has changed. I am still going about life the same way I have in the past, hanging out with friends who are hearing and deaf. My friends are my friends no matter what with the implant or not. I feel very fortunate and this whole process made me realize how lucky I truly am with the never-ending support of friends. Thank you!

My first mapping appointment

I just found out that my right hearing aid has been found at my parents house! It was sitting on a chair in the kitchen and I completely overlooked it! I could have swore that I threw it out in the garbage. I am so happy to know I didn't! Yay!

On Friday, I had my first mapping appointment. It was similar to the activation appointment. She showed me my "impetus" levels, which are the levels that my ear can be stimulated at. I believe this is the correct way to explain this. She was happy that I was willing to take in high frequency sounds. I think I have gotten used to the high frequency sounds from my digital hearing aids. She gave me multiple beeps and I had to tell her if it was too soft or soft. Then, we moved onto other beeps and I had to identify if they were "okay"sounds. After that, she played back all the beeps of the 22 electrodes and I had to let her know if it sounded too high or too soft when compared to the other beeps. They all sounded good to me, therefore my MAP was completed. I will need to gradually increase the volume which is currently set at 1 and can go up to 9 as well as increasing my sensitivity levels from a 6 to 10 as I slowly become used to sound. My next mapping appointment will be in three weeks on September 19th, which I will get tuned up again.

Once the MAP was created, she created four programs for my speech processor. Program one is ADRO which will automatically adjust my sound levels to provide clarity and comfort in a variety of environments. Program two is Auto-sensitivity plus ADRO to be used for noisier places like driving in the car. Program three is ADRO with Auto-sensitivity and Smart Sound Beam. This is good for restaurants, I would point my nose in the direction of sound I want to hear like a a flashlight beam. The last program is Smart Sound Whisper plus ADRO. This is good for listening to music, nature and quieter listening environments.

Some of the challenges of the implant so far are the steady ring / hum that I hear when all is quiet. I guess my brother still experiences this. I asked my implant audiologist and she said people do experience that. It is like similar to tinnitus, ringing of the ears. Also, every time I take off my implant there is a steady ring that stays for about two minutes. It is similar to people hearing ringing noises after leaving a concert. I guess this is normal because my nerves are being conditioned to hearing sounds. Another challenging thing is that I when I first put on the implant it sounds like a lot of electrical sounds of multiple pitches for first few minutes until I start recognizing sounds again. Other things that I am getting used to are breaking the habit of putting my hair behind my ear, it does not work with the cord attached to the magnet. So, when eating, I feel like my hair is in my way, maybe I need to shave it off, ha. Also, I am learning to hug people a little gingerly so I don't whack them in the head with my magnet or implant. I thought I might break the internal implant, but my implant audiologist told me I would likely break my skull before my implant since the implant is made of titanium. Good to know, ha. These are some little things that I need to get used to which is nothing compared to the benefits I will get with hearing new sounds in the environment.

One major experience of hearing occurred on Friday night, I went to a "fry-out" as the Sheboyganites of Wisconsin would say :). So for those of you outside my hometown would call it a cook-out, bar-b-que or grill-out at my friend Sarah and Ben Harding. There were six other people there. We sat outside for majority of the time. Then, it started to become dark and there were no lights on the table or on the deck. Normally, I would have to request to have more light available so I could read lips. While I was sitting there I realized people were talking all around me and I was unable to see their lips, but I understood what they were saying! It was very surreal experience. It was very foreign and bizarre to actually hear people in the dark without the help of their facial expressions or lips. I can tell that each day my recognition of sounds is improving. Also, my friend Jason thought I was enunciating my words a little more too. So, it is possible that I am able to hear my own voice a little better these days as well.

Thanks again for reading!

What a NOISY world we live in!

The last couple of days, I have been surrounding myself with voices and noises to train my brain as fast as I can before school starts. It has been an eye-opening experience! It can be a very draining and tiring process as well. I have been taking a few naps and auditory breaks. The biggest task has been recognizing the sound, identifying it and moving on. It is not so much learning to listen, but actually learning to not listen to the unnecessary sounds in the environment. Most of these sounds are ones that most hearing people have tuned out. Major sensory overload, but no headache yet! So grateful for that!

