In Rochester!

Hello everyone,

I arrived in Rochester at 5:00. Thank you Jessica for giving me a ride! You calmed me down a bit. My parents arrived at the same time, it was good to see them! We went out to dinner down the street from the hotel at Micheal's. I am getting anxious for tomorrow. Dinner was good, but I think I was focused on making the phone call to find out my surgery time.

When we got back to the room, my dad started calling the surgery line and I told him that it is not 8:15 yet. He said, they are not that good. I said we are at Mayo, they are good. Sure enough, we had to wait two minutes until 8:15. Then, we called again and found out I need to report at 9:00 am tomorrow morning.

I am hanging in there, it is good to have the support of my parents. I just asked them how they think I am doing. My mom thinks I am doing fabulous. My dad thinks I am doing fair. I am excited to get this over with :). Thank you for all your support, it has been amazing. I am really fortunate to have you all in my life. I will try to report tomorrow. I think we are planning to head back on Friday. Thanks again!

Cochlear Implant Convention?

Hello family and friends,

I just made it back from my trip to Canada. My friend Andie and her new husband did a wonderful job planning the whole weekend. Thanks for a wonderful time! Ottawa is a beautiful city. Their wedding was absolutely gorgeous and so much fun.

Initially, I thought this would be a great trip to get my mind off of my upcoming surgery. Well, it seemed like over half of the people at the wedding who had a hearing loss, had a cochlear implant! This was really great and refreshing to see. What better way to prepare myself for the implant than hang out with successful implant users over the course of five days! I was able to get a lot of stories of others' experiences, numerous questions answered, observe many amazing individuals using an implant and overwhelming support with my upcoming surgery.

The big day is coming up soon! I cannot believe it is actually this week. I think when I arrive in Rochester on Wednesday it will hit me that it is happening.

Today, my brother asked me some specific questions, so I thought I would share the same information with you as well. On Wednesday night after 8:15 p.m., I will call to find out when my surgery is scheduled on Thursday. One important thing I had to be sure not to take aspirin or Ibuprofen ten days prior surgery. I have been putting stickers all over my meds and in my wallet reminding me not to take any! So far so good!

My surgery will be performed by Dr. Neff. It will be approximately 2 - 3 hours. I will be at Saint Marys Hospital on the Mayo Campus. Prior to surgery they will be shaving about 4 inches behind my right ear. It will be interesting to see part of my head shaved! After surgery, I will be put into a recovery room to be monitored. I will be released from recovery room depending on the time and how I am recovering. I may or may not stay overnight. So, my parents may be able to drive me back to my hometown as early as Thursday if the surgery is early in the day. My brother Scotty said he slept a lot the weeks after his surgery. Then again, he loves to sleep, ha.

I may get more specific information on what to expect in the mail this week. I tend to get a mailing a couple of days before my Mayo appointments. If I do, I will send information your way!

Also, I added some photos of my recent visit to Ottawa, Canada...

#1 group photo with the beautiful bride and groom (myself, Scot, Sally, Jamie, Andie, Alicia, Sarah, Xavier)

#2 changing of the guards ceremony

#3 400 year old Parliament Building

One Week from Tomorrow!

Hi everyone,

I hope this finds you well. I am starting to get a little excited, nervous and freaked out a little bit, ha. I think this is all normal. It is a good thing that I have a ton of stuff to keep me occupied before the actual day. I will be going to Canada tomorrow until Sunday night, then I have my last three days of teaching summer school along with working on my last graduate class. So, I think next Thursday will be here before I know it.

My dear childhood friend Jessica will be driving me to Mayo on Wednesday (thanks so much!), then I will meet my parents at the hotel. After the surgery, I plan to go home to Sheboygan, Wisconsin with my parents to recover for the week. If any of you are in town, feel free to stop by. I don't think the recovery will be that bad. It will definitely be better than everything I went through for months after my jaw surgery.

I greatly appreciate all of the support, thoughts and prayers; especially my loving family who mean the world to me. I posted their photos above, you know how much I love photos!