My first big discovery of sounds happened right after I left my audiology appointment. I went to lunch at City Cafe with Sarah and her mom (who drove from Rollingstone by Winona to join us, thank you!). We walked through downtown Rochester which was FULL of noises from traffic and construction, I could not figure out any of the sounds, but could still hear Sarah's voice. After we sat down, I started punching numbers on my cell phone to call my family, I heard the tiny beeps that it made. Then, I went to the bathroom which was very quiet. I washed my hands and I heard the water rushing out of the faucet, then the paper rustling when drying my hands, my feet shuffling on the tiled floor and the zipper on my purse. It was quite the experience in the bathroom! I was glad no one had come in because I was just standing there in wonder of all the noise that I was recognizing!

Afterwards, I started to write down all the various noises I was recognizing: the ice cubes rattling against the glass when stirring with a straw, the click of the pen cap coming on and off, laughing noises made by the tables around me, two men talking next to me, silverware tapping on the plates when eating, the rustling of the menu when turning the page over, dishes being put away near by, some of the beats of the techno music being played at the restaurant, a woman talking down the hall when walking in the subway level to the parking lot, the rubbing of hands together when Sarah put on hand sanitizer, rubbing of my skin when I put on sunblock, raindrops pounding on the windshield and the tap of a drum on one of the CD's I was listening to in the car.

After I arrived home, I met eight of my college friends at a bar / restaurant. I was curious how I would be able to handle this. Normally, it is a struggle especially when there are no sound absorbent ceilings and the floor was made of wood. Overall, it did appear to be easier to follow some conversations. It had been only seven hours since I was hooked up, so I had to give myself some credit. One thing I noticed that I could understand my friend Betsy very well. She has a soft and quieter voice and it had always been difficult for me to understand her. She sat on my right side (which was my implant side) and I felt like I understood everything she said for the first time! It was really a cool experience to have a full conversation with her without struggling. Yay!

Later, I went to the Trudeau's house where six other friends were. We were in the basement where it was quiet and I turned off my hearing aid and used only my implant. I tried to hear their voices through the implant. All of them sounded entirely different! I felt like I landed on a different planet and all of their voices had been changed! It was interesting, since you are used to people sounding a certain way, so I will need to relearn all new voices! It is a little challenging when trying to determine who is talking when in a large group.

The next morning, I woke up and decided to start training my brain right away by using only the implant. I started typing on my computer, I heard the clicking of the keys right away. Then I was hearing this noise that was going in and out, and I looked around for a while in my condo trying to figure out what it could be. Then I turned the sensitivity down on my implant (this means the distance of how far the sound will be picked up, normal people hear at a sensitivity of 10). I still heard the noise. Then after five minutes, I thought it might be my breathing, so I breathed dramatically and sure enough I discovered my breathing, ha. Once I recognized the breathing it was not annoying for me anymore.

* Just now, while I type to you on my balcony, I finally heard and recognized on my own the chirping of a bird in the tree!! I have heard multiple noises and others have told me these are birds, I finally heard a single bird chirping! Very cool. Also, I think I might be hearing the leaves rustling in the wind, not sure yet.

Other things I discovered were scratching noise when I scratched my face, coins clattering together when thrown in the wallet, my clothes touching each other when I walk, my keys jingling, the beep of a car alarm, people talking out in the hallway, air conditioners and a car starting in a parking lot. My worse enemy are FANS! VERY difficult to distinguish, they are much louder for me than others. I am determined to tackle the fans!

I heard voices!

* I am currently working on uploading the videos...hopefully they will upload soon! I guess there are issues with uploading videos in the past week, I will have to try again later!

Yesterday, I picked up my friend Sarah Trudeau (thanks for coming with me!) and we were off for my initial activation appointment at Mayo! I was feeling pretty good until a few minutes before my appointment, I became very nervous and a little excited. I was worried that the implant would not work. I felt that I accidentally sneezed a few times too many during my recovery and possibly screwed up my implant. I know...very silly.

We met with Rene' Gifford who is an audiologist and the assistant director of the Cochlear Implant Program. She placed a large rectangular box on the desk that contained all the equipment for my Nucleus Freedom processor. I was amazed at all the items that I received for my implant!

I got a back-up processor, so basically like a another hearing aid, but these processors are $7500 a piece! I will make sure I don't lose this back-up! A little story for you, I had been proud of myself to have never lost a hearing aid in my life. So, when I arrived home to recover, I had two small plastic containers that held my hearing aids when they removed them in the operating room. At the time, I was the under influence of many drugs and I thought, I have my hearing aid on so I don't need the containers anymore. I accidentally threw out my other hearing aid that I was going to use as a back up for my left ear! AGH!!! So, hopefully if anyone finds it at the dump, will know someone who needs a good working hearing aid! Unbelievable!

Anyways, my kit had many accessories: a carrying case, a rechargeable battery case, twelve earhooks, monitor earphones, lapel microphone, four battery racks, eight microphone protectors, personal audio cable and TV/ HiFi cable. I also got stickers to put on my processor if I felt like decorating it, ha, such as rainbows, stars, bears, hearts, soccer balls, basketballs, etc. I also got adapters for my two rechargeable batteries, so I can use it in other countries. Ten packs of Implant Plus battery packs to use as back-ups for the rechargeable batteries. I guess the rechargeable battery usually last about 12 hours. What was really cool was the Dry and Store kit to keep my implant in, when not in use to keep the moisture out. I wish they would give this away when you buy a new hearing aid! I was very impressed with everything. Then, I asked about how much the actual implant costs...$35,000!!! Wow!

Moving on to the activation...I was given some of the technical descriptions of the chart on the computer and completely blanked out on what it means, but I will explain the best I can of what I remember. The coil was placed on my head, but the magnet was not strong enough. Most people use #2 & #3 strength, I needed a #4. My head may still be swollen. I thought the magnet was on the scar line, but it is actually past the shaved part of my head. I guess it got tucked underneath the skin. Then, I put my speech processor on for the first time. It felt interesting having something stuck to my head and the processor was bigger than my regular hearing aid. I quickly got used to it and it was no big deal. On the computer screen, there was an animated picture of the coiled electrode in my cochlea and showed 22 electrodes lighting up as it was activated. I was not hearing anything yet.

Rene' explained that on the day of my surgery, she was in her office in another building working through a modem to test my implant while I was on the operating table. She said she gave it many tests for about 15 minutes. If I was awake during the tests, it would have been unbearably loud. Rene' said that my implant gave very good responses on the day of surgery and that it was was working properly. She also explained that some people do not hear voices right away and it takes a while. I had no idea what to expect. I remember hearing noises in my ear for a few days after my surgery when I would lay down going from soft to loud like it was going through 22 electrodes. I wonder if this is something I was remembering from being out on the table? Next, she sent me some beeps on some of the high frequency electrodes. I had to identify if they were soft, medium, okay or too loud! We were working on getting all the sounds to sound "okay".

Then, it was time to turn on the implant! I really wasn't sure what to expect. The sounds were like major explosive cackling, computerized and very unpleasant! I tried to explain the best I could of what I was hearing on the videos that I attached. The sounds I was hearing were very unexpected and insane. I was worked hard to detect and recognize any sound. It REALLY helped to have my other hearing aid.

Then about five minutes after being activated, I was told to turn off my hearing aid, I heard my first voice! I focused on Rene's lips while she was talking and I slowly started to detect her voice. Her voice slowly started to make sense to me and it felt like she was very close to me and not far away. Then, my friend Sarah said something and I was surprised! I know her voice very well since I have known her for about nine years. Her voice sounded so different than I know! It was startling and a little funny at the same time.

As time went on and we talked more, my levels were increased slightly and I was learning to accept more noises in my environment. The processor and sounds were getting a little better as time went on. Sarah asked how much I would hear potentially, Rene' printed out my audiogram and said with the implant I should be hearing within the normal ranges at 20 decibels. We will see! Rene explained that I may want to continue to increase the volume because it might sound too soft. I left the office on volume one and I am currently at volume 6. Soon, I will report about the various new sounds I have heard in my next post. Thanks for reading!

Photo #1: With my friend Sarah, thanks again for joining me!
Photo #2 of my speech processor
Video one: I was first activated
Video two: Hearing voices for the first time

Initial Implant Mapping / Hook Up Appointment Scheduled for Wednesday, August 13th!

Hello! Things are getting better each day. I am starting to sleep in again, which is a good sign that I am feeling better! So far today, I have not taken medicine for pain. Things are really looking a lot brighter. I still have restrictions until Thursday. For two weeks after surgery, I am not allowed to lift anything more than 10 pounds, bend at the waist (been doing a lot of squats to pick things up), blow my nose and must cough with my mouth open. I am still unable to sleep on my right side, it just feels funny. One of these days!

This morning, I was able to change my initial mapping appointments to an earlier date. It was originally scheduled for the 19th and 20th. I am ready now :), it is hard not to have hearing on both ears. I feel off balanced and tired since I am straining to hear with one ear. I personally understand how it can be a safety issue. Often, I have talked with parents and children with unilateral hearing loss to become more cautious and aware of their surroundings especially when crossing the street or riding a bike.

So, my initial implant mapping appointments are on Wednesday, August 13th and Friday, August 15th at 10:00 am. The mapping will be done at the Rochester Methodist Hospital at the Cochlear Implant Center. I am glad it is a week earlier, so I can train my brain before school starts again on August 25th.

For those of you who are not familiar with initial activation and mapping, this is the second step of the process. It is usually done a few weeks after the surgery. This allows for the incision to heal and the swelling to go down. For the implant to work, I need to get it mapped or programmed so I can take in sound without pain or discomfort.

My implant will be connected to a computer. The audiologist will test the implanted electrodes and adjust the frequencies of each electrode. The goal of the appointment will be finding a comfort level of sounds because at first things can sound too loud. My brain will need to get used to processing the new sounds. It depends on the individual of how quickly sounds can be processed. I have read on a website that people described the first sounds of voices to the voice of Donald Duck. This will be a little funny, I actually loved Donald Duck as a kid.

This past Friday, I was with my brother Scotty and his family. Both my sister in law, Tracy and Scotty told me some stories of when he was first discovering sounds. He was identifying sounds that Tracy had tuned out, such as the humming of the refrigerator, beeps on an oven or microwave and the crinkling of bags of potato chips. I guess potato chips bag was the most annoying. One time, they were riding in the minivan with their three kids and Scotty kept hearing this sound over and over. He said, "what is that?!" My sister in law could not figure it out. They asked the kids (I have posted a photo of the kids above, Ava, Ethan, Emma) to be quiet, then Scotty said, "see there it is, now it is gone, then there it is, now it is gone". After a few minutes they figured out that it was the windshield wipers!

I am sure I will have some interesting sounds to identify as well. I would like to hear the birds chirping, water or waves by a lake and rain. I guess any sounds found in nature!

* After I posted this, my friend Alicia and brother Scotty both asked me if I ever heard the sounds of nature before in my life. My answer...

No, I have not heard those specific sounds of nature before, at least I do not remember it. A few times when I was at Wisconsin Lions Camp late at night and also at my friends Jason and Missy's house on Minnehaha Creek when it is very quiet. I would hear an interesting sound and ask people what it was. Others would tell me I am hearing the grasshoppers putting their wings together, frogs croaking and Minnesota loons looning(?). Also, when I was in the bird cage at the Milwaukee Zoo or when I owned a parakeet, I used to hear some chirping. My brother says he hears it all that time now. Also, he said, "basically, what you will discover is that we do live in a noisy world". Great!

Feeling Great!!!

Today, I can honestly say that I am getting VERY close to my usual self! This is great since it will be a week tomorrow that I had my surgery. I never thought this day would come, I am so happy!

Last night was the first time I slept well and I actually slept in a little today. I have been getting up at 6:00 a.m. and this morning it was 7:15! Whoo hoo! My stitches look good, I have been putting Neosporin on it daily. I have been going about 9 and half hours without taking Extra Strength Tylenol for the pain. I am not too crazy about medicine, so the least amount I take, the better!

I plan to head back to Minnesota on Saturday if I am still feeling well. Thanks for all the visits, e-mails, calls and cards! I really appreciate your support!

Day of Surgery - Thursday, July 31, 2008

For those of you who are curious of the little details of the day and the day after. Sorry, it is a little long...

The day of surgery was a long one, more so for my parents who was at the hospital for 12 and half hours. Staff were great for me, but they drove my parents crazy by not giving specific information about how I was doing or where I was. I really admire and appreciate my parent's patience through this whole process. They said they were just glad I was being properly cared for.

On Thursday morning, we arrived at St. Mary's Hospital at 8:45. A man met us in the lobby and gave us a mini tour of the hospital. I thought this was odd because I thought that I would be an outpatient. Right away, I was checked into a room and was told to change into the hospital gown and robe. A nurse came in and asked a few questions, then started an IV drip of fluids since I was not allowed to eat or drink since midnight the night before. She explained the basic process of the day: an hour with anesthesiologist, an hour prepping, two hour surgery and then an hour of recovery. She said I was second case to go into surgery.