Photo #1 My brother Scotty (who was implanted six years ago) and my sister-in-law along with my favorite little kids in the world...Ava, Ethan & Emma

Photo # 2 My parents and my brother David who all seemed to love the color blue that day, ha.

Two More Weeks! The countdown begins!

It just occurred to me that I will have my surgery in exactly two weeks! I have been so busy with work, grad school and life that it hasn't hit me that it is coming up so quickly.

Once in a while when I am driving in my car, I turn off the left hearing aid of my better ear to see if I can understand the radio. It is amazing how very little I can hear on that side. It is all garble and very dull. I guess I am just checking to see if the hearing magically came back, ha.

Next Wednesday, I leave for Rochester, New York, it's funny to be hitting both Rochesters within a week of each other, ha. I will be joining friends to drive across the border to Ottawa, Canada for my friend Andie's wedding. I am curious to see my friend Scot who was just implanted on May 31st. I plan to get all the information I can from him about the surgery, recovery and hook-up!

I want to say thank you all for your support. I appreciate all the e-mails and messages of well wishes. Also, a special thank you to my teaching team along with my audiologist, Claudia and supervisor Paula for the surprise package full of goodies! What a great team to work with!

I attached photos of them (you know how much I LOVE pictures!).

Photo #1: Taken at our last Statewide Deaf and Hard of Hearing Track and Field Day. From the top left, Amy V. Luanne (transliterator), Terri, Amy, Chris (all sign language interpreters), Holli, Kristin. From bottom left, Wendy, Tiffany, Myself, Sharon, Amy E. Nancy

Photo #2: Taken three years ago at Claudia's lake home, she is the one in the red sunglasses

Photo #3: My supervisor Paula :)

What is a Cochlear Implant?

Some of you have asked for more information on what a cochlear implant is, I probably should have started with this post so you all knew what I was referring to this whole time :). First, I will explain how a person hears normally (refer to labeled ear diagram above, you can click on any picture to enlarge it):

• Sound waves enter the ear canal and travel to the eardrum
• The sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate, then it sends the three smallest bones in the body (Hammer, Anvil, Stirrip) into motion
• The motion is converted into electric impulses by the tiny hair cells (thousands) found in the cochlea
• The electric impulses are sent to the hearing nerve to the brain, where they are perceived as sound for the listener
  

For my ears, everything is working except for the hair cells within the cochlea. I have a sensorineural hearing loss which means the source of my hearing loss is within the inner ear (cochlea). I have abnormal hair cells, they are weak or not there at all. Most definitely the case for my high frequency sounds which I have always had difficulty hearing.

A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device that gives a person with a hearing loss a sense of sound (see implant above). The individual has to be profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing. Where hearing aids only amplify sounds, cochlear implants directly stimulate any functioning auditory nerves with electrical impulses within the cochlea. My audiologist Claudia, explained it the best for me...cochlear implants are to contact lenses as hearing aids are to glasses. It goes directly to the source of sound or sight.

How a cochlear implant works (see numbered ear diagram above):

1. Sounds are captured by the sound processor (see above) which is worn on the outside of the body. It looks like a hearing aid with a magnet attached to connect to the internal implant. (So, if I were to get too close to a refrigerator, my implant could go flying on the fridge :), this has happened to my brother a couple of times, I will train myself to not get too close to a fridge, ha).

2. The sound processor synthesizes the sounds into digital information then sent to the internal implant through the magnet.

3. The internal implant changes the digital information into electrical signals. Then, they are sent to the electrode (looks like a wire, see photo above) that is inside of the cochlea.

4. Signals from the electrode bypass the damaged hair cells to stimulate the hearing nerve, which allows the brain to receive sound.

That's it, that is how I will be able to hear! Simple enough huh? Ha, yeah right! I will be implanted with the Nucleus Freedom by Cochlear (www.cochlear.com).