The waiting period began...an hour went by and no one came back to the room. Then two hours went by and nothing happened. We asked another nurse what was happening and she explained that the wait was normal. My parents and I were getting a little antsy and excited. I was hoping that the surgery was still going to happen that day and not be rescheduled. I just wanted to get this over with!

At 12:20, a different nurse came into the room and said, "Kristine Cinealis, they are on their way to get you, so if you need to go to the bathroom, go now". So, I thought this is it, I went to the bathroom, said goodbyes to my parents and waited. And waited...we saw many people come back from their surgeries. By this time my dad is cracking sarcastic jokes left and right to make light of this situation. I was confused, then finally at 1:30 a gurney showed up at my room. At this point, I was ready to go. I said my goodbyes to my parents once again. As I rolled out, my dad had tears in his eyes, so of course I am fighting back tears. I signed "I love you" to both and went to the operating floor.

The operating floor had 41 operating rooms so close to one another connected by small hallways that had display boards connected to the ceiling with various codes and numbers. It was a maze, every room was visible through the glass windows. I observed numerous operating teams standing around a patient with a large monitor showing whatever part of the body they were operating on. This was not exactly comforting, I was becoming nervous by the minute. Outside of my operating room, I met two women who were there to assist with the surgery. They asked a variety of questions and calmed me down a little bit.

In the operating room there were three posters of the ear which are actually the same posters that are hanging up in my deaf and hard of hearing office, I thought this was funny. A table on my right side had a TON of tiny tools and equipment that would all be used during the surgery. Two other staff came in, the anesthesiologist and a nurse who organized the items on the table. One of the women, fingerspelled the names of the other two individuals. Then, she pulled down her mask and said the names again. Afterwards, I removed my hearing aids. It occurred to me that it would be the last time I would use a hearing aid on my right ear, it was a weird feeling.

Then, they put six adhesive monitors on my chest and an oxygen monitor on my finger. (After I am out, they will put two metal probes on my forehead and near my eye to monitor the nerves during surgery.) One of the nurse's put the oxygen mask on my face and the three of them waited for me to breathe enough oxygen so they could go ahead with the anesthesia. I started to pray, then the nurse grabbed my hand and held it while I was given the anesthesia. This was very comforting. Once the anesthesia was put into my IV, I started to feel woozy and started to flutter my eyes. All the sudden, I was out.

The next thing I remember was being woken up, I was surrounded by a couple of nurses and my hearing aid was on my ear so I could hear talking. I felt so incredibly sick to my stomach and very nauseous. It was a horrible feeling! I kept saying, "I feel so sick, I think I am going to throw up". They worked on getting some medicine in me to reduce the nausea. I kept going in and out of sleep. I could not keep my eyes open and felt so sick and tired. I remember looking at the clock each time I woke up and couldn't believe how late it was. The severe nausea seemed to stay with me during the four hour recovery period. I remember hearing a nurse saying, "she can't go home, she has to stay here". I thought what is wrong with me and where are my parents?

My parents on the other hand had some very frustrating hours to deal with. They talked with my doctor at 5:20. He said everything went very well and the electrode slid in easily in the cochlea. Then he said I would be out of recovery within 15 minutes to an hour. So, my parents waited and asked various nurses of my status. The nurses did not seem to not know what was going on. They told my parents I was not yet in recovery, then I was, that it would be an hour and then it would be a couple of hours. At 7:30, they told them that the ward was closing and that I would not be returning to my original room. They had to report to a different floor in the hospital and waited in the waiting room. At 9:00 p.m., I was finally brought to a room, I guess they had to wait for one to open. I was happy to see my parents but I still was not feeling well and could not keep my eyes open. My parents said that I looked terrible, very pale and obviously not well. They understood why I was in recovery for so long and was happy that I was not going home to the hotel that night. They said good night to me and said they would be back in the morning.