If you want more specific information, the following websites are helpful:

www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/coch.asp
www.fda.gov/cdrh/cochlear/index.html

Pre-Operation Appointment - July 2nd

I arrived into Rochester an hour and half early! I feel like I am turning into my brother David who is always obnoxiously early for everything :). I went to my first appointment, which was the CT Scan. I told them about the screws I had in my jaw from my previous surgery and they said that a CT Scan would be fine, but not a MRI. I laid on a platform with my head secured by a band across my forehead. They marked the right ear by taping a thin object to my cheek.

The CT Scan took about five minutes. I just had to lay still while my head was moved into a center of a large donut looking machine. Then a camera inside spun around to take pictures. Afterwards, I walked back down to the Mayo Clinic Atrium and heard a man singing at the top of his lungs. When I looked down from the balcony, there were people standing around listening. He sang songs like Amazing Grace, America the Beautiful, The Rose while someone played on a black grand piano. He asked the crowd to join in and people did, it was pretty powerful, of course I got tears in my eyes being the sap that I am. I found out later that people come on a daily basis to sing for the crowd. It is really uplifting. I continue to be impressed with the services here especially the wireless Internet which I am currently reporting from.

My second appointment was for my preoperative evaluation. I arrived at the check-in counter for my appointment. I could not understand the woman at the desk and asked her to repeat and explained that I was hard of hearing. She then, started talking VERY loud, slow, enunciating every word! I stopped her after a few words to explain that she can just use her regular voice. I thought it was a little funny. I have actually presented to younger students and adults about this very behavior, ha.

Anyways, I had all the usual check ups with weight, height, blood pressure and oxygen levels. They are VERY thorough, I had a nurse and a physician ask me about my health, medical and surgical histories as well as my daily habits. They asked who would be with me on the day of the surgery. They got both of my parents names and the hotel they are staying at. Then, she asked for their cell phone number. I laughed since my parents "own" a cell phone, but they never use it, not sure if they know how to! I guess both the nurse and physician will submit their own reports on my health history to make sure nothing was missed from the interview. Next, the anesthesiologist came in to do his evaluation. He checked my lungs and asked more questions about my medical history. It looks like I will be given the anesthesia through an IV. After his evaluation, I was declared as healthy to have the surgery! Yay!

Alright, I am back at home ready to report about the rest of the day. When I arrived home, I took an hour and half nap (I was planning to only sleep 20 minutes!), I was so exhausted! Imagine that, an hour nap at 6:30 pm! Nuts! Okay, back to the Mayo visit...

For my third appointment, I met with Ann Peterson for my Cochlear Implant Consultation. We picked out colors for my behind the ear speech processor and the magnet (I will be posting a blog soon explaining cochlear implants). I picked the same color that is used for my hearing aid. It comes in a variety of colors like pink and blue, but I thought that would be a bit much :). My implant is the Nucleus Freedom by Cochlear, same as my brother's implant. I received a DVD and manual on how to use my speech processor. Also, I got an identification card to keep with me in case I am in an accident to be sure they are aware that I have an implant.

I found out that patients can be hooked up the day after surgery if they wish. I have decided to wait a few weeks so I am feeling 100%. I will have an appointment 2 – 3 weeks after surgery once the swelling has gone down to put the magnet on. I will have a two day appointment with 2-4 hours of sound mapping (identifying sounds that I recognize) on each day. Depending on how I do at those appointments, I may need come back a week or a month later. Most of my appointments for sound mapping will be within the first 3 – 6 months. People have shown success with the bimodal method which is when two modes are used, the hearing aid and the cochlear implant. Ann suggested that I use both my hearing aid and implant during the work day and in the evenings use the implant to train my brain to the new sounds in my environment.

Finally, my last appointment of the day was with Dr. Neff. He explained the major risks that come with surgery such as jaw pain, bruising (one of his patients got a black eye!) facial injury which is 1 out of 1,000 cases and meningitis. None one of Dr. Neff's patients has yet gotten meningitis after surgery. He has performed a couple of hundreds of surgeries and has not had to remove an implant yet. Dr. Neff explained that he had one patient who had a head injury after implantation and the implant was damaged. Then Dr. Neff said my CT scan looked good and there was enough room to insert the implant in the cochlea. He showed me on his computer monitor the cochlea of both of my ears with the normal formation of two and half turns.