During the night, I had very kind nurse, Kristin who checked in on me every two hours. She checked my blood pressure and my temperature. Whenever I went to the bathroom, I needed her help getting out of bed because I was very light headed and uneasy. She wrote on a white board to communicate with me. At 1:00 in the morning I had some vanilla ice cream. It was good to eat something cold. Then at 4:30 am I had crackers and pudding before I took oral painkillers, Vicodin which I have stopped taking due to making me even more sick. At 6:45 a.m., my doctor came in while I was sleeping to look at my vitals and sign the release form. Once I woke up, the nurse asked me to close my eyes, which I could do and smile, which looked good too, I guess. They ask this to make sure none of my facial muscles were affected from the surgery. The side effects of this type of surgery is not being able to open and close eyes on my own and smile. Good thing I passed that!

My parents showed up at 9:00 a.m. and I was taken out of the room in a wheelchair. I still could not walk on my own. I still felt very dizzy and unstable. I was terrified of the five hour drive home and prayed that I would do okay since I usually get motion sick even without having surgery! I sat in the front seat for the whole trip looking only at the road with the cool air conditioning on my face. I hugged a pillow the whole way home and my dad drove carefully trying to avoid the bumpier sides of the freeway. We stopped twice and I am sure I looked scary to a lot of people. I was so out of it, I really didn't care. I was so happy, when we finally arrived home.

I spent a lot of time during the first two days sleeping and felt very nauseous, dizzy and light headed. At times I felt like I had ringing in my right ear, like electronical whirring. I am not sure if I was imagining this. It sounded like something that started soft then went loud. It was as if sound was going through my 22 electrodes. The sound was unpleasant and I have not heard it since the first two days. I had to call my parents to help me up and down the stairs to avoid tumbling down. It was funny to call my dad on my cell phone at six in the morning to tell him to pick me up at my bedroom. It was also hard to move my head. During the first few days, I did not feel like doing anything.

I am happy to report that four days later, I am starting to feel a heck a lot better. I have a little pain, but have been taking extra strength Tylenol. I have been drinking a lot of 7-UP and eating crackers to help with the nausea. The sleeping is still tough since I am used to sleeping on my right side. I walked outside for the first time down the block and joined my mom on errands around Sheboygan. I am confident that tomorrow will be an even better day. Thanks again for your support.

Photo #1: My mom and I waiting for surgery to happen!

Photo #2: The huge bandage!

Photo #3: My shaved head and scar

Photo #4: I am feeling good today!

Still getting better!

Hello everyone,

I feel all of your well wishes all the way over here in Sheboygan, Wisconsin! I am slowly getting better. The nausea is starting to go away. My parents have been amazing. My dad has probably taken five trips to the store already for my favorite foods, medicines and 7-UP. It is funny to have people take care of me, I feel like a little kid again, ha. My parents and my brother David have all said they noticed I can hear better already. I had to explain that it is not working yet without the speech processor.

I will write more tomorrow about the actual day of surgery when I am feeling a little better to think about that long day :). It has been fun being in Wisconsin, I get the latest news on Favre's reinstatement to the Packers. It is breaking news here and interupts most stations, you would think he was the governor! I am very excited to see him put on number 4 again! I didn't get a chance to get over to the Johnsonville Brat Day's parade yesterday. Thank goodness, that too made breaking news on CNN with the erratic drunk driver driving in the crowd injuring four people. Lots of action here!

I thought this was a little cute, on Friday my childhood friend Jennie came over to the house to take off my big whooping bandage (I will post photos tomorrow) and the first thing my mom said was where is that thing that Scotty has? I was laughing and had to explain that comes later when I get "hooked" up. My friend Jennie who is a registered nurse said my stitches looked good and asked if my doctor was a plastic surgeon, so that was good to hear. Thanks for helping out Jen.

That is all for now, we are watching the end of the PGA tour (I am starting to understand it) and we are ordering Faye's pizza tonight, my favorite! Signing off until tomorrow, thanks again for your support!

Every hour gets better

Hello family and friends,

Thank you for all of your support, I feel so loved. This will be short, hopefully in a few days I will be able to report more. I am at my parent's house in Sheboygan. I am slowly recovering. I have been doing a lot of sleeping while I am here. I have been feeling dizzy, light headed and nauseous, like I do when I am motion sick. So, I am ready for that to go away. The best cure for that is sleep. My parents have been great and I am glad they were with me in Rochester. I will write more about about the day of surgery when I am more alert. Thanks again for all of your support, thoughts and prayers. I am so lucky to have all of your support. Kristine