Prior to surgery I will have 4 inches shaved behind the ear. I am happy that I am getting shaved so there is no mistake on which ear should be implanted on. I have heard the horror stories of people getting the wrong knee operated on or kidney taken out! The surgery will take about 2 -3 hours. The night before the surgery I need to call a phone line between 8:30 – midnight to get my scheduled surgery date, so I will not know until the day before.Depending on when the surgery is scheduled, I may be able to go home that day. If it is later in the evening, then I may stay overnight at the hospital. Dr. Neff said it is probably good to go home so I am not exposed to other patients in the hospital.

A follow-up appointment will occur about three weeks later. I asked about motion sickness after implantation, my brother Scotty had a bad case of it. Dr Neff said it does not happen often with his patients. I am planning to go home to Sheboygan with my parents after the surgery to recover. Hopefully I will be up for the six hour car ride! Then, I got another informational brochure on the implant.

That was it! I am all set for this surgery! I don't think it has really hit me that I am actually doing this. I think as time gets closer it will become more real. I am excited and very nervous at the same time. Thanks to my family and friends for reading and all of your support!

Meeting Dr. Neff

My last stop of the day was at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology to meet Dr. Neff, the cochlear implant surgeon. Amy and I arrived at the waiting room, it was massive! The largest one I have ever seen. I was given a pager to let me know when I should report to the front desk for the appointment. Once the pager went off, I went to a very small office within the clinic. The first doctor came in, asked me a few questions, looked in my ear, felt the bones behind my ears. It turned out he was not my doctor, he was working on his residency.

Next, three more people came into the tiny room. It was crowded! Dr. Neff introduced himself and I had no idea who the others were (it turned out that it was a nurse and an audiologist in case I had any questions). Dr. Neff was all business and explained things with a lot of facts. Amy and I asked many questions and he answered them confidently. One thing I remember is that Mayo does 100 cochlear implants within a year. Dr. Neff explained the process and then asked when I wanted to schedule the surgery. WHOA! I haven't even decided if I am going through with it! Yikes! I was not expecting that at all. It was odd having four people look at me while I fumbled with the question. I told him I needed to think about it. He suggested that we set a date in case I was interested. So the date was set for May 28th.

Dr. Neff explained that I needed to get the Pneumococcal (PPV23) vaccine prior to the surgery to prevent Meningitis after the surgery (I got the vaccine the following week at my clinic). Also, he explained that I needed a CT Scan to make sure my cochlea is formed correctly with two and a half turns. Fun fact for you...the cochlea is found in the inner ear, it is a spiraled hollow bone. Cochlea comes from the Latin term for snail. If my cochlea turns only one and a half or one turn, then it becomes a little bit more risky. I would stay overnight one night after the surgery. For two weeks, I am to take it easy and not lift anything more than 10 pounds due to all the muscles connected to the ear. After my incision is healed, I will be able to get "hooked up" to a speech processor. This is anywhere from 3 - 7 weeks after surgery. Oh, the whole process costs a whopping $55,000!! Agh! Luckily my new insurance, Health Partners will cover most of it, otherwise I was going to do car wash fundraisers or benefits. My mom had just recently quit smoking after 50 years, I am so proud of her, anyways, my parents agreed that whatever they saved from buying the cigarettes would go to the surgery. I thought that was very sweet of them.

Anyways back to the Mayo visit... Amy and I headed back to the Twin Cities. I called my family and told them that I was a candidate. My Dad told me that it is ultimately my decision that he will support me either way. Then, Amy called our personal audiologist, Claudia to give her an update on the visit. During that time, I told Amy and Claudia that I am pretty much considering the implant. I surprised myself of my decision, but I thought why not try it, since my right ear is not providing huge auditory benefit for me and it has been a frustrating year hearing my students. Wow, a huge chapter has just opened in my life. Hopefully, this is the right decision